Daily Archives: June 1, 2004

Stros battle back to beat Cubs

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The Stros showed some heart tonight as they held on behind some outstanding relief pitching by Mike Gallo and Dan Miceli to beat the Cubbies, 5-3.
After Bags and Jeff Kent yaks staked the Stros to an early lead, the Cubs tied it at 3-3 behind three solo shots off of Stros’ starter Brandon Gopherworth, er. or make that Duckworth (Duckworth has now given up a rather startling nine home runs in 24 innings this seasons). After the third shot in the fourth, the Cubs loaded the bases with no outs against Duckworth, when manager Jimy Williams made good use of his quick hook. Gallo came in and and struck out Corey Patterson on four pitches and then induced Ramon Martinez to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play. Gallo won player of the game for that effort.
The Cubs loaded the bases again in the sixth off of Brandon Backe (the only ineffective Astros reliever in this game; guess it wasn’t a good night for pitchers named Brandon) when Miceli came on to get Lee to pop out and fan Patterson and Martinez. Mike Lamb came through with a clutch pinch hit two run double in the eighth, and then Lidge and Dotel mowed down the Cubs with relative ease in the final two frames. Between them, Patterson, Martinez, and Derreck Lee left an incredible 15 Cub teammates stranded on base, much to the vocal disdain of the Cubs’ fans.
The only downer of the game was the continued futility of Duckworth, who was one of the three pitchers that the Stros received from the Phillies in the Billy Wagner deal. My sense is that Duckworth needs some tuning at AAA to determine whether he can pitch at this level consistently, but I don’t know whether the Stros have any options left under his contract.
The Rocket revs up for his first ever game at Wrigley on Wednesday afternoon against the Cubs’ testy Matt Clement, who likes to throw high and tight just as much as Clemens. Should be interesting.

Bankruptcy Judge William Greendyke steps down to enter private practice

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Long-time Houston Bankruptcy Judge William Greendyke resigned effective June 1st to become a member of the Bankruptcy, Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights section of Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski.
Judge Greendyke was appointed to one of the five Houston bankruptcy judgeships in the early 1990’s, and quickly became one of the best and most-admired judges on the federal bench. Hard-working, smart, organized, courteous, and good-humored, Judge Greendyke consistently rated as one of the top judges in Houston in the annual Houston Bar Association judicical evaluation poll. Although he will be sorely missed on the bankruptcy bench, the Houston bankruptcy bar is gaining an esteemed new member.
Former Dallas Bankruptcy Judge Robert C. McGuire will replace Judge Greendyke on a temporary basis for the first few months until a permanent replacement can be named. It is also rumored that Bankruptcy Judge Gerald Schiff from the Western District of Louisiana will be taking on some of Judge Greendyke’s docket until a replacement judge is appointed.

Judge Phil Peden dies

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Alexander Phillips (“Phil”) Peden (prounounced “Pay-don”) died on Sunday at the age of 87. The Chronicle obituary is here.
Judge Peden — a life-long Houstonian — was a well-known and respected judge for over 33 years in various courts in Harris County. He first served as Judge of the county court at law, then as a state District Judge, and then as a Justice on the First Court of Appeals for 14 years. After retiring from the state bench, Judge Peden served as a Federal Bankruptcy Judge for 3 years during the mid-1980’s when a depression in the Houston business community created a huge spike in the number of business and personal bankruptcies. After retiring from the bankruptcy bench, Judge Peden served as a mediator in numerous private litigation matters.
Visitation will be Tuesday, June 1, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, and a memorial service for Judge Peden will be held Wednesday, June 2, at 4:00 p.m. at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.
Here is an updated Chronicle story on Judge Peden.