Only a brief Advance Scout report today, as the Jays travel to Minute Maid Park to take on the Astros for the first time in meaningful games.
* General: The Astros, with Jeff Bagwell injured and with Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent departed via free agency, have been utterly punchless this season ... The team is last in the majors in batting average and OBP, and only out-slug the A's -- who play in a considerably more spacious ballpark ... Houston has scored just 206 runs this season, thirty fewer than the NL's second-worst offence in Pittsburgh ... Is Houston the first club with two Q's on their roster -- Humberto Quintero and Chad Qualls -- since the Quisenberry/Quirk Royals? ...
* Wandy Rodriguez: The diminuitive Dominican rookie gets the ball tonight ... Throws strikes, but often leaves his stuff over the heart of the plate ... His curve has a tight break but not a pronounced one ... Slings the ball like Dontrelle Willis, but without hiding the ball as well as the D-Train. Lefties can consequently hit him hard ... He's able to backdoor righties with that curve, which he throws in the high 70s ... Sneaky fast, but not fast enough to get away with mistakes up in the zone ... Likes to go curve after fastballs get fouled off ...
* Lance Berkman: Hasn't seemed like his old self ... When he's on, he's among the preeminent low-ball hitters in baseball from both sides of the plate ... Stays still and relaxed, yet can pull fastballs, even when he's not expecting them ... Patient with breaking pitches ... His OPS is nearly 270 points below his career average. He topped 1.000 in both 2001 and 2004 ... Whips out his front hand during his swing, kind of like David Ortiz ... From the left side, it just seems like he hasn't been seeing the ball well. He's been swinging over breaking pitches ... Has been rolling over low-and-away junk from the right side, leading to a slew of (uncharacteristic) routine groundouts ...
* Adam Everett: Good plate coverage on outside pitches ... Prefers the ball up, and his hack at high pitches is reminiscent of a poor man's Shea Hillenbrand ... Tries to take everything to left-centre ... His head goes flying off the ball on lefty breaking stuff, with which he struggles terribly ... Lunges out on his front foot a bit, and can therefore be tied up down and in ...
* Jason Lane: Like Everett, likes to pull outside heat to left centre, with gap power ... Will occasionally go the other way, though ... High-ball hitter ... Waves at changeups, especially by lefties ... Will chase righthanded breaking stuff down and away ...
* Craig Biggio: Will turn 40 (!) in December ... Prefers the ball down ... Keeps his elbows tucked in tight to his body, and has a strange hitch in his swing where he coils his body away from the pitcher before swinging ... Really throws his weight into every swing ... Struggles with sliders away, where he takes his head off the ball ... His walk rate has strangely declined over the years ...
* Chris Burke: Likes to sit on breaking pitches, and really flies open when he swings ... Vulnerable to strikes on the outside corner ... Chases breaking stuff down and out of the zone ...
* Morgan Ensberg: Picked up from his hot May with a strong June ... Seems to consistently make hard contact, and drives the ball with authority ... Pull hitter who -- like many Astros -- likes the ball down ... Long swing, but a quick one ... Picky hitter that can sometimes be rung up looking, especially around the knees ... Lefties can get him to chase junk away ...
* Roger Clemens: Old "friend" is still, amazingly, dominant despite being less than two months shy of his 43rd birthday ... Opponents are hitting a paltry .185 off him ... Exceedingly difficult to hit unless he leaves "Mr. Splitty" up in the zone, which he occasionally does ... Gets such a powerful push off the rubber with his lower body ... When he keeps his splitter down, its late movement is devastating ... Also still throws two explosive varieties of fastball ...
* Roy Oswalt: Zips a mid-90s fastball up and in on righthanded hitters, but he hasn't gotten exceptional movement on it this season ... Can dial it up to 97, which is effective when going up the ladder against lefthanded hitters ... Busy delivery is reminiscent of a less smooth Bronson Arroyo ... Teammates shade the other way in light of Oswalt's terrific heat ...
Notwithstanding the former "Ten-Run Field" moniker of the retractable-roofed stadium, the Astros rely heavily on their starting pitching. True, the 'Stros will throw Clemens and Oswalt at the Jays this weekend, but a middling bullpen and the worst offence in the majors seem to present an opportunity for the Jays to win the series. Expect some pitchers' duels.
On to the Mini-Advance Scout!
* General: The Astros, with Jeff Bagwell injured and with Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent departed via free agency, have been utterly punchless this season ... The team is last in the majors in batting average and OBP, and only out-slug the A's -- who play in a considerably more spacious ballpark ... Houston has scored just 206 runs this season, thirty fewer than the NL's second-worst offence in Pittsburgh ... Is Houston the first club with two Q's on their roster -- Humberto Quintero and Chad Qualls -- since the Quisenberry/Quirk Royals? ...
* Wandy Rodriguez: The diminuitive Dominican rookie gets the ball tonight ... Throws strikes, but often leaves his stuff over the heart of the plate ... His curve has a tight break but not a pronounced one ... Slings the ball like Dontrelle Willis, but without hiding the ball as well as the D-Train. Lefties can consequently hit him hard ... He's able to backdoor righties with that curve, which he throws in the high 70s ... Sneaky fast, but not fast enough to get away with mistakes up in the zone ... Likes to go curve after fastballs get fouled off ...
* Lance Berkman: Hasn't seemed like his old self ... When he's on, he's among the preeminent low-ball hitters in baseball from both sides of the plate ... Stays still and relaxed, yet can pull fastballs, even when he's not expecting them ... Patient with breaking pitches ... His OPS is nearly 270 points below his career average. He topped 1.000 in both 2001 and 2004 ... Whips out his front hand during his swing, kind of like David Ortiz ... From the left side, it just seems like he hasn't been seeing the ball well. He's been swinging over breaking pitches ... Has been rolling over low-and-away junk from the right side, leading to a slew of (uncharacteristic) routine groundouts ...
* Adam Everett: Good plate coverage on outside pitches ... Prefers the ball up, and his hack at high pitches is reminiscent of a poor man's Shea Hillenbrand ... Tries to take everything to left-centre ... His head goes flying off the ball on lefty breaking stuff, with which he struggles terribly ... Lunges out on his front foot a bit, and can therefore be tied up down and in ...
* Jason Lane: Like Everett, likes to pull outside heat to left centre, with gap power ... Will occasionally go the other way, though ... High-ball hitter ... Waves at changeups, especially by lefties ... Will chase righthanded breaking stuff down and away ...
* Craig Biggio: Will turn 40 (!) in December ... Prefers the ball down ... Keeps his elbows tucked in tight to his body, and has a strange hitch in his swing where he coils his body away from the pitcher before swinging ... Really throws his weight into every swing ... Struggles with sliders away, where he takes his head off the ball ... His walk rate has strangely declined over the years ...
* Chris Burke: Likes to sit on breaking pitches, and really flies open when he swings ... Vulnerable to strikes on the outside corner ... Chases breaking stuff down and out of the zone ...
* Morgan Ensberg: Picked up from his hot May with a strong June ... Seems to consistently make hard contact, and drives the ball with authority ... Pull hitter who -- like many Astros -- likes the ball down ... Long swing, but a quick one ... Picky hitter that can sometimes be rung up looking, especially around the knees ... Lefties can get him to chase junk away ...
* Roger Clemens: Old "friend" is still, amazingly, dominant despite being less than two months shy of his 43rd birthday ... Opponents are hitting a paltry .185 off him ... Exceedingly difficult to hit unless he leaves "Mr. Splitty" up in the zone, which he occasionally does ... Gets such a powerful push off the rubber with his lower body ... When he keeps his splitter down, its late movement is devastating ... Also still throws two explosive varieties of fastball ...
* Roy Oswalt: Zips a mid-90s fastball up and in on righthanded hitters, but he hasn't gotten exceptional movement on it this season ... Can dial it up to 97, which is effective when going up the ladder against lefthanded hitters ... Busy delivery is reminiscent of a less smooth Bronson Arroyo ... Teammates shade the other way in light of Oswalt's terrific heat ...
