No Hopers: The Astros 2008

Now that the Astros have been treading water for about six weeks its time to call their 2008 campaign officially dead. Since they began a nine game roadtrip.

Now that the Brewers have C.C. Sabathia and the Cubs have Rich Harden and the Astros have lost 6 of 7, and an 11-26 record since the end of May.

The Astros have rid themselves of Shawn Chacon, Runelvys Hernandez has had lots of bad starts since replacing him, Brian Moehler has pitched well but things just haven't gone right. Roy Oswalt has been injured even though Sampson pitched well filling in. The last two games are a perfect illustrator, with the Astros losing to the Braves by blowing the lead then going 17 innings before losing, while yesterday the Astros got shelled by the Pirates yesterday. #

The team is flawed, has the WORST RECORD IN THE NL CENTRAL, and will see better teams miles ahead of them. So now that Wade's win now plan hasn't worked what the hell does he do? Sell off Tejada to someone who needs a shortstop? Who else has good trade value for prospects right now with Oswalt and Berkman off limits and maybe Pence? We'll see. The Astros just haven't answered their question marks, and their record shows that. They've been mediocre in too many areas.

Washington D.C. was nice, and I saw the main attractions, the lincoln and jefferson memorials, and the washington monument, the capitol building and the white house. Not an awful lot to do in Philadelphia but was not able to do much because my card stopped working for three days. 4th of july was good, went to see the celebrations, saw the main attractions the liberty bell, independence mall etc. New York is lovely. Times Square is unlike anything I've ever seen, and driving into New York it just looms on the skyline. Will watch the Yankees take on the Rays tomorrow, and am in America for two more days. Also will check out the statue of liberty and other things.

Wade facing a dilemna
Ed Wade did his best in the offseason but it might not be enough. The Astros have shown when they are firing on all cylinders they can beat anyone, but they don't seem to do that all the time. A current 10 game stretch which has seen the Astros go 7-3 against the Rays, Rangers, Red Sox and the last game against the Dodgers saved the Astros from complete meltdown in June, where they lost 8 games in a row including sweeps at the hands of the Yankees and Orioles.

Shawn Chacon is now gone and the Astros need someone to fill that hole in the rotation. I think Cooper will be hesitant to move Chris Sampson after such a good stretch in the bullpen, giving him another sixth/seventh inning guy when Geary or Brocail can't pitch, but is Runelvys Hernandez really the answer, or could the Astros snag someone before the non-waiver trade deadline to solidify their rotation?

Lets step back and have a look at the Astros franchise as a whole for a minute. The Astros liked what they got in the draft, but it will be at least 2/3 years before they can consider bringing these guys anywhere near the majors. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee are here to stay for the next few years, signed to multi year contracts, Michael Bourn wont be hitting arbitration until after 2010, and nor will Hunter Pence, Matsui is signed until the end of 2010, Tejada can leave the Astros after next season, and I wouldn't see the Astros having the money, or wanting to give him the money at that point. Roy Oswalt has another few years on his contract, Wandy Rodriguez and Brandon Backe will be staying pat, but Valverde and Wiggington might not be around after 2009. So what I'm trying to say is, not many pieces are leaving in a hurry. The Astros will not have to dip into their free agent pockets to hill huge gaping holes in the near future.

So the trade I propose is highly controversial, and I know a lot of Astros fans wont like it, I don't know whether I really like it, but I'm throwing it out.
The Indians get HUNTER PENCE, the Astros get C.C. SABATHIA. Perhaps the Astros could sweeten the deal with a pitching prospect such as Brad James. There are stumbling blocks. The first is the Astros would be loath to give up Pence, a bright star, fan favourite and already one of the faces of the franchise. The Astros aleady have $54m investing for 2008 in four players (Tejada, Berkman, Lee and Oswalt), but Tejada could leave at the end of 2009, and the Astros payroll is $88 (10 teams now have a payroll above $100m). McLane wants to win, and he extended the payroll for Clemens so he might do so for Sabathia. It is doubtful whether the Indians would give the Astros that 72 hour window to negotiate or even if Sabathia would want to negotiate at this point of the season, or if he would even want to come to Houston.

I don't know how consoled the Indians are to losing Sabathia yet, but with the season Cliff Lee has had, they might take a player like Pence over the draft picks they would get at the end of the season. Sizemore and Pence in the outfield would appeal to many Indians fans. I admit i am no expert to the Indians, but Pence is a promising young player who could patrol their right field for years to come, and is not even arbitration eligable yet.

Astros fans might not like it but Ed Wade will have to do something if the Astros are to get a sniff of the playoffs this year.

Pittsburgh, now Baltimore
Rather ticked off that due to a fully booked coach, I did not make it to Baltimore in time for the Orioles game, my loss I suppose. Hostel very nice, bus journey rather amusing.

Firstly, after nine days in Chicago I was ready to move on, although moving on meant spending 6 hours in the Chicago greyhound station, waiting for an 11 hour coach ride to Pittsburgh (1st Earl of Chatham I salute you). I don't know where they get it but to argue that the seats on the greyhound buses are 'comfy' is ludicrous. After two hours my back absolutely killed, but to my surprise I slept for most of the journey. Pittsburgh seemed a nice city, although I did not do much exploring because I was too pooped out in my motel room (Pittsburgh's lack of any decent hostelling is a blot against it). The motel was out of the way 10 miles west of downtown Pittsburgh, and the american transit system is stupid, but I probably needed the three nights in the motel room (firstly for a bit of privacy and a bed that wasn't covered in plastic, and two the TV (I watched some Wimbledon which I have sorely missed over the past week, having watched the tournament for the past dozen years religiously).

PNC Park has a nice feel to it, and the 4-3 loss to the Rays was entertaining enough, but for the price I got my ticket I felt that more Pittsburghians should get down there. The question is who wouldn't pay $9 to watch a giant parrot shoot hot dogs out of a bazooka? Did someone really tell me that Pittsburgh has more bridges per square mile than Venice or did I just make that up? Hmm...Anyway, having arrived two hours early I was dismayed to find the Greyhound I'd hoped to get was fully booked. Apparantly some anthrocon? or something had finished the night before and everyone was going home.

Unfortunately pestering the staff to change the tv's from TNT to ESPN to watch Andy Murray produce a STUNNING comeback against Gasquet did no good, and I had to wait out the five hours. I really think Murray has the game this week to beat Nadal, whoever he has to play in the semis' and Federer. At least the bus ride was entertaining. First we had what can only be described as 'symphony of the nerds' as they bashed their glowsticks while listening to dragonforce (before in the terminal we had been treated to a mock lightsaber fight in full view of everyone). Then we have the crazy old lady, who nearly sits next to me, but chooses the seat behind. She's a mutterer. Think of the old woman in L.A. Confidential who finds her daughter has been killed (Russell Crowe finds a body under her house), that kind of voice. But crazy, less audible, drunk and very angry. After a while she put on her radio (pretty much full blast), and was challenged by a woman next to her to turn it off (all you could hear was static), then they pretty much got into a shouting match, '(expletive)' etc. etc. was bandied about, and it was pretty obvious she had been drinking. She shut up after nearly being ejected from the bus. And here I end up in Baltimore.

Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York over the next 10 days before heading home.

The Astros have been doing well over the past three series, 7-3 now after the impressive win against the Dodgers tonight. More on them later.

Astros Win, enjoyed Wrigley field last night

Yesterday was a great start to the series for the Astros. Firstly it is so weird that Brian Moehler has been our most consistent pitcher so far this season. Cooper made the right call by leaving him in the rotation and shuffling Sampson to the bullpen. As I saw the game advance on the old-style Wrigley Field scoreboard I had to hide my delight as the Astros stretched out a 4-1 lead and then horror mingled with relief as the Rangers ninth inning rally came up short (yes I was at Wrigley Field last night).

It would be huge if two of the contributers last night, Ty Wiggington and Humberto Quintero could give the Astros some runs in the bottom of the order over the next few weeks.

Berkman went 2-3 with a walk a double and a 2 run home run which gave Jose Valverde breathing room which he sorely needed giving up a 2 run bomb to Vazquez before closing it out for his nineteenth save of the season. Berkman went 0-9 in the Tampa Bay series. The Astros have now won 3 of their last 4, considering they had won just three games prior to the Tampa Bay series in June. All three of those wins have been by 1 run margins, and each of the last seven games the Astros have played in has been decided by 2 runs or less.

Going to Wrigley Field was an amazing experience last night. The place was full and while my view was slightly obstructed (I had to buy what tickets were available on the day, I was there at 8 in the morning), the people around were noisy (which is good, atmosphere etc.). Even when the Cubbies were 7-1 down they went absolutely mental all through the Jim Edmonds at bat as if they knew he would hit that home run. The fans all looked rather bemused when George Sherrill got the final out, it was like 'huh, my Cubbies lost at home??' What the Cubs have done so far at Wrigley (32-9 at home this season) kind of beggars belief and I got the feeling that people turn up to the park and expect a win. The confidence I think, has

I know the Cubs are talking about the possibility of acquiring Rich Harden but first Pinella has to think about his bench. Blanco, Murton, Ward and Cedeno all came off the bench and frankly they sucked. The three Cubs that came to the plate with the bases loaded in the ninth all looked like they were trying to hit grand slams, and there were too many flat footed swings.

I can now sing take me out to the ballgame comptently, and thanks to the generosity of friends in Austin, I got to treat myself and (wait for it) actually buy stuff inside the ballpark. $10 got me a Cubs hat, $5 a massive bag of salted peanuts, and I also bought two hot dogs and a scorecard (it kind of makes the game more fun when your keeping score and I could stash my pencil conveniently behind my ear so I can clap at the same time. Wrigley field itself really does have an atmosphere unlike the other ballparks I've been to. It seemed like most of the fans appreciated exaclty what was going on, and at several times all 41,000 fans were on their feet making tons of noise. As I remarked to the guy next to me, it was nice not to have a huge electronic scoreboard because 'it seems as if you spend more time watching the scoreboard than the game.'

Visited Millenium Park and the bean or the cloud or whatever it is called. Weather rather miserable today. I leave for Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Astros on the road to recovery
Looking at the Astros it is still a bit hard to see what went wrong. The Tampa Bay series is a start. The Rays hadn't lost a series at Tropicana since April so score that one for the 'Stros.

The bullpen was responsible for two of the losses in Baltimore and one in Tampa, but it really was due for a few blown saves after being stellar in May. Simply, the Astros were not scoring enough runs, and they still aren't. If you ignore the 18 runs the Astros scored in the Milwaukee series (beaten in two of three), since they headed on the road at the end of May, after beating St. Louis on the 27th they've scored 53 runs in 20 games. That is awful. Oswalt has been better, but Chacon and Backe's pitching both went South and the offense could not pick them up. Tejada, Pence and Berkman have all visibly cooled off and no-one is picking them up.

The Astros 2-1 loss to the Orioles in extras was a great example of the offensive ineptitude, scoring just one run on a Berkman solo home run off Jeremy Guthrie.

Shawn Chacon is unhappy about being moved to the bullpen but its obvious Cooper has had enough, and he has to do something to shake up the team. Runelvys Hernandez , who got shelved early in spring training after showing erratic control has shown good numbers at AAA (6-3, 3.72 ERA in 15 starts). He'll get his shot at starting, while a disgruntled Chacon will work out of the pen as he did in Pittsburgh last year.

If this really is the beginning of the end for the Astros season, and I don't think it is right to hammer shut their coffin just yet, it is hard to see what else Ed Wade could have done. The Astros have had a tough stretch, and the team is visibly tiring. If they can get back to .500 by the all-star break they will be in an ok position to refuel and mount a challenge to the NL Wildcard (forget about those Cubs they're long gone). I would have gone after Rich Harden and Troy Percival as I said all off-season. Could Josh Anderson have done what Michael Bourn have done this season? Bourn will have time to develop and within a few years he could be an all-star player. If Wade would have done what I'd suggested he probably would not have got Geary, who has been a cog in our bullpen, and wouldn't have got Valverde, and would still have Lidge and Qualls. The Astros would not have got Tejada, unless they could have flipped Lidge for prospects to deal for Tejada. It isn't an exact science GMing, as Bill Bavassi found out last week.

Their current record is 35-41 and they could get back to .500 with a couple of good series and perhaps one or two sweeps somewhere. They host the rangers next, then Boston and Los Angeles. Then on the road they face Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington (they could easily win two of those three).

I can't belive how well the Twins are doing, but their pitching has been a lot better than people predicted. They like Oakland have got surprising performances from people you'd never heard of before. Whoever heard of Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins? I hadn't. Still in Chicago, will see hopefully the Cubs play the Orioles before heading east to Cleveland then Pittsburgh.

When it rains, it pours

Its been a week into my trip and this is my first post.

First off I arrived in Houston on the 12th and watched the game against the Brewers. Moehler was disappointing and the Astros had plenty of chances, but you just don't give Ben Sheets seven runs to work with and expect to win. I had been looking forward to Houston, but was shocked at the day I spent there. Being the first stop on the way, I was considering calling my trip off. As I got of the bus from Houston I was immediately surrounded by four black guys who got in my face and started asking me questions before slipping in "have you got five bucks to spare." So far If I had given money to every person this week who has asked me for it I would have payed out a few hundred dollars. The scary thing was that when I politely said no they still followed me, and as I got away from them I could see them pointing to others to follow me.

The people in Houston were so unfriendly it took me three hours of wandering about to find the hostel. When I arrived I got chatting to three nice blokes. One was from Portsmouth in England, one from New Orleans, and another called John (who was pretty camp) did not say where he was from. There were also convinced that the hostel was a front for a crack den, as they had been told by management they could supply them with 'anything they needed.' So I was kind of glad to get out of Houston, flying from Hobby to St. Louis.

I saw all three games of the series between the Phillies and the Cardinals. After getting hammered in the first game (the Phils scored 9 runs in one inning off Wellmeyer and Ron Villone), Kyle Lohse pitched well in the second game before the Cards hung on for the series finale. They allowed 8 walks and the Phils had enough chances after two throwing errors to first base allowed the Cards to walk off with the win in the 10th. I saw the Yadier Molina-Eric Bruntlett collision and was pretty worried for Molina (he did not move at all after being hit). Busch stadium is lovely, but I still can't believe how expensive After feeling so tired after just a few days I decide to skip Milwaukee after looking at my schedule and realising I couldn't actually make it to any games if I went.

So I arrived in Chicago which is a lovely city. It is clean, the metro trains make it easy to get downtown, and Lake Michigan is beautiful. I went to see the White Sox play today (thursday) against the Pirates. Pittsburgh scored 6 un-earned runs on a Cabrera error, who redeemed himself capping a 6 run frame by Chicago in the bottom of the inning with a 3 run home run. It was a day-game and the park was virtually empty 10 minutes before the start but it filled up. Compared to Busch stadium it looks tiny, but perhaps that's because it doesn't have as many levels on the main concourse. I had a wander around downtown yesterday, and got a boat from the aquarium to the navy pier. Weather in Chicago is also nice, not humid at all and in the low 70s, early 80s.

The Astros are just playing downright ugly baseball, losing 7 straight games. It is embarrasing. This stretch could finish off their season, as they have dropped to second to last in the NL. This run since they went on that roadtrip at the end of May is even more soul destroying because they had worked through two other roadtrips to put themselves in a strong position.

10 cities, 2360 miles, 29 days, 26 games

Tomorrow I will be embarking on a 29 day roadtrip in which I hope to see 26 baseball games in 10 different cities in 12 different stadiums. I will be visiting Houston (12th June), St. Louis (13th-15th), Milwaukee (15th-17th), Chicago (17th-23rd), Detroit (24th-26th), Cleveland (26th-28th), Pittsburgh (28th-30th), Baltimore (30th), Philadelphia (3rd-6th) and New York (7th-9th).

For all those going to Minute Maid Park tomorrow, I might be outside MMP after the game by one of the killer B's statues, time permitting.

For me this is massive. As a baseball fan, who has been watching the Astros over the past five years, and having never seen a live major league game in person It will be a first for me tomorrow. Hopefully the Astros actually show up. I'll see you there in 408.

Is this the last time this season we see .500?

Its weird that so many guys are chasing obscure records this season. Chipper is trying to hit .400 over the season, Josh Hamilton has a chance to eclipse Manny Ramirez's modern day leading RBI total, while Lance Berkman also has a chance to beat Bagwell's modern day runs total. Ramirez had 165 RBI in 1999, while Bagwell had 152 runs in 2000. Berkman has  61 runs so far, but I don't see him keeping it up. Hamilton has 70 RBI, a whopping total already.

Hopefully after yesterday we will not be seeing .500 any more. The Astros had a closed meeting after BP yesterday in which Ed Wade spoke to players for ten minutes. Certainly yesterday's win against the Brewers was encouraging, seeing the return to vintage form of Roy Oswalt. Berkman drove in 5 with a 2 run home run and a bases clearing triple on a laser over Mike Cameron's head. It is a good start to this series, but this needs to continue. Forget for now what the Cubs are doing, I've always felt that the Cubs would win the NL Central. We've just got to get to 90 odd wins and see if we can pick up that wildcard slot.

However, the offense still did not produce much without the help of Berkman, which is the worrying thing. Getting a vintage Oswalt back is a first good step in the right direction for the 33-32 Astros, and Brian Moehler has pitched well his last few starts, although Backe and Chacon have had a couple of bad starts on the bounce. In two starts in June Chacon is 0-2 with a 16.50 ERA. We have Rodriguez back, and he pitched very well in Pittsburgh last week.

A few pieces of info I missed last week. Reggie Abercrombie was recalled from AAA, while Jose Cruz Jr. was placed on waivers. Cruz just wasn't suited to the pinch hitting role, and hopefully he can get some more ABs with a different team.

Cecil Cooper has stated that Darin Erstad and Geoff Blum could see more playing time at the expense of Michael Bourn and Ty Wiggington. Bourn has been dropped down in the order and replaced at the top of the lineup with Hunter Pence. We'll see if the shakeup causes the offense to wake up.

Nothing like home cooking

Previous to last night's opener against the Cardinals the Astros had played 20 of their last 26 games on the road, and had played 24 games at  home, the fewest in the majors. Over that 26 games stretch, even with the Astros recent 2-7 roadtrip they are 13-13.

However, the Astros will play some pretty difficult teams at home, including the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Rangers, the Dodgers, and will have to travel to Baltimore and Tampa Bay in the interim. Getting to the all-star break with a .500 record might be a challenge.

Last night the Astros certainly enjoyed getting back home after a sapping road trip, beating the Cardinals thanks to some very sloppy defensive play and a sparkling performance by Brian Moehler, who seems to have cemented his place as the clubs no.5 starting pitcher, at least for now.

To start a streak the Astros must beat Adam Wainwright, a bogey pitcher for Houston. He has beaten the Astros twice already this season, tossing a complete game victory in late April, and beating the Astros last week. In 5 career starts against the Astros he is 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA.

In the Astros 9 game roadtrip they were outscored 39 to 21. The Astros have brought up Humberto Quintero, replacing J.R. Towles, but unless the top of the order get it in gear the change will not have much impact. It could have some, but it will not impact greatly. Cooper might switch the order around a bit, if he decides Bourn is not doing the job at the top and put Pence there. Berkman cannot do much if Tejada and Lee are slumping around him. Sports illustrated have focused on Berkman, so here are the links: here is John Donovan's take on Berkman's triple crown chances (I personally do not see it happening). Here's a dive into the SI vault from 7 years ago.

Astros Tidbits

Here is what the Astros have been doing in the amateur draft so far. I was kind of surprised to see that Jason Castro, a catcher was picked in the first round. We've got 5 picks before 109 so hopefully our farm system will shape up in a few years. On other catcher news J.R. Towles was sent down to AAA Round Rock, while Humberto Quintero was brought up. Its tough for Towles, as he is the fall man for the Astros slumping offense which gave them 2 wins in 9 games on the recent roadtrip, but Cooper and the front office is trying to find a remedy (not that the no. 8 spot holds the key to the Astros recent offensive struggles.

2-7 really was not good enough, especially getting beaten by the Pirates. The Astros scored 13 runs in their last 8 games after beating St. Louis 8-2. That is appalling for this offense and it needs to change, because the Astros are currently just one game above .500 at 31-30, 8 games off the Cubs and behind the Cardinals and Brewers.