Houston.. We Have A Problem - A Houston Astros Franchise

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Erik Bedard's Job Safe For Now

Boston, Massachusetts - The Red Sox squeaked out a victory today winning 4-3. Pitcher Clay Buchholz went seven strong allowing all three of the Houston runs. Erik Bedard, who's job has been in question lately, pitched seven innings as well allowing 4 earned runs. Bedard gave up 11 hits, but spread them out about as evenly as possible and working out of troubled most of the game.

Bo Porter has stated Bedard's job is safe for now after his start against the Red Sox today. "He didn't pitch spectacularly out there, but he did a pretty decent job. We ended up with the loss, but he held a really good team to 4 runs over seven innings". When he was questioned about Phil Humber later on he didn't offer much reassurance. "He has really been struggling so far this season, and we've talked about it. He really hasn't pitched well since he threw his perfect game last season, and you do earn jobs based on past performances at this level."

So the new rumor spreading around the mill is Houston is that Humber, not Bedard, will be the first Astro out of the rotation this year. Humber is scheduled to pitch the closing game of the current Red Sox series Sunday.

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Lucas Harrell Scoreless Streak Continues

Boston, Massachusetts - Astros Pitcher Lucas Harrell took the mound against the Red Sox today. Entering play he hadn't allowed a run in 19.1 innings. Harrell got into a few tight spots early on, but continued his scoreless streak to 25.1 innings before leaving the game with a 4-0 lead. Harrell wasn't as red hot as he has been getting into a few jams. He allowed 4 hits and 3 walks in this one. However after leading the game since a 2 run Chris Carter home run in the 3rd inning the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. In the bottom of the 8th inning setup man Ambriz came in and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 0.2 innings. Jose Veras came in the bottom of the ninth to get the save, but gave up a 2 run game winning home run David Ortiz. The Red Sox won 5-4.

After the game Lucas Harrell said, "It is always tough to lose a game like that. It is kind of neat that I've got this scoreless streak going, but in the end we want to win games. I really struggled with control today and I was lucky to keep it going... I worked out of some real tight spots."

Harrell has quite a ways to go to reach the record for consecutive scoreless innings set by Orel Hershiser at 59 innings in 1988. Harrell is 3-1 with a 0.26 ERA and 0.87 WHIP to start the year. Batters are hitting just .185 against him, and he has a 26-7 K/BB ratio. The question is.. How long can he keep it up?

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End of April Update

Well I have come to the end of April and figured I would provide an update of how things are going. Currently my Astros are 12-15 (4th place in the AL West). Not too terrible. Currently 26th in batting average (.248), 24th in runs (102), Dead last in doubles (31), Tied for 8th in homers (32), Last in errors (26 ugh), 26th in era (4.49), 29th in strikeouts (150)...

Clearly pitching is an issue, and hitting isn't much better. Really need to figure out the pitching soon, but I think the hitting will come around. My best hitter is Brett Wallace (.333, 6HR, 6 Doubles, 1 Triple, 15 runs, 15 RBI, .937 OPS). Pitching is still Lucas Harrell (3-1, 0.26 ERA, 0.87 WHIP).

The closer situation is really bad, and I want to take Jose Veras out of the role. However, he did just have a solid easy close and hopefully it builds from there. Veras is 1-1, 9.39 ERA, 5 saves, 2 Blown Saves. The problem is the rest of my bullpen is equally as bad.

Disabled List
Matt Dominguez - Broken Shin 2-3 Months
E. Castro - Fractured Forearm 1-2 Months
J. Stoffel - Broken Forearm 1-2 Months
Fernando Martinez - Torn Achilles 4-5 Months

Statistics

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2013 Houston Astros Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
Jose Altuve	103	14	27	3	1	3	10	4	10	4	2	.262	.294	.398
Brett Wallace	96	15	32	6	1	6	15	0	16	0	0	.333	.333	.604
Chris Carter	93	11	19	2	0	6	16	5	32	0	0	.204	.253	.419
Carlos Pena	20	73	18	0	0	4	12	9	18	0	0	.247	.321	.732
Justin Maxwell	80	12	19	0	0	6	13	1	13	1	0	.237	.256	.719
Matt Dominguez	84	6	20	1	0	1	4	3	13	0	0	.238	.273	.558
Ronny Cedeno	95	7	18	3	1	2	9	1	15	1	3	.212	.227	.341
Jason Castro	55	5	12	5	0	1	3	7	11	1	0	.218	.318	.364
Rick Ankiel	62	6	17	3	0	1	4	5	17	0	2	.274	.333	.704
J.D. Martinez	62	6	16	3	0	0	3	5	12	0	0	.258	.319	.625
Brandon Barnes	49	5	15	1	2	2	9	0	11	1	1	.306	.300	.531

2013 Houston Astros Stats - Pitching
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	SV	QS	HLD	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	ERA
Bud Norris	6	6	3	1	0	5	0	44.0	37	13	4	3	22	0.91	2.66
Erik Bedard	6	6	1	5	0	2	0	32.2	48	24	5	6	14	1.65	6.61
Jordan Lyles	5	5	3	2	0	3	0	30.1	31	13	5	6	23	1.22	3.86
Lucas Harrell	5	5	3	1	0	5	0	34.1	23	1	1	7	26	0.87	0.26
Philip Humber	5	5	0	4	0	1	0	22.2	35	26	5	8	12	1.90	10.32
Jose Veras (Closer)	8	0	1	1	5	0	0	7.2	12	8	3	6	7	2.35	9.39
Wesley Wright	10	0	0	1	2	0	0	8.1	11	4	1	2	9	1.56	4.32
Hector Ambriz	6	0	0	0	0	0	2	6.0	9	3	0	3	4	2.00	4.50
Rhiner Cruz	11	0	1	0	0	0	0	10.1	15	7	1	2	5	1.65	6.10
Jose Valdez	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.1	10	5	2	4	6	1.91	6.14
Kevin Chapman	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.2	6	1	1	2	1	2.18	2.45
John Ely (Long Relief)	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	20.1	16	5	3	3	17	0.93	2.21

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MLB League Leaders - Updated: May 1, 2013
Batting Average		AVG	Home Runs		HR
	1. Edwin Encarnacion	.440		1. Ryan Braun	13
	2. Joey Votto	.400		2. Alex Rios	11
	3. Jonathan Lucroy	.386		3. Josh Hamilton	11
	4. Ryan Braun	.381		4. Ryan Zimmerman	10
	5. Michael Young	.378		5. Edwin Encarnacion	10
Runs Batted In		RBI	Runs		R
	1. Ryan Braun	34		1. Joey Votto	24
	2. Ryan Zimmerman	26		2. Jacoby Ellsbury	22
	3. Josh Hamilton	26		3. Ryan Braun	22
	4. Miguel Cabrera	24		4. Rickie Weeks	22
	5. Alex Rios	24		5. Albert Pujols	20
Stolen Bases		SB	Doubles		2B
	1. Coco Crisp	13		1. Eduardo Nunez	9
	2. Jacoby Ellsbury	12		2. Justin Ruggiano	9
	3. Evereth Cabrera	11		3. Jon Jay	9
	4. Elvis Andrus	10		4. Jacoby Ellsbury	8
	5. Eduardo Nunez	9		5. Miguel Cabrera	8
Triples		3B	On Base + Slugging %		OPS
	1. Mike Trout	4		1. Edwin Encarnacion	1.316
	2. Ben Revere	3		2. Ryan Braun	1.279
	3. Michael Brantley	3		3. Alex Rios	1.172
	4. Chris Young	2		4. Joey Votto	1.161
	5. Brandon Barnes	2		5. Ryan Zimmerman	1.144

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MLB League Leaders - Updated: May 1, 2013
Wins		W	Saves		S
	1. Johan Santana	6		1. Rafael Betancourt	12
	2. Anibal Sanchez	5		2. Sergio Romo	12
	3. Clayton Kershaw	4		3. Rafael Soriano	11
	4. Cole Hamels	4		4. Craig Kimbrel	11
	5. Jon Lester	4		5. Aroldis Chapman	10
Earned Run Average		ERA	Shutouts		SHO
	1. Lucas Harrell	0.26		1. Jeremy Guthrie	3
	2. Marco Estrada	1.22		2. Doug Fister	2
	3. Jeremy Guthrie	1.41		3. Cole Hamels	2
	4. Andy Pettitte	1.45		4. Cliff Lee	1
	5. Clayton Kershaw	1.69		5. C.C. Sabathia	1
Walks+Hits Per Inning pitched		WHIP	Strikeouts		SO
	1. Kris Medlen	0.71		1. Cole Hamels	56
	2. Colby Lewis	0.73		2. Stephen Strasburg	45
	3. Jeremy Guthrie	0.81		3. Josh Johnson	45
	4. Lucas Harrell	0.87		4. Clayton Kershaw	40
	5. Bud Norris	0.91		5. Justin Verlander	38
Innings Pitched		IP	Complete Games		CG
	1. Cole Hamels	45.1		1. Jeremy Guthrie	3
	2. Clayton Kershaw	45.1		2. Andy Pettitte	2
	3. Bud Norris	44.0		3. Cliff Lee	2
	4. Johan Santana	43.1		4. Cole Hamels	2
	5. Justin Verlander	42.2		5. Clayton Kershaw	2

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Two Houston Prospects Headed to the Big Leagues


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Houston, Texas - It didn't take long for GM Matt Collins to make some more moves in Houston. The Houston GM is very involved in the team including scouting, player movements, and some even say he tells manager Bo Porter his lineups sometimes. His 2nd 'public' move this year same early on May 1st, 2013. Highly anticipated starting pitcher Jarred Cosart was called up to AAA as struggling pitcher Philip Humber was sent down. Humber has struggled in just about every outing this year. He was 0-4, ERA of 10.32, and a 12/8 K/BB ratio. Cosart on the other hand had a great month of April for the minor league affiliate of the Astros. He was 2-1, 1.95ERA, 29K, 14BB. He is best known for his power sinker.

"This was a move we have anticipated making for a couple weeks, but I really wanted to get Cosart a full month at the AAA level. Hopefully Humber can figure things out in the minors, but he just hasn't had anything going for him so far this year," GM Collins said to reporters Monday morning.
The move to bring up Paredes was largely due to the serious injury Matt Dominguez sustained yesterday. Dominguez slid into third on bang-bang throw from the left fielder and broke his shin. He will be out at least two months from the injury providing ample time for Paredes to earn himself some recognition. Paredes has appeared in 18 games prior to this move in 2010, 2011, and 2012. On the AAA team Paredes was batting .293, 2HR, 22 hits, 8 RBI, 2 SB in 20 games.

"Paredes is a guy who will play a large roll for us at the big league level. We really wanted him up here to start the year, but we just didn't have the roster space. The unfortunate injury to Matt (Dominguez) has given us the opportunity to try him out. He will provide versatility as he can play all outfield positions as well as 2nd, 3rd, and SS," Collins said.

These moves will hopefully help out the Astros who are doing better than most expected. They are in 4th place in the AL West currently. Some expect more moves to happen in the coming weeks as many players on the Astros have struggled all month long, namely their bullpen. Only time will tell.

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