Infielder Bruntlett called up from Triple-A New Orleans
By Alyson Footer / MLB.com
Adam Everett grimaces in pain after being hit by a pitch on Friday night. (David J. Phillip/AP)
HOUSTON -- Adam Everett arrived to the Astros clubhouse on Saturday with his left arm in a cast, one day after a Claudio Vargas pitch fractured his left wrist.
Everett was in slightly better spirits than he was during the hours following the injury on Friday, when the clearly devastated shortstop was first coming to terms with the fact that he's going to miss at least a month.
"It's tough," he said Saturday. "Looking back at it, if there's anything I could have done differently, would I have? I tried getting out of the way. That's all I could do. There's nothing I could have done differently.
"It stinks. I'm going to miss these guys, miss playing with them. That's the biggest part right now that hasn't really hit me. I'm going to be on the bench, but it's different when you're grinding it out with these guys."
Everett will not accompany the team on its upcoming road trip to New York, Montreal and Philadelphia. He expects to hear a decision in the next few days regarding whether his injury will require surgery.
Everett recalled watching Jose Vizcaino suffer a similar injury in June 2003. Vizcaino came back with a month left in the season, and Everett hopes he will also be able to return in time to finish out the year.
"They put in a plate and pins and a bone stimulator to help it heal quicker," Everett said of Vizcaino's recovery. "And he got back and playing again in six weeks. I'll be a little quicker, hopefully."
Bruntlett arrives: Eric Bruntlett has been called up and sent down plenty of times in his young career, so having to high-tail it from New Orleans to Houston on a moment's notice was easy enough for the well-traveled infielder.
Because Everett will miss at least a month, Bruntlett could remain on the big league level for a significant amount of time, as opposed to his two previous stints this year with the Astros. Bruntlett made the Opening Day roster, but he was optioned to Triple-A on April 16. And after he was called up on June 14, he was sent back down two weeks later.
The idea of staying with the Astros for at least a month is understandably appealing to the 26-year-old infielder.
"The last time I was here it was kind of day-to-day whether I'd be here or not," he said. "I don't think that's the situation now, but you never know what's going to happen. But it looks like I'll be here for a little bit of an extended period of time, and that's certainly a little more comforting -- to know that after each game I'm not looking to see who's coming to talk to me -- not yet, anyway."
Wait for right time: Roy Oswalt is the first to admit he will always stick up for his teammates, but the right-hander opted not to retaliate against the Expos on Friday, even after four Astros were hit by pitches.
Roy Oswalt / P
Born: 08/29/77
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 185 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
It was the general consensus in the Astros clubhouse that the plunkings were not intentional. Instead, the Astros believe it was simply lack of control from a very inexperienced Expos staff.
"None of them looked intentional," Oswalt said. "The guy that hit Adam, he was pretty much wild the whole night. He just seemed like he couldn't find the feel of the ball. He walked me on four pitches."
Obviously the most costly plunking was the Vargas pitch that broke Everett's left wrist. Additionally, Craig Biggio was plunked on the little finger on his left hand by a Rocky Biddle offering, and Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell were each hit by Sun-Woo Kim in the seventh.
"Those guys were pitching inside and they had good fastballs," Biggio said. "Obviously they're not trying to hit guys. But you have to try to move guys off the plate, and you're going to lose some every now and then. If you ask them, they didn't try to hit anybody or hurt anybody. It just happens. It's part of the game sometimes."
And the rest: Berkman didn't explain why he entered the clubhouse wearing a white wig and thick mustache on Saturday, but he did accept the challenge when his teammates dared him to wear the disguise during batting practice. Berkman looked like a mix between Colonel Sanders (white hair) and Phil Garner (bushy mustache). ... Oswalt, who has a four-game winning streak, will pitch on normal rest even with the off-day on Monday. The right-hander will pitch on Wednesday in New York, while Pete Munro will open the series on Tuesday. ... The Astros' annual Girl Scout Parade will take place around the warning track prior to Sunday's 1:05 p.m. CT game versus the Expos. The parade will immediately follow the Astros Family Day activities on the field. The top Girl Scout cookie seller will also be honored in a pregame ceremony.
Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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