Maybe I'm a prophet.
After I wrote the post praising Jason Bourgeois, I was afraid that I might have been just a little overly boastful of the guy's talent, basing most of it on his recent hot streak, but he went out there and proved me right (though I had predicted a loss in this game) by going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and swiping his 9th bag of the year. Quite a stat line isn't it? Bourgeois (we gotta get this guy a nickname; I'm tired of typing "upper class" thirteen times per post) is now batting .390/.390/.512, gaudy numbers for a little guy who wasn't wanted by the Brewers just a few seasons ago. I don't care if this is just a hot streak, Mills needs to start Bourgeois for as long as he's raking, no matter what the status on Carlos Lee. Move Bourgeois around, I'm sure he won't mind. Stick him in left, put him at second when the team faces a righty, place him wherever he needs to be so he's starting. He simply can't be ignored right now.
I'll be an honest Abe and admit to you that I actually didn't watch this game live. I had the choice between seeing what will perhaps be my last Texas Longhorns baseball game for a long time, or watching the 'Stros. Needless to say, it's hard to turn down a 3D baseball game for one on a screen, and anyone in the Austin area this evening would agree that it was a rather easy choice, considering the sunny 72 degree weather at the time. (I'm happy to report the Horns also won against Prairie View A&M, 8-0). However, after combing through a plethora of highlights and recaps, a couple things stood out to me.
I'm starting to believe that this production at the plate by the Astros is not just a fluke. They're hitting .268 as a team right now, good for 6th in the majors. They rank 11th in runs scored, and 16th in both OBP and SLG. Everyone got in on the action against the Reds; Bill Hall and Humberto Quintero were the only ones without a hit tonight, and even then Hall walked twice and Q drove in two. After producing their biggest inning of the season, I don't see the Astros letting up anytime soon with their hitting. I'm not sure if Mike Barnett has come in and changed the atmosphere, but the guys at the plate seem to get it, and though they're striking out a lot, the hits keep coming, and I for one hope they don't stop.
J.A. Happ seems to be comfortable with a large lead. After giving up a run in the 1st, Chris Johnson homered in the top half of the 2nd to tie up the game, and Happ seemed to cruise from then on. It was somewhat reminiscent of his April 10th start against Florida, where he gave up a 1st inning run, only to coast from then on as the Astros accrued a 6-1 lead through 6. Now I'm not sure if Happ is just missing the clutch in his repertoire, but it would be nice if he could pitch as well in the close contests as he does when the team is bludgeoning the opponent. His line ended like this: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO. While those aren't the best numbers in the world, he was still effective, and I found myself comfortable watching him pitch for once. Though that might have been because we had a big lead early.
Clint Barmes is a tough nut to crack. I find it hard to pick my poison: Angel Sanchez, who looks a little lost at the plate, but still gets a lot of bloop singles and ground ball hits, a seemingly more consistent batsmen, or, Barmes, that guy for goes 0 for a million and then comes in and smacks two monster doubles and drives in a pair. In the end, Barmes is an upgrade defensively, and is earning a considerably larger amount of money than Sanchez, so there's not really any debate about who will be starting, but I find it equally frustrating to watch both middle infielders.
Lastly, I had an epiphany while combing the recaps and video feeds from the game. Some people might call me crazy but, here it is...
I don't think the Reds lineup is that great.
Yes, yes I know they're in the top 10 in the league in almost every conceivable hitting statistic, but looking at these guys I just don't see the makings of a serious contender. Joey Votto is absolutely mashing the ball, with a line of .363/.492/.608 right now, but take him out of the lineup and the regulars' BA drops an entire 10 points (.290 with/.280 without). So in other words, fans in Cincy better hope the big Canadian doesn't get injured, or the Reds are doomed to become irrelevant in the NL. I'm not trying to simply diss on a division rival here, (in that case I'd just refer Reds fans to the all-time series record) I'm just saying that a lineup with the likes of Old Edgar Renteria, Paul Janish, Chris Heisey, and Ramon Hernandez ain't gonna cut it. Brandon Phillips may be hitting the cover off the ball right now, but he's a career .269 hitter and should round back into the usual form in the coming months. Couple the hitting question marks with the banged up rotation and I'm sadly starting to lean towards St. Louis winning the Central this year.
Anyway, it's time to study. Looking forward to Aneury Rodriguez's starter's debut tomorrow, just not sure I'm going to be able to stomach it.
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