I rolled into Round Rock Texas today on my Virtual Bike Trip. As near as I can tell, there are no baseball players actually born there but Round Rock is the home of the Round Rock Express, the Astros AAA affiliate. The Express is owned by Nolan Ryan, hence the name Express. The team is in the American South Division of the Pacific Coast league, tied for first place with the Albuquerque Isotopes. I wouldn't get too excited about being in first place since they have a 28-32 record.
Here are the players on the team for whom I have baseball cards.
Yorman Bazardo (2005 Donruss Team Heroes) - He's pitched some in the majors with the Marlins and Tigers. This is the only card of have of him. He's 7-2 for the Express with a 2.45 ERA. The Astros signed him in April 2009.
Jose Capellan (2004 Upper Deck R-Class) - Jose has bounced around the league with major league time with the Braves, Brewers, Tigers and Rockies. The Astros signed him in January 2008. This card I had scanned as a reference card. He's 1-7 with an ERA of 9.00. I don't expect to see him in an Astro's uniform anytime soon.
Mark McLemore (2008 Topps '52) - Mark was the Astros 4th round draft pick in 2002. He was 3-0 in 29 relief appearances with the Astros in 2007. He missed the entire 2008 season after elbow surgery. He is 0-2 with an ERA over 10 in 2 starts this year at Round Rock. Sounds like he has a way to go.
Humberto Quintero (2009 Topps) - He only played 4 games at Round Rock before being called up to the Astros. He's played parts of the past 4 seasons in Houston. He's playing behind Ivan Rodriguez this year but doing pretty well, hitting .302 in 15 games. He had a 3-hit game a few nights ago. Is this card about the worst card featuring a catcher you can imagine?
J. R. Towles (2008 Allen & Ginter) - Towles looked pretty good in 2007 in limited action with the Astros and got more playing time in 2008. But he only batted .187 in 54 games. He appeared in 4 games for the Astros this year but I believe he was sent down after Rodriguez got here.
Chris Johnson (2009 Bowman Gold) - Chris was the Astros 4th round pick in 2006. He has not had any playing time with the Astros. He's currently batting .305 in 30 games with the Express.
Tommy Manzella (2005 Bowman Draft Picks Gold) - The Astros 3rd round pick in 2005, he is in his second year at Round Rock. He's batting .303 in 58 games. Tommy is a short stop who is unlikely to bump the Astros Miguel Tejada who is currently batting .350.
Mark Saccomanno (2009 Upper Deck) - Mark is a first baseman with some pop in his bat. He's hit 49 homeruns in the last two years at Round Rock. He had a brief 10 games stint with the Astros last year. He's not likely to bump Lance Berkman out of a job anytime soon however.
Reggie Abercrombie (2009 Topps) - Reggie was picked off waivers from the Marlins after the 2007 season. He hit .309 in 34 games with the Astros last year. He's batting .280 with 6 HRs with the Express. The play on this card is from a Spetember 6, 2008 game at the Rockies. With the Astros up 2-0 and 2 outs in the 8th inning, Abercrombie got a double (his 3rd hit of the game). Ausmus was intentially walked and the Astros manager Cecil Cooper decided to let Roy Oswalt bat for himself. He got a single but Abercrombie was out at the plate. Oswalt went on to finish the game and won 2-0.
Here are the players on the team for whom I have baseball cards.
Yorman Bazardo (2005 Donruss Team Heroes) - He's pitched some in the majors with the Marlins and Tigers. This is the only card of have of him. He's 7-2 for the Express with a 2.45 ERA. The Astros signed him in April 2009.
Jose Capellan (2004 Upper Deck R-Class) - Jose has bounced around the league with major league time with the Braves, Brewers, Tigers and Rockies. The Astros signed him in January 2008. This card I had scanned as a reference card. He's 1-7 with an ERA of 9.00. I don't expect to see him in an Astro's uniform anytime soon.
Mark McLemore (2008 Topps '52) - Mark was the Astros 4th round draft pick in 2002. He was 3-0 in 29 relief appearances with the Astros in 2007. He missed the entire 2008 season after elbow surgery. He is 0-2 with an ERA over 10 in 2 starts this year at Round Rock. Sounds like he has a way to go.
Humberto Quintero (2009 Topps) - He only played 4 games at Round Rock before being called up to the Astros. He's played parts of the past 4 seasons in Houston. He's playing behind Ivan Rodriguez this year but doing pretty well, hitting .302 in 15 games. He had a 3-hit game a few nights ago. Is this card about the worst card featuring a catcher you can imagine?
J. R. Towles (2008 Allen & Ginter) - Towles looked pretty good in 2007 in limited action with the Astros and got more playing time in 2008. But he only batted .187 in 54 games. He appeared in 4 games for the Astros this year but I believe he was sent down after Rodriguez got here.
Chris Johnson (2009 Bowman Gold) - Chris was the Astros 4th round pick in 2006. He has not had any playing time with the Astros. He's currently batting .305 in 30 games with the Express.
Tommy Manzella (2005 Bowman Draft Picks Gold) - The Astros 3rd round pick in 2005, he is in his second year at Round Rock. He's batting .303 in 58 games. Tommy is a short stop who is unlikely to bump the Astros Miguel Tejada who is currently batting .350.
Mark Saccomanno (2009 Upper Deck) - Mark is a first baseman with some pop in his bat. He's hit 49 homeruns in the last two years at Round Rock. He had a brief 10 games stint with the Astros last year. He's not likely to bump Lance Berkman out of a job anytime soon however.
Reggie Abercrombie (2009 Topps) - Reggie was picked off waivers from the Marlins after the 2007 season. He hit .309 in 34 games with the Astros last year. He's batting .280 with 6 HRs with the Express. The play on this card is from a Spetember 6, 2008 game at the Rockies. With the Astros up 2-0 and 2 outs in the 8th inning, Abercrombie got a double (his 3rd hit of the game). Ausmus was intentially walked and the Astros manager Cecil Cooper decided to let Roy Oswalt bat for himself. He got a single but Abercrombie was out at the plate. Oswalt went on to finish the game and won 2-0.
2 comments:
happy hooton is the pitching coach, too!
i have a couple posts lined up highlighting the great cards you sent my way a while back. thanks again!
Margaret, I'm always glad to hear from a reader.
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