Bittersweet Day at the Ball Park!

Every trip to the ball park makes the day a good one. A couple of weeks ago my family attended the Thursday night game at Minute Maid Park in Houston, despite the fact that Hurricane Ike would be slamming into our area.

Last night we went again to see the Astros, our first time since the storm. It was a fun game, with the Astros winning over the Atlanta Braves on a home run in the bottom of the ninth by Darin Erstad. I even caught a ball off the bat of Chipper Jones during batting practice.

But once every season there is a bittersweet day at the ball park. It is on the day that you know it will be next April before you will get to go to a ball game again. That was how it was last night. By the time I got to the car, the Brewers had finished their game with a win, thus eliminating Houston from the post season(I knew that the Cubs, who had already clinched the division title, would lose a game against since the loss would make it unnecessary to come to Houston on Monday for a make-up game).

I will watch the playoffs and the World Series, but I won't get to see a game in person again till spring! Heavy sigh!

How Far Can the Astros Climb?

The Houston Astros are really hot! Tonight they won for the 11th time in 12 games and continue to climb closer to the leaders in he wild card race tot he playoffs. Randy Wolf gave up two runs in the first to the Pirates, but Lance Berkman hit a 3 run homer in the bottom half and the Astros continued to add on through out the game. The final score was 9-3.

I Love a Pitchers' Duel

I grew up in a time when baseball was dominated by pitching and defense. I still love to watch a 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 game more than a 10-7 home run hitting contest. I got to see one last night at Minute Maid Park. Ian Snell of the Pirates and Alberto Arias were the starters. Snell had command of his slider and was throwing his fastball as high as 96 miles per hour. He really handcuffed the Astros for most of the night. Alberto Arias was making his first Major League appearance for Houston and was really hot for the first few innnings. He struck out five of the first six hitters and had another K in the third. He seemed be on the verge of running out of gas in the fifth, so he was pinch hit for by another September call-up from the the minor leagues. Mark Saccamanno was the pinch hitter, his first big league at bat, for Arias in the bottom of the fifth with one out. He drove the ball over the fence into the Astros bullpen in right center field. The 'Stros added two more runs in the inning and made them stand up for a 3-2 victory for Arias.

Arias and Saccamanno had memorable nights and I got to see a terrific pitchers' duel!

Roy O Throws a Gem!

Last night Roy Oswalt took the pitchers mound with a small split in a nail on his pitching hand. Because of the problem, he threw mostly fastballs, but he located them oh so well. He only gave up one hit, a sixth inning single, while completing the game. The Astros won, 2-0, on the strength of a two run homer by Hunter Pence. It was the Astros' ninth win in ten games!

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Eight Must Be Enough!

Last night the Houston Astros lost to the Colorado Rockies 5-3. The game was unusual in that it was relatively low scoring and took only two and a hlf hours, which is much less than most games in Denver. And it broke the Astros win streak at eight, so I guess eight will have to be enough. I just hope they do not now go on a protracted losing streak. Perhaps they will not, as Roy Oswalt is pitching tonight.

Eight In A Row Is Fun!

The Houston Astros just won their eighth game in a row, tonight was 4-0 over the Cubs. It is fun to watch them when they are hitting the ball. The streak includes sweeps of Central Division rivals St. Louis and Chicago. The 'Stros are only a game behind the Cardinals right now. Since I work with a Cardinal fan, it would be nice to finish ahead of them!

Roy or Zambrano?

Back in March or April I entered into a friendly wager with my old friend MerryOne regarding who would win more games this season, Roy Oswalt for my beloved Astros or Carlos Zambrano of the loveable Cubs. Zambrano got off to a great start and Roy had a rough couple of months. Last night Oswalt got the win against the Cubs to get to his 13th win. Tonight Zambrano started for the Cubs, but he left the game in a tie so he will not get a win. I still have a chance to win our wager. If so, Merry will have to write an ode to the Astros. If not, I will have to do the odious thing for the Cubs.