Some Astros’ catch up after a 3-game win streak

The Astros are 3-0 in August and should be getting some of their future back soon. Meanwhile, with 50 games to go, the Astros are on pace…

  • For 68 wins, a 17-game improvement over 2013.
  • To hit 178 HRs, the most since 2004 (187).
  • For 1.8 million attendance, the most since 2011 (2.067 million).
  • To get pick #4 in next summer’s draft to go along with the #2.

Here are some other thoughts as the team takes one of its two off days in the month of August.

Chris Carter: Transformation or fluke?

  • With every passing day, it grows harder to call Carter’s run a fluke. His stats have followed an improving trend since May 24, basically a third of the season. He picked up the pace in July, hitting .289 with a .355 OBP, .314 BAbip and 1.005 OPS. Strikeouts are slightly down and the 27-year-old has taken to hitting in the three hole. Can he continue the next third of the season?

Reflections on the Cosart trade.

  • As the dust is settling on a frenzied trade deadline, the one trade the Astros made (Jarred Cosart to Miami) seems to favor the Astros…today. With a first-rounder from 2013 (Collin Moran), a major league ready OF (Jake Marisnick) and a pitcher, one of the biggest acquisitions may have been the 35th pick in the draft. That means the Astros will likely have 4 of the top 50 picks next June. Now, if Austin Wates turns into Michael Bourn and Cosart corrals his wildness, the scope of this trade may change.

Clock is ticking…

  • Dexter Fowler and George Springer are due to return soon and another roster shakeup could follow with their activations. Any of the four current outfielders on the roster (Robbie Grossman, Domingo Santana, L.J. Hoes or Jake Marisnick or Marc Krauss) could find themselves in Oklahoma City in the coming days. Perhaps the bigger question is where to hit Springer and Fowler. With Jose Altuve hitting nicely in the leadoff role and Carter solidifying himself in the three spot, it’s likely Fowler will slot into #2 and Springer back into the cleanup or fifth spot?

Are Astros done trading?

  • Most likely, yes. Like most teams, Houston will put the majority of its players through waivers, pulling most back if they are claimed. Honestly, due to the low salary paychecks, many players will be claimed.  Players like Scott Feldman, Fowler, Chad Qualls might cause teams some pause for a variety of reasons. Otherwise, don’t expect movement.

Is September really next month?

  • Frankly, most of the players who will be on the roster this time next month have already been in Houston at some point in 2014 so new call ups should be minimal. There should be no surprises. Asher Wojciechowski and Alex White haven’t pitched well, Josh Zeid and maybe Matt Albers (yeah, right!) should be back from the DL, so pitching should take care of itself. Nick Tropeano should get a look-see. Add C Max Stassi (he’s on the 40-man) and another position player or two and that should be it.

And, to give you something to do on the day off, here’s a return of the either/or for you.

  • Who would you rather have in the rotation: Brad Peacock, Jake Buchanan or Tropeano?
  • Best chance to join the rotation in April 2015 (for the first time): Tropeano, Mark Appel, Wocjiechowski, White, Thomas Shirley or someone else?
  • Who will lead the Astros in home runs this season: Springer (currently 20) or Carter (22).
  • Of the players traded last week, which did you hate most to see go: Wates, Cosart or Kike Hernandez?
  • Which player will have the biggest impact upon their return from the DL: Fowler, Springer or Albers?
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66 responses to “Some Astros’ catch up after a 3-game win streak”

  1. Chip – I’m many time zones away – but I’m pretty sure that the Astros are 3-0 in August not July – lol.
    – I would like to see them throw Peacock out there every 5 days for the rest if the season and see if he can corral that control.
    – I think that of that list Tropeano should be given the best shot at joining the 2015 rotation. Perhaps they will push Appel if he roars down the stretch – but this front office moves slower than that.
    – If Springer does come back soon I think he will lead the team – but Carter certainly has taken a big step up.
    – From the trade last week – I will most miss Cosart because so many pitchers make big steps up in that 26 – 28 age – if they improve at all.
    – Springer is an impact player no matter what – but they sure could use another steady arm in the pen. So Albers. All 3 will help things.

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  3. I’ll believe in Chris Carter when he can do it for more than a couple of months. Also, I’m just not a big fan of anyone who strikes out that much. … I know, Springer whiffs a bunch, but he’s still a rookie. Get back to me at the end of 2015 and see if he’s still striking out more than 30 percent of the time.

    I miss Kike. I know, he’s a utility player, but that’s the kind of guy that makes a team work. Cosart is still young and I may miss him a bunch down the road. But our pitching depth (Luhnow says we have loads, so I gotta believe him, right?) may make me not care.

    Goodbye Santana and Hoes first. And when Presley returns, goodbye to Santana. I think Altuve stays at the top spot followed by Fowler, Springer, Carter, Castro, Dominguez, Singleton, Marisnick and Gonzalez.

    They’re done.

    I’m not a fan of adding too much to the roster in September. We’ve got enough regular players who need at-bats and innings.

    Buchanan looked good. But I think we need to see more of Peacock to make a decision.

    Appel will not be on this team in April. Tropeano might have a chance. And Shirley as a reliever.

    I think Springer comes back and takes the lead in homers. And I think Carter reverts to his old self before too long.

    I miss Kike, and I think Springer has the biggest impact on return. Though Fowler will have a big one as well.

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  4. With the off day Monday why do we need either Peacock or Buchanan to start? Every one will have their regular rest except for Keuchel who will have an extra day. But I vote for Buchanan and ultimately hope Peacock gets traded like Cosart. Guys who walk a lot of hitters and run up large pitch counts are toxic to defenses. Its hard to defense a walk and when the rest of the defense sits there and watches a pitcher labor with command the natural tendency is to relax and lose sharpness. I don’t really miss Norris for the same reason and when we had J A Happ it was torture. Throwing 20 pitches per inning routinely is like fingernails on chalkboard for me.

    I’m not ready to jump on the Carter bandwagon yet but I will be most happy to find various ways to prepare crow and eat it if he keeps it up. I cannot recall him ever having a sustained stretch like this. His at bat today with the bases loaded could only have been better if he had hit a bomb. He seems to be laying off the breaking stuff low and away much better. When he hits a homer over Tal’s Hill I will be a true convert and it wouldn’t surprise me now if he did.

    With that said I would love to see Springer and Carter end up with 30+ homers and think that’s possible. I expect Carter will end up leading the team in homers but Springer will lead in RBI.

    I will miss Kike the most even though he would be a bit player on a roster full of healthy folks. But a good utility guy can have a lot of upside and what really impressed me about him was that he came to the Show and performed right off the bat instead of reverting to AAAA status like just about every other call up we’ve had this season. From what I can recall only Grossman in his second stint last year came up from OKC and produced.

    If Fowler and Springer do come back I think Santana is the odd man out mostly because he needs to be playing every day somewhere.

    I hope Tropeano gets a look this season but I wonder what his inning limit is. Unlike Folty I don’t think he is intriguing as a reliever but a guy with his kind of WHIP numbers over a full season has to be given a shot. Not sure how to get him on the 40 man but releasing Guzman would be a good way IMO.

    The Astros played well against two really good teams despite their injury issues. I’m excited again and hope to get a glimpse of a much better 2015 squad once all of the pieces are back in place.

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      • With the off day Monday why do we need either Peacock or Buchanan to start? Every one will have their regular rest except for Keuchel who will have an extra day. But I vote for Buchanan and ultimately hope Peacock gets traded like Cosart. Guys who walk a lot of hitters and run up large pitch counts are toxic to defenses. Its hard to defense a walk and when the rest of the defense sits there and watches a pitcher labor with command the natural tendency is to relax and lose sharpness. I don’t really miss Norris for the same reason and when we had J A Happ it was torture. Throwing 20 pitches per inning routinely is like fingernails on chalkboard for me.

        I’m not ready to jump on the Carter bandwagon yet but I will be most happy to find various ways to prepare crow and eat it if he keeps it up. I cannot recall him ever having a sustained stretch like this. His at bat today with the bases loaded could only have been better if he had hit a bomb. He seems to be laying off the breaking stuff low and away much better. When he hits a homer over Tal’s Hill I will be a true convert and it wouldn’t surprise me now if he did.

        With that said I would love to see Springer and Carter end up with 30+ homers and think that’s possible. I expect Carter will end up leading the team in homers but Springer will lead in RBI.

        I will miss Kike the most even though he would be a bit player on a roster full of healthy folks. But a good utility guy can have a lot of upside and what really impressed me about him was that he came to the Show and performed right off the bat instead of reverting to AAAA status like just about every other call up we’ve had this season. From what I can recall only Grossman in his second stint last year came up from OKC and produced.

        If Fowler and Springer do come back I think Santana is the odd man out mostly because he needs to be playing every day somewhere.

        I hope Tropeano gets a look this season but I wonder what his inning limit is. Unlike Folty I don’t think he is intriguing as a reliever but a guy with his kind of WHIP numbers over a full season has to be given a shot. Not sure how to get him on the 40 man but releasing Guzman would be a good way IMO.

        The Astros played well against two really good teams despite their injury issues. I’m excited again and hope to get a glimpse of a much better 2015 squad once all of the pieces are back in place.

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      • I don’t think Tropeano is a bullpen candidate, but it’s hard to tell from here. He is a better bullpen candidate than Buchanan. When we finally do see him it will be interesting to see his repertoire before we can make a call. If he shows up as a 2 or 3 pitch guy with a definitive out pitch, and our bullpen is still in shambles, I can see it as a possibility. If he has 3 or 4 good pitches, and good command of all of them, don’t mess with it, if he hits his inning cap, shut him down, don’t stick him in the BP.

        He is only at 97 innings this year, and its already August, he will only get 4-5 more starts this year, so I don’t think if we don’t see him in September it won’t be because of innings, but 40 man reasons.

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  5. Either? or
    1. I think I would prefer Peacock in the rotation now because Nitro could finish the year at AAA at his age. Also, If Folty does indeed get a shot at the rotation next spring, we need to know what we have in Peacock for once and for all.
    2.Best chance for rotation next year would be Folty. He’s already here. Next would be Wojo.
    3.Who will lead the team in HRs. I’ll go with Carter because he is ahead by two right now and is hitting third in the order and he is having fun.
    4. I hated to see Cosart go because he has the potential to be a closer or a starter, but if he was a problem in the clubhouse, I’ll go with Kike.
    5. I think Springer will have the biggest impact when he comes back because he is a leader and he is the most healthy of the three.

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  6. 1. Buchanan
    2. I agree on Folty. After him, White then Wojo. It may be all three depending on the winter meetings.
    3. Carter. Springer may get hot, but I think both finish around 30.
    4. Cosart. I really like Moran, but think Cosart has the chance to be another Curt Schilling. Even if he is only Bud Norris 2.0, he would still crack the playoff rotation most teams.
    5. Fowler. What has impressed me so much is his steadiness. How many two out rallies came about because he didn’t over swing with a man on first, but rather lined a solid single into CF?

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  7. One of the young pitchers in the Astros oranization that could surprise all of us is Luis Cruz. Cruz will turn 24 this fall and has excellent numbers at CC, but if you look closer at his numbers you can see that his numbers do him an injustice.
    If you take out his four tandem relief appearances, his numbers look real good. Then you notice two bad appearances that skew his stats are just before he went on the DL in late May.
    How this guy is not in the list of top 20 prospects is amazing. His strikeouts are good, his low walk rate is terrific and he is a lefty. I think he has been hidden in Lancaster and Corpus Christi like a gem because of other big names. But Luhnow and Bo Porter really like this guy.

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  8. I’m an X-file -conspiracy guy, I miss Kike. I’m a thinking a few folks in the dugout would never say it but weren’t crying when Cosart left.He may end up being solid who knows, but i think his whining, high maintenance, blame game was getting old.
    With Springer and Fowler coming back,, if Carter can just maintain, Singleton looking better, maybe we get those 70 wins.

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    • Is there any record of the guy being a whining, high maintenance, blame gamer? I follow the club pretty closely and have missed that rap against Cosart if that was the case. I did jokingly suggest that maybe he was one of the outspoken guys on the day Appel came to town a couple of Sundays ago. But I sure wouldn’t trade a good talent for that reason.

      From my standpoint, one of the things I most liked about the guy is that he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder when on the mound and showed good composure for such a young guy with so few ML starts under his belt. I think every good ballplayer is going to have a certain level of swagger, maybe call it arrogance if you want. And I got the impression that at least a few of his teammates were going to miss him.

      Kevin, you got any real dirt on Cosart, or is it just conjecture?

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      • Do i have it on quotes no. I have I read it on different blogs, some baseball people, and just observations made watching games he has pitched,, body language with Castro and Porter. I could be totally wrong and if I am it won’t be the first or last time.40 years of watching baseball sometimes you have to trust your eyes and gut, not what people type.or think. I like the chip and the “it” also, but it can be a fine line to pain in the ass I think for Lunhole he saw him. as an expendable piece with issues. I guess time will tell.

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  9. I agree with Brain in that I need to see quite a bit more from Carter to be convinced. But beware, if he finishes the season with a bang, he’s probably gone over the winter.

    Reflecting on the trade, it’s premature to really know anything. Marisnick is certainly a good athlete though. He runs, throws, and if he hits, the trade looks better and better. I still think Cosart turns into a two or a three rotation guy though. We’ll have to see how it all plays out with Enrique, Moran, even Wates. That’s part of what makes this game so interesting.

    I don’t know why they bothered to bring up Santana yet again, unless Fowler is further delayed or done. We need at least one lefty bat out there and Domingo has not yet taken up switch hitting. So Krauss or Grossman gets to stay regardless. I just think that at 21, Domingo needs stability. Keep him where he is until he forces the issue.

    The word is that Luhnow would have been happy to move Feldman. And after these last two starts, if Luhnow is willing to pay part of the contract, he could go. Tropeano has regressed a bit his last couple of times out. Could he be frustrated at being left behind when guys like Clemens, Buchanan, Owens and others have gotten a taste with the big club? Based on season long performance, it would be hard to blame him.

    So yes, let me see Tropeano. That 1.586 Whip leads me to believe Peacock has some things to word on. And Peacock has already gotten as many stats as Cosart had with this club.

    And if Tropeano does get a real look, then we’ll have a better idea about who might be most likely to be a part of the rotation next April.

    No reason why Springer should not lead the club in dingers. He’ll see a fair amount of AAA pitching come September. And when he’s on the field, the whole club turns it up a notch.

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    • About Santana, he is the only outfielder in the minors who was on the 40-man roster and, having already used his first option earlier this year, calling him up and sending him back down again when one of our outfielders is ready, does not cost the Astros another option on him. Also, they sent him down with things to work on and it gives the major league coaches a chance to look at him in BP to see how he is doing. Springer plays tonight in Quad Cities on rehab. Quad Cities has never had Springer before, and Davenport is very excited to see him play a few games there.

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  10. nice post chip.
    as far as carter goes, ive preached for patience to give him time to develop and mature. he’s on track to hit around 30 hrs and have 80-85 rbi for the second year in a row. with signs of improvement in average and strike out rate. 1167 major league at bats. i think he continues to improve. hes a power bat, we dont have much power.
    i like the trade, in the long run i think we get more than we gave.
    if they are not overmatched at the plate and holding their own i’d like to see marisnick and santana stay up.
    if fowler is back i’d like to see the lineup 1. fowler 2. altuve 3. springer 4. carter 5. singleton. mix and match after that
    i actually think its better than 50-50 we make another trade. if a contender has an injury or grave need down the stretch and usually someone does, then feldman, qualls or a surprise such as carter may draw too good of an offer to refuse. thats of course assuming the need arises and whoever it is gets through wavers.
    as far as call ups, most of the ones i wanted to see are up or have been up. ill leave it to oldpros minor leagues reports to show who may be deserving come september.
    either/or: right now we need to see if peacock is the real deal or not.
    i would guess trop, but appel may surprise.
    i hope it turns into a neck and neck race to 30HRS or better for both. if i had to pick ill say springer just edges out carter.
    cosart, but im happy with what we got back. dont forget about that 33 pick being part of the deal.
    hands down springer has the biggest impact on his return.

    whew i made it! i usually dont answer all the questions etc. because its so much typing! but i really appreciate chip, dan and brian putting in all the time and effort to keep us involved, so i tried it this time.

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  11. Speak of the devil, Luis Cruz promoted to OKC today from CC.
    Josh Hader and Teoscar Hernandez promoted from Lancaster to CC. Who plays CF, Teoscar or DDJ?
    Brett Phillips promoted to Lancaster from Quad Cities.
    Pitcher Troy Scribner promoted from Tri City to Quad Cities, where he gets to watch Springer tonight.
    Appel making his second AA start tonight for CC.

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  12. Just saw an interested snip it on MLB rumors Houston will have a problem protecting all. its prospects in the rule 5 next year and by trading Cosart they opened up 2 spots on the 40.

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  13. I looked up some names in the box scores from last year’s 15 game losing streak and we were playing Laird, Martinez, Elmore, Carter, Villar, Altuve, Dominguez, Wallace and Cody Clark. We were using Deleon, Rhiner Cruz, Harrell and Humber out of the bullpen. Bedard was a starter. Man, we are so much better right now. It’s so easy to see how we could have lost that many in a row.

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  14. I heard Bo Porter talking about Carter’s swing, and the adjustments he has made.
    He has shortened up his swing, and it has made a world of difference in his getting to the ball quicker. BUT…….he still a sucker for the low and away pitches, just like Pence was. The Cosart trade……..meh, I never was a fan of Cosart’s. It takes him three or four innings to get with the program, and by then his pitch count was pretty high. His first start with the Marlins was more of the same, and by the time he was taken out of the game, the bases were loaded…….and the next guy allowed four runs to score, and
    those runs were charged to Cosart. Cosart will be better off, now that he is away from this manager. He had a big mouth, and an “attitude”. I think Luhnow was glad to trade him……my opinion only. Baseball prospectus had an article about Collin
    Moran, and it wasn’t very impressive. They said he looked disinterested, and bored
    at third base. His glove is like Matt D. and he CAN hit for power…….*if* he wants to.
    I thought it was strange that the Marlins would let him go, but it seems they were
    less than impressed with him. I like what I see with Marisnick, he’s fast and plays a pretty good center. What happens when ALL the guys who are on DL in the outfield come back……who stays, and who goes?? No they are not through trading. Luhnow is ALWAYS looking, and working the phones. Springer walked two times tonight, and struck out once. I think they called the game at the bottom of the 5th. due to rain. I hate days off in when these guys are playing well…..something happens to their rhythm.

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    • I watched a lot of Moran’s college games. He is really even keeled out there. I don’t think it is disinterest, but rather his approach. He’ll remind you a lot of his uncle (BJ Surhoff) on the field.

      I keep thinking about a number of recent Luhnow guys like Derek Fisher, Moran and Conrad Gregor. My speculation is they could all be hitters in the mold of a Half Morris, Sean Casey, or Mark Grace. We’d happily take that, right?

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  15. The Chron has an article about Jesse Crain, and Albers…….it appears Crain may miss the entire season while sucking down $3.25 million. Albers MIGHT be back by the end of August…..but I wouldn’t bet money on it. I wish I could sit on my rear and pull in that kind of money!

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  16. Some say it takes about 1000 PAs to determine if a guy can hit in the ML. JD Martinez got 975 with the Astros. I know that is just anecdotal. Carter passed that threshold early this year. Since his OPS+ is about 120.

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  17. Nice to see that George Springer was back on the baseball field somewhere in the heartland of America yesterday. Word is that he walked twice and stole a base. Alas, he also struck out once. Now to get that powerful swing back in operation – and get him back in Houston!

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    • Yes, BUT: Springer stole 2B after his first walk. After his second walk, to load the bases, he was lifted for a pinch runner. Springer was the DH in that game, which was suspended in the next half inning, to be finished today.

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  18. Telvin Nash was in the best month of his career when he went on the DL in late July.
    For the month of July he hit .328 BA, .434 OBP, .813 slg, 1.247 OPS. He had 22 K’s in 20 games for a 29% K rate, and had 9 BB and 10 home runs. In the month, he had 21 hits and 20 rbis in those 20 games.
    Let’s hope he is in his new form when he returns.

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    • Those are interesting stats oldpro. I’ve been watching the guy for years, hoping to see him get it finally. I think he’s still going to have a tough time of it, as his only real option will be as a DH. If nothing else, he might have some value to someone else at some point.

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  19. On a different matter… I just realized that, if Altuve retains his offensive pace, he could reach a strange “triple crown” feat…. lead the AL in batting average, hits, and stolen bases. At least that is something we can cheer about.

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  21. I’m in on Carter – since July 1st, .290 avg, .351 OBP, 9 hr and 23 rbi’s in 29 games, looks like a middle of the order hitter. He is FINALLY starting to look like the guy Luhnow thought he was getting.

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  22. Peacock is gonna have to go at LEAST 5 innings tonight……..and after the game I think they will give him his walking papers. He’s got a mental “thing” about pitching with the Astros. I hope they do, he deserves a chance to hook on with some one else. This will make room for Jake Buchanan, who has pitched very well as the long man out of the bull pen. Tough game tonight.

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  23. I have a gripe. It is generally assumed by most fans that the Astros played the two best games of the year on Saturday and Sunday.
    Then they lay a big fat rotten egg on Monday by naming Peacock as the starter for Cosart, move Buchanan back to the bullpen and send Clemens down again.
    They have a day off and then can’t hit on Tuesday, can’t pitch on Wednesday and all of the good from the weekend is gone.
    What is it about this team that they make all kinds of moves on their days off and then absolutely stink up the joint? What is wrong with this team that it is impossible for them to sustain anything?

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    • I have no clue oldpro, but maybe some of the guys miss playing behind Cosart. No facts here, just a thought. We’ve heard a couple of people state that Cosart was not the greatest guy in the clubhouse, and had attitude issues, but we’ve got no facts.

      But in general, any team is going to be better off without a revolving door. And we’ve had a revolving door.

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      • Well, dave, since things are so slow, I did a little digging.
        The Astros are 3-7 in games following a day off and 2-8 in the second game following a day off.
        I don’t know what they are doing on their days off, but it is not contributing to the benefit of the team, that’s for dang sure.
        By the way, there was not a home run hit by the entire Astros organization yesterday from top to bottom.
        Tuesday night Michael Feliz threw eight innings of three-hit shutout ball with no walks and 9 strikeouts for Quad Cities.

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      • I think the clubhouse cancer speculation was fabricated in the fan blogosphere to justify giving up on Cosart. It likely evolved from an assumption that since Cosart freely spoke his mind in the past he was the insider criticizing FO moves. If you watched him with teammates, it certainly appeared they liked him and were not pleased with the trade.

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      • Devin, there are a few facts to help form an opinion as far as Cosart’s relationship with the Astros organization. And I want to point out that it was Astros’ management who traded Cosart, not his fellow players.
        -Cosart and his agent were the only Astros player who did not go through regular procedures to renew their major league contract with the team and Cosart’s stand on that cost him several thousand dollars. He did it as a statement of his displeasure with the team and that alone is a big red flag. That occurred this past winter.
        -Cosart has voiced his displeasure with some of the moves the club has made or not made in the past on social media. That could have had an effect on his relationship with the organization.
        I also think that your statement that “it certainly appeared they liked him and were not pleased with the trade” is just as likely to be as wrong as other’s assumptions that Cosart was “the clubhouse cancer.” I cannot tell you how many times I was polite, respectful or even friendly to a person that I could not stomach in the last fifty years. I have shaken hands with a lot of men that I would have liked to have personally removed from the room and a lot of women that I wish were not there. I am sure others have thought the same about me.
        We know how Bud Norris feels about the Astros and that may have led to his being traded. We may get to see how Cosart felt about the Astros. It’s only been a week, but we may eventually find out if there were more reasons behind his trade than just what we received from Miami.

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      • More good stats oldpro. What made you check on the system wide homer drought? Maybe our many youngsters are having too many cocktails (declaimer: I have no facts) on their days off.

        And yes, I had noted Feliz’ excellent work. It’s possible that in another 9 to 12 months, we won’t be overly concerned about Appel’s progress or lack thereof.

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      • Dave, I was visiting a site that I discovered this week and it has all of the box scores for the entire org starting at the top for the previous days. I glanced at the HRs for the Stros and the Hooks and just kept scrolling down. When I got to the bottom and had seen no homers, I went back and checked it again.
        I went to the previous day and there were four home runs hit that day.
        This site has so much info including graphs where batters hit their batted balls, and location on the field where every pitcher got an out or gave up a hit. It also has instant stats for any player who got into that particular game.
        astrosfarm.com

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  26. And now for your slow day, how about some Epic Astro-fail Games.

    1. The Limbo Rock – Five Astro Position Players Crawl Around Under the Mendoza Line: Marisnick .150; Hoes .175, Krauss .189, Gossman .190, and Singleton .191 [So . . . How LOW can they go?]

    2. The Wind Farm – Three Astro Position Players have amassed over 100 Ks: Carter 118, Springer 114, and Castro 106. [So . . . together do you think they can generate enough wind energy to blow at least a few of Brad Peacock’s barrage of Wild-thing offerings somewhat closer to the plate?]

    3. The Free Pass Counter – Two Astro pitchers have allowed at least one walk for every two innings pitched: Peacock 52BB/92.2 IP , plus two Hit batters; and Jose Veras [7 BB/13.1 IP]. Honorable mention Paul Clemens [13 BB/28 IP], plus 1 Hit batter. [So . . . do they work for KAOS or C.O.N.T.R.O.L – or should we just ’86’ them?]

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    • What about out team batting average when pinch hitting? At last count they were 4 for 51. And I think it’s gone down.

      While in the subject of Cosart, seems he was scratched last night due to oblique strain. For the Astro organization, it seems like obliqueitis. Are we screwing our guys up?

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      • Sorry about that, Chief. But would you believe that at this very moment there are 45 crack C.O.N.T.R.O.L. agents dressed in commemorative 1979 Astros Rainbow jerseys waiting just outside the Astrodome, each one armed with either an Cesar Cedeno or Don Wilson bobblehead doll, or both, waiting for my signal to serenade Barbara Feldon on my behalf with the Fifth Dimension hit ‘Wedding Bell Blues’? I didn’t think so.

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      • Hey, Bill, tonight is Craig Biggio Bobblehead Night at Quad Cities. I think that is a riot.
        Agent 99. She’s so hot right now. Why is she talking into her spiked heal?

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  27. And good thoughts on Cosart. I think it’s safe to say that he’s a pretty free thinker for a 24 year ML player with just 30 starts under his belt. The contract issue illustrates that. He made a business decision in a business that discourages not following regular procedures. And maybe some of his fellow teammates appreciated that they could in a small way live vicariously through him. Again, this is all conjecture. And we’re certainly not getting into the realm of Curt Flood. It will be interesting to see what this sharp kid does with his career. If he performs on the field, he’ll get away with not following script.

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