Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Jack, you ignorant slut. Time to start posting again. Don't you realize that the Astros are now... let's see... ONE-HALF GAME OUT OF THE WILD-CARD? Crazy. Just crazy. Eleven in a row for the second best win streak in franchise history. Tied with San Fran at a half-game behind Chicago.

Oswalt pitched well enough for the win and the offensive attack was once again led by Beltran and MIKE LAMB! Where did this guy come from? Oh yeah, New York. He's hitting homers daily and has gone 8-for-13 with 2 homers and TEN RBI in 3 games!

Clemens goes tomorrow against Jose Acevedo to complete our season series with Cincinnatti. Too bad, we absolutely OWN the Reds. Oh well, we got five games in four days against the Pirates next. Keep it rolling...

Meanwhile, Brandon Duckworth and Tim Redding just got called up to join Chris Burke and Willy Taveras as our September call-ups. Taveras has been used just as he should be: as a pinch runner. Burke has been a pinch-hitter without a hit to his name. But he's getting some time at second base, spelling Kent. Timmy will pitch in Thursday's doubleheader at Pittsburgh. Here's hoping Timmy does well. I understand that unless another Astro gets hurt, Timmy will be ineligible for the postseason roster. Just as well. He hasn't pitched well all season, including AAA ball.

A note about Clemens and Oswalt: these guys are definitely in the Cy Young race. Think about the other contenders. Johnson and Sheets must be twins. You can't tell their numbers apart: one has a 2.94 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 213 Ks; the other has 2.80 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 249 Ks. They are also a combined 22-24. Yikes. (P.S. They also both absolutely own the Braves.) Pavano strikes no one out, but has 16 wins! His lack of Ks and the fact that nobody know who the hell he is will keep him out of contention. Schmidt, meanwhile, is falling apart. He's allowed 6 earned runs in each of his last 3 starts. Clemens, likewise, hasn't had a consistent second half. His ERA is now over 3.00 for the first time all season (By the way, that is still INCREDIBLE).

That leaves Oswalt. His numbers are not great. Nowhere near Randy's or Sheets' or Schmidt's or even Pavano's. His 3.59 ERA is a half-point higher than his career average. But he's got wins. Seventeen of them, to be exact. Most importantly, he's been a steam roller down the stretch. He's won eight of his last 10 starts, and picked up a win in relief. Haha.

It's still Schmidt's award to lose. But if the trends continue (Schmidt bad, Oswalt very good), he might stand a chance. Oh yeah, and he's a daddy now. Congrats Roy!

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