[UnOfficial] Astros Spring Training Thread

Is Spring Training and preseason considered "offseason" ?

 

is wandy rodriguez the david carr of the astros?

he sucked last year, went down to triple A and sucked even harder, then we brought him back. anyone understand this, besides the whole he's a lefty thing? garner defends him like he's his kid.

 

I find that statement slightly unnerving...

 

In hindsight he is correct, wins are what matter, however, over the course of the season, you'd rather have the guy with the 5-10 W/L and 2.50 ERA starting any given game rather than the guy who is 10-5 with a 5.80 ERA.

 

i would? if i have the first guy you mentioned, i've lost 5 more games than i did with the second guy?? i'll take the 5 more wins, even if they seem to come in spite of the pitcher!

 

Wandy is a finesse pitcher. He doesn't have that 90 mph fastball or a go-to breaking pitch. I'm not saying he's the next coming of Jimmy Key, but I have no problem with him competing for a starting spot if he is progressing into a better pitcher. It generally takes a few years to groom finesse pitchers, so I think he still has potential to be something decent.

 

You're still talking hindsight, I think.

What I gathered from his post is this: on game day, I've got a guy with a 2.50 and a guy with a 5.80. I don't care how many W's each one has; I've got a better chance to win if I only have to score 3 runs than if I have to score 6. I'm starting the 2.50 guy.

 

btw... is Carlos Hernandez not in camp? Has he retired or did he go to another team? I was really rooting for him to get back on track, he had so much potential.

 

for some reason, i thought he finally retired... but i can't remember for sure

 

He's long gone. He was released last year.

 

and he was getting his brains kicked in, during WInter Ball.

 

That's a shame... I hope he finds a good second career. People talk about how unfortunate the Cubs are in not being able to get Kerry Wood and Mark Prior healthy, I would argue that the Stros have it just as bad if not worse with losing both Wade Miller and Carlos Hernandez to career ending injuries.

 

Wade Miller - rightfully - pitches for the Cubs now. His injury problems were not bad luck, just bad mechanics. The Stros tried to get him to change his delivery but he was stubborn; lots & lots of observers said "this guy's going to have shoulder problems", and whaddya know....

 

He has a torn labrum just like Carlos. His stuff will never be the same as before. I don't imagine him ever throwing in the mid or even low-90s again. I could be wrong though.

 

Keyword is competing. They aren't even given anyone a chance for the fourth spot and he is penciled in after two sub par seasons

 

He's the 4th most experienced SP on the roster outside of scrubs like Moehler. I have no qualms with him getting the 4th spot barring a total debacle in ST or a lingering injury.

 

Brandon Duckworth is experienced too. Remember how long we threw that guy out there. Experience is nothing if you suck and Wandy has proven it's a debacle any time he pitches. I am pretty sure others will back me up on this.

 

Duckworth did suck, and I can see where you are coming from. However, I think this is a non-issue until some other pitcher totally outpitches Wandy in ST.