Astros down 3-0 in the third. Rodriguez has given up two HR's. I
cannot understand for the life of me why Garner continues to stick with
Wandy. It seems when the Astros win four or five in a row and get some
momemtum Rodriguez pitches poorly and the Astros begin to tailspin. I
know Pettitte is hurt but why can't garner give Albers or Sampson a
shot? They certainly could do no worse!! I have come to the
conclusion that Garner and Hickey should both be fired and maybe we can
hire Pinella or Tony Pena. This team still had a shot at the wildcard
going into this homestand and they have layed a big egg. It doesn't
appear to me that Garner has that special skill to take some of these
players to the next level. Ensberg had one good season and three
mediocre one's. I've given up on Ensberg and Lane. Ausmus calls a
great game but you have to be able to hit at least .260 and drive in 60
runs. We all know Everett is Everett - great glove no stick.

David233 wrote:


Because he's making his pitches for the most part. Two HR won't kill a
team if it can score runs.


IIRC, both have done worse. Didn't Sampson throw yesterday? How long do
you want him to throw today? And with the Reds coming up tomorrow, how
far are you willing to stretch the bullpen for this game?


I'm not sure either would be an upgrade. Especially after listening to
Lou Pinella yesterday.


No, not much of one.


How is it any different from what they've done since May?


Wrong emphasis: some of these players don't have the "special skill" to
go to the next level. Houston has some good players, especially in the
starting rotation, but the rest of the team lack the same caliber of
talent.


I warned all of you not to get too wrapped up in Ensberg. I saw what he
did here in Round Rock and I saw him a few times in New Orleans --
he knocked the shit out of balls thrown by guys who barely had
stuff for AA and AAA respectively, but he was NO match for pitchers who
were closer to being ready for MLB. Dittos for Lane. I wasn't stuck
with looking at how many HRs they hit for the Express and Zephyrs. I saw
that they had serious trouble hitting the pitchers who had good stuff --
guys like Ben Sheets that they haven't been able to hit in the MLB.

I thought both
should've been traded when they were still hot prospects, not when they
showed the same thing I noticed against the BETTER pitchers they faced
instead of looking at how impressive they were against guys who are
selling cars and real estate now because their fastballs weren't all
that fast. Check out the second quote and what I wrote four years ago
about Ensberg's BA.

I'd gladly make [Ensberg] part of a trade. I think the Astros should
have offered him and Wagner for Scott Rolen (and a prospect or two)
over the winter. That would have given Houston solid defense at third
and added to the offense. I'm not knocking Ensberg, but I think he's
more of a Truby than a Caminiti (steroids or no).
-- as "usual suspect" : 12 June 2002

Go back to what I said about Ensberg as trade-bait. He is worth a lot
more in a trade when he's batting .300 in AAA than when he's batting
.230 in the big leagues. I really think that's why we haven't seen him
in an Astros uniform again -- and why we WON'T. We can't get much for
Zinter, Wesson, or Everett. We can get something for Ensberg.
-- as "usual suspect" : 18 July 2002

Etc. Imagine how much more offense Houston could have from such a trade.
BTW, my next pseudonym will be "astrodamus."


How much do you wanna bet all four of those guys are still Astros
starters next season?