J.A. Happ Won A Game? Astros Beat Nationals 7-6

by Will Bonn on Jul 19, 2011 10:31 PM CDT in Houston Astros News

We all know that J.A. Happ has really been struggling of late, and you have to go all the way back to May 14th for Happ's last win. He received an unusual amount of support as the offense accounted for six early runs, but Happ tried to give most of it back.

Even though he recorded the win, Happ wasn't very sharp tonight. He allowed five runs and 11 total baserunners through 5.2 innings, and he was frequently leaving his fastball up in the zone. As Michael Morse continues to mash Astros pitching, J.A. continues to get behind early in the count. I don't believe that it's necessarily time to demote Happ, but he's clearly the worst pitcher in the rotation right now.

David Carpenter showed that he's not invincible tonight, allowing a run in the seventh and getting hit hard in the process. I'm surprised that Mills left him out there for the eighth, but then again Mills let Jordan Lyles pitch into the ninth last night. To each his own Brad, your decisions have certainly been puzzling lately.

I thought Jose Altuve might get to pinch-hit for Sanchez in the eighth with Bourn on second, but Brad Mills wasn't feeling it. Altuve watched the later innings from the dugout, and he honestly looked like a little kid in a candy store. Whether you think Altuve was called up prematurely or not, he's going to be a joy to watch everyday. I'm anxious to see how he handles himself on the big stage tomorrow afternoon, and maybe we can even win the series.

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Has hell frozen over since Happ and the Astros got a win tonight?

by StrosSouth on Jul 19, 2011 10:36 PM CDT reply actions

I wanted Altuve to get an AB

Get your Altuve Jersies for just $250

http://www.FireBradMills.com
http://www.FireEdWade.com

by BustaPozee on Jul 19, 2011 11:08 PM CDT reply actions

Busta is also selling a fragrance made from Altuve's sweat. It's called El Hombre.

by StrosSouth on Jul 20, 2011 2:11 AM CDT up reply actions

I still got cases of 'Chacin' cologne left over

Please take one or two..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnWbykpbbiA

http://www.FireBradMills.com
http://www.FireEdWade.com

by BustaPozee on Jul 20, 2011 7:41 AM CDT up reply actions

LOL!!!!

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions

OK, this is the beginning of a 50 game win streak.

by clack on Jul 19, 2011 11:24 PM CDT reply actions 2 recs

Keep dreaming clack. Aint Gonna Happen this year.

by StrosSouth on Jul 20, 2011 2:11 AM CDT up reply actions

So on Astros.com there’s an article about Castro and his rehab. Mills states that he is not going to rush Jason Castro back, so I guess in Brad Mills terms this should be interpreted as they will give him the rest of the week and then activate him.

by conroestro on Jul 19, 2011 11:30 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

Brad Mills doesn't "feel" conventional wisdom

A fairweather response, I guess I can’t blame the guy for being an outside the box thinker.

by SteveBartman_MVP on Jul 20, 2011 1:23 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

Random Thoughts

So the Astros have now shown that they will promote straight from double-a. My question is if Barmes got traded (he has really been hot at the plate lately) do the Astros promote Jonathan Villar. He has struggled at the plate this year, but the Astros reportedly moved Villar to Corpus to keep him paired with Altuve. Do they do that again.

Does this trade signal that Wade is more and more likely to trade both Myers and Wandy this season. Wade is on record as saying they think Sosa could help as early as next year, but could he be more depth for this year along with Harrell in case our starters are moved.

I don’t want to give up on Brett Wallace to soon. He should get all of this year and then maybe the Astros can see what they have in him next year after they give him the first half of the season. After all Michael Bourn struggled pretty heavily in his first full year in the majors but rewarded Wade for sticking with him by being solid after that. With that being said Wallace’s current funk is really depressing.

by conroestro on Jul 20, 2011 1:23 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

Even the thought of Villar in the Majors this year is outragous

first of all he is only 20 and very young for his league anyway. He is a low risk High reward guy at this point and we have plenty of time to let him learn to hit better and fine tune his defense. He should prob be at AA all of next year as well. He has been overmatched in AA and would prob not only have his confidence shot at the ML level but would hit under a .100 considering he is only hitting a lil over .200 at AA. Way too soon. Manzella could be a stop filler that will suck but its better than ruining another prospect.

I think it is hard to compare the wallace situation to the bourn one for a few reasons. And anyone can correct me if im wrong.
1. Bourn was prob mainly brought in for his defense. I dont think anyone who had pure knolage of him was expecting a .300 hitter that was gonna walk a ton but we knew 2 things for sure. He could cover our huge CF and with that speed to cover the feild he would swip bases like crazy if he could get on.
2. Wallace is a 1B. Its a known fact that that is considered your power and or run producing pos. He has limited power so far and he hasnt produced many runs (could be because of line up spots or this horrible team or just that he cant hit when it counts.)

Reasons to give up on him. Well the discription of this year and what he should be doing considering how he has never showed true slow adjustments to any level in the minors shows that maybe he cant take that final step. Another reason is we could get a better overall hitter out of Lee while putting a better Defender and maybe even hitter in LF. Lee has a better avg and has better power despite his numbers this year.

I know i was excited last year when we got him but i stand by my stance now and think we should not have gotten him. Lee could have been at first for 2 years and we could have grown someone else to play it by then ( Hinze is looking good as of now who knows when the time comes) or we could have done a trade this year or next year to have someone to step in after he gone.

Sorry for the long post just had alot to say and just kinda kept typing

Firesale! Everyone must go!

by astrosfan1989 on Jul 20, 2011 3:02 AM CDT up reply actions

I seriously doubt Villar gets promoted as well, I’m mainly just throwing the thought out there since I also thought there was no way Altuve would be called up right now with Matt Downs on the roster but……. also even though the thought is outrageous the guys (David, Timmy, Native, and Subber) talked about that scenario in there latest podcast as well.

I really wasn’t comparing Wallace to Bourn as similar players, but was basically just trying to make the point that it may take a full year before a player can fully adjust, and I thought Bourn was a good example of that.

by conroestro on Jul 20, 2011 7:21 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

yea i understand. I have just been frustrated with that issue so i just kinda went on a rant lol

Firesale! Everyone must go!

by astrosfan1989 on Jul 20, 2011 8:36 AM CDT up reply actions

agreed Villar seems at least 2 years away, he is still ONLY 20!

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 10:34 AM CDT up reply actions

I wouldn't be surprised to see Hinze called up later in the season, expecially if he starts crushing AA

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions

yea but i still think he might truly force Wallace out next year if he is truly hitting

Firesale! Everyone must go!

by astrosfan1989 on Jul 20, 2011 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions

Speaking of how Wade said he’s promoting players aggressively. It wouldn’t be unlikely to see Hinze in the starting lineup opening day for the Astros. That gives us a big power bat in the lineup. But I doubt Wade is still here much longer if Crane decides to clean house.

http://www.FireBradMills.com
http://www.FireEdWade.com

by BustaPozee on Jul 20, 2011 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions

Im getting my Altuve jersey in XXS

That way it looks authentic!

by Its Gonna Happen on Jul 20, 2011 1:39 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

you could also get an XXXL so you can look like altuve wearing a medium

by strophi on Jul 20, 2011 6:59 AM CDT up reply actions

It will be easy to spot you at the Games then, since your the Grown Man wearing childs clothing

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions

Could we Possibly get, Yonder alonso in trade envolving wandy since he is blocked, in his other 2 positions?

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 10:43 AM CDT reply actions

i was thinking this yesterday. I looked at his numbers and his HR numbers havnt been high this year

so i wonder if that means he might be the same thing we have in Wallace. Guess i would need more of a scouting report to figure that out

Firesale! Everyone must go!

by astrosfan1989 on Jul 20, 2011 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions

really I thought I was going to get Chastized for that comment, But I think It wouldn't be a bad trade fo0r either team

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions

Not Bad Numbers.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2011/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_players

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Not Bad Numbers.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2011/index.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_players

When you ask Carlos Lee what his favorite place to play is, and he anwsers with the words, anywhere with a Buffet. You know theirs a real problem.

by orangeblood kid on Jul 20, 2011 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Ok so I was pondering the box score this morning, and saw this...

Rodriguez, Fe – 2.49
Carpenter, D – 1.59
Escalona – 2.45
Lopez, W – 2.91
Melancon – 2.98

5 Astros relievers currently sport ERAs under 3.00, and I can’t help but think the individual parts are there for the Astros to be slightly above average in the bullpen. This leads me to the assumption that Brad Mills is just plain terrible at using his bullpen, because the Astros pen as a whole is the worst in baseball.

by Neil Leininger on Jul 20, 2011 11:02 AM CDT reply actions

Nah...

It’s just that for every David carpenter out there, we also have a Jeff Fulchino or someone of his ilk.

by Patrick Harrel on Jul 20, 2011 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions

Some of them have limited time

Also the majority of them have been called up after a chunk of the season. Rodriuez got his first carrier win the same night Lyles made his debut and hadnt been around long. Carp will prob be a 2.00 era guy once he settles in but he just got there. Melancon i think just gets bad luck sometime overall i think he is a good pitcher. We all kno what we have in lopez cause he did this last year too. Escalona is pretty much just a lefty guy so he doesnt affect the overall poor preformance because he is normally there for one batter

Firesale! Everyone must go!

by astrosfan1989 on Jul 20, 2011 11:46 AM CDT up reply actions

ERA is one of the poorer stats for evaluating relief pitchers. It fails to account for leverage and allowing inherited baserunners to score. For example, Lopez’s fine ERA is accompanied by 11 meltdowns, which is the 2d most in the majors. Some guys who are no longer on the active roster, but who had a lot of meltdowns in limited action: Abad (7), Fulchino (6), Lyon (6).

That said, I have been saying for some time that the bullpen was due for some positive regression, given the fact that the Astros’ FIP and x-FIP rankings have been better than the ERA ranking almost all year. The Astros’ bullpen has the 4th worst ERA in the majors, and the 5th worst FIP. More significantly, the Astros’ bullpen has the 8th best x-FIP, which is based on normalized HR/flyball rates. That large a difference between the bullpen’s x-FIP and ERA confirms to me that the bullpen has been somewhat unlucky. Regression to mean improvement, in addition to removing problem pitchers like Abad, should lead to better results for the bullpen, which appears to be happening.

by clack on Jul 20, 2011 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Do you think that our ERA will probably remain higher than our FIP? Our D is so bad.

by MadMartygan on Jul 20, 2011 5:24 PM CDT up reply actions

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