The Cubs and Cardinals both lost, and yet the Astros couldn't take care of business against a bad Giants team on the road. It was the type of winnable
ballgame that seemed to be more frustrating than disappointing. The Astros had plenty of chances to win last night's game throughout the game ( multiple
runners left on base during quite a few innings ), especially during the first few innings.
In fact, Carlos Lee came within a few feet from giving the Astros an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but the ball simply didn't carry ( when it left the bat I thought it was a home run, but all of a sudden the ball died in the center field air with no wind aid at all ). That happens from time to time. Sort of like a great NBA team getting beat by a much weaker team -- sometimes the ball just doesn't go down the net, a la the 1995-1996 Bulls that went 72-10 and yet they lost a game to the weak Toronto Raptors on the road that season.
Granted, the Astros can't win every game and they'll lose every now and then ( heck, they once started the season 6-12 with many frustrating losses by one or two runs ), but what made last night's 4-2 loss "extra frustrating to me" was the fact that they lost to a weak offensive team that had no business scoring 4 runs in the first place.
Cecil Cooper said on the Post-Game show last night that he felt Brandon Backe pitched extremely well last night, and I guess he did if you take away the bottom of the 1st. The Giants pretty much won the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 1st.
On the other hand, not all of it was Backe's fault. The Astros defense was very sloppy in the bottom of the 1st. There were a couple of pop flies they simply couldn't catch!
Neither of the plays resulted in physical errors, but they were more mental lapses...
Anytime a team beats you by a final score of 4-2, and they scored 3 of those 4 runs in the first inning, it just feels a little demoralizing and deflating from a fan's perspective.
I mean granted, I'm not the one batting, pitching, running and fielding.
All I can do is watch helplessly on television.
Take away Backe's usually consistent poor performances early in ballgames ( it seems to be a trend for him -- struggling early in games but pitching well after that ), and his ERA would probably be much more respectable this season.
Defensively speaking, I felt the Astros really let me down last night. I counted at least three or four pop flies that were in the air for quite a while ( good hangtime duration ), and yet all of them had eyes and somehow hit the ground for a base hit.
There's just no excuse for that!
Sigh, it all adds up to 1.5 games back of first place ( two back in the loss column ).
The Astros wasted a great opportunity last night. They could have been a mere .5 game back of first place this morning, and only 1 game back in the all-important loss column. It's still very early in the regular season, but it's losses like these that really make you scratch your head.
That's baseball, I guess.
I'm too frustrated to discuss last night's game anymore.
It's over with... I'll leave it at that... It is what it is...
In fact, Carlos Lee came within a few feet from giving the Astros an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but the ball simply didn't carry ( when it left the bat I thought it was a home run, but all of a sudden the ball died in the center field air with no wind aid at all ). That happens from time to time. Sort of like a great NBA team getting beat by a much weaker team -- sometimes the ball just doesn't go down the net, a la the 1995-1996 Bulls that went 72-10 and yet they lost a game to the weak Toronto Raptors on the road that season.
Granted, the Astros can't win every game and they'll lose every now and then ( heck, they once started the season 6-12 with many frustrating losses by one or two runs ), but what made last night's 4-2 loss "extra frustrating to me" was the fact that they lost to a weak offensive team that had no business scoring 4 runs in the first place.
Cecil Cooper said on the Post-Game show last night that he felt Brandon Backe pitched extremely well last night, and I guess he did if you take away the bottom of the 1st. The Giants pretty much won the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 1st.
On the other hand, not all of it was Backe's fault. The Astros defense was very sloppy in the bottom of the 1st. There were a couple of pop flies they simply couldn't catch!
Neither of the plays resulted in physical errors, but they were more mental lapses...
Anytime a team beats you by a final score of 4-2, and they scored 3 of those 4 runs in the first inning, it just feels a little demoralizing and deflating from a fan's perspective.
I mean granted, I'm not the one batting, pitching, running and fielding.
All I can do is watch helplessly on television.
Take away Backe's usually consistent poor performances early in ballgames ( it seems to be a trend for him -- struggling early in games but pitching well after that ), and his ERA would probably be much more respectable this season.
Defensively speaking, I felt the Astros really let me down last night. I counted at least three or four pop flies that were in the air for quite a while ( good hangtime duration ), and yet all of them had eyes and somehow hit the ground for a base hit.
There's just no excuse for that!
Sigh, it all adds up to 1.5 games back of first place ( two back in the loss column ).
The Astros wasted a great opportunity last night. They could have been a mere .5 game back of first place this morning, and only 1 game back in the all-important loss column. It's still very early in the regular season, but it's losses like these that really make you scratch your head.
That's baseball, I guess.
I'm too frustrated to discuss last night's game anymore.
It's over with... I'll leave it at that... It is what it is...
