A baseball career: My journal

[antidan444]

April 21, 2014 -- Astros (7-5) at Rangers (7-6)

On the last pitch of the first inning, Chris Capuano (injury history: wrecked) felt something in his hamstring and limped off the field. I was quickly summoned to warm up. Our offense came to play today, so I had a 4-0 lead when I took the hill in the second.

SECOND INNING

Lorenzo Cain -- Easy groundout to first.
Ian Kinsler -- This guy is so frustrating to pitch to. I got ahead 0-2 and then he kept fouling good pitches off until he lined the eighth pitch to the left corner for a double.
Torii Hunter -- A routine 6-3 grounder.
Adrian Beltre -- I fell behind 3-0, but made a good 3-1 pitch and he grounded to short to end the inning.

THIRD INNING
Craig Gentry -- Popped up to third.
Elvis Andrus -- He blooped a single to left that Villar had for a brief moment sno-cone fashion, but it popped out. Hell of an effort. I had Andrus picked off a minute later, but Parmelee dropped the throw.
Carlos Ruiz -- He tipped a 3-2 sinker into the catcher's mitt for a strikeout.
Jurickson Profar -- There was a buzz for this at-bat, more for him than for me. I got behind and had to throw a meatball down 3-1. He didn't miss it, homering to right to cut the lead to 4-2. The place went nuts. Welcome to the bigs, kid.
Mike Olt -- I left a 2-2 sinker up and he smashed it to center for a single.
Cain -- He lined a first-pitch changeup to right for a single. I was pretty rattled at this point.
Kinsler -- I thought he had himself a single to left, but Villar's a beast over there, as he made the backhand stop and threw him out to end the inning. I was at 48 pitches and knew my day wasn't going to last too much longer.

FOURTH INNING

Hunter -- Another frustrating at-bat in which I got ahead 0-2, couldn't put him away and he hit the seventh pitch of the at-bat to left for a single.

That was it for me. Not a good outing. The rest of the pen wasn't good either, except for closer Manny Parra, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth to seal an 8-6 victory. The Rangers had 16 hits but stranded 12 runners.

GAME STATS: 2 innings, 6 hit, 2 runs, 0 walks, 1 K
SEASON STATS: 4 2/3 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 2 Ks

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Maxwell 3-5, HR, 2 RBIs
Springer 2-3, HR, 4 RBIs
Altuve 2-5, HR

INJURY UPDATES
MRIs on Capuano's hammy were negative. He may miss his next start, but should be OK in a week.
Wade Miley dodged a real scare. MRIs on his arm were negative and he actually felt great today. A side throwing session went by without incident, and it looks like he won't miss a start.

[antidan444]

April 22, 2014 -- Astros (8-5) at Rangers (7-7)

Jeff Francis battled with Yu Darvish in a darn good pitcher's duel that went into extra innings tied at 1. In the 10th, Manny Parra gave up a one-out double to the wall in center by Adrian Beltre, then a walk-off single by Elvis Andrus as we lost 2-1.

Darvish: 8 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 12 Ks
Francis: 8 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 Ks

[antidan444]

April 23, 2014 -- Astros (8-6) at Rangers (8-7)

The final game of our road trip saw our boys break out the power bats, unleashing six homers and 17 hits total in a 13-4 spanking. Ian Kennedy worked a solid seven innings and I did not pitch.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Villar 4-6, HR, 2 RBIs
Parmelee 2 HRs, 3 walks
Altuve 3-5, 2 RBIs
Carter 2-6, HR, 2 RBIs
Gonzalez 2-4
Springer, Castro HR each
Kennedy (W, 2-1) 7 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 7 Ks

We have an off-day, then head home for three against the White Sox and three against the Angels.

[antidan444]

April 25, 2014 -- White Sox (7-9) at Astros (9-6)

Give a butt-kicking, receive a butt-kicking. I got some garbage-time today, entering in the eighth with one out, no one on base and a 13-2 deficit in front of barely anybody, as they'd all headed for the exits around the sixth.

EIGHTH INNING

Gordon Beckham -- He flew out to deep center on an 0-2 pitch I got away with.
Conor Gillaspie -- Struck him out on a good 1-2 changeup to end the inning.

We scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth ... here comes a rally!

NINTH INNING

Carlos Sanchez -- Struck him out looking at a 1-2 sinker on the inside corner. That's the first time in a LONG time I've struck out two in a row.
Blake Tekotte -- I missed just low with three sinkers, and he ripped a 3-1 sinker to the right corner for a double.
Jeff Keppinger -- He flew out to deep left, with Tekotte going to third.
Justin Morneau -- He crushed the first pitch right at me, and I caught it out of self-preservation to end the inning. I think I pissed myself in the process.

We actually scored three more in the ninth before falling, 13-9.

GAME STATS: 1 2/3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs/walks, 2 Ks
SEASON STATS: 6 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 4 Ks, 2.81 ERA

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Carter 3-5, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs
Castro, Maxwell 2-run HR each

[captaincoop17]

Hey antidan444 do you care if I do one of these too? I really like this and have been following closely

Maybe my guy could be a hitter?

[antidan444]

Do whatever helps you enjoy the game!

Glad you're enjoying the thread.

[antidan444]

April 26 - White Sox (8-9) at Astros (9-7)

Jeff Karstens was moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation (with Bud Norris heading to the bullpen after two rough starts), and Karstens seized the opportunity, allowing just one run on four hits over eight innings in a 5-1 win. I wish the opportunity had been mine, but that's sour grapes.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Castro 4-4, HR, 2 RBIs (starting to heat up)
Parmelee 3-run HR

[antidan444]

April 27 -- White Sox (8-10) at Astros (10-7)

Chris Capuano always looked on the verge of getting hammered today (I warmed up in the 6th), but he fought out of jam after jam and got through 8 innings with a 4-2 lead after we scored two in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie. Geroge Springer hit an RBI single off Jake Peavy (0-4, 4.72 ERA) to make it 3-2, and Jonathan Villar greeted a reliever with another RBI single. Manny Parra gave up a triple and a run in the ninth, but closed out the 4-3 win.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Villar, Castro 2-4, RBI each
Springer 2-3, RBI
Capuano (W, 2-0) 8 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 Ks (116 pitches)

[antidan444]

April 28, 2014 -- Angels (10-10) at Astros (11-7)

The offense was on fire again today, mashing 14 hits in an 11-4 victory while Jeff Francis needed just 99 pitches to go the distance, making for another uneventful evening for me.

The big news of the day was unfortunate for the Angels: Albert Pujols (3-for-3, hitting .325) injured his knee when thrown out at home and will miss 6 weeks with a sprained PCL.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Villar 3-3, 2 walks, 4 runs
Maxwell, Castro, Carter, Parmelee, Paredes all 2 hits, 2 RBIs
Francis (W, 2-1) CG, 9 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 4 Ks

ANGELS HIGHLIGHTS (other than Pujols)
Trumbo, Hamilton 2-run HR each

[baseballonly]

At least you're winning, and you'll have the chance to make big bucks from free agency sooner.

[antidan444]

April 29, 2014 -- Angels (10-11) at Astros (12-7)

Ian Kennedy battled through seven innings (on 120 pitches) and Manny Parra was rescued by J.D. Martinez in left field in the ninth as we held on, 3-2. I had a perfect view of Martinez's throw home to get Luis Jimenez and preserve the win. That view meant I was still in the bullpen *sigh*.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Martinez, Maxwell solo HR each
Kennedy (W, 3-1) 7 innings, 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 5 Ks

[antidan444]

April 30, 2014 -- Angels (10-12) at Astros (13-7)

We couldn't get anything against CJ Wilson (4-1) in a 3-0 loss, which was the fifth straight game I watched in its entirety. I pitched all of 6 1/3 innings in April. That's just not enough, and I'd rather be in AAA getting regular work. I made that known loud and clear to GM Jeff Luhnow after the game.

ANGELS HIGHLIGHTS
Wilson 7 innings, 7 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 10 Ks

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Wade Miley (L, 1-3) 7 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks, 6 Ks

COMING SOON: The first of what will be a monthly comprehensive look at the Astros and MLB (provided I stay in the majors).

(Maybe, if I can figure out images. If not, it may be a slightly less comprehensive look.)

[antidan444]

Yeah, that image was too small.

[baseballonly]

Just click "go advanced", and Scroll down a bit to add an attachment. As for taking a screenshot, just Cntrl+Shift+PgDown

[antidan444]

Thanks for the advice. Resizing my (too big) images and will repost soon.

[antidan444]

Here's the monthly update.

[antidan444]

May 1, 2014 -- Astros (13-8) at Yankees (9-13)

Make it six days of no pitching. I'm turning into the grump in the middle of a winning clubhouse. What can I do? They know I would rather be pitching somewhere (probably AAA, but if it was AA or even A, I wouldn't care right now). But it's their call, and I suppose if they're willing to pay me an MLB salary to sit on the bench and keep the peace, maybe I should just shut up and enjoy the winning.

Our offense went nuts again for an 11-4 victory.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Castro 3-4, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs
Carter 2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBIs
Villar 2-4, RBI
Springer 2-5, RBI
Karstens (W, 2-0) 8 innings, 11 hits, 4 runs, 0 walks, 1 K

[antidan444]

May 2, 2014 -- Astros (14-8) at Yankees (9-14)

We had a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Chris Capuano gave up Ben Francisco's two-run homer with one out as the Yankees took a 3-2 lead. That was it for Capuano, and HOLY CRAP I'M PITCHING IN YANKEE STADIUM! It's been so long since I pitched, I needed directions to the mound ...

SIXTH INNING

Nick Punto -- I got ahead 1-2, then missed with three straight pitches just low to give up my first walk since last August. I really wanted the call on a 2-2 change, but didn't get it.
Slade Heathcott -- After I bounced a sinker past Castro for a wild pitch, Heathcott lined a single to center. However, Justin Maxwell threw out Punto at home with a hell of a throw.
David Ross -- I walked him on four terrible pitches and swore at myself (and a little at management for sitting me for six games, hello, rust! But mostly at myself).
Ichiro Suzuki -- I LOVED watching him play when I was in Little League, one of my favorite guys. I didn't particularly want to face him in this kind of jam, but he grounded the first pitch to third and I Houdini'd my way out of the inning.

SEVENTH INNING

I was a little kid during this inning, pitching against these guys ...

Derek Jeter -- Struck him out after falling behind 3-0!
Prince Fielder -- An easy popup to second.
Mark Teixeira -- I hate typing his last name. I got ahead 1-2 and he hit a foul popup behind the plate. What a difference one inning makes!

EIGHTH INNING

Alex Rodriguez -- I HATE this schmuck, and was happy when he hit a can of corn to center.

That was it for me, as I did my job (with a little help in the sixth) and kept us within a run.

In the ninth, the Yankees made two errors to set up Jimmy Paredes' game-tying RBI single, but we stranded the go-ahead run at third with no outs. No problem ... in the 11th, Delino DeShields Jr. walked to end an epic 14-pitch at-bat with eight two-strike fouloffs, and the Yankees made another error to set up Marwin Gonzalez's game-winning single as we won 4-3. Good times.

GAME STATS: 2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 walks, 1 K
SEASON STATS: 8 1/3 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 Ks, 2.16 ERA

[antidan444]

May 3, 2014 -- Astros (15-8) at Yankees (9-15)

We scored three runs in the first inning and four more in the third, and turned three double plays in a 7-1 victory, our third straight over the Bronx Bombers. The home crowd was not happy and spent most of the game letting their displeasure be known (Yanks are 5-11 at home).

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Parmelee 2 HRs, 4 RBIs
Altuve 3-4
Castro HR, 2 RBIs
Francis (W, 3-1, 2.43 ERA) 8 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 1 K

[antidan444]

May 4, 2014 -- Astros (16-8) at Yankees (9-16)

Ian Kennedy pitched into the eighth and was spectacular again, coming out with a 2-0 lead. Bud Norris came in and promptly gave up a solo homer to make it 2-1. Edward Mujica got the second out of the inning while I was warming up (surprise!), and manager Bo Porter called on me to face A-Rod, who grounded to short to end a seven-pitch at-bat where I fell behind 2-0.

We took a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth, but Manny Parra blew it, with two walks and an error leading to Ichiro's game-tying two-run single. However, Jason Castro (a late sub) homered in the 11th and we won 4-3 to complete a four-game sweep.

ASTROS HIGHLIGHTS
Kennedy 7 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 8 Ks (2.08 ERA)
Chris Parmelee solo homer

KAUFFMAN GAME STATS: 1/3 inning, 0 hits/runs/walks/Ks
SEASON STATS: 8 2/3 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 Ks, 2.08 ERA