Aug 22 2008 01:51 PM
No song titles, no cutesy crap. I thought about going with Sesame Street episode titles, but I couldn't find anyone named Elmo on the Astros' roster.
Your starting pitching matchups:
Tonight: Johan Santana (11-7, 2.75) vs Roy Oswalt (11-8, 4.28)
Oswalt pitched six innings and got a no-decision in Houston on August 2 (the game that Heilman lost). However, he's 4-0, 3.27 since his midseason DL stint.
Bonus factoid: It's Fiesta Latina! The "Los Mets" jerseys are back, and Tito "Mel" Rojas and "Allen" Wason by Negros will perform after the game.
Tomorrow night: John Maine (10-7, 3.82) vs Brandon Backe (7-12, 5.62)
Backe pitched six innings and got a no-decision in Houston on August 1 (the game that Heilman lost). He got lit up for eleven runs against Arizona his last time out.
Bonus factoid: 42 years ago tomorrow, the Beatles played a return engagement at Shea.
Sunday afternoon: Oliver Perez (9-7, 3.93) vs Randy Wolf (8-11, 4.81)
Wolf pitched five scoreless innings and got a W in one of the few games Aaron Heilman hasn't lost this season. Got lit up for six runs in four innings in Milwaukee his last time out.
Bonus factoid: It's Shea T-Shirt Day! First 25,000 fans will receive this:
First fan to send me one gets an autographed Grant Roberts baseball card in return.
Monday night: Mike Pelfrey (16-0, 1.45) vs Brian Moehler (9-4, 3.87)
Last time Moehler faced the Mets, the first batter he faced was Aaron Sele... in the 17th inning. He lost that game, giving up two runs in the top of the 17th in Houston on July 7, 2007. Aaron Heilman pitched the eighth and part of the ninth that night, giving up two hits and leaving the mess to Pedro Feliciano, who struck out Lance Berkman to send the game to extra innings.
Bonus factoid: Monday is Vern Ruhle's 57th birthday. Vern is the only player born on this day to spend time in uniform with both the Mets and Astros. Happy Birthday, Vern!
Bonus Vern Ruhle factoid: In Vern's thirteen years in the major leagues, only one player hit more than three home runs off him... Gary Carter!
Bonus Gary Carter factoid: In Gary's nineteen seasons, he hit more than four home runs off only four pitchers: five each off John Candelaria, Pete Falcone, and Jim Rooker... and ELEVEN off Steve Carlton.
Bonus Steve Carlton factoid: In Steve's 24-year career, he faced Keith Hernandez (154 PA) more than any other player. Keith hit .321 with eleven doubles off Carlton.
Bonus Keith Hernandez factoid: Keith's pulling down the Lincoln-Mercury Shea Countdown number on Sunday!
It all comes full circle, people.
Bullpen:
Includes LaTroy Hawkins, who wasn't even good enough for the Yankees. That shows you how bad they are. But considering what happened in Houston a few weeks ago with He Who Shall Not Be Named... I'll just let this slide.
Jose Valverde is the closer; Valverde is perhaps best known as the all-time saves leader in my Out Of The Park baseball career league with 515. In real life, Valverde is fourth all time among Dominican-born pitchers with 130 saves, passing Antonio Alfonseca this week. Alfonseca still leads all Dominicans in fingers with 12.
The rest of the Astros:
C - The combination of Humberto Quintero (.243), Brad Ausmus (.230) and J.R. Towles (.143) are collectively worse than Brian Schneider on his worst day.
1B - Seawolf17 doppleganger Lance Berkman leads all active Astros in just about every major category, including hitting (.329), home runs (25), RBI (89), walks (75), and OPS (1.028).
2B - Craig Biggio is one of the all-time greats, and despite retiring at the end of last season, has helped the Astros' offense more in 2008 than any of their catchers. With Kaz Matsui on the DL, 37-year-old Mark Loretta -- who shares a career track with such legends as Johnny Ray and Mark Grudzielanek) backs him up on his days off.
3B - Ty Wigginton (!) has a .914 OPS with 16 home runs. He was named the co-NL Player of the Week for the week of August 11-17 (along with J.R. Watkins Apothecary Liniment Spokesperson Johan Santana). His 15-game hitting streak ended this week. I'm sure the Mets wish they had someone of his caliber at third base these days. (Oh, wait.)
SS - Miguel Tejada is a big fat steroid junkie who should never have made the All-Star team.
LF - ESPN.com lists Darin Erstad as the Astros' starting LF, but I'm pretty sure he retired in 2004. Carlos Lee usually goes here, but he is on the DL with a fractured distal left fifth finger, whatever the hell that is. He was leading the NL in RBI at the time with 100, but he will be passed by David Wright (98) tonight.
CF - Michael Bourn is once again proving the age-old adage that you can't steal first base (.226/.283/.306). Thankfully, he can steal second and third; he leads the team with 33 steals.
RF - Hunter Pence is one of the hot young names in baseball, and if you talk to baseball card collectors, you'd think he's the next coming of Mickey Mantle. As it is, he's bopping along at a .260/.300/.435 clip, which puts him firmly between Adrian Beltre and Lastings Milledge, neither of whom exactly put the fear of God in you in a big spot.
Former Mets: Kaz Matsui (DL), Ty Wigginton, David "Fat Trax" Newhan.
Future Mets: Lance Berkman.
Former Astros: Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner (DL), Moises Alou (HA!)
Roster News: Ryan Church allegedly comes back this weekend; he is scheduled to return to the DL on Tuesday.