Last Friday, I spent the evening watching the Houston Aeros hockey team play some team in red. Anyway, I went to the game with Jayne from What the Heck, Bobby, the blog that follows the Houston Astros minor league system. It stands to reason that in an evening fueled by Grey Goose, Dewers and twenty-somethings on skates that baseball would be a topic of conversation, right? Duh.

One of the topics that we wandered onto that evening was Jordan Lyles. We talked about his season and his woes the third time through the batting order last year. The first two times that hitters saw Lyles’ stuff he had the upper hand, but by the third at bat, hitters had his number. It was like clockwork and he was getting lit up like a Christmas tree. Is it something they can coach him through? That’s what I wondered.

I don’t have an answer to that particular question yet, and I’m working on it, but when I read Brian T. Smith’s article on Chron.com about Roger Clemens taking an active role with the Astros again, that exchange last week about Lyles is what immediately came to mind.

According to the Chronicle article, the Astros are expecting and hoping for a decent amount of involvement from Clemens this season.

“We’ve got the whole calendar mapped out, and we’re going to sort of figure out what makes sense,” Luhnow said Monday. “But the idea is to plug him in in spring training, plug him in throughout the season, and just have him get a lot more involved with our pitchers.”

So there you have it. Roger Clemens is going to be spending some time working with the Houston Astros pitching staff.

There’s been lots of buzz about Clemens in the last year. First there was the whole “pitching for the Skeeters” thing that fueled rumors of a posible start at Minute Maid Park again. Those rumors were squelched by Clemens himself. Now, we’re a day away from finding out what judge and jury have to say about Clemens, PEDs and history when the results from this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame voting are announced. Clemens, along with several other steroid-era players, appeared on the ballot for the first time this year.

What do I think about the influence of Roger Clemens on the young pitching staff in Houston? I think it could be outstanding. The Astros have needed reinforcements in pitching for quite some time. With a rotation of young kids, the need increases. If you have a pitcher like Clemens ready, willing and able to impart some advice, knowledge and help, you have to be excited.

Imagine being a 22 year old pitcher, finding your way in the major leagues and your new mentor just happens to be a guy with 7 Cy Young Awards, a guy who has two World Series rings, a guy who was named an All-Star 11 times and the All-Star MVP once, a guy who had a career 3.12 ERA. Not many pitchers get the opportunity to be coached and mentored by a player like that.

So thinking back to last week when the Aeros were beating that team in red and my ramblings with Jayne about Jordan Lyles, do I think that that the Astros could use the expertise of Roger Clemens? Absolutely.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Tomorrow night the Houston Astros start the second half of their season on the road. Yes, that is the Funeral March you hear playing in your head. After all so far the ‘Stros are 24-21 at home (.533) and 9-32 (.220) on the road.

That elusive 10th road win was almost captured on the last road trip when the Astros took the early lead on July 3rd against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I was all ready to yell and scream and buy things in multiples of ten….things like shots…but the Pirates rallied, the Astros fell apart and so we find ourselves as fans here, in this very dark hole, wondering how long it will be until that 10th road win comes.

Last season the 10th road win came at the end of May. So if you’ve been thinking the wait feels longer, it’s because it IS longer.

So why is there such a huge differential between the home and road records? Well, only God knows for certain, but I’ve got my theories. Let’s not forget that this is a young team and young teams are new to a lot of aspects of playing in the majors, like the brutal travel schedule and pace. They’re just getting used to playing at MMP much less in parks they’ve never been to before. Does that excuse it? Hell no. But I think it’s something you have to consider.

Is it a matter of being intimidated? Is it the difference in how they warm up on the road versus at home? Is it weather? Is it the room service at the hotels? Who the hell knows.

But if the wear and tear of the schedule and the travel are an issue…shouldn’t someone be “managing” that differently? Hi, I’m talking to you, Millsie. Tell us, please, what you do differently on the road than you do at home and you’re helping this group of kids become professionals who play the same no matter whose dirt they’re standing on…because if you don’t figure it out soon, you may need to be dusting off your resume.

Of course, that’s not my decision to make, but it’s food for thought, yes? In the meantime, I’ll watch Jordan Lyles tomorrow as he starts in San Francisco. I’ll be cheering for that 10th road win.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

A new face for many fans, Kyle Weiland will be a part of the starting rotation.

During tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and their AA affiliate Corpus Christi Hooks some pitching information was released. By the way, the Astros won, 6-2.

Jordan Lyles has been optioned to AAA Oklahoma City. I think this is for the best. He needs some time to marinate, work on that curveball and just mature in his talent. Fear not, Astros fans, it won’t be long before we see Jordan in an Astros jersey on a regular basis. With the use of another option, the Astros have one remaining on Lyles.

On the side of who’s staying? The Astros announced some guys who will make their first MLB Opening Day roster – David Carpenter, Rhiner Cruz, Lucas Harrell, Fernando (Fernie – I swear it’s what his wife calls him) Rodriguez & Kyle Weiland. Congratulations all around. I’m pleased to see several of those names on the list.

So if everyone keeps their current pitching schedule the starting rotation would be Wandy Rodriguez, Harrell, Bud Norris, JA Happ, and Weiland.

So there we have it, folks. Houston has a starting rotation. Play ball!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

It’s Monday morning and what else do I have to do, but wonder about the Houston Astros 2012 starting lineup? Well, plenty, but it seems like a good use of my time at the moment. I mean, we’re days away from the Home Opener and these are pressing issues in my little brain.

Every time I think I have the starting rotation solidified in my head, someone has a shaky start or a flat out bad one, calling into question everything I thought I knew to be true. So let’s take a look at who the contenders likely still are what this Houston chick thinks the rotation could look like.

The Contenders:

Wandy Rodriguez – RHP – Wandy’s a definite and is likely to be the start of the rotation. He’s been nothing short of consistent for this club in recent years. His W/L record, like anyone pitching for Houston lately is not impressive, but he’s had little defensive and run support to back him up. He’ll likely be the Opening Day pitcher (despite the fact that I think Bud Norris deserves a shot) and there’s plenty of reasons to state emphatically that he deserves it. His ST hasn’t been ideal, but Wandy typically turns it on when he needs to and will be a reliable top of the rotation guy for 2012.

Bud Norris - RHP – Studly Cuddly Budly is the guy that the Astros are hoping to build their pitching around in the future, and he’s taken that seriously so far in ST. He’s 2-1 with a 5.00 ERA thus far, walking a few more than he’d probably like, but still managing to strike out 5 in 9 innings pitched. Bud’s made no secret of his desire to go deeper into games this season and is working up to being a 200 inning pitcher. I look for Bud to be the number 2 guy in the rotation this year.

JA Happ – LHP – Happ struggled at times last season, spending a little time in AAA getting the Burt Hooten treatment in OKC. He came back at the end of the season to wow us all with vast improvements. I’m not sure that what we’ve seen of him in ST this year has been as good as he was at the end of 2011, but it’s vastly better than he was at the start of 2011. I’ll take it. He’s 1-1 with a 6.59 ERA in Spring Training and despite walking 7 in 13.2 innings, I believe his control is better that it was in 2011. He’ll be a middle of the rotation starter and I look for him to regain his late-2011 stride when the season starts.

Kyle Weiland – RHP- In my humble opinion, Weiland has earned a spot in the starting rotation. With a 2-0 record for Spring Training and a mere 2.25 ERA he’s shown he’s got the stuff to lead this team from the mound. He had a few issues with command in one of his starts, but he still managed to pull out decants outings in those situations. In my mind, he’s the 4th piece of the rotation puzzle.

So who is the 5th starter? It comes down to Livan Hernandez, Jordan Lyles and Zach Duke.

Livan Hernandez - RHP – The “old man” of the contenders, Livan Hernandez has made a name for himself in the MLB for being able to go the distance in games. His ability to eat innings alone makes him an attractive pitcher. He’s 4-4 with a 4.38 ERA in Spring Training and I believe he’ll be the 5th guy in the Astros rotation. His pitching thus far in camp has been consistent with what he’s done historically in the majors and there’s a lot to be said for consistency in the rotation, especially where the Astros are concerned.

Jordan Lyles – RHP – I’ve made no secret of the fact that despite his incredible maturity, I think Lyles needs a bit more time down in the minors. Despite the fact that I think he’ll start the season in AAA, I’d take him over Zach Duke at this point. For one, he’s a future star for the Astros if he’s properly mentored and developed, but also his command seems to be a bit better. He’ll likely start in the minors, but I also think we’re likely to see him pitch at Minute Maid Park sometime this season.

Zach Duke – LHP – Duke has struggled in Spring Training, going 4-3 with an 11.30 ERA. In 14 innings he’s walked 6 while striking out 8. But that ERA shows just how hittable he is. I think with some time in AAA, he could prove to be a great back up for when someone in the rotation is injured or traded. Is it possible he could spend some time in the bullpen? Absolutely.

Like any of my predictions (or guesses) it remains to be seen what the front office and Brad Mills will do prior to Opening Day. Regardless of their choices, what we are seeing in the options of pitchers is far better than what we have seen. There is hope and potential in this crop and I’m banking on the organization to be forward thinking as they make these decisions.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

With all 63 guys having reported to camp -it’s a full house in Kissimmee. The Pitchers have live hitters to throw to and the guys are all working on getting game ready for the start of the Spring Training Schedule.

Astros fan Carole Oetke Townsend has been in Florida this past week and was kind enough to share some photos. Take a look at what fun the guys are having! (and thanks, Carole!)

General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, takes in the bullpen action. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Pitching Coach, Doug Brocail, and Brett Myers watch Jordan Lyles throw a bullpen. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Throwing bullpens. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

George Springer, one of the few pairs of short pants in ST. The Astros need more short pants. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Bud Norris doing sliding drills....glad they kept those hands full. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Wilton Lopez doesn't want to do the sliding drill. Hang in there Wilton, in 2013 there will be no reason. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Yes, there really is that big of a height difference! Jose Altuve chats up Jason Castro. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Look who's come to Kissimmee! Carlos Lee takes a few swings before facing live balls. Photo Courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Burt Hooten, AAA Pitching coach, watches Lyles take on a group of hitters. Photo Courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

As I collect and share these favorite Houston Astros moments of the 2011 season, there’s no denying that a great deal of the excitement around baseball this year came from a crop of kids that saw the Majors long before anyone expected.

When Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, JD Martinez, Jordan Lyles and the gang (The J’s) all arrived at Minute Maid Park, there was a definite buzz in the air. But what was in the air on Saturday, August 20th was a little different.

In the very first inning against the San Francisco Giants, Jose Altuve not only hit his first big league homer, but he made it a memorable one by doing it while keeping that ball in the park. In a hit that quite likely would have been a triple, Altuve ran through the stop sign at third to give us all a little show that night.

The Astros would go on to win, 7-5, over the Giants, but Altuve’s in-the-park home run was without a doubt the highlight of the game.

To watch the video, click the photo below.

I was sitting with my mother, the weeone and a family friend at Minute Maid Park when Altuve hit this one. Excitement is not a strong enough word.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

It’s that time…you know, the time when I get to start burying myself in the numbers from the 2011 season and trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. I’m a science geek, after all, and one of the things that keeps me addicted to baseball is the stats. In my crazy noggin’ it seems there just HAS to be a statistic to explain it all. There’s a magic number that once I find it, will explain the horrid season.

I know, I know…this season was a long time coming and made over the course of a lot of bad decisions and then bad playing and then more bad decisions and then the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball jacking around with a potential new owner. I know all of this, intellectually, but my head has a hard time convincing my broken heart.

So we’ll blame the stat analysis on the heart and a little less on the head this year.

What’s below is a graphic representation of the Battery Combinations from the 2011 season. For those unfamiliar with the term, Battery simply put is the pitcher and catcher together. I looked up why they call it that (again, GEEK!) and according to Wikipedia:

The use of the word ‘battery’ in baseball was first coined by Henry Chadwick in the 1860s in reference to the firepower of a team’s pitching staff and inspired by the artillery batteries then in use in the American Civil War.^[2] Later, the term evolved to indicate the combined effectiveness of pitcher and catcher.

Who knew? Back to the graphic below. It shows pitching appearances and which catcher caught each pitcher. You will find trends in the season and can start to see how Brad Mills makes catcher decisions in the lineup.

So what I notice right off the bat is that Brett Myers and JA Happ were caught almost exclusively by Humberto Quintero. Q was the senior catcher on the team this year and has a penchant for catching base stealers, so it’s not surprising we’d see him used more often. He’s also a better hitter than the other choices available. The only time we see other combinations with those pitchers is essentially the time that Q was out on the DL with that high ankle sprain – which I should mention that he got because he’s an awesome catcher that wouldn’t back down.

Now, you can’t expect Q to catch everyone all the time, so you see Wandy Rodriguez caught almost exclusively by the “non-Q” all season, whether that was JR Towles or Carlos Corporan at the time. Quintero is thrown in from time to time, and my guess would be that was Mills making decisions based on the opponent sometimes, not the pitcher.

We also see that Bud Norris’ time on the mound is split pretty closely between Q and the “non-Q” catcher. It made sense that Aneury Rodriguez and Jordan Lyles were caught by Corporan more than Quintero as that’s who they threw to in the minors. If you’re going to start a 20 year old kid, it’s probably a good idea to have him pitch initially into a glove and toward a guy he’s comfortable with already. But you notice that as the season progresses, Lyles is caught by Q. My guess? Lyles got to know him. Comfort didn’t play as big a role in the decision at this point, rather putting in the best catcher that night was more important.

What I find interesting about this is that if I had to name the Astros two most vulnerable positions in terms of lack of depth this season, I’d say pitching and catching. We all know this starting rotation had about 2 1/2 actual starting rotation guys on it. And with Jason Castro out for the whole season this year, the catcher position was thin and our catchers took an incredible beating. Were there combinations and timing of combinations that would have been better? Oh how I wish I could say yes, but frankly, the team was just thin in these pivotal spots this year. No way around that.

There’s nothing magical about any of this information, it’s more fascinating than awe-inspiring. It’s interesting to see. If you watch a lot of games these are trends that you probably already picked up on, but it’s nice to have a graphic representation of it if nothing else.

I promise not to shove things like this down your throat all season, but I will admit that I like it. I can’t help it, it’s the geek in me.

*Thanks to Tara Franey, the lead writer for C-ing Red, the Aerys Sports home of the Cincinnati Reds, for the great chart!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

I see bloggers do this all the time – they have you ask them questions and then they answer them. I figured since it was an off day it would be fun. Tell me if you like it and if you do, we’ll make it a regular thing. Keep in mind the questions don’t have to be Astros related at all.

Here goes…

1.  How is David Carpenter doing? Well, by stats alone he’s now 0-2, thrown 17 innings for Houston with 18 hits, 5 earned runs, 1 home run, 1 walk and 15 strikeouts. Oh, and he got his first SAVE on Sunday night against the Giants! I’d say Mr. Carpenter is doing quite well as a middle reliever (and one time closer) here in H-town.

2. What is the number 1 key to the Astros success, in your opinion? I have to pick one?!?! Okay, if it’s just one, then right now, the key is the farm system. I’ll explain it the way my Italian mother does. If you want to cook a great meal every night, you use up the pantry and produce items you have in your kitchen. If you keep cooking every day without replenishing your supplies, then your meals will start to go downhill, simply because you don’t have the right ingredients to pull from to make anything. » Continue reading “Astros Off Day Fun: You Asked, I Answered”

There’s just too much to say today to go with “Wordless Wednesday” this week, so you get Wordy Wednesday today instead.

So what’s going on in the world of Houston baseball? Here’s the rundown.

•  The Astros lost a nailbiter last night at Coors field 8-6 against the Rockies. It was a mess of bad defense, mediocre pitching, errors and a hitting bonanza in which each team had 10 hits. There were a couple of 2 RBI homers going every which way and no one had clear command of the game all night. It made for good television though. My favorite part of the night was when Brad Mills pulled Wesley Wright off the mound and put him in….are you ready for it….right field! He’s never played there as a pro, but Mills knew he wanted Wright off the mound for one hitter and then back up, so why not. It’s not like the World Series is on the line. It was a fun move in this very dismal season. So, although they’ve already lost the series, game 3 in Colorado will kick off at 2 this afternoon. You can catch it on My20 here in Houston. Wandy Rodriguez will take the mound.

• Wandy Rodriguez has been claimed on waivers by the Colorado Rockies. I know, right? The Rockies were the LAST team on my list of “who might.” Three things can happen now. The Astros can negotiate a trade, pull Wandy back, or just let the Rockies have him. Although there are reports the Astros aren’t willing to negotiate yet, they have until 11am tomorrow so there’s time. I’d like to see them get a little something and let Wandy go. It’d give them more salary relief. Frankly, no one on the Astros should be making that sort of money. If only it’d been Brett Myers….

• JA Happ will be rejoining the Astros starting lineup. After sending Jordan Lyles down to the AAA bullpen to preserve his number of innings pitched, there was some question as to who would fill his role. Turns out, that Henry Sosa will pitch on Thursday; starting on only 3 days rest and then Happ will get the nod on Friday. Let’s hope he’s ready for this again. His head’s been in all the wrong places this season and despite still having lots of good stuff to throw, he’s been getting the willies on the mound and falling apart. I want to see a commanding Happ that’s confident and hitting his spots. Anything less on Friday will tell us that Mills was wrong about him.

JD Martinez, Jordan Lyles and Jose Altuve pose for a Rookie Photo shoot earlier this week. Photo from Alyson Footer via Twitter

Last night in Arizona the Astros five starting rookies definitely showed their stuff as they lead the team to a 9-1 victory over a stunned Arizona Diamondbacks team. The  Astos combined for a season tying 16 hits in total, 10 of those coming from the rookies (Jose Altuve, Jimmey Paredes, JB Shuck, JD Martinez and Carlos Coporan).

In the first inning, the Dbacks Daniel Hudson struggled as the Astros were hitting everything he threw. The inning was nothing short of exciting as Altuve doubled and Jason Bourgeois reached first on a fielding error by Cody Ransom. The energy level was already off the charts when JD Martinez went long over the right field wall to send all three runners home.

The fun didn’t end there as Paredes and Clint Barmes both followed up with singles, setting up the Coporan RBI double that sent them both home. By the end of the first inning the Astros were already ahead 5-0.

The Astros would continue to add to that hit count and run total. In the 4th we saw hits from Altuve, Downs and Barmes to put the Astos up 7-0. And they didn’t stop there. In the 6th Altuve singled, Martinez drew a walk and Matt Downs singled. That brought up Paredes with bases loaded who singled to send both Altuve and Martinez home bringing the run total to 9.

Although the hitting ran away with the night, I would be remiss not to mention the great start by Wandy Rodriguez who grabbed his 8th win of the season. Wandy threw six scoreless innings allowing only 2 hits and walking 4 batters.  His pitch count went a bit high (105 pitches, only 59 for strikes), but he was able to get himself out of several possible scoring situations to keep the Dbacks in check.

In fact the Dbacks would struggle at the plate all night, only getting 4 hits. Their one run of the night was a one run homer off the bat of Henry Blanco on a Jeff Fulchino pitch.

So yes, the kids are definitely alright. Arizona fans were surprised by what they saw. I received a text message from my good friend, Sally Coleman (a Houston native living in San Diego, who was at the game, conveying just that. When a Diamondback fan sitting next to her commented that the Astros are the worst team in baseball, how could they possibly be up 7-0? Sally replied, “We got rid of that team. These are the new kids.”

She was absolutely right. This is a new team. And with 11 rookies on the 25 man roster there are going to be nights like this. Give a AA or AAA ballplayer a chance to rise up to the bigs and show you what they’ve got and you’ll see some spectacular stuff. I’m not saying every night will be like this. In time, pitchers will learn how to throw to these kids and things will get tougher, not to mention that with the young ages comes inexperience and silly mistakes. But for now, I’m enjoying the sights of their successes.

When the Astros have talked about rebuilding over the past couple of years they’ve made small and somewhat safe moves that didn’t get the job done. The overhaul that’s happened in the past 12 months and promises to continue over the next twelve is like starting from scratch. Did you feel that? It’s the breath of fresh air these kids are providing.

So take note, the Astros are fielding a team of kids, bu the kids are alright. Astros 2013!

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.