Bud Norris to The Bombers!

I was just looking through the players available on the free agent list for our fantasy league and found that Bud Norris was there. I snapped him up for my pitching staff, hoping to rise from second place to the lead of the league on the strength of his arm!

I am going to watch him pitch tomorrow night at Minute Maid park! Go Bud!

No Swoon in June

THe Houston Astros had their best month of the season so far in June, finishing with the fourth best record in MLB for the month. That allowed them to get back close to
.500 and within three games of the lead for the division. Their good starting pitching for the month was the biggest improvement. Now if the hitting would pick up a bit and the errors were cut down a bit, the rest of the season could be fun to watch!

Miggy on Fire!

Miguel Tejada came into the game tonight with a .353 batting average, leading the National League in hitting. Then he was on 4 times tonight, including a game winning home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning. The Astros won the game 3-2 for a four game winning streak. That is a modest streak, but it is a step in the right direction.

Hard to Be Excited!

The Houston Astros are playing so poorly that it is hard to be excited about what the dog days of summer will bring for the team. Their history indicattes that they will not give up and just be washed away by the competition. But just a few days ago I was sitting in the stands watching a game that if they won would have put them only one game under .500 for the season. Roy O. was on the mound with a lead. Relievers could not hold down the Brewers and the offense could not score again, so the game was lost. Followed by a string of losses that has put the 'Stros in the cellar and not showing any signs of getting better. Yesterday they gave up eight unearned runs and lost 8-5 in Cincinnati on a day shen the team had 14 hits. Yuk!

I'd Have Left Him In!

I went to watch the Astros and the Brewers last night. Roy Oswalt pitched into the seventh inning. He had a 3-1 lead, when he allowed two base-runners with only one out. Ryan Braun, the Brewer's young star, was coming up to bat. The acting manager, after Cecil Cooper had been ejected, decided to bring in Jeff Fulchino to pitch. When he did I told the guy with me that I would have left Oswalt to try to get out of the mess, because he is the best option. He had only thrown 104 pitches and was still throwing 95. When inning was over, the Brewers had scored three runs off three relievers and Oswalt had a no decision.

We will never know how it would have turned out, but I'd have left him in!

Did You See That?

I watched the Houston Rockets' game against the Los Angeles Lakers this afternoon and I was really shocked, almost as much as the Lakers appeared to be! The Rockets had lost their best player, Yao Ming, to a leg injury. Most expected to see the Lakers dismantle the decimated Rockets, but the reverse was the reality. The Rockets played their hearts out and blasted the Lakers. The final score was only 99-87, but the Lakers never led in the game and trailed by as much as 29 at one time. It was very sweet if you are a Rockets' fan.

Finding the Positives

The three game series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished with a bit of a bitter taste for the 'Stros, because Chad Billingsly pitched a shut out for LA. But the Astros won the series, 2 games to one, and broke the Dodgers' 8 game winning streak. All the starting pitchers pitched well enough, especially Wandy Rodriguez, who only gave up two runs in 7 innings.

Now the chore is to build on the positives when the Brewers arrive for the weekend!

Oh Brother, What a Game!

My youngest brother, who lives now in Michigan, was in Houston on business yesterday and we were able to meet for the Astros game at Minute Maid Park against the Dodgers. It was about perfect for us.

My brother and I both have a passion for the game, so we appreciate the good players from every team, though we still pull for the Astros first and foremost. So last night we admired the talent of young left handed pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, of the Dodgers and the sweet swing of Manny Ramirez, who hit a mammoth home run.

But the Dodgers could not beeat the Astros this very pleasant night, and my brother and I got to enjoy a few hours together!

Bull Pen Woes

The Bull Pen of the Houston Astros was supposed to be one of the team's strengths this year, and it may well be over the course of the year. But it was not over the course of the recent weekend.

The Astros played a four game set, in Minute Maid Park, against the Cincinnati Reds and lost three of the games. In all four of the games the starting pitcher lasted at least six innings and gave up three runs or less. But three times the Bull Pen surrendered the winning runs in the late innings.

Such a waste really hurts the chances at respectability! And that does not even mention the lack of clutch hitting that the team has shown thus far!

Two W's in a Row!

The Astros have won two games in a row now, after having lost five straight. The wins were on the road, in Pittsburgh. Last night they jumped out to an early lead and won 4-1 on the strength of Mike Hampton's best start in years. Today they had to cme from behind 3-1 to post a 6-3 win. Chris Sampson got the victory in relief. The good news is that Michael Bourn continued to hit after having moved back to the lead off spot for the two games!

O's Woes!!!!

The Houston Astros have begun the 2009 season with a 1 win, seven loss record. That is their worst beginning in 25 years. Today they were shut out by Zack Duke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, after having been shut out yesterday by Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals. Eighteen innings without a run, only a total of seven hits in those two games; unnacceptable!

Five Homers Is Not Enough!

Brian Moehler had a good season for the Houston Astros last year. Brian Moehler may have a good season for the Houston Astros this season. But he did not have a good game last night!

When he was pulled in the second inning, the Chicago Cubs had scored 8 runs on their way to a an 11-6 win. The Astros made bid to get back into the game, hitting five home runs, but it was not enough.

Opening Night!

Last night I got to attend the Opening Night game at Minute Maid Park between the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs. It was the 10th year anniversary of the opening of the stadium. I was in attendance at the game in 2000 when Octavio Dotel was the Astros' starter in the first regular season game ever there. It was a very special night.

But the crowd last night was even better, 43,287, which was the largest non-playoff game crowd in Minute Maid history. The game was good, with the starters being Roy Oswalt and Carlos Zambrano. Though the Cubs came away with a 4-2 win, it was good to be back at the "Old Ball Park!"

Novice Fantasy Player!

I have never played any fantasy sports, mostly because there was a fee and an element of gambling, that I have made a personal decision to avoid in my life. But I recently saw that there was a free league that anyone could join at ESPN.com. I went to check it out and decided to get involved.

I chose a league that did an auto-draft rather than a live draft, where I had no experience. There are ten teams in the league. My roster looks pretty good to me, but I guess I will learn a lot in the next few weeks. The name of my team is Belarus Bombers.

Here is my roster:

Brian McCann, Atl C
Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS
Alexei Ramirez, CWS 2B
Jermaine Dye, CWS OF
Mark DeRosa, Cle 2B, 3B, OF
Brad Hawpe, Col OF DTD
Todd Helton, Col 1B
Chris Young, Ari OF
Chase Utley, Phi 2B
Alex Rios, Tor OF
Alex Gordon, KC 3B
Shane Victorino, Phi OF
Bobby Abreu, LAA OF
B.J. Upton, TB OF
Mike Napoli, LAA C
Shin-Soo Choo, Cle OF

Chris Volstad, Fla SP
Brandon Lyon, Det RP
Justin Verlander, Det SP
Brad Lidge, Phi RP
Erik Bedard, Sea SP
Jair Jurrjens, Atl SP
Carlos Zambrano, ChC SP
Ricky Nolasco, Fla SP
Roy Halladay, Tor SP

What do you think?

(first posted at qassia)

Ticket Draft

I am one of a group of six that split a pair of season tickets for the Houston Astros baseball games at Minute Maid Park. Four of the guys take ten games each while two of us have twenty games each. Each season we have a draft to determine which games we will get.

We had our draft last night and I had the number one pick, so I will be at Opening Day against the Chicago Cubs next Monday. I expect to see Roy Oswalt as the starting pitcher for Houston and Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs. It will be a wonderful day as the new season opens with all the promise and the excitement!

Miggy Gets Probation!

Miguel Tejada's immediate playing future was cleared up today when he received probation for having lied to Congress. He was liable for up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine for his crime, but was given leniency because he plead guilty. He will also have to pay $5000 as his fine, but now he can get on with his preparations for the season without an ax hanging over his head. Let's hope that translates into a good season for him and the Astros!

25 & 7 in the First Round

I don't know how things will turn out for the rest of the NCAA tournament, but my bracket for the first round still looks pretty good. I was correct on 25 of the 32 games, picking a few upsets along the way. The worst miss I made was in picking Butler over LSU, and I missed on Dayton over West Virginia.

But I got the Cleveland State upset over Wake Forest and the Arizona win over Utah. I have CSU beating 'Zona in the second round but losing to Louisville in the Sweet 16.

How's Your bracket looking?

I-Rod to Houston!

I have watched the Houston Astros throughout their history. The one position for which they have never raised a star player is catcher (I know Biggio began as a catcher). The best catchers have been Brad Ausmus and Alan Ashby. Neither was much of an offensive threat. I am in hopes that the young man the ‘Stros drafted last year out of Stanford, Jason Castro, will be that star catcher we have been waiting for for all these years.
Today it was announced that the Astros have reached an agreement for a one-year contract with Ivan Rodriguez.

He is one of the top catchers of all time. And I believe he will add more offense to the lineup than the departed Ausmus, even though I-rod is well past his prime. Perhaps it was a marketing move based on the horrendous record of the team in Spring Training. I hope Ivan can stay healthy for the season and have a renaissance season that makes the move a remarkable one.

Competition in the Air

Right now there is extreme competition going on in at least a couple of realms. One is the NCAA basketball world. March Madness is just beginning and will infect the country for the next three weeks. The jockeying for a place in the 65-team tournament field is important to the athletes and to the institutions for which they play. The players will gain fame, and in many cases, fortune based on their performance in the pressure games against the best talent. And, of course, the colleges and universities that play in the tournament get to share in the revenues generated by the spectacle. Talk about competition!

And in the spring training camps for the major league baseball teams there is a lot on the line for the young players and the marginal players trying to make a roster. The money for a major league player is substantial, but for a minor leaguer, it is much more difficult to make ends meet. And for the younger guys, there is the worry that their talents may not allow them to fulfill the dream they have had for as long as they can remember.

King James in Town

My nephew called today and said he had been given tickets for the game between the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. I had not been to a Rockets' game in a long time and I thought it would be fun to see LeBron James. The seats were 17
row from the floor at mid-court. They cost $175 per seat, which gives you a chance to see why it has been so long since I have attended a game.

The Rockets won 93-74 and LeBron had one of his worst games as a professional. He scored 19, but shot only 33% and had no assists, for the first time in his career. It was a quality win for the Rockets, to say the least.

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Mike Hampton's Heart

When Mike Hampton was a young pitcer with Houston Astros, the lefty was known for his heart, his determination and competitive spirit. He became a big winner, then accepted a big contract with the Colarado Rockies. In recent years he has suffered several injuries that have threatened his career. When he signed with the Astros over the winter, there was a hope that there was some more gas in his tank.

Last week his heart was discovered to have an irregular beat and he was sent for medical assessment. The good news is that the doctors believe it is a manageable condition and that he will be able to perform on the mound.

Now we will see if Hampton's heart is still his strongest asset!

Miggy In Court!

Miguel Tejada is to appear before Congress today to plead guilty to the charge that he lied to them about some of his associates' steroid activity. He has apparently worked out a plea bargain that allows him to avoid prison time.

I wonder how he will be received by the fans in Houston in his first at bat in April!

Good Signs!

As a baseball fan first and foremost, the winter is dismal as we wait for the opening of the spring training camps. Today was a positive sign, my USA Today Sports edition featured David Price on the front page. Price is the left handed pitching phenom of the Tampa Bay Rays. Surely this means it won't be long till we hear the crack of the bat from Florida and Arizona!

Manny, Manny?

I find it very hard to believe that Manny Ramirez turned down an offer of $25 million to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers for ONE year! Surely his agent, Scott Boras has advised him that he can get more if he waits, but that seems like pie in the sky to me. He is great, but how many teams can afford that kind of payroll for the long haul?

2009 Astros

Though the Houston Astros reached the playoffs six times in nine years, including the World Series in 2005, it has been three years since they made it to the post season.

The biggest lack on the team now is starting pitching. Roy Oswalt is a solid number one starter, and one of the most dependable pitchers in the big leagues. But behind him in the rotation this year will be Mike Hampton, coming off three injury plagued years, Wandy Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, and Brandon Backe.
The bullpen will be strong enough, with two serviceable lefties and proven set-up guys. The closer, Jose Valverde, has led the league in saves each of the past two seasons.

The offense will be okay, with Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence as the primary weapons. Shortstop Miguel Tejada needs to have a strong season for the Astros make the playoffs in 2009.

Beware of #5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There probably will never be a movie about it, but it was the kind of game that a young man will reflect on for a lifetime. Last Friday I went to watch my 16-year-old grandson play in a sub varsity basketball game. His team plays very hard, but they have not won many games. The first half of the game was hard to get excited about, because our team couldn't seem to find the basket with a shot. At the intermission they were trailing 29 to 16.

But the second half is a completely different story. The boys came out with the same high intensity on defense, but now they began to make some shots. One of the boys on our team got hit with an elbow just above his left eye and it began to bleed. He had to come off and get some treatment. To keep the bandage in place, his head was wrapped in a medical tape that made it look like he was wearing a sweat band. But his wound didn't keep him out of the game or cause him to be bashful. He and my grandson are the primary ball handlers for the team, so it was important for him to be on the court. In the third quarter shots began to fall for everyone, including my grandson who hit three three-pointers in that frame. Our team held the visitors to only six points in the quarter, and the score at the end of three quarters was 35-34.

The game was intense in the fourth quarter, but our defense was up to the task again and only allowed nine points in the quarter. In the midst of the battle, I was thrilled, and afterwards found out my grandson had heard and was also thrilled, to hear the opposing coach shot several times in the frame, "Beware of number 5, beware of number 5!" He didn't want number 5 to get any good looks at the basket because he was really on fire. Number 5 ended up leading scorer in the game with 25 points and his team won 55-44. Of course you know who wore number 5 for our team, don't you?