H Town Fanatic
04-30-2004, 03:12 AM
Notes: Stone sent to the farm
Roster move makes room for healthy Pettitte
By Chris Adamski / Special to MLB.com
Ricky Stone (right) has struggled in 2004, amassing a 10.80 ERA in five appearances. (Brian Kersey/AP)
PITTSBURGH -- With the widely anticipated return of starter Andy Pettitte on Thursday, members of the Astros' pitching staff knew a roster spot would have to be freed up to allow their star left-hander to return.
As the day approached, Ricky Stone feared it might end up being him. The third-year right-hander ended up being right. Stone was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans after Wednesday night's game in Pittsburgh.
"I kinda figured there was a real good chance it was me," Stone said. "Everybody in the 'pen has been throwing well and I haven't been throwing the ball that well. I'm just going to go down with a positive attitude and start pitching and get some confidence back and go from there."
Stone had been one of the more reliable members of Houston's bullpen the past two seasons. He appeared in 149 games since making his Major League debut on Sept. 20, 2001, compiling a 9-7 record with two saves and a 3.59 ERA in that time.
But Stone was not off to a good start in 2004. Appearing in only five of the Astros' first 20 games, the 29 year-old was 1-0 with a 10.80 ERA, allowing eight runs on 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. Opponents were batting .364 against him.
"When I've had the opportunity to pitch, I haven't done my job," Stone said. "My job is to keep the ball on the ground and get outs, and I haven't been doing that."
Astros manager Jimy Williams appeared to lose confidence in Stone in recent weeks. He hadn't appeared in a game since allowing four runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings of work in a 12-6 loss to St. Louis on April 21. With six other right-handers in a Houston bullpen that has been among the best in baseball the past few seasons, competition for innings is stiff.
"Stoney really hasn't pitched a lot here of late, so it might do him a lot of good just to go get in some games," Williams said, "I guess maybe we feel right now we have other guys to handle short relief, but he certainly has been a big part of our pitching core here the last two years. We certainly haven't eliminated him at all. I think he will be back up here because he has the capabilities, the pitches, everything else."
Though disappointed, Stone said he took it well when Williams informed him of the team's decision. He flew back to Houston to pick up his family Thursday and was expected to join the Zephyrs in New Orleans for their series with Nashville over the weekend.
"(Williams) just told me to go down there, get some work in, start pitching," Stone said. "Things happen, and you go from there. You never know what's going to happen. Some of the guys who started out in Triple-A (this season) ended up back in big leagues."
The bullpen has seen its share of changes already. Stone was referring to righthander Brandon Backe and lefthander Mike Gallo, the last cuts of Spring Training on April 3. They were both back with the big club within 10 days -- Backe on April 10, when Pettitte went on the disabled list, and Gallo on April 13, when Jared Fernandez was optioned to New Orleans.
"It's just a situation where we've got our starter coming off that DL (Thursday)," Williams said. "There's a couple other relievers that started down there at the start of the season, and they came back. It wouldn't surprise me if he's back real soon."
Roster move makes room for healthy Pettitte
By Chris Adamski / Special to MLB.com
Ricky Stone (right) has struggled in 2004, amassing a 10.80 ERA in five appearances. (Brian Kersey/AP)
PITTSBURGH -- With the widely anticipated return of starter Andy Pettitte on Thursday, members of the Astros' pitching staff knew a roster spot would have to be freed up to allow their star left-hander to return.
As the day approached, Ricky Stone feared it might end up being him. The third-year right-hander ended up being right. Stone was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans after Wednesday night's game in Pittsburgh.
"I kinda figured there was a real good chance it was me," Stone said. "Everybody in the 'pen has been throwing well and I haven't been throwing the ball that well. I'm just going to go down with a positive attitude and start pitching and get some confidence back and go from there."
Stone had been one of the more reliable members of Houston's bullpen the past two seasons. He appeared in 149 games since making his Major League debut on Sept. 20, 2001, compiling a 9-7 record with two saves and a 3.59 ERA in that time.
But Stone was not off to a good start in 2004. Appearing in only five of the Astros' first 20 games, the 29 year-old was 1-0 with a 10.80 ERA, allowing eight runs on 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. Opponents were batting .364 against him.
"When I've had the opportunity to pitch, I haven't done my job," Stone said. "My job is to keep the ball on the ground and get outs, and I haven't been doing that."
Astros manager Jimy Williams appeared to lose confidence in Stone in recent weeks. He hadn't appeared in a game since allowing four runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings of work in a 12-6 loss to St. Louis on April 21. With six other right-handers in a Houston bullpen that has been among the best in baseball the past few seasons, competition for innings is stiff.
"Stoney really hasn't pitched a lot here of late, so it might do him a lot of good just to go get in some games," Williams said, "I guess maybe we feel right now we have other guys to handle short relief, but he certainly has been a big part of our pitching core here the last two years. We certainly haven't eliminated him at all. I think he will be back up here because he has the capabilities, the pitches, everything else."
Though disappointed, Stone said he took it well when Williams informed him of the team's decision. He flew back to Houston to pick up his family Thursday and was expected to join the Zephyrs in New Orleans for their series with Nashville over the weekend.
"(Williams) just told me to go down there, get some work in, start pitching," Stone said. "Things happen, and you go from there. You never know what's going to happen. Some of the guys who started out in Triple-A (this season) ended up back in big leagues."
The bullpen has seen its share of changes already. Stone was referring to righthander Brandon Backe and lefthander Mike Gallo, the last cuts of Spring Training on April 3. They were both back with the big club within 10 days -- Backe on April 10, when Pettitte went on the disabled list, and Gallo on April 13, when Jared Fernandez was optioned to New Orleans.
"It's just a situation where we've got our starter coming off that DL (Thursday)," Williams said. "There's a couple other relievers that started down there at the start of the season, and they came back. It wouldn't surprise me if he's back real soon."