Signings aside (to which we'll get in a separate post), here is your afternoon update:
The Human White Flag is no more! Hector Ambriz has been optioned to Oklahoma City, and Brett Oberholtzer has been called up to replace him.
Ambriz sported a hefty 5.40 ERA/1.71 WHIP in 39 appearances for Houston and his optioning comes day after he allowed 4H/3ER, 0K:2BB in 1IP against the Rays. He had allowed at least one baserunner in each of his last seven appearances, ten of his last eleven. The Astros were in a worse position when he left the game than when he entered in thirteen of his games.
And I was off by one day. Mark Appel will make his professional debut on July 5 (not July 4th, as I suspected) for Tri-City in the New York Penn League against Lowell. Appel will be on a pitch count and, while the Astros have a development plan for him, they won't share it because they want him to be "as comfortable as possible."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
