History Is Made As Astros Fall to Doc Halladay
by David Coleman on Sep 14, 2011 3:25 PM CDT
in Houston Astros News
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PrintThat was impressive.
I know Roy Halladay is good, but that was old-school domination. You just don't see pitching performances like that any more. I'd go as far to say that there aren't many Houston offenses that could have had more success against Halladay on this day.
His performance masked the fact that Houston lost its 98th game, setting the franchise record for losses in a season. 13 games left, Astros. Let's not lose them all.
As good as Doc was, the Houston pitching staff shut down the Phillies offense pretty effectively for the third straight day. This time, it was Bud Norris throwing seven innings of four hit, one run ball while striking out three in seven innings. That dropped his ERA to 3.68 for the season and moved 27 strikeouts away from 200 for the season. Wesley Wright and Wilton Lopez each chipped in solid relief work as each struck out two.
But, Houston just couldn't dent the presumed Cy Young winner in this one. Surprisingly, it was the rookies who did the best against Halladay, as Jimmy Paredes went 2 for 4 and both Jose Altuve and J.D. Martinez went 1 for 3 with Martinez picking up a walk as well.
That was the only walk Halladay allowed all day, which is not exactly surprising, giving Houston's lineup, but underscores just how good he was.
Have I sufficiently expressed how impressed I was with Halladay? I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. Let's hope Houston can continue to pitch well in Chicago this weekend.
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Where was Wyatt Earp when the Astros needed him?
Astros fan for life
by Joe in Birmingham on Sep 14, 2011 5:19 PM CDT reply actions
Thounght it was more like Johnny Tyler but without the shotgun.
"This is a simple game, you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the the ball, you got it?!"
I think there's too much bunting
I know its not a popular thing around here either, but I wonder if with bases loaded and no outs whether it would have been something that could scratch a run and maybe more if its misplayed. Buffalo was at 3rd so I suppose that is an argument against it.
Regarding rookies doing well, I have a pet theory that as players spend more time in the big leagues they use scouting reports and video more and begin to anticipate pitches, while new players are still more in the ‘see it, hit it’ mode. I’m always surprised when someone is surprised by a pitcher like Carpenter throwing a curveball. Young players see it arcing in, know what it is, and hit it. Like my other pet theories it could be totally wrong though.
"Prince Fielder is too fat even for the Oakland A’s" - Billy Beane
Maybe Halladay doesn’t have info on the rookies, and therefore doesn’t know there weaknesses.
by conroestro on Sep 14, 2011 8:21 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Phillies have clenched a world series berth; Astros need 6 more losses to officially clench worst record in the majors.
The bad or good news:
The Astros will officially clench the worst record in the National League with 2 more losses.
The Astros need at least 6 more losses to claim the #1st round draft choice next year.
The Astros have set a franchise record in losses today.
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Phillies have clenched a post season berth*
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Bud Norris
Even though the strikeouts were down that was a great start by Bud tonight. His innings total is now at 183 I believe, which is more than he’s ever pitched before. Do you think the Astros should shut him down now as a precautionary measure and let him end the season on a high note, or just let him finish out the season since its almost over anyways?
by conroestro on Sep 14, 2011 8:26 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
I think it depends on how he feels, whether he has been showing effects of soreness, etc. If he showing effects of fatigue, I would shut him down. However, he is at an age where I think he should be able to finish out the year if everything is OK physically. This is one of the questions which the pitching coach and manager should know enough to make a decision. I just don’t know if Brocail has the coaching experience to trust his judgement.
by clack on Sep 14, 2011 8:33 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'd let him finish out the season.
Bud is smart enough to know how much he has left in the tank; if he feels up to it, there’s no reason the Astros shouldn’t let him make the 2 or 3 starts he has left.
Also
I really like what Henry Sosa has done this tear in the starts he’s been given, but I would almost rather see Lucas Harrell get the rest of his starts to get a longer look from Harrell. With Harrel’s multipitch repertoire he just seems to profile more as a better starter than Sosa since Sosa relies so heavy on his fastball slider combo. I think from the little chances that Harrell’s been given that he has proved he deserves to be a starter in the majors. He has good stuff and I know I’m probably in the minority here but I think he has a chance to be a third or fourth starter instead of just emergency depth. Sosa has the upside to, and he doesn’t deserve to lose his spot, but going info next year it doesn’t look like the Astros are going to have room for both of these guys in there rotation, maybe neither. One of them is going to be depth.
by conroestro on Sep 14, 2011 8:33 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
The 1-0 score was never mentioned in the article...
David probably correctly assumes we all know the score. But I think that’s a damned impressive effort by the Astros, going up against Halliday and ending up with a 1-0 score. The Astros gave Halliday no room for error.
by clack on Sep 14, 2011 8:36 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
A small silver lining in this black cloud of a season:
according to Pythagorean W-L, we are better than the Twins and the Orioles and aren’t much worse than the Pirates. Obviously that doesn’t mean too much, but I’ll take anything I can get at this point.
Currently loving: Jordan Schafer, Trayvon Robinson, Mark Appel, Nick Williams, and the Green Chile Double at Whataburger
To be fair
That includes the substantial contributions Pence and Bourn provided earlier in the season, and Wandy may too be traded depending on how the offseason goes. But yes, we’ve gotten somewhat unlucky this year compared to previous seasons where we exceeded our pythagorean win/loss expectation.
We’re also very close to clinching the number one overall pick, by the way. At a glance it looks like our “magic number” for that is probably somewhere around 5?
http://www.crawfishboxes.com
6 would be the magic number.
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Rotation revival
considering how good the rotation was in the 2nd half of 2010 and then stunk out this year, considering the rotation as a unit is doing well, does this foreshadow a rebound in 2012?
JA Happ can’t be worse next year than he was this year and perhaps Brett Myers does some work in the winter to sort out his arm issues. Or is this the sort of faulty logic that got us in this mess in the first place. If the latter is true over the former, how do we get better next season without canning Happ and Myers, and are we even in a position to do this.
I see Norris as continually improving over time. He could shave another 1/3 1/2 a run off his ERA next season.
Happ’s and Myers’ season stats both reflect under performance. So, it’s reasonable to believe that both will be better next year than they were this year. But I think it would be incorrect to expect Myers to be the No. 1 pitcher (which is how the Astros regarded him after 2010) or Happ as more than a No. 4 or 5 pitcher.
The Astros’ rotation has a lot of pitchers who project as No. 4 or 5 starters. That is both good and bad. It provides depth. But, particularly if Wandy is traded, the rotation doesn’t have enough top level talent. A key question is Lyles’ development. He is still young, but I haven’t seen anything that makes me believe he will be top of the rotation pitcher.
by clack on Sep 15, 2011 5:59 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree that Lyles did not show any signs that he can be a future ace, but he could be a number three guy or so next year. In almost 100 major league innings Lyles has an ERA of 5.24, but his FIP is 4.49, and XFIP is 4.09. He’s been a little unlucky with his homerun rate and left on base percentage. Next year I would think that he improves on alot of levels. I’m sure he would be able to raise his groundball percentage that currently sits at 40% given his strong groundball tendencies in the minors. It may be a little while for his strikeout rate to improve because he didn’t post a great strikeout rate in OKC this year either. However if his groundball rate improves and other stats normalize then I think Lyles will put up respectable numbers for his age 21 season, but like you said he definitely wont be staff ace (yet, hopefully)
by conroestro on Sep 15, 2011 9:50 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
AstroB, your comment led me to write an article on the subject of Myers’ and Happ’s recent improvement (scheduled for Friday).
by clack on Sep 15, 2011 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good deal. I would be interested in that. One thing that I wonder about Myers is if a Lucas Harrell couldn’t be as successful as Myers is in the rotation if given a shot.
by conroestro on Sep 15, 2011 1:24 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
astros...
geez… we just outscored phillies in 3 games 10-4…our pitching looks very good for next yr. our guys are doing the job. myers? well, he is a warhorse…he is what he is…and he is quite good… goes deep into games….never backs down… attack attack attack…good group of pitches….keeps hitters off balance… norris…very good… happ is looking good..when he is on, watch out….. wandy is one of best lefthanders in beisbol…and astros have a bunch of proven wannabes… bullpen looks good..i still think we do not have a closer…i think melancon is good, but rather see him in 6 7 or 8th inning…mike h
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Current Series
3 game series vs Dodgers @ Dodger Stadium
| Fri 05/25 |
WP: Lucas Harrell (4 - 3)
SV: Brett Myers LP: Clayton Kershaw (4 - 2) |
3 - 1 win |
| Sat 05/26 |
WP: Kenley Jansen (4 - 0)
LP: Wesley Wright (0 - 1) |
3 - 6 loss |
|
Houston Astros
Sunday, May 27, 2012, 3:10 PM CDT Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75. |
||
NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati
|
26 | 20 | .565 | 0 | Won 1 |
|
St. Louis
|
25 | 22 | .531 | 1.5 | Lost 3 |
|
Houston
|
22 | 24 | .478 | 4 | Lost 1 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
22 | 24 | .478 | 4 | Won 2 |
|
Milwaukee
|
19 | 27 | .413 | 7 | Lost 1 |
|
Chicago
|
15 | 31 | .326 | 11 | Lost 11 |
(updated 5.27.2012 at 1:03 AM CDT)
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