 |
| Willy Taveras |
|
| Top 5 Astros | Bottom 4 Astros | Top 3 Royals | |||
| Score | Score | Score | |||
| Oswalt | 0.477 | Lane | -0.024 | DeJesus | 0.052 |
| Taveras | 0.169 | Berkman | -0.052 | Carrasco | 0.039 |
| Biggio | 0.082 | Ensberg | -0.082 | Brown | 0.024 |
| Everett | 0.050 | Ausmus | -0.143 | ||
| Lamb | 0.050 | ||||
As you can see the freaking program likes Oswalt better than Taveras as game hero, but we believe in the human element here at the Crawfish Boxes, and are going with my gut feeling, that a guy who scores three runs and reaches five times is the MVP of any game won by four runs that is not a no-hitter.
This game must have been fun to watch, but it sure looks like we let DJ Carrasco off the hook time and time again. Well, I say "we," but what I mean is "Ausmus." Brad Ausmus let DJ Carrasco off the hook time and time again.
Next time Brad comes up with a man on first, I think it'd be a good idea if Jose Cruz could signal Brad to put on a play. We'll call it "the Ausmus play," and what the Ausmus play would entail exactly is that our first string catcher is under any and all circumstances not to swing.
He might strike out looking, but he won't hit into any double plays. . . and any incipient, struggling to grow, middle-to-bottom of the order rallies won't have their poor little baby heads smashed in by Ausmus' career-long incapacity to stay out of the twin killing.
Anyway, quite aside from this Ausmus-inspired rage, it certainly is interesting that Houston won a game in which their two hottest hitters of late, Ensberg and Lane, were such absolute non-factors.
With that theme of offensive diversity in mind, perhaps Raul Chavez can inject some life into the catcher's spot tomorrow.
Yes, it's true. Chavez will be rejoining the Astros after Houston placed Humberto Quintero on the DL Saturday with appendicitis. I guess we're pretty glad Chamo cleared waivers, huh?
Bolstered by Chavez or not, Brandon Backe will attempt to nail down the road sweep tomorrow.
Can you imagine?