Zambrano Beats the Astros Again

What can you say about Carlos Zambrano against the Houston Astros this season? While the Astros lineup is the only one as bad (almost?) as the Cubs in the NL this season, they struggle a little bit extra against Zambrano. But while the first two times he took no-hitters deep against them and deserved all the credit, this time he got awfully lucky to face such a leaky lineup.

Walks continue to create predicaments for Carlos, as we all know. He walked a batter in each of the first six innings, and another in the eighth. A better lineup would have cashed some of those in, no doubt about it -- even against someone as dominant as Z. Yet as Cubs fans facing any lineup -- weak or not -- in a season like ’06 there’s always this: We’ll take it.

Astros sports talk radio was down on their team I noticed as we drove east on the Katy Freeway. They like that the club cut Preston Wilson, they absolutely love Luke Scott, but for this season they don’t see it happening. Something of last year’s magic is missing, and it’s not hard to see what this something is. It’s clutch hitting.

Mass wisdom must agree with the radio guys, as the crowd was awfully thin for a game featuring two of the best pitchers in the league. I have no doubt it will be full tonight with Clemens pitching, but last night Minute Maid was at best half full. That despite the fact that the Astros are -- through little achievement of their own -- still very much in the division and Wild Card races.

Sitting in the middle level just past third base, we had a nice perch to watch the game’s action moments. The first came in the second inning with Aramis Ramirez rounding third and chugging towards home as Taveras lined up in center to field Murton’s single and fire home to Ausmus. “No!” we screamed, seeing that Aramis was certain to be cut down barring a huge blunder by the Astros. No such luck, and despite a throw way up the line Ramirez was out by 3 full steps, another lowlight in the Cubs baserunning blooper reel.

Our view was nice again when Zambrano hit Aubrey Huff square in the right shoulder blade. That, after Barrett was chewed out by the umpire, apparently for debating a called fourth ball to Berkman that looked awfully good from what I could tell. I took Zambrano’s fastball to the back as a signal that Zambrano agreed with Barrett that it should have been strike 3.

Knowing there’s history between Oswalt and Barrett going back several seasons, I thought Oswalt would throw at Zambrano when he led off the fifth. The crowd was hungry for it, booing Zambrano as loud as they would later boo Ensberg for stranding his 7th runner of the game on base, coming up short all four at bats and three times making the third out with men on. Ensberg is certainly not popular these days. In the case of Zambrano, however, Oswalt simply pitched his game, moving along without incident. Which made sense, given Nevin’s no-doubter of a homerun in the fourth. If the game was still knotted we might have seen tempers flare, but Oswalt has seen the Astros score few enough runs to know that he’s better off not messing around when the team is behind even a pair.

Then there was Cedeno’s comebacker that ricocheted off of Oswalt’s wrist. My brother figures it’s the first leadoff out 1-6 he’s ever scored. I didn’t even see Everett catch the ball; I was watching Oswalt like everyone else. After all, you could sense the tension in a crowd that desperately wanted to hang on to some hope -- which felt all too familiar to me -- and knowing that Oswalt being sidelined would probably close the coffin on 2006. The report flashed across the screen the next inning that he’s day to day.

Still, the story of the game was Zambrano, who was throwing harder at the end of the game than at the beginning. Minute Maid Park is known to have a generous radar gun, but even so Zambrano has to throw the easiest 97-98mph fastball of any starter there is right now. Sometimes it seems one of the most effortless deliveries in the league.

One of the sports talk radio guys on the postgame show joked about us having seen another Dusty Baker special -- over 120 pitches for Zambrano. I’ll admit that I was thinking the same thing, especially when Zambrano came back out for the eighth inning. I thought he was done after seven, or for sure after he walked Huff to start the inning. Z stayed in, and got three straight outs.

It’s to the point now that if Zambrano ever has arm problems, there is so much “I told you so” pressure built about his pitch counts waiting to burst the valves that the explosion will be as fierce as any we’ve seen. More fierce than anything with Prior or Wood. After all, here’s a guy who’s not only had potential but real success, and if these pitch counts have somehow sabotaged Z’s career... lord help us. And him.

Is there something to it, this terror that Z will be washed up before his time due to overuse? Maybe. Probably. Or, probably not. Who knows. Like I said, his delivery can be so effortless, and his frame is so solid, that maybe he is the exception to all these rules. On the one hand there’s no one else throwing as many pitches, but on the other there’s no one else built like Carlos. Maybe he’ll end up torquing too much one day, and never be the same. Or maybe he’ll be the guy who carried the largest load in the league for season after season, enhancing his legend.

All I can say is that when I watch him pitch, especially in person, even in the late innings, he looks less strained than most guys do in the first. Of course, that’s not going to release any of that pent-up criticism over his pitch counts. I guess we’ll wait and see, and for now, all we can do is watch him notch yet another win.