Has Everyone Seen Enough?

I wrote about Pedro Astacio at some length in the April 20th Entry . At the time, you may recall he had an ERA of 1.64, and was maybe the surprise of the first 3 weeks of the season in the entire American League. Since then, he has seen his ERA soar to over 6, and now appears to be near the end of his Rangers tenure.

Astacio ERA’s by Month:
April: 4.50 (1-3 record)
May: 7.32 (1-2)
June: 7.63 (0-3)

Despite the fact that his record is impacted by low run-support, It is perfectly clear that he is the weak link in the rotation, and you could make the case that his performance was as bad or worse than even Ryan Drese’s, who of course the Rangers gave up on last week. In fact, many of us assumed (unwisely) that Ricardo Rodriguez was being groomed for Astacio’s spot in the rotation. Now that Drese is gone, what do we do with Astacio’s spot? Your guess is as good as John Hart’s.

The 5th inning bites Pedro …

Astacio was steady through the first four innings, twice setting Atlanta down in order. He displayed mastery of the 23-to-45-year-old demographic but had severe difficulties retiring anyone else.

Shortly after Astacio hit Ryan Langerhans on an 0-2 pitch, 22-year-old Kelly Johnson blasted his first major league homer, a three-run shot. Two batters later, Julio Franco, who is allegedly 46, ripped a two-run homer to center. They combined to go 4-for-6 against Astacio with six RBIs.

Hicks says spend away …That was sarcastically typed…

"I've given our people the green light on financial parameters to do something, but we won't do anything stupid from a baseball perspective," Hicks said. "We've got great young players. We're not going to give them up prematurely."

Julio Franco still going strong at 46+ ...

Mayberry signed and in the fold …

Phil back in Los Angeles …

T J Simers is not buying it …

I'M NOT buying it. Too many unanswered questions and a move that is out of character for Jackson, who is normally the final piece to the championship puzzle.

Where was Kobe Bryant on Tuesday? Instead of delivering a crafted, politically correct statement via fax to the media, why wasn't he standing beside Jackson — a statement that would have really cleared the air.

There is no question this is going to play well with the folks who sit courtside and pay $2,100 a ticket, but how smart are the people who sit courtside and pay $2,100 a ticket to watch an NBA game?

Pistons back in series, dominate 4th Quarter of game 3 …and yes, that is right: No losing team has scored 80 YET in this series! N-B-A, IT’S FANTASTIC!



Psycho allowed past borders with chain saw …

Lang Whitaker on the Spurs and Duncan …