Mike Hamtpon has a tear in his rotator cuff. The guy is resilient to say nothing else, as he has
...opted for rehab instead of surgery with hopes of returning this season.
A signficant tear to me means that he can rehab all he wants, but with a little over five weeks remaining on the season, it'd be difficult to imagine Hampton returning. Danyah, if you have any insight into the injury, we'd be happy to hear it! DQ pegged Hampy at 110 IP in 2009. Right on the head, good sir. It looks like Felipe Paulino/Yorman Bazardo are going to get their shot, albeit on less than desireable terms. So it goes with veteran pitchers with a history of injury...
Good 'ol Dickie J plays the blame game in his recent blog post. After writing some rosy posts the past few weeks, Richard spares no punches in casting his net of blame across all of Astro-Land. Can't say I blame him, but his bi-polar attitude towards the team continues to puzzle me to no end.
Baseball America gives a pretty evenhanded synopsis of the Ivan Rodriguez trade. Their quick take on the deal from the Astros' perpsective:
As Houston fell 10 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central, the Rodriguez deal indicated that the Astros might be looking toward next season. Without Rodriguez, Chris Coste and Humberto Quintero will split time behind the dish. For giving up Rodriguez, Houston received at least two mid-level prospects and helped pave the way for catcher Jason Castro, the team's 2008 first-round pick.
Their take on Matt Nevarez:
With 90-95 mph velocity and a hard slider, Nevarez's game is geared toward power. His physicality helps his stuff play up in the bullpen, and he could move quickly in that role if he tightens his control. Nevarez had walked 15 batters—or 3.9 per nine innings—this season in the Rangers system.
FanGraphs, as well sees this as a positive move for a beleaguered Astros' club:
Neither player is going to turn around the Astros, but credit Ed Wade for getting something out of nothing.
Our last bit of quoteage comes from none other than Jeff Francouer, who described a four base hit thusly:
That was a lot of fun, Jeff Francoeur said. You just keep pounding balls into the gap. The one thing you don't want to do is hit a home run. That's a rally-killer.
Hat tip to Driveline Mechanics for that one. The former writers at FJM are smiling somewhere.
***DQ Insert***
Here's a link (click link to listen) to the ESPN 97.5 The Ticket interview I fielded yesterday. Remember that we do these every Sunday morning at 9:45 AM (CDT).