The best thing that can be said about Sunday afternoon’s Stros-Rangers game is that I decided to go to Saturday night’s game instead. The Rangers used Sunday’s game for extra batting practice and pounded the Stros, 18-3.
The Stros tried five different pitchers on Sunday, and the Rangers pounded four of them into oblivion. Tim Redding was particularly atrocious, giving up six runs in one inning as he continues to make a strong case for banishment to New Orleans. Wade Miller‘s injury is probably the only reason Redding is still with the club. Starter Andy Pettitte was not much better, giving up six runs and eight hits over five innings.
As they leave for their pre-All Star game West Coast swing, the Stros are 42-39, tied with the Brew Crew for fourth in the NL Central, and seven games behind the NL Central leading Cards. Ensberg showed signs of life by hitting three yaks in the weekend series with the Rangers, but the remainder of the club apart from Berkman and Beltran continue to show little pop in their bats.
Here are the Stros’ hitters’ runs created against average (“RCAA,” explained here) through Friday’s games, courtesy of Lee Sinins:
Lance Berkman 37
Craig Biggio 12
Jeff Bagwell 9
Mike Lamb 9
Carlos Beltran 5
Jeff Kent 3
Eric Bruntlett 1
Jason Lane -2
Orlando Palmeiro -2
Jose Vizcaino -4
Morgan Ensberg -5
Raul Chavez -6
Richard Hidalgo -8
Adam Everett -11
Brad Ausmus -18
Berkman continues to be one of the best hitters in baseball despite the fact that, at least before the acquisition of Beltran, no pitcher in the National League was throwing him a strike (Berkman was second to Bonds during the month of June in walks). Beltran’s RCAA would be an excellent 24 if his RCAA with Kansas City is added to his Stros figure.
Bidg‘s solid season at the plate continues, although he is having his adventures in left field these days. Ensberg’s number should improve when his big weekend numbers are added, and Lamb clearly should be playing more.
Bags‘ seemingly bottomless power decline continues and he is now among the lower tier of first basemen in the National League. Ausmus is now closing in on being the worst hitter among regular players in the National League and should be benched in favor of Chavez, who is merely less bad.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Stros rank seventh in the National League in team RCAA, but every team in the NL Central except for the Brewers have a better team RCAA.
Here are the Stros’ pitchers’ runs saved against average (“RSAA,” explained here):
Roger Clemens 19
Brad Lidge 9
Wade Miller 9
Roy Oswalt 7
Octavio Dotel 5
Mike Gallo 3
Dan Miceli 3
Andy Pettitte 3
Pete Munro 2
Kirk Bullinger 1
David Weathers 0
Brandon Backe -2
Jeremy Griffiths -3
Chad Harville -3
Ricky Stone -3
Jared Fernandez -6
Brandon Duckworth -9
Tim Redding -10
Clemens and Lidge are solid, and Oswalt is improving after working through his abdominal injury. However, a replacement for Miller’s above average performance is no where in sight, and one can only guess who will start in Miller’s place next time (Griffiths was already sent back to New Orleans after last night’s unimpressive performance). Despite these troubles, the Stros team RSAA continues to rank fifth in the National League, although the Cards, Cubs and Brewers are division rivals that all have better team RSAA totals than the Stros.
The Cubs and Cards are still the class of the NL Central and it appears that they will have a close race for the title. The Stros should gradually overtake the Brewers and the Reds for third place in the division if performance levels of those three teams remain relatively stable with present levels. However, that’s probably as good as it will get for this Stros club unless several players get hot in the second half of the season. That’s possible, but not likely.
Berkman, Clemens and Jeff Kent all made the National League All-Star team announced today. All three deserve the honor, although Kent’s performance level is well below Berkman and Clemens. Kent is an All-Star only because of the paucity of good second basemen in the National League.
The Rocket opens the San Diego series tomorrow night, followed by Pete Munro and Roy O. The Stros then go up to L.A. for next weekend’s series with the Dodgers before taking off for the All-Star break.