To be brutally honest, between the NFL lockout being lifted, my intensely dull summer classes that actually require work, and my brother returning from his two year mission for our church, I haven't exactly been setting aside large chunks of time to watch the Lastros in action. However, I did get a chance to view the, ah, gem of a game on Wednesday night, one that actually ended in sweet, sweet victory. So here's the five things I learned from it:
1. Michael Bourn is more valuable to this team than Hunter Pence.
I'm sure everyone will strike up the "Hunter Pence is the best player....EVER!" comments. (Go ahead, talk about his hustle and effort, as if we haven't heard that before). But people, seriously, how is Bourn a lesser player than Pence at this point? Surely he has less power at the plate, but he more than makes up for that with far superior defensive ability and excellence on the basepaths. I promise, I really love Pence. But anyone who really still supports trading Bourn away instead of Pence is just crazy. Bourn is cheaper, and he does more stuff, plain and simple.
2. Carlos Corporan sucks...anyone wanna remind me why he's on the roster?
Ok, I know the theoretical answer to that question. Jason Castro is out for the year, J.R. Towles is injured/terrible/on vacation in the Shire, Humberto Quintero needed the day off because of the heat, bla bla bla. I would still take any other catcher in the majors over Corporan at this point. He's hitting 15 points under the Mendoza line, doesn't have a prayer when guys steal on him, and seemingly can't handle perfect, one-bounce throws from the outfield. I mean, c'mon! How often does Bourn throw something like that? NEVER! You gotta catch the ball, dude. Sheesh. Bring back Robinson Cancel. At least he was fat and entertaining.
3. Brad Mills still can't manage.
He's the one thing you can count on, along with inflation and age. Mills once again was able to baffle just about everyone (including, hilariously, that goon Kevin Millar on MLB Network) when he decided to pinch-hit Pence for Brett Wallace with the bases loaded and two away in the 8th. Wallace was 0-for-2 at the time, and sure, everyone knows he's slumping, but throw the rookie a bone here. THIS IS NOT A MUST-WIN GAME. If management believes that the future of the team lies in Wallace, then why not just let the kid hit in a high-leverage situation? Seriously, at this point, we're expecting him to become a star without him ever hitting lefty pitching or swinging the bat in a "crucial"situation. That's called over-managing, and Mills is certainly getting good at it.
4. Chris Carpenter is not what he used to be.
The decent stat line notwithstanding (7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB), I found myself thinking the same thing watching Carpenter on Wednesday night as I thought last season in the final few starts that Roy Oswalt gave the 'Stros before he was jettisoned to Philadelphia: He's just not what he used to be. Carpenter isn't exactly old, but perhaps his high innings log is beginning to catch up to him. He doesn't have that zip on his fastball this year, and while he's still adept at hitting his spots, Yadier Molina seems less comfortable in giving him room to work on both sides of the plate. Quite simply, Carpenter looks mechanical on the mound, and it worked to Houston's favor, as they were able to lace eight hits off of him.
5. A win is nice...but we're still terrible.
Yep, this is definitely worst-team-in-the-league material. Many times throughout the contest did I find myself thinking, Well this is where it's all going to unravel. How about the aforementioned Corporan error? Or the disastrous Pence pinch-hit? Maybe it was when Mark Melancon put two Cardinals on and had to face Albert Pujols in the 9th? You just get the feeling of "bad" and "unlucky" when you watch this team. In the end, it all turned out alright, but what's one win in a season marred by so much losing?
Well, I that's why we all watch the game, isn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment