Let's Play Two: Houston vs. Pittsburgh

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 19, 2005 4:42 AM EDT in News

Game One (5:05 PM): Ezequiel Astacio (0-4, 9.47) vs. Ian Snell (0-0, 7.00). For whatever it's worth, this matchup features two of the best pitchers in Class AA last year. Snell's start will be his first of the year, and hopefully not his last.

Game Two: Wandy Rodriguez (4-4, 7.25) vs. Mark Redman (4-9, 4.01). Perhaps somebody can explain this one to me in the comments: Minorleaguebaseball.com and Yahoo Sports both say that Rodriguez was born in January 1979 in the Dominican; The Baseball Cube identifies him as an Astros prospect, but says he was born in November 1983 in Venezuela. If he's actually 21, he's a very good prospect; if, as is more likely, he's 26, he's just a guy. Either way, he's getting pounded this year.

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Agegate

I believe the 1979 DOB is correct - Rodriguez gained some years after 9-11.

I am finding that Baseball Cube is less and less reliable for minor league data and stats.

by Greg Schuler on Jul 19, 2005 9:22 AM EDT reply actions

The Cube

Sometimes the teams just do a poor job of notifying people of things like this. From what I understand, the Pirates knew that Javier Guzman was born in 1982 rather than 1984 some time ago, probably after 9-11. Yet this year's media guide still has the 1984 date. Minorleaguebaseball.com still has it, too, even though they were the ones who first started showing it as 1982 and then changed it back after being misinformed by the Lynchburg front office. (They were probably relying on the media guide.) I'll bet all the teams knew, however, which probably explains why Guzman wasn't taken in the Rule 5 draft last fall.

by WTM on Jul 19, 2005 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Rodriguez

I'm not sure this is an agegate situation, though. I googled "wandy rodriguez" and "agegate" and didn't find anything. I've never heard of an agegate case where the player isn't even from the same CONTINENT he says he's from. I think this is just a case of the Baseball Cube mixing him up with another player, or something.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 19, 2005 1:47 PM EDT reply actions

Result: Game One

Pirates lose 9-3. Snell gave up five runs and five innings, including five extra base hits, but he struck out three while allowing only one walk and no homers, so maybe there's something to build on there. Ryan Doumit hit the first two homers of his big league career.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 19, 2005 8:47 PM EDT reply actions

Imagine that

DOumit gets another start and he homers - twice. Couldn't be because of the consistent playing time.

What baffles me is the call from some fans/followers that Doumit should not supplant Cota. Cota, it appears, is better defensively and has the trust of the pitching staff, and is good enough offensively that the Pirates shouldn't but a defensively weaker player behind the plate.

If those fans consider Cota (700 OPS) as someone you can win with, I'd agree - if he was catching for the Cardinals or Boston. But for the Pirates, unless they unearth two more above average bats, the futility will last.

And if Doumit really is incapable of playing catcher, the Pirates need to find out sooner or later. Doumit will survive with his bat, but if they turn him into JR House because he can't catch, it will be a tremendous waste, and a lie. All you read/hear about is the enviable depth at catching the Pirates have - yet none of them have come close to establishing themselves in the majors as an above average every day player.

by Greg Schuler on Jul 20, 2005 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions