Match Up/Game Thread

Bruntlett was talking to Taveras after the Capuano pick off move; no doubt Willy was saying, "Hey, that happened to me, too!"  

The Lamb homer is nice, though.

The Brewers telecast which I'm having to take off MLB.TV is some kind of "Kids' Day" thing, and we'll see if it becomes too annoying for me to bear.

Pettitte commences by getting behind in the count to Clark and letting fly with a hanging curve that Clark easily handled.

Despite what Schroeder and Sutton were saying, the Spivey double was a good pitch, though.  Gets ahead of Jenkins (and strikes him out,too) on a pitch down, also; so maybe the Clark thing was an anomaly?

Nice sequence to Carlos Lee; maybe things are gonna be OK.

Notice that Moeller isn't starting; it may be getting to the point where it's difficult for him tro show his face in town. . . .

Pettitte threw two outstanding curves to Miller, and there's no reason not to think that Pettitte's sequence to Clark wasn't anything but not representative of how he's going to pitch today.

Got that?

Yes, a lefty is going to on average have a better move, but no way around it:  this is atrocious baserunning.  

Pettitte looked pretty good in the bottom of the inning, though.

Schroeder and Sutton are using the "Kids' Day" thing to suggest that the Astros use the little league rule of having to stand on the bag as the pitch is delivered for the remainder of the game, and that sounds like a good idea to me. . . .see how close Ausmus was staying after his walk?

Turnabout is fair play, is it not, Junior Spivey?

As I'm entranced by the primer environment that the Brewers announcers are spinning ("this is a changeup. . .") I idly note that there has yet to be a lead change in this series

Unlike Taveras the other night, Clark was totally justified in diving for the Bruntlett triple.  Might have been nice if we'd made 'em pay for the extra base they gave up. . . .

More atrocious baserunning, although I'm including the batter's ability to catch a sign under that term here.  The Astros Media Guide tells us that the team record for caught stealing in a game is three, but does not feature a listing for baserunners picked off.  Anyway, three baserunners out on the paths is not good.

Fortunately, Pettitte continues to roll.  Brady Clark is the first Brewer to reach safely since the first, and has two of the three hits.  Right now I'd nominate the sequence to Spivey where Pettitte came back from 3 - 0 down to strike Spivey out as the sequence of the game.  

Can't help but notice a couple of bounces have gone our way today; 'course, I think that things HAVE often gone our way this year.  Despite let's say the home website's efforts to characterize things as the worst bad luck streak in the history of baseball, the Astros have very often been simply incapable of capitalizing on their good fortune.  

Pettitte was great, but why'd he leave?

Aaaaaaack!  Sutton said, "My bad."

It's horrible' I hate that phrase--it DOES NOT accurately reflect any proper or gramatical usage in the English language.   "Bad" is an adjective and does not properly take the determinative possessive pronoun "my." Announcers and all others in the position to influence the use of the English language have a responsibility not to use that idiotic phrase.  

I'll tell you this, Larry Dierker would not use the phrase "my bad."

Wheeler mowing them down . . .until Magruder.

Self no doubt went around.  Brinkman missed it.

Lidge vs. Spivey Jenkins Lee, let's see.

Easy to say now, but I realy wasn't too worried even with the two men on.  Lidge had shown control, had kept the ball down and Jenkins' hit was on a REALLY good pitch.

And we take the road series. . . .hallelujah.