Astros on MLB Network's 30 in 30
Here are some tidbits from last night's 30 Clubs in 30 Days:
- Mitch Williams claims that if Berkman just had debris cleaned out of his knee, he should be back in no time. In fact, Williams said he had the same procedure when he was with the Astros and was throwing within three days.
- Berkman says he's back into baseball activities within a week and a half to two weeks. He downplayed the possibility of starting on Opening Day, saying he'd rather be healthy than rushing back for "one game." Sounds like he might not have even had the surgery if it happened during the season.
- It's a good thing too, because I saw on the scroll that Darin Erstad is still unsigned. I just hope Wade doesn't get trigger-happy and call him in if Berkman misses too much time.
- Roy Oswalt said the younger guys do come to him for advice, but the real problem is getting "Cudly Budly" to shut up at times. He also said that the important thing about a pitching coach is not to try and change mechanics during games. He said Brad Arnsberg had talked to him about changing a couple things on his hand and glove placement, but they haven't changed anything since then. Sounds like the problem Oswalt may have had with Dewey Robinson was messing with his delivery during the game.
- Roy said Wandy has the best curveball in the majors. He even said, "guys sit on his curve and still can't hit it." Surprisingly, he didn't mention any of Brian Moehler's pitches in the same glowing terms.
- Both John Hart and Roy said the biggest concern with Bud Norris is his control. Roy mentioned his problems are keeping the ball down in the zone while Hart and Williams both commented that Norris has top-of-the-rotation stuff if his control is good.
- The studio guys have been talking a lot about Myers as a reliever. Williams said Myers is in Houston because Wade is a "loyal guy." He also said Myers has "different gears" when on the mound and implied that he might take some effort off at times when he's starting.
- Terms used to describe Manzella "not good range," "steady," "fundamentally sound." Why does that not conjure up images of Ozzie Smith? Williams did make the point that he's got to be an improvement over Miguel Tejada, who "was a third baseman by the middle of last season." That made me chuckle.
- Also funny: Carlos Lee hitting like Ichiro in batting practice. Because, you know, he can beat out so many infield hits.
- The talk about the minor leagues was predictable and what we've heard before. Top ten of note: Jay Austin, Jason Castro, Collin DeLome, Jon Gaston, Chris Johnson, Chia-jen Lo, Jordan Lyles, Tommy Manzella, Jio MIer, Ross Seaton. Hart liked Mier best, saying he's got the best upside in the system. Hart also went out on a limb and said Jason Castro could make an impact this season.
- The homegrown all-time team? Craig Biggio at catcher, Ken Caminiti at third, Julio Lugo at short, Joe Morgan at second, Lance Berkman at first, Luis Gonzalez in left, Cesar Cedeno in center, Rusty Staub in right, JR RIchard as a starter, Billy Wagner as reliever. Apparently, Jimmy Wynn wasn't eligible since he came up as Reds property. What do you think of this list?
- Hah. Funniest Geoff Blum lines: "Lance who?" while in the cage, "This is the Lance Drill" as he ran to third and then put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. AND HE QUOTED BULL DURHAM! I know I've been down on Blum this offseason, but that's too awesome. Geoff Blum for MVP!
- Prime 9 Astros moments: 9) Roger Clemens moves up on strikeout list 8) Craig Biggio gets 3,000th hit 7) MIke Scott's no-hitter clinches NL West 6) Mike Scott strikes out 14 in NLCS 5) Denny Walling sac-fly in 1980 NLCS 4) Jeff Kent home run in 2004 NLCS 3) Chris Burke walk-off in 2005 NLDS (falsely reported as being in 2004) 2) Nolan Ryan throws fifth no-hitter 1) Astros advance to World Series in 2005
Let's end on this. Discuss those moments and anything else from the program.
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What a droppoff for the double play tandem:
Joe Morgan and….Julio Lugo.
The Crawfish Boxes, Astros blogging at its finest.
by Evan Hochschild on Mar 16, 2010 1:08 PM CDT reply actions
shift Joe over to shorstop
and it’s Joe and Craig. Nice.
The Crawfish Boxes, Astros blogging at its finest.
by Evan Hochschild on Mar 16, 2010 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions
I'd have to suggest
dropping Rusty Staub for Bobby Abreu in RF. The average, the OBP, the speed, the decent power. Abreu has had quite a career.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
But did Abreu really play long enough with the astros to be considered for the team? I guess that is more of a definition question. I liked Rusty Staub (and he was the first real Astros’ “star”), but I would agree that Abreu had a better career than Staub.
Yeah
I was thinking from a “whoever started in the Astros organization” perspective.
"I am from one of the top 15 cities in the world. Buffalo, New York." - TrentEdwardsHoF2018
I was engrossed in writing up an article related to Manzella (it’s posted now) and I was late turning on the audio for the spring game. How were the Astros’ pitching performances in the first five innings?
As I type this, good baserunning by Matsui and Towles has resulted in another run. Unfortunately, Lee hit into a DP when the run scored.
Roy went four innings, gave up two hits with one walk and one strikeout. Also got nine ground ball outs.
Lindstrom had another perfect inning with one strikeout
Fulchino allowed one hit while striking out two in his inning.
Not able to listen to the game today, but judging from the box score, it’s been a pretty good game for the pitchers.
by David Coleman on Mar 16, 2010 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions
Excellent job by Gervacio mowing down Red Sox. Gervacio also had a dandy pick off of a player at 1st (who had gotten on with Kata’s error). Chris Johnson’s father is coaching third base for the Sox, and he momentarily forgot himself when he gave a round of applause to CJ for getting an out by catching a Red Sox hitter’s pop up.
Astros lead 2-0.
Hah. Apparently the two Johnsons exchanged lineup cards before the game. Must’ve been a pretty cool moment.
by David Coleman on Mar 16, 2010 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Towles had another nice day at the plate
Couple of hits, including that perfect bunt hit which advanced Matsui two bases. Still Spring Training, still a small sample size, but this has to be encouraging for those of us who were hoping he’d be penciled in at least three out of every five days at C1 for the Astros this season.
I would like to have seen the consecutive plays by Matsui and Towles, based upon Milo’s and radio guy’s descriptions. They really liked Towles’ and Matsui’s baserunning. Matsui beat out an infield hit. Then Towles had the perfect bunt which apparently was a real beauty. Matsui showed a lot of alertness, running all the way to third base on the bunt. He scored on the GDP by Lee. Towles contributed to the run by taking out the second baseman on the end of the DP, and nearly prevented a DP.
My Blum for MVP vote
Alyson Footer tweeted the other day that when Blum was miked up for MLB Network during the game against the Braves, that he insisted on calling Chipper Jones “Larry.”
That gets my vote right there.
No Jeff Bagwell on your homegrown list!!
I don’t see how any all time Astros list can leave off Jeff Bagwell. I would replace Luis Gonzalez in LF with Lance Berkman to make room for Jeff at 1st.

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