Reds Give LeCure Lots of Support

Former University of Texas pitcher Sam LeCure won't forget his major league debut. He beat the Astros and didn't have much trouble. His teammates in Cincinnati ultimately scored 15 runs and won 15-6. Sam had a lead from the bottom of the first through his six innings of two run ball.

What can we say about the Astros that we have not already this unfortunate season? One thing is we can put to be any comparisons with 2005's 15-30 and 16-31 start. The 2010 Astros have bested (worsted?) that. They are now 16-32.

The 32nd loss featured something relatively rare this year-- poor starting pitching which put the team in a hole. Wandy Rodriguez was rocked and that pushed his season ERA over 5.00. Totally unacceptable and Wandy knew it following the game. He repeatedly told the media he had to work harder. He had to get his stuff to obey...the curves to break more sharply and all his pitches hit the spots in which they are intended.

Sam LeCure's stuff did just that. A great start for the fifth member of the 2004 Longhorns currently in the big leagues. Along with LeCure is catcher Taylor Teagarden, reliever Huston Street, outfielder and fellow Red, Drew Stubbs and pitcher A.J. Howell.

On Saturday the Astros will trot out veteran Brian Moehler with Wesley Wright in the ready reserve to take over at the point Brian needs help. That is expected since Moehler has not started a game this year and thus has not needed to go very deep into any of his prior appearances. Until his last outing in which he got no one out, he has been very good out of the pen. Now he needs to be very good as a starter.

Presuming the injury to Bud Norris is not serious it may have come at a good time. Bud needed to step away for a bit to re-examine his work and what he needs to do to improve.

The Astros got some hits on Friday. Hunter Pence had a good game. But some of the hits came when the Reds had a big lead and the pitcher's job is to make sure he throws strikes and not try to be tricky. So it is hard to say things may start to improve. Pedro Feliz is still a troubling story. One only wonders if he will be able to play out his contract or have to face the same fate as Kazuo Matsui. Clubs don't like to pay off players whose contracts must still be honored. At the same time when there is little production behind that contract and in the Astros case there IS a third baseman at Round Rock who may be ready to show what he an do, the quandary becomes larger.

Fans, reporters and broadcasters only have to speculate about those sorts of things. GM's and owners have to make the decisions with all that goes with them. They are not easy calls at all.

ON TO OKC

I am leaving the Astros Saturday morning and heading to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 baseball title game telecast on Sunday. (KTXH-TV 20 1pm in Houston). Baylor knocked off Oklahoma to make the game from one pool. Texas A&M goes in from the other. Because of the way things worked out none of the games scheduled for Saturday have any meaning. The final match up has already been determined. The worst of them is the final game: Baylor vs Kansas. It is scheduled for a 7:30 start, but when four games are played in one day that likely won't happen and the game will start later. Then Baylor will have to come back for a day game on Sunday to go for the title.

It is a flawed system, but it is the only one we have.