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)