Saturday Liftoff Links

by Timothy De Block on Apr 9, 2011 5:00 AM CDT in Link Dumps

While the Astros were getting there first win, I was collecting links to drive it out of the park.

Around Baseball

Joe Blogs: A Celebration of Day 2
Are you feeling a bit down on the Astros now that they've gotten off to their typical bad start or is there still some hope? JoePo recalls a message of hope from Buck O'Neil.

Nishioka & Swisher: The Incident, The Result, The Outcome - Beyond the Box Score
In case you missed it Nick Swisher went hard into second in an attempt to break up the double play. Mission accomplished, but he also broke Tsuyoshi Nishioka leg in the process. While the slide was technically legal, there's question on whether it was a dirty play or not.

Royals' Tim Collins Beats Odds To Make Majors - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
An old link, but worth mentioning. Standing at 5'7" Collins looks to be the smallest player in the Major Leagues. At least until Jose Altuve makes his debut.

Minor Leagues

RedHawks open Astros era with win at Memphis | NewsOK.com
The RedHawks unlike the Astros opened the season with a win. However Jordan Lyles was hit around a bit allowing seven hits, two walks, and three runs in four innings. This will strength the case, that Lyles still needs some work in the Minors before making his big league debut.

Hooks strand hopes for season-opening victory " Corpus Christi Caller-Times
The Hooks on the other hand did there best Astro impression and lost. They were 1-11 with runners in scoring position.

Astros County: Catching up with Brandon Barnes
Brandon Barnes, talks about his offseason and what his mindset is this season.

Player Profiles

Career Profile: Mike Hampton - Minor League Ball
John Sickels does a review of Mike Hamptons career.

Houston Astros' Brett Myers is a new man and a new pitcher - Joe Lemire - SI.com
A profile on Myers and the effect he's had on the team.

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I had previously read the SI profile of Myers, and it’s worth a read for Astros’ fans.

I like Sickles’ retrospectives, because it gives you perspective on current prospects too. And you can similarities between Hampton and Jordan Lyles. Hampton had success against advanced competition at ages 19 – 21, never had tremendous K rates, and didn’t have great velocity. Both fine athletes. (Of course, they aren’t physically similar pitchers since Hampton is a LHP and Lyles is taller.)

by clack on Apr 9, 2011 7:30 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Another link for Astros' fans....

This Richard Justice article on J.R. Towles is interesting. If Towles makes a comeback this year, the story about Towles looking through his photo album could become one of those nice narrative tales.

by clack on Apr 9, 2011 8:22 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

while I’m linking Towles articles, here is an interesting piece from stephen goff. Towles has tremendous respect for Mills and Clark, but implies that Cecil Cooper screwed up his swing.

the ex-skipper continually altered the youngster’s natural swing by instructing him to pull his hands further back while holding the bat. This affected Towles’ performance in a negative way at the plate, but then Clark would bring his swing back to normal in the minors, only for Cooper to change it back to an unnatural way — something the young catcher battled for close to two seasons.

by clack on Apr 9, 2011 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Coop screwed things up more than we knew!

by Subber10 on Apr 9, 2011 2:18 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

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Current Series

Astros lead the series 1-0

Fri 05/25	WP: Lucas Harrell (4 - 3) SV: Brett Myers LP: Clayton Kershaw (4 - 2)	3 - 1 win
Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes @ Los Angeles Dodgers True Blue LA Saturday, May 26, 2012, 9:10 PM CDT Dodger Stadium Bud Norris vs Chad Billingsley Mostly clear. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage >
Sun 05/27		3:10 PM CDT

NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Cincinnati Red Reporter	25	20	.555	0	Lost 1
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	25	21	.543	0.5	Lost 2
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	22	23	.488	3	Won 4
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	21	24	.466	4	Won 1
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	19	26	.422	6	Won 2
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	15	30	.333	10	Lost 10