Quote of the day
"We take pride in what we do, and every time we lose, it eats away a little piece of us -- there's no doubt about that." -- Houston 1B/DH Carlos Pena, after the team dropped to 5-14Daily blurb
After three straight failed attempts (although he pitched reasonably well in all three), Felix Hernandez finally found the team to beat for his 100th career win – the Houston Astros.
Although the Astros are only 5-14, they aren’t anywhere near the bottom of the rankings in team scoring. Houston has scored 75 runs this season, which ranks 17th out of 30 teams. Compare that to Miami, with only 43 runs scored. The Dodgers have scored only 54, and four other teams are in the 60-64 range. Houston’s bigger problem is pitching, as they sport a 5.49 team ERA, three-quarters of a run worse than any other team, and 1.5 runs worse than the American League average. They weren’t competitive in any aspect last night, though, scoring only once late against the Mariner bullpen in a 7-1 loss.
When you are a hot weather team with ice cold bats, there’s nothing like playing a game in April in Minnesota, where the gametime temperature is expected to be in the upper 30s (with a 30° wind chill factor). At least the skies should be clear of precipitation (and baseballs, in all likelihood - although the forecast shows the wind blowing out toward center). If you’re looking for a spot starter today, Kevin Correia (2.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) might be worth a gambit – and he’s probably available in all but the deepest of leagues. There are actually two games scheduled in Minnesota today – with Mike Pelfrey (7.95 ERA, 1.95 WHIP) getting to face the Fins in colder, darker weather. Of the two starters, Correia’s much better ratios suggest that he’s the safer option – although on any given frigid day…