Notes: Garner underestimated '05 team
03/11/2006
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Don't take Phil Garner's evaluation of the Astros this season as gospel, because he'll tell people that he's got zero credibility on the subject.
He said that about his credibility after he proved dead wrong in not seeing the Astros in the World Series last season.
"I thought we were gonna have a nice team," he said Saturday. "I thought we'd play better than .500, but I thought where we were gonna get hurt, that we just had a bunch of young kids that we were counting on.
"A kid that had never played Triple-A (Willy Taveras), he's playing center field; Jason Lane's in there, and we're gonna count on him every day. And as it turned out, we needed Chris Burke playing in the outfield, for crying out loud."
He had to jerry-rig a lineup throughout the '05 season, plus Garner had to count on two young pitchers at the back end of the rotation. He also had to wrestle with the fact that the Astros had one of the most inconsistent offenses in the National League. His team ranked near the bottom in every major offensive category, not to mention that the club was shut out 17 times.
Still, the Astros overcame all of those flaws, turning out to be a lot better than just a "nice team." They reached the World Series, an ending that proved more than the most rabid fan thought possible.
"You look at it now and you say, 'What were your worries?'" Garner said. "Well, there were considerable worries at the time."
Garner's guarantee: Want a guarantee from Garner on how he can consistently field a winning baseball team? Here's the guarantee: a $100 million payroll.
"I'll guarantee you'll play over .500; I'll guarantee you that," he said of having a nine-figure payroll. "I can guarantee it. You're gonna play over .500. So by our definition, that's wins. You'll play over .500.
"But we all know it doesn't translate into championships."
Welcome back! Left-hander Mike Gallo got a nice welcome back from his teammates after spending the past week or so with Team Italy, a team that surprised some people when it won a game in the tough Pool D play.
Gallo called the experience of playing in the first World Baseball Classic one that he'll never forget.
"It was like a playoff atmosphere out there," he said of the three games Team Italy played in the tournament. "I pitched in the World Series, and then all of a sudden here it is March and I feel like it was the same kind of competition, you know.
"It was a great experience, overall."
Gallo, who's never been to Italy, said the experience has inspired him to visit his ancestral homeland and help it build interest in baseball.
"There's a lot of kids out there who love to play baseball, but soccer's so big over there," he said. "It's kinda hard to get 'em over [to the baseball fields] and try baseball out. It's just the availability.
"I think it's great that Major League Baseball is trying to influence that part of the world with baseball. That's cool."
So far, so good: Dave Borkowski, a free agent invitee, hasn't done anything to disappoint people in camp. The veteran right-hander has been rock solid in three outings for the Astros, a performance that has caught Garner's eye.
"He's got good control, and he throws a little sinker, slider; he's got a nice changeup in his repertoire now," Garner said. "He throws strikes -- my kind of guy."
Backe in form: Brandon Backe looked solid Saturday in his outing against the Phillies.
The Astros right-hander gave up two hits and two runs (both on Ryan Howard's homers) in his four innings.
"Today was pretty much the first time I threw the curveball with the intention of throwing it for a strike," Backe said. "I had some problems with it, just trying to find the release point -- just finding it out there in an intense atmosphere.
"So, that was a little off, but the slider was there; it worked pretty good today."
Odds and ends: Center fielder Preston Wilson, a key offseason pickup, was back in the Astros lineup after sitting out the ballgame Friday with "minor irritation" in his right knee. ... Matt Galante, a special assistant, returned to Astros camp after his tenure as manager of Team Italy ended when the Italians were eliminated Friday from the Classic. ... Shortstop Adam Everett, who flew to Houston on Thursday to have his sprained back looked at, was back with the team Saturday, but Garner held Everett out of action as a precaution.
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Don't take Phil Garner's evaluation of the Astros this season as gospel, because he'll tell people that he's got zero credibility on the subject.
He said that about his credibility after he proved dead wrong in not seeing the Astros in the World Series last season.
"I thought we were gonna have a nice team," he said Saturday. "I thought we'd play better than .500, but I thought where we were gonna get hurt, that we just had a bunch of young kids that we were counting on.
"A kid that had never played Triple-A (Willy Taveras), he's playing center field; Jason Lane's in there, and we're gonna count on him every day. And as it turned out, we needed Chris Burke playing in the outfield, for crying out loud."
He had to jerry-rig a lineup throughout the '05 season, plus Garner had to count on two young pitchers at the back end of the rotation. He also had to wrestle with the fact that the Astros had one of the most inconsistent offenses in the National League. His team ranked near the bottom in every major offensive category, not to mention that the club was shut out 17 times.
Still, the Astros overcame all of those flaws, turning out to be a lot better than just a "nice team." They reached the World Series, an ending that proved more than the most rabid fan thought possible.
"You look at it now and you say, 'What were your worries?'" Garner said. "Well, there were considerable worries at the time."
Garner's guarantee: Want a guarantee from Garner on how he can consistently field a winning baseball team? Here's the guarantee: a $100 million payroll.
"I'll guarantee you'll play over .500; I'll guarantee you that," he said of having a nine-figure payroll. "I can guarantee it. You're gonna play over .500. So by our definition, that's wins. You'll play over .500.
"But we all know it doesn't translate into championships."
Welcome back! Left-hander Mike Gallo got a nice welcome back from his teammates after spending the past week or so with Team Italy, a team that surprised some people when it won a game in the tough Pool D play.
Gallo called the experience of playing in the first World Baseball Classic one that he'll never forget.
"It was like a playoff atmosphere out there," he said of the three games Team Italy played in the tournament. "I pitched in the World Series, and then all of a sudden here it is March and I feel like it was the same kind of competition, you know.
"It was a great experience, overall."
Gallo, who's never been to Italy, said the experience has inspired him to visit his ancestral homeland and help it build interest in baseball.
"There's a lot of kids out there who love to play baseball, but soccer's so big over there," he said. "It's kinda hard to get 'em over [to the baseball fields] and try baseball out. It's just the availability.
"I think it's great that Major League Baseball is trying to influence that part of the world with baseball. That's cool."
So far, so good: Dave Borkowski, a free agent invitee, hasn't done anything to disappoint people in camp. The veteran right-hander has been rock solid in three outings for the Astros, a performance that has caught Garner's eye.
"He's got good control, and he throws a little sinker, slider; he's got a nice changeup in his repertoire now," Garner said. "He throws strikes -- my kind of guy."
Backe in form: Brandon Backe looked solid Saturday in his outing against the Phillies.
The Astros right-hander gave up two hits and two runs (both on Ryan Howard's homers) in his four innings.
"Today was pretty much the first time I threw the curveball with the intention of throwing it for a strike," Backe said. "I had some problems with it, just trying to find the release point -- just finding it out there in an intense atmosphere.
"So, that was a little off, but the slider was there; it worked pretty good today."
Odds and ends: Center fielder Preston Wilson, a key offseason pickup, was back in the Astros lineup after sitting out the ballgame Friday with "minor irritation" in his right knee. ... Matt Galante, a special assistant, returned to Astros camp after his tenure as manager of Team Italy ended when the Italians were eliminated Friday from the Classic. ... Shortstop Adam Everett, who flew to Houston on Thursday to have his sprained back looked at, was back with the team Saturday, but Garner held Everett out of action as a precaution.
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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