Alyson's Footnotes

Here’s the rest of the first pitch schedule:

Astros lineup 5/16 vs. Brewers. Roof closed. First pitch: 7:05 p.m. CT

mlblogsfooter1 — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:02:42 +0000

Astros lineup 5/15 at Phillies. Gametime: 12:05 p.m. CT

mlblogsfooter1 — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:46:29 +0000

It’s not always sunny in Philadelphia. Just check out Tuesday’s forecast.

mlblogsfooter1 — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:43:00 +0000

Buddy, can you spare a roof?

A wise man once said, “I’m no weather man, but it’s not looking good out there.”

OK, so the wise man was MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. And sure, a few of us might make a case that Tags may be more of a wise guy than a wise man. And he wasn’t prophetic as much as he was just efficient, following the moving radar on his iPhone. Oh, and when Tags said it, he was actually referring to one of the games the Astros played in Pittsburgh over the weekend.

Still, Tags’ words indeed hold true as we inch toward the end of this all-Pennsylvania roadie. The rain was steady on Monday but not heavy enough to delay the game, but Tuesday’s not, well, looking good out there. The rain is going to continue overnight and is expected to get worse. It also appears the showers will hover over Philly until at least 1 a.m. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

The Astros’ starting pitcher for Tuesday is still TBA, and the way it’s looking, the start time is also TBA, or perhaps NHE, as in, Not Happening, Ever.

For now, though, we’ll proceed as scheduled, with the game slated to begin at 1:05 p.m. ET. But it could be a long day of sitting around and waiting for the rain to subside. That said, both teams have an offday on Aug. 27. The Astros will finish a weekend series with the Mets in New York on Aug. 26 and could theoretically swing back through Philly for one game the next day.

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When the Astros host the Reds on Saturday, June 2, we’ll be hosting our second Social Media Night in the Budweiser Patio. We’ll be joined by one of the Astros’ more regular tweeters, Chris Johnson (@cjastros23), who will be on hand to award prizes to the winners of our Twitter Trivia contest.

Tickets cost $45 and include a ticket on the Bud Patio, batting practice viewing, dinner, dessert, a t-shirt and an opportunity to win prizes during Twitter Trivia.

Prize winners will receive a signed baseball from Johnson and will also receive a copy, via email, of a photo with CJ.

Won’t you join us?

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J.D. Martinez was reinserted into the lineup for the finale in Pittsburgh on Sunday, but the return to the field doesn’t seem to be permanent. After giving the struggling Martinez three consecutive games off, manager Brad Mills was hoping that by putting the left fielder back in the three-hole, where he spent most of April, he’d be more comfortable upon returning to the lineup.

It appears now, however, that Mills will be more selective about when he plays Martinez, who was 0-for-4 on Sunday and is hitless in his last 25 at-bats. Mills said he will “pick and choose” games to play Martinez with hopes of working him back slowly.

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Our intrepid general manager, Jeff Luhnow, will conduct an online chat session with fans during the Astros’ game with the Cubs on Tuesday, May 22. The chat will take place from 7:30 to 8 CT. We will tweet a link on @astros soon. All fans are invited to sign in and participate.

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The 1960s shooting star jerseys that made such a splash earlier this month are making a repeat appearance on Friday, as the Astros celebrate another Flashback Friday at Minute Maid Park. Nolan Ryan will be the fourth iconic alum to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, falling in line after Bob Aspromonte (April 10), Larry Dierker (April 20) and Rusty Staub (May 4).

June 1 vs. CIN   J.R. Richard
June 22 vs. CLE   Joe Morgan
July 6 vs. MIL   Jose Cruz
July 27 vs. PIT Mike Scott
Aug. 10 vs. MIL Jeff Bagwell
Aug. 17 vs. ARI Brad Ausmus
Aug. 31 vs. CIN Shane Reynolds
Sept. 14 vs. PHI Jeff Kent
Sept. 21 vs. PIT Craig Biggio

Astros lineup 5/14 at Phillies. First pitch 6:05 p.m. CT.

mlblogsfooter1 — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:36:56 +0000

Inside the clubhouse: Astros players sport their pink bats and pink wristbands. Happy Mother’s Day!

mlblogsfooter1 — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:45:45 +0000

Major League Baseball players will continue a time-honored tradition today by swinging pink bats and wearing pink wristbands, in honor of Mother’s Day and MLB’s annual Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer promotion.

The bats are a hot pink hue, a contrast from the soft pink color of the bats from years past. The point of the promotion is to create awareness and draw attention to the cause, and the in that respect, this color of pink comes through loud and clear, both in the ballparks and on high-def TV.

It’s always nice to see the players embrace this particular promotion as they prepare their pink bats for the game and suit up with their pink wristbands. They will also wear pink ribbons on their jerseys.

A few snapshots from the visitors clubhouse at PNC Park this morning:

Pink bats in Matt Downs’ locker

Even when players are relaxing on a rain-soaked morning, they’re never far away from their bats. Example A: Travis Buck.

Equipment/clubhouse manager Carl Schneider places pink ribbon stickers on the Astros’ jerseys.

News, notes, tidbits:
* Today’s starter, Wandy Rodriguez, has 76 career wins and is tied with Mike Hampton for second on the club’s all-time wins list among lefties. Wandy is also 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in the two day starts he’s had this year. He’s allowed one run over 14 innings.

Since 2009, Wandy’s 3.27 ERA over 102 starts is the second-lowest among lefties over that time span.

Lowest ERA among lefties since ’09:
Clayton Kershaw: 2.63
Wandy Rodriguez: 3.27
Cole Hamels: 3.31

* Jose Altuve will sign autographs, free of charge, as the Astros Team Store at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, May 19 from 1 to 2 p.m. CT. An Astros player will sign autographs at no charge one Saturday per month at the Team Store throughout the season.

* Outfielder Domingo Santana, the player to be named in the Hunter Pence trade, hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning last night, lifting Class A Lancaster to an 8-4 win over Lake Elsinore. Santana, 19, cleared the batter’s eye in center field with that home run.

* Lancaster outfielder George Springer, who homered four times on Friday, has an eight-game hitting streak, during which he’s hitting .500 (14-for-28) with five homers and 10 RBIs.

* Triple-A Oklahoma City right-hander Paul Clemens threw seven shutout innings in a win over Tucson on Saturday. Clemens allowed three singles in that outing.

* The Astros bullpen — also known in these circles as “The Regulators” — has posted a combined 2.62 ERA this season. Brett Myers is 9-for-9 in save opportunities and has posted a 0.77 ERA in his 12 appearances. Opponents are hitting .146 off of him.

Wilton Lopez (3-0) is tied for second in the NL in relief wins. He also has a 1.83 ERA and has not walked a batter in his 18 appearances (19 2/3 IP).

Brandon Lyon has posted a 0.90 ERA with 12 strikeouts in his last 10 appearances, and Wesley Wright has held left-handed hitters to a .105 average (2-for-19) while stranding all eight runners he inherited.

LOWEST BULLPEN ERA – NL:
1. Cincinnati – 2.41
2. Houston – 2.62
2. Pittsburgh-2.62
4. San Diego – 2.73

It’s the first time a player in the Class A Advanced California League has gone yard in four consecutive at-bats since 1977.

Astros lineup 5/13 at Pirates. Happy Mother’s Day! First pitch 12:35 p.m. CT

mlblogsfooter1 — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:48:32 +0000

Astros lineup 5/12 at Pirates. First pitch: 6:05 p.m. CT.

mlblogsfooter1 — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:34:31 +0000

Minor League notes: George Springer’s four-homer night, and a milestone win for Double-A manager Keith Bodie.

mlblogsfooter1 — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:30:01 +0000

When the Astros selected George Springer as their first-round pick last year, the outfielder was lauded as the best athlete available in the Draft.

It takes time, however, to determine if that raw athleticism will translate into the ability to play baseball at a high level. If early returns on Springer’s start to the 2012 season are any indication, the Class A Lancaster outfielder could be on his way to big things in the future.

Springer’s four consecutive homers may not be quite up to par with Josh Hamilton’s recent Major League record-setting night, but Springer’s display was nonetheless impressive. He homered in his final at-bat in Game 1 of a doubleheader with Lake Elsinore Friday and went deep in his first three plate appearances in the second game.

For the year, Springer is hitting .310 over 35 games with six doubles, four triples, eight homers and 32 RBIs. He is also 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts.

Elsewhere in the Astros’ farm system, Double-A Corpus Christi manager Keith Bodie earned his 1,000th career managerial win after the Hooks topped Frisco, 4-2, Friday night.

A milestone win cannot be celebrated without being doused by a water cooler, as Bodie quickly found out.

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And two final notes from the big leagues: According to Elias, the Astros’ win over the Pirates on Friday was only the fifth 1-0 game since 1991 in which the only run scored on a GIDP. Amazingly, the Astros were the winning team in three of those five games. The Astros beat the Rangers on June 27, 2004 with the only run scoring on a Morgan Ensberg GIDP and they beat the Brewers on September 19, 2004 with the only run scoring on a Roger Clemens GIDP.

Also, four Astros pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout while striking out 11 batters and not issuing a walk. It was only the fifth game since 1900 in which a team used at least four pitchers in a game in which it allowed no runs on four or fewer hits with at least 11 strikeouts and no walks. All five of those games have occurred since 1998.