Roy Oswalt Pitches A "Thriller"

(with apologies to Rod Temperton) It's close to midnight and Roy Oswalt is dealin on the moundUnder the floodlight, the fans hear only swishing soundsYou try to hit, but that fastball has some wicked movementYou start to freeze as curveballs seem to be right at your eyesYou're paralyzed'Cause this is Roy-O's thriller nightAnd no one's gonna save you from his throwing yet another strikeYou know it's thriller, thriller nightYou're fighting for your hits inside a killer, thriller tonightYou hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to runYou see the slider and wonder if he'll ever hang just oneYou concentrate, and hope that Roy will finally lose itBut all the while, he's getting better by the pitchYou're out of time'Cause this is Roy-O's thriller nightThere ain't no second chance against the curveball you can't hitThriller, thriller nightYou're fighting for your hits inside a killer, thriller tonightDarkness falls on Padre landThe 9th inning is now at handLast chance at comeback has gone todayCuz A-Gon didn't hit that FB, away...Yes, I know it was the Padres, yes I know it's a pitcher's park, but the fact is that Roy had, for the first time this year, complete command of the curve and it made all the difference. And he gave up a run because The Pest leaned into a pitch and eventually came home on a "WP" - a curve in the dirt that Pudge didn't block. But giving up 2 doubles, 1 walk, 1 IBB, 1 WP, 1 GIDP for a complete game 2 hitter is simply awesome. Hope he pitches just as well at Telephone Park in SF. He even got 2 hits himself, he was so confident up there. Unfortunately, he had no opportunity to drive in any runs, and no one drove him in, so it went for nothing. In news, Backe decided not to go to Round Rock, so he can try to hook up with a different team. I doubt he would be immediately slotted into any ML team's rotation because he has pitched so few innings this year, but he might could decide to go to some AAA team whose pitching coach is good, so as to restore his stuff. And no, he'll never be a #2 guy, but the fact is that every ML pitching staff has 5 starters, NEEDS 5 starters, and the 5th guy is significantly worse than the #1 guy. There aren't ANY pitching rotations which consist of 5 aces, contrary to fan expectations. There aren't even any 5 man rotations in which all 5 guys each have an ERA+ of 100. The Astros are going to have a 6 man rotation, according to Cooper. He can't bear to go without Brian Moehler. If you check his stats, omitting April, when he was hurt) here is what you get: 10 GS over 57 IP - average of 5 2/3 IP/GS - 1 CG (vs Pirates), 1 7- inning game (vs Padres), 3 6-inning games, 4 5-inning games, 1 3-inning game. 64 H, 32 R/29 ER, 15 BB, 36 K, 11 HR - 4.58 ERA/1.39 WHIP, basically his stat line from last year with a few more homers. Hampton: 12 GS over 67 IP - average of just under 5 2/3 IP/GS - has had 4 QS, 3 vs PIT and 1 vs the Reds. 70 H, 8 HR, 27 BB, 43 K, 35 ER - 4.70 ERA/1.45 WHIP. Neither one is particularly impressive, that's fer sher...