Astro Annie
08-10-2004, 02:28 PM
I did this preview for another Mets board I participate in and I thought I'd share it here, too.
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A Season Like No Other
With the signing of Andy Pettitte in December and Roger Clemens in January, the Astros seemed full of promise. And for the first month and a half of the season, they seemd to be delivering on that promise. October glory seemed to be an entitlement and the only question was how deep the Astros would get into the post-season.
Then, the Astros met the Mets. Until the Astros lost the series to the Mets, the Astros had never lost consecutive series. And the key, the straw that broke the Astros back, was a two-run homer by Mike Piazza off Octavio Dotel in the last game of the series that cost Roger Clemens the win. Until that time, Clemens had won every start and had built up a record of 7-0. It would be three more starts before Clemens would record his 8th win. The Astros, who had been 21-11 on May 11th, began a downward spiral that would ultimately find them at 44-44 at the All Star break.
There are two main reasons why the Astros started their slide and they are, universally, the reasons why any team does poorly. Put simply, the Astros have a lack of pitching and a lack of hitting. The lack of pitching is due primarily to starter Andy Pettitte's two stints on the DL with elbow and arm problems and sub-par pitching by their would-be #5 starter, Tim Redding, who has since been moved to the bullpen where he is somewhat more effective. Matters were only made worse when their #4 starter, Wade Miller went down on June 29th with what turned out to be a frayed rotator cuff. To address the lack of depth in the rotation, the Astros have been forced to use Pete Munro, signed as a free agent in June, and Darren Oliver, acquired from the Marlins in July for a PTBNL. Also, makinig brief appearances as starters were Brandon Duckworth and Jeremy Griffiths.
It's less clear why the offense is struggling. As an attempt to spark the hitting, Richard Hidalgo, who hadn't hit a home run since April 13, was traded to the Mets and Carlos Beltran was brought in from the Royals in a three-way trade that sent Dotel to the A's. Jimy Williams tinkered with the lineup a number of times as well.
But nothing seemed to help. At the break, the Astros changed managers, firing Jimy Williams and bringing Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner onboard. At the same time, pitching coach Burt Hooton was replaced by Jim Hickey and hitting coach Harry Spilman by Gary Gaetti. The club has been hovering around .500 since, but they've been playing a livlier game of baseball. The most notable change is that the Astros are running more. Also, recently, Garner has changed the lineup around. Instead of emphasizing speed at the top of the order, he's now putting his high OBP guys up there. Thusfar, the Astros are 1-2--and that against the Expos at home--with the new lineup, so it doesn't appear to be helping.
Recently, too, the bullpen has begun to struggle. Even mainstay pitchers like Dan miceli have become unreliable. Pretty much the only bullpen pitchers that the Astros can count on right now are Chad Harville and closer Brad Lidge. Lefty Mike Gallo has a tougher time getting lefties out than righties, with a BAA of .317 vs. lefties and only .274 vs. righties, which is not good for a lefty specialist.
In 1969, although the Mets went all the way, the Astros creamed them in the season series. So, when owner Joan Payson was asked what the Mets could do for an encore after winning the World Series, she replied, "Beat Houston!" And in 1986, the Mets met that challenge when it counted. It doesn't look like the Mets will have any trouble meeting the challenge again in this series.
Hurling on the Mound
Munro (2-3,4.10) - Trachsel (9-8,3.68) This will make for an interesting game. Munro likes to work quickly and Trachsel can be clocked with a calendar. Munro lost to the Braves in his last appearance, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits in 4.1 IP. Trax got a big fat ND in the Mets 6-5 win over Milwaukee his last time out when he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 5.1 IP. On the road, Munro is 0-1 with a 5.16 ERA and at home, Trax is 7-3 with a 2.27. I think Trax has this one.
Oswalt (12-8,3.59) - Glavine (8-10,2.92) Roy Oswalt pitched a complete game shutout for the second time this year in his last start. In his last three appearances, he's 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. OTOH, Glavine is 1-4 at home with a 2.34 ERA and in his last three appearances, he's 1-2 with a 5.40. This one doesn't look as favorable, but if the Mets can put a couple of runs up on the board, that's all they'll need against the Astros anemic offense.
Pettitte (6-4,4.07) - Zambrano (1-0,6.75) Pettitte is 2-0 vs. the Mets. This will be his second time pitching at Shea. This will be Zambrano's first start at Shea. Pettitte is pitching with a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. Doctors say it won't get better or worse from pitching, so he's pitching to pain. In his last start, Pettitte went 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. Zambrano's first start for the Mets was in Milwaukee where he allowed 6 runs, 4 earned on 8 hits in 5.1 innings. This looks good, too, because it'll probably go to the Astros bullpen.
When You're Hot, You're Not
You're not an Astro anyway. Too many aren't hot for me to list the suspects here.
Sideliners
Adam Everett - 15 day DL - broken wrist August 6 - out 4-6 weeks
Wade Miller - 15 day DL - frayed rotator cuff June 29 - may return in September
Darren Oliver - day-to-day - shoulder tightness
Andy Pettitte - torn flexor tendon - pitching through it
The Ex-Men
Former Mets now with the Astros are Jeff Kent at 2B, David Weathers in the bullpen and Jose Vizcaino, filling in at short for the injured Adam Everett. The lone former Astro with the Mets is Richard Hidalgo in RF. I think the Mets have the better ex-man right now.
Et Ceterata
The most interesting thing to happen in Astroland recently was Roger Clemens getting ejected from his son's ballgame and then apologized to. But that's old news.
The Astros radio broadcasts are done by Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton and former Astros catcher Alan Ashby. During the broadcasts, they often do promotions for various groups or causes. One of them is the cookbook put together by the Astros' wives. The cookbook is entitled "From Home Plate to Your Plate" and all proceeds benefit the Uterine Cancer program at Houston's M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. You can purchase it at https://secure.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/hou/community/cookbook.jsp. Often, during the broadcasts, one of the wives would bring a sample to the broadcast booth and Milo and Ash would comment how wonderful it tasted.
I've tried several of the recipes in the book. Everything I've tried has been good. Including this recipe from Jose Vizcaino.
Jose Vizcaino's Black Beans and Rice
We make this meal once a week as it reminds Jose of his childhood in the Dominican Republic. My kids call it "rice with baseballs".
Ingredients
1 lb. black beans, soaked
8 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, cut large for removal if preferred
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups uncooked short-grain rice
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
In a bean pot, simmer beans in water until cooked, not overly tender. Turn off heat. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and saute inions, garlic and bell pepper. Simmer until they begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and simmer together for 2 minutes. Add these to the bean pot. Add 2 cups fresh water to the bean pot and bring to a simmer. Add the uncooked rice to the bean pot and season the beans with salt, black pepper, cayenne. Brink back to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes, until the rice is done. Add additional water if necessary. Take off top and allow any additional water to reduce. Serve the black beans and rice garnished with parsley and green onions.
Serves 6
----
A Season Like No Other
With the signing of Andy Pettitte in December and Roger Clemens in January, the Astros seemed full of promise. And for the first month and a half of the season, they seemd to be delivering on that promise. October glory seemed to be an entitlement and the only question was how deep the Astros would get into the post-season.
Then, the Astros met the Mets. Until the Astros lost the series to the Mets, the Astros had never lost consecutive series. And the key, the straw that broke the Astros back, was a two-run homer by Mike Piazza off Octavio Dotel in the last game of the series that cost Roger Clemens the win. Until that time, Clemens had won every start and had built up a record of 7-0. It would be three more starts before Clemens would record his 8th win. The Astros, who had been 21-11 on May 11th, began a downward spiral that would ultimately find them at 44-44 at the All Star break.
There are two main reasons why the Astros started their slide and they are, universally, the reasons why any team does poorly. Put simply, the Astros have a lack of pitching and a lack of hitting. The lack of pitching is due primarily to starter Andy Pettitte's two stints on the DL with elbow and arm problems and sub-par pitching by their would-be #5 starter, Tim Redding, who has since been moved to the bullpen where he is somewhat more effective. Matters were only made worse when their #4 starter, Wade Miller went down on June 29th with what turned out to be a frayed rotator cuff. To address the lack of depth in the rotation, the Astros have been forced to use Pete Munro, signed as a free agent in June, and Darren Oliver, acquired from the Marlins in July for a PTBNL. Also, makinig brief appearances as starters were Brandon Duckworth and Jeremy Griffiths.
It's less clear why the offense is struggling. As an attempt to spark the hitting, Richard Hidalgo, who hadn't hit a home run since April 13, was traded to the Mets and Carlos Beltran was brought in from the Royals in a three-way trade that sent Dotel to the A's. Jimy Williams tinkered with the lineup a number of times as well.
But nothing seemed to help. At the break, the Astros changed managers, firing Jimy Williams and bringing Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner onboard. At the same time, pitching coach Burt Hooton was replaced by Jim Hickey and hitting coach Harry Spilman by Gary Gaetti. The club has been hovering around .500 since, but they've been playing a livlier game of baseball. The most notable change is that the Astros are running more. Also, recently, Garner has changed the lineup around. Instead of emphasizing speed at the top of the order, he's now putting his high OBP guys up there. Thusfar, the Astros are 1-2--and that against the Expos at home--with the new lineup, so it doesn't appear to be helping.
Recently, too, the bullpen has begun to struggle. Even mainstay pitchers like Dan miceli have become unreliable. Pretty much the only bullpen pitchers that the Astros can count on right now are Chad Harville and closer Brad Lidge. Lefty Mike Gallo has a tougher time getting lefties out than righties, with a BAA of .317 vs. lefties and only .274 vs. righties, which is not good for a lefty specialist.
In 1969, although the Mets went all the way, the Astros creamed them in the season series. So, when owner Joan Payson was asked what the Mets could do for an encore after winning the World Series, she replied, "Beat Houston!" And in 1986, the Mets met that challenge when it counted. It doesn't look like the Mets will have any trouble meeting the challenge again in this series.
Hurling on the Mound
Munro (2-3,4.10) - Trachsel (9-8,3.68) This will make for an interesting game. Munro likes to work quickly and Trachsel can be clocked with a calendar. Munro lost to the Braves in his last appearance, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits in 4.1 IP. Trax got a big fat ND in the Mets 6-5 win over Milwaukee his last time out when he gave up 3 runs on 8 hits in 5.1 IP. On the road, Munro is 0-1 with a 5.16 ERA and at home, Trax is 7-3 with a 2.27. I think Trax has this one.
Oswalt (12-8,3.59) - Glavine (8-10,2.92) Roy Oswalt pitched a complete game shutout for the second time this year in his last start. In his last three appearances, he's 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA. OTOH, Glavine is 1-4 at home with a 2.34 ERA and in his last three appearances, he's 1-2 with a 5.40. This one doesn't look as favorable, but if the Mets can put a couple of runs up on the board, that's all they'll need against the Astros anemic offense.
Pettitte (6-4,4.07) - Zambrano (1-0,6.75) Pettitte is 2-0 vs. the Mets. This will be his second time pitching at Shea. This will be Zambrano's first start at Shea. Pettitte is pitching with a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. Doctors say it won't get better or worse from pitching, so he's pitching to pain. In his last start, Pettitte went 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. Zambrano's first start for the Mets was in Milwaukee where he allowed 6 runs, 4 earned on 8 hits in 5.1 innings. This looks good, too, because it'll probably go to the Astros bullpen.
When You're Hot, You're Not
You're not an Astro anyway. Too many aren't hot for me to list the suspects here.
Sideliners
Adam Everett - 15 day DL - broken wrist August 6 - out 4-6 weeks
Wade Miller - 15 day DL - frayed rotator cuff June 29 - may return in September
Darren Oliver - day-to-day - shoulder tightness
Andy Pettitte - torn flexor tendon - pitching through it
The Ex-Men
Former Mets now with the Astros are Jeff Kent at 2B, David Weathers in the bullpen and Jose Vizcaino, filling in at short for the injured Adam Everett. The lone former Astro with the Mets is Richard Hidalgo in RF. I think the Mets have the better ex-man right now.
Et Ceterata
The most interesting thing to happen in Astroland recently was Roger Clemens getting ejected from his son's ballgame and then apologized to. But that's old news.
The Astros radio broadcasts are done by Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton and former Astros catcher Alan Ashby. During the broadcasts, they often do promotions for various groups or causes. One of them is the cookbook put together by the Astros' wives. The cookbook is entitled "From Home Plate to Your Plate" and all proceeds benefit the Uterine Cancer program at Houston's M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. You can purchase it at https://secure.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/hou/community/cookbook.jsp. Often, during the broadcasts, one of the wives would bring a sample to the broadcast booth and Milo and Ash would comment how wonderful it tasted.
I've tried several of the recipes in the book. Everything I've tried has been good. Including this recipe from Jose Vizcaino.
Jose Vizcaino's Black Beans and Rice
We make this meal once a week as it reminds Jose of his childhood in the Dominican Republic. My kids call it "rice with baseballs".
Ingredients
1 lb. black beans, soaked
8 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large onions, cut large for removal if preferred
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups uncooked short-grain rice
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 green onions, chopped
Directions
In a bean pot, simmer beans in water until cooked, not overly tender. Turn off heat. In a saute pan, heat olive oil and saute inions, garlic and bell pepper. Simmer until they begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and simmer together for 2 minutes. Add these to the bean pot. Add 2 cups fresh water to the bean pot and bring to a simmer. Add the uncooked rice to the bean pot and season the beans with salt, black pepper, cayenne. Brink back to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes, until the rice is done. Add additional water if necessary. Take off top and allow any additional water to reduce. Serve the black beans and rice garnished with parsley and green onions.
Serves 6