Yardbarker: Darin Erstad

Plan? Schman: What is the Astros front office thinking?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:02:20 -0500

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP Just give us a sign, Ed. Browse more photos » I just got finished reading this piece by Brian McTaggart. I read it; I read it again, and then I thought, "Sonofabitch." Why? Because I can't discern a single line of thought from McTaggart's interview that would indicate there's any kind of plan for the Astros. I don't need a b...

Astros notes: Erstad returns from 15-day disabled list

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:30:00 -0500

For the first time since he went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring on July 19 and came off Aug. 7, Darin Erstad started in right field Thursday.

Astros notes: Boone and Erstad take batting practice

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:34:00 -0500

Astros backup outfielder/first baseman Darin Erstad, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, continues to make slow progress in his quest to return off the DL next Monday.

Monday Morning Astros, etc Round Up

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:32:59 -0500

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP The Astros may be forced to drop kick Darin Erstad to the Disabled List. Browse more photos » Darin Erstad is most likely headed to the DL after injuring his hamstring on Saturday night. He joins Chris Sampson as a recent addition to that undesirable group. It's not like Erstad is a dependable bat off the bench, but with Lance Berkman still a little gimpy, now it seems...

Astros drop a heartbreaker to the Tigers 4-3

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:51:07 -0500

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP I'd be angry too. Browse more photos » We could pin this on fan interference, but at the end of the day, Jose Valverde blew the save. I'm not sure what hurts worse: Former Astro Josh Anderson dealing the final blow? or my brain trying to wrap my mind around the Darin Erstad for Lee, Matt Kata for Erstad, Jason Michaels for Geoff Blum switches at the end ...

Welcome To Seattle, Dustin

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:00:56 -0500

Now please sign. For those of you wondering what to make of Ackley, the best comparison is probably early career Darin Erstad. Like with Erstad, he’s a small-ish left-handed hitter with great contact skills, plus speed, a good approach at the plate, power that’s more suited to the gaps than driving the ball [...]-- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs. Wel...

The Scrap Heap

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:32:08 -0500

Since the two newspapers in town can?t be bothered to produce any Cubs-related content, it?s an all-blog edition of the Scrap Heap. Newly-minted BBWAA member Will Carroll gets his fair share of bile around here, but he?s got a fascinating edition of ?Under the Knife,? that pulls back the veil from the latest and greatest in PEDs. Next time someone scoffs at the notion that MLB?s testing policy is a complete joke, and that the dealers and manufacturers aren?t always a step ahead, point the...

Castillo makes a solid return

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:14:20 -0500

The man many Mets fans love to hate returned tonight and while he went 0-4 with a walk at the plate, Castillo made solid contributions in the field. The Mets turned three double plays after the lead off hitter had made it safely to first, one of which the runner attempted to take Louie out hard but he stayed in to complete the play. On another play Castillo robbed Darin Erstad of a line drive single. Jose Reyes hasn't stolen a base in two weeks and while some of that can be attributed to ...

Berkman leaves with injury

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:41:36 -0500

Houston Astros' 1B Lance Berkman left today's game against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning. The official diagnosis is neck spasms.

#19 â€“ Aug. 18, 2000: Erstad is 'incredible'

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:44:24 -0500

By Geoff Bilau, Angelswin.com Senior Editor Few who are familiar with recent Angels history would be surprised that the man at the center of the team's most memorable comeback of the 2000 season was Darin Erstad. Even though his teammates were hitting home runs at a record pace, there was never any question about who was that season's MVP. Click on the article link to read the full story

Facing Ersty

Sat, 05 May 2007 16:47:15 -0500

I took a pretty good shot on the foot in Kansas City but it feels fine. It's a little purple but it's all good. I've been icing it down. The trainers panic. They make you do a bunch of stuff but I just told them it's a bruise, it'll be fine. I've been hit a lot harder than that, trust me. I got a concussion playing football in high school. We were in San Angelo and I scrambled right. I couldn't decide if I was going to go out of bounds or take the hit and I just got smoked. Two plays later I handed it off and our running back broke it for a touchdown and that won the game. They checked me after the game and said I had a concussion. It's a good thing we scored that touchdown. Who knows what would've happened if I had to throw again. It'll be weird for me facing Darin Erstad. He is one of my really good friends. We worked out every day in the offseason together, me him and Adam Kennedy. We had some good trash talking going on - who's going to win when we face each other. I'll have to go through the same thing with Adam later. Ersty hit really well against us last week. He hit a home run and had six or seven hits. I definitely need to keep him off base. He's their leadoff guy and I can't allow their other big bats to bring him home. It'll be like going against your brother. We can be boys after the game, in fact we're going to hang out and watch the fight together tonight, but during the game you want to beat him badly.

Preparing for the Royals

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:44:17 -0500

Kansas City has some good young talent this year. They're definitely putting the pieces together. Dejesus, their leadoff man, is a really good player. I always keep an eye on Jeff Weaver and they beat him up pretty good yesterday. There's no question I'm going to have to pitch well for us to win tomorrow night. Tonight, I'll just spend some time in my room going over the Royals lineup in my head, visualizing what they look like in the box and how my pitches look against those guys. I do that the night before all of my starts. This helps me get mentally prepared for the scouting meeting tomorrow at the park. When I first get to the stadium, I'm actually pretty laid back. I like to take it easy, but as the game gets closer I start to get more and more focused. I get really locked in about 30 minutes before the game. I grab a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a couple of Red Bulls and I'm ready to rock. That's a big part of my routine. I actually stole the peanut butter and jelly thing from Darin Erstad. He used to have two of them before every game. I can't do two of those, just one. The Red Bulls, that's all me. After the sandwiches and Red Bulls I get stretched out by the trainers, take a couple of advils and I'm ready go.