A predictable result: Phillies pound Astros 8-0 as Bud Norris struggles
by Evan Hochschild on Apr 10, 2010 8:32 AM CDT
in Houston Astros News
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Maybe, after giving up three runs in the first inning to the powerful Phils, Bud Norris clicked his cleats together in a vain attempt to return to Round Rock, or Memphis, or New Orleans, or any other AAA outpost where he may have been able to get by with his lack of control. Norris had a bookend start: he walked Jimmy Rollins to start the game, and he exited after walking pitcher J.A. Happ.
I'm not Nostradamus, and I don't like to predict ill of my team, but after his last exhibition start against Toronto, I texted Stephen and I said I fear for our young starter's life against Philadelphia. Couple his lack of apparent readiness with the already downward slope of the Astros, and one did not need to read the tea leaves to understand that this was going to be a tough one for the Astros to win regardless of who was pitching for us.
It doesn't help that the guy who was pitching for us was unable to locate any of his pitches, despite a huge strike-zone all night from home plate umpire Tim McLelland. Looking at his pitch f/x data, it was apparent to the naked eye that he was worst with his fastball. That perception is backed by the data, which showed that Cudly Budly threw his heater for a strike a mere 42% of the time. He missed wide right a staggering amount of times:
This all a part of the learning process for Norris, and the schedule makers certainly didn't help matters. The Phillies are a patient, hard hitting team. At this point, Bud throws two pitches with consistency and mixes in a change up every once in a while. It would have been difficult for him to have success with that repertoire especially when he fails to locate his pitches early in counts. Getting behind in the count against a veteran team who knows that you only have two offerings is a disaster ready to happen.
What really tells me that our offense is putting a little too much effort into their at bats is the season thus far of Carlos Lee. For a guy who struck out at a career low rate last season, Lee has looked over aggressive at many times this season through four games. With Lee and Hunter Pence engaged in a battle to see who can go the longest without putting together a good at bat, this Astros team was bound to come out of the gates slowly. The injuries to our two best middle relievers and sub par starts from Norris, Bretty Myers, Wandy and Roy haven't made things any easier.
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It's so obvious that...
changes need to be made. Changes that SHOULD have been made in the off season. It’s one thing to admit that, and make the needed adjustments….it’s another thing just to sit back and do NOTHING and watch the whole damn season go down the toilet. FO….you’re on the clock.
Jason Lane defeated the Express last night. I went to the Express web site to read the game recap, and the lead said that Jason Lane’s 2d inning home run led the Zephyrs to a 2-0 win over the Express. When I saw that, I had a double take and momentarily wondered if they were showing a nostalgic game recap from the early 2000’s, when Lane was an Astros’ minor leaguer and the Zephyrs were an Astros’ affiliate.
The "0" in the fnal score is chillingly ominous
It symbolizes th Astros’ organizational plight.
I t was interesting seeing Jason Lane’s name – partly that he is still playing professional baseball; partly because he is in the minors. I wonder if he has a realistic chance to return to the majors.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Apr 10, 2010 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions
Bud Norris pitch graphic is a picture of wildness
It’s amazing he did not hit batters every inning.
As to Astros starters having pitched ineffectively, some of that is made worse by Astros not scoring any runs. If Astros had scored 4 or 5 runs in the opener, for example, Roy’s solo 3-run inning in a 6 or 7 innings outing would have been considered dominating.
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Apr 10, 2010 9:47 AM CDT reply actions
I agree that Wandy and Roy didn’t pitch badly. Roy’s ERA is higher than it would be if the offense performed during his stint; he was taken out early for a PHer, but both he and Mills said he would have remained in the game otherwise. Wandy just ran out of gas early, which is pretty normal for the first game. As an example of one of baseball’s best pitchers, in Felix Hernandez’s first start he ran out of gas at 6-2/3 innings and ends up with a 4.05 ERA as a result. (By the way, the Mariners’ record is 1-4 now; are the fangraph boys turning on Jack Z yet?)
Norris’ control has looked bad all spring. So, yes, I was a bit worried about Bud coming into his first start.
With respect to Norris, I assume that this is just part of the normal erratic behavior of a pitcher at his age/experience. However, I sometimes have a concern in the back of my mind that his arm is still affected by overuse last seson. He was forced into shutdown late last season with arm soreness, and we all know the discussion about whether he should have pitched a career high innings last season.
Based on all we read last year
about how overuse in one season hurts performance in the subequent year, I think your concern is justified (even though some experts last year debunked that hypotheses).
P.S – I can’t remember the last time I used the word “hypotheses.”
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Apr 10, 2010 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions
Since I mentioned the Mariners at 1-4 and wondered about the reaction. This from U.S.S. Mariner:
The correlation between the winning percentage after five games last year and the team’s final record is a measly .15 (remember, correlations are between zero, for no relation, and one, for perfect relation). A .15 correlation is basically nothing. I know, this sucks to watch, but it doesn’t mean anything.
Feel free to use that in thinking about the Astros, if you like.
Comforting
Somewhat.
The Crawfishboxes
A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.
by Stephen Higdon on Apr 10, 2010 10:52 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
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| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
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Cincinnati
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26 | 20 | .565 | 0 | Won 1 |
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St. Louis
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25 | 22 | .531 | 1.5 | Lost 3 |
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Houston
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