PLAYING THE PONIES
Fred Faour's selections for Friday night at Sam Houston Race Park
Feb 2, 2018, 6:00 am
A good card for a Friday night. Courtesy photo
It's Friday night racing at the Sam Houston Race Park thoroughbred meet with eight races and .50 beer. Here are my selections. These are not meant to be in exact order, but merely the four horses I think have the best chance to win. For beginners, I suggest exacta boxes with three horses, using two of mine and one of your own. And you can always pick up a copy of Acing Racing 2016 to learn everything you need to know. (These are the picks and format that are available on the free tip sheet at SHRP). After a rough start to the meet, we have had a pretty good run over the last week and hope to continue it tonight.
FIRST
1-8-3-5
MIZZ CAT CS was a solid third in meet debut and should improve
SECOND
3-5-6-1
DARRYLSLITTLEENGINE takes a logical step up off a nice win
THIRD
2-4-3-5
TWO SIPS will be a short price but looks very tough
FOURTH
5-3-2-1
SUNRISE CONTESSA has been competitive on tough circuits
FIFTH
5-2-4-9
BLINGIN' ROSE is in a good spot to be competitive
SIXTH
2-3-5-6
FIFTEEN LOVE BACK was solid in debut and should improve
SEVENTH
7-8-4-5
I'M ALL EARS ships in from Remington and fits well here
EIGHTH
7-4-6-8
TROUBLED CHARLIE fits well here at a nice price
Era of excellence: The pinnacle of Houston sports history unveiled
Dec 6, 2023, 3:19 pm
The Houston Astros were in need of some serious help in the bullpen with Phil Maton, Hector Neris, and Ryne Stanek likely leaving this year in free agency.
The Houston Astros have acquired RHP Dylan Coleman from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for RHP Carlos Mateo. pic.twitter.com/hDYuBLn2Kv
— Houston Astros (@astros) December 6, 2023
While some fans were getting concerned about the quiet offseason, the club has made two moves this week to get the ball rolling.
First the team signed Victor Caratini to be the backup catcher, and now they have added some relief pitching.
The Astros traded pitching prospect Carlos Mateo to the Royals for RHP pitcher Dylan Coleman.
Coleman appeared in 96 games in the past three seasons for KC, including 68 games in 2022 and 23 games last season. He has a career 3.88 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He’s fastball (95 mph), slider (81) and cutter (90) and walked 57 batters and struck out 99 in 92 2/3 innings.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) December 6, 2023
Coleman is under club control for the next several years, and made just over $700,000 in 2022. With the Astros right up against the tax threshold, this is a good way to add to the bullpen without having to hand out a large contract.
The Royals had a tough roster decision to make with Coleman, and the Astros made the decision easy for them by making the trade.
Something to note
There's a reason Kansas City wasn't determined to protect Coleman from the Rule 5 Draft. Despite his decent numbers over the last three seasons, 2023 was a rough year for him, posting an 8.84 ERA over 23 games.
In fact, Coleman pitched more innings (30.2) for the Royals AAA team than he did for the big league club (18.1) in 2023.
Hopefully, the Astros can get him back on track this season with some help from their highly touted player development program.
You can watch some of his 2022 highlights above.