Game 55: Astros 7, Cubs 3

Fans were surely looking for an Astros rookie to earn his first major league win on Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs. They got what they asked for, albeit from an unlikely source. Fernando Rodriguez recorded just one out in the bottom of the 8th, and as the 'Stros came up with an incredible rally against the usually lights-out Carlos Marmol, scoring six earned runs in the ninth, Rodriguez earned his first win in the big leagues, though it's one that he should probably offer to sell to Jordan Lyles.

Jordan Lyles had an impressive debut.

The Astros' top prospect made his major league debut, and looked incredibly solid. Quite simply, as Brad Mills put it, "He lived up to every expectation of every Astros fan." Lyles went 7 innings, giving up 2 earned on 5 hits, with one of those runs being given up by the 'pen, and the other a result of a lapse of concentration when the youngster tried to throw a sacrifice bunt to Chris Johnson at third. Lyles threw 92 pitches, 62 of them for strikes, and after a slightly shaky start, he began hitting Robinson Cancel's glove with striking regularity. An Astros fan in the Wrigley bleachers held up a sign that said "#41- The General", and I'll warrant that nickname sticks, as the young pitcher was able to command the strike zone with ease. Sure, there's a lot of hot prospects who make a great debut, since opposing teams often have no idea what to expect, and yes, the Cubs aren't exactly the cream of the crop in the National League, but Lyles' first start had to give some sort of comfort to Houston fans who are looking to the future to find hope.

It will be interesting to see how he fares in his second start in San Diego on Sunday (a game that won't be televised, of course). If the rookie comes up with another stellar start, Ed Wade and Co. will have an interesting decision to make. Should Jordan Lyles stay in the big leagues? It's an interesting quandary, but my answer has to be no. He's just 20 years old, and a little more seasoning in AAA will only do him good. Lyles still needs to work on getting his curve to bend all the way, and Oklahoma City is a much better place for trial and error with a breaking ball than Houston. Also, who would be kicked out of the rotation when Wandy comes back? Lyles can't logically be placed in the bullpen, and while Brett Myers hasn't been doing so great of late, there's no way the Astros brass will place him and his expensive contract in the 'pen. Bud Norris and J.A. Happ have been pitching too well to sit, and since they're seen as big parts of the future rotation, it would be oxymoronic to pull one of them for Lyles. Aneury Rodriguez would be the only possible candidate to lose his job, and he's been very solid in the number 5 spot in the rotation despite his 5.40 ERA. He's also a Rule 5 pick, and so putting him down would involve having to pass him through waivers, which management surely wouldn't want to do. Moving him to the bullpen in favor of the youngster is an option, but simply, it seems it would be in the best interests of all involved to move Lyles back down to OKC and leave Rodriguez in the 5 hole.

The Houston offense finally came to life in the ninth against a pitcher that usually knocks them dead. Marmol came into the game having given up six earned runs to date in his career before he surrendered the same amount to the Astros hitters in the ninth inning. In a season that's starting to become marked by late-inning comebacks and bullpen meltdowns, the team was on the right side of the rally this time as they won the series against the Cubbies.

Brett Myers will face off against Doug Davis tomorrow in the series finale at 1:20 pm.

A day late, but I was annoyed that it didn't post...

SERIES PREVIEW: Houston Astros (19-34) vs. Chicago Cubs (23-28)- May 30-June 1, Wrigley Field

Who’s Hot: This is a rather tough call, as no one on the Astros can truly be considered “hot” at the moment with the team playing the way it is, but if I were forced to pick a couple guys, I’d have to say Aneury Rodriguez and Hunter Pence. Rodriguez has looked quite strong in his last few starts, and while he’s still winless, his tough arm angle and decent stuff are making him harder and harder for hitters to solve. Pence has obviously been the bat that’s carried the ‘Stros so far this season, and while his average his risen 20 points in the last 10 games, I’m singling him out more because of his defense of late. He’s always been an average to above-average right fielder, but lately he’s been making spectacular sliding and leaping grabs, saving runs for a rotation and bullpen that’s downright ghastly. Funnily enough, with how bad the Astros’ defense is, it still looks like Houston might have two gold glovers in the outfield.

Who’s Not: Man, lots of choices here, but the big picture points towards two key players whose deep slumps are affecting the team in the worst way possible. Brett Myers and Bill Hall were two guys that were signed (in Myers’ case, re-signed) to the club to bring veteran experience and talent. Myers’ first few starts aside, both have been horrid throughout the entire season. Myers looked fabulous in the first 5 innings of his last start against Arizona, but then proceeded to let the D’Backs get back into the game by surrendering two 2-run homers to Juan Miranda. The Astros later lost that contest after giving up the 6-run lead that they had staked out. Myers’ ERA subsequently ballooned to 5.11. And what is there to say about Hall? He’s been atrocious all year at the plate, averaging more than a strikeout per game, but two of his recent errors have cost the team EIGHT unearned runs. Thankfully, with Jeff Keppinger back from the DL, Hall should see his playing time cut into considerably.

News/Notes: For many Houston fans, the upcoming series against the Cubs will probably be the most exciting one so far in what seems to be a lost season. Highly-touted prospect Jordan Lyles will make his major league debut on Tuesday against Carlos Zambrano at 7:05 pm. Lyles was promoted from AAA Oklahoma City when Wandy Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day DL because of a fluid buildup in his pitching elbow. While his injury is a bit depressing as he was the best pitcher on the staff so far this season, the excitement of seeing the best prospect in the Houston farm system finally come to the big leagues is palpable. Lyles probably won’t throw more than about 80 pitches, especially since he’s likely to be sent back down once W-Rod is healthy, but it should be thrilling nonetheless to see the youngster pitch his first game in the Show.

Series prediction: The Astros hit the wall hard against Arizona after having won consecutive series for the first time this season when they took two out of three from Toronto and Los Angeles. However, the pitching (sans Brett Myers and the defense) has been rather pleasing to watch of late, and the bats should be able to get a few runs off of the equally unimpressive Cubbies starters. Still not enough for me to predict a series win, however. I’ll say the ‘Stros take one out of three, and I’ll say it’s Aneury Rodriguez who finally gets a win against Rodrigo Lopez.

Game 50: Astros 2, Dodgers 1

Towles probably felt like doing this after breaking his slump in a big way on Wednesday

The Astros scored in their first at-bat and their last at-bat, and that ended up being enough as they won their second straight series by taking the rubber game against the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon in front of a half-empty ballpark. Michael Bourn's first homer of the year was a nice one, as he powered a pitch from the typically treacherous Ted Lilly into the right-field seats to begin the game. After that, it was a pitcher's duel between Lilly and Aneury Rodriguez for the rest of the day.

Rodriguez only had the best start of his young career, going six strong innings with 1 earned on 4 hits with 5 K's and only one walk. I had my doubts at first about An-Rod, but he really looks like he's beginning to settle into the fifth starter's role. Six of the nine Dodgers starters did not get a hit, and with the exception of a hanging slider to Matt Kemp, Rodriguez was nearly perfect in this one. He now sports a 4.98 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP, though he has yet to earn his first career win, thanks to the Houston bats' dormancy throughout much of the contest.

That all changed in the ninth as Brett Wallace nearly won the game with what looked to be a homer to the bullpen in right, but ended up glancing off of the glove of Kemp for a double. J.R. Towles, who had started the day in an 0-for-32 slump, ended the game with his third hit of the day, singling to center and bringing pinch-runner Brian Bogusevic home for the walkoff win.

The only other observation I have about this game is one that I've had in, well, just about every game. Bill Hall stinks. And I realize that management is paying the guy $3 mill this year to "rake", so I've given up on the fire sale option of releasing him. However, I feel like a more moderate approach is one that could really bring some benefits to the Astros lineup. While it's true that Hall singlehandedly lost the game for the Astros on Tuesday night because of an egregious error, he did go 4-for-4 on Monday, along with setting up the game-winning rally in the ninth. I don't necessarily think he's a totally worthless player, but 52 strikeouts in 50 games just isn't going to cut it. So, now with Jeff Keppinger back and Angel Sanchez playing well again, why not platoon Hall, Keppinger, and Sanchez? I would rather see Kepp play full-time at 2B and have Hall be his backup with Sanch backing up Clint Barmes, but Brad Mills and Co. understandably want to give everyone some playing time. So, let's put Hall in against lefties, Kepp in against righties (or lefties when he wants to) and Sanchez whenever someone else needs a break? It's at least something to think about.

All in all, the Astros have won two series in a row, and will be looking to take a third as the Arizona Diamondbacks come into town this weekend. Before we do the series preview however, I have a little announcement to make. I'm going to be joining the illustrious Austin Swafford over at his fantastic Houston Astros blog, astros290.com. I'll be a guest writer on the blog, with a lot of similar ideas to the ones that are going down here. Don't get your heads all spun around, I will still be updating the Juicebox quite regularly, but if you want to check out some additional Astros news and notes, head on over to Astros 290 and enjoy yourself.

SERIES PREVIEW: Houston Astros (19-31) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (24-24), May 27-29, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- Brett Myers (1-4, 5.00 ERA) vs. Daniel Hudson (5-5, 3.82 ERA)

Game 2:
6:05 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (3-3, 3.41 ERA) vs. Greg Reynolds (2-0, 3.07 ERA)

Game 3:
1:05 pm- Bud Norris (2-3, 3.77 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (1-5, 4.65 ERA)

While the D-Backs have been hot of late, they could still be known as the Baby Backs, as almost all of their roster is constructed of guys age 26 or younger. Former big leaguer Kirk Gibson has definitely turned the club's attitude around however, acting like Buck Showalter did for the Orioles at the end of 2010. The Snakes won't be as easy of an opponent as Houston fans usually think, but with the top of the rotation to play with, this three-game set should still be interesting.

Prediction: Dare I say it? I think the 'Stros will win their third straight series by taking two out of three against Arizona. Myers will either pitch poorly again, or even if he doesn't, Hudson will continue his stellar rookie year by holding the rather flat Astros bats in check for the night. Rodriguez and Norris should continue their hot starts and rebound against Reynolds and Saunders, giving the home club wins in both of the last two games.

Trading Cards

A thrilling win last night notwithstanding, many Astros fans have come to terms with the 2011 season. It's a season of rebuilding, even if management won't admit it, and with rebuilding almost certainly comes trades. The Astros have a number of veterans that they could, if they so chose, deal to contenders for a couple of prospects. So who's on the list? Let's take a look.

1. Carlos Lee

Potential landing spots: Yankees, Mariners, Angels, Indians

You got it folks. He's the one that the club has been looking to deal for awhile, but the burdensome contract that he carries is a major deterrent for a lot of clubs, not to mention his severely diminishing power numbers and a defensive value of less than zero. This makes him interesting to AL clubs only, as he'd most likely fill in as a DH somewhere. You can never rule out the Yanks from signing a big bat to boost their postseason chances in a tough AL East, but I see them as an unlikely trade partner, simply because they already have Jorge Posada at DH and a plethora of other aging veterans to take care of. The M's and Angels look to be in the thick of the wide open AL West race, and since neither team has a bona fide slugger in their lineup, they could be looking to add a potential power threat come July. Both teams also have a good amount of money to blow, so picking up part of Lee's contract shouldn't be too much of a problem. The Indians are the most intriguing of the bunch, as they will most certainly need to add a little pop to their lineup to stay competitive, and with a decent farm system, they could have something interesting to offer the Astros.

2. Wandy Rodriguez

Potential landing spots: Rockies, Marlins, Tigers, Blue Jays

No, the prospect of trading the team's best pitcher doesn't look very attractive to me either, but it's an option that the Astros would certainly have to consider. W-Rod has been looking incredibly sharp lately, with a 3.41 ERA that is seemingly headed on the way down. The little lefty with the knee-buckling curve is surely starting to look more attractive to clubs with sparse starting pitching, and as he's only earning $7.5 mill this year, he could be gotten at a bargain price. A team like the Rockies could be a good suitor, as their ace, Ubaldo Jimenez, has not performed well this year, and the rotation behind him won't be able to hold up against the likes of the Giants' in the NL West. The Marlins will be looking to add pitching to their thin rotation headed by the now injured Josh Johnson to compete with Philadelphia. In the AL, the Tigers could make a Big Three of their own if they were able to land Rodriguez, slotting him in as the #3 guy behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. If the Jays are still riding on Jose Bautista's bat to stay close in the AL East come July, they could be interested in Wandy as well to be a veteran presence in a rotation full of young guns.

3. Hunter Pence

Potential landing spots: Phillies, Yankees, Mets

Shocking, I know. However, Pence's name is the one that I've been hearing the most in trade rumors of late. While he is a fan favorite in Houston and is said to be the poster boy of the franchise, management has to be disappointed that he hasn't really reached superstar level yet, not to mention the fact that he's starting to become more expensive to keep in the lineup. Pence is 28, and there's no guarantee that the level he's playing at right now isn't going to be the peak of his career. It's no secret that the Phils have not had a stellar offense this season, and because they need a right-handed bat desperately, they're probably the most likely place for Hunter to end up. If Nick Swisher continues his horrid season though, the Yanks could get in on this deal as well. And if the Mets want to save face by the potential upcoming trades of Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, they could choose to acquire Pence, though with their cash-strapped situation, that seems a bit unlikely. All in all, due to the nature of Pence's popularity, I could only see him being dealt for a blue chip prospect like Domonic Brown or Manny Banuelos.

4. Brett Myers

Potential landing spots: ??

This one is the least likely to happen, as the Astros rather stupidly signed Myers to a long-term deal last winter after his superb debut season in Houston. The problem is, Myers is getting up there in age, and the likelihood of 2010 being a fluke year for the veteran is rather high. Whether it was the high workload of last season or a nagging injury, Myers has not pitched well this year, and that could scare potential trade partners away rather easily. I was an advocate of dealing Myers last year before the deadline, as the club could have landed a number of prospects equal to or greater than the value of the ones received in the Roy Oswalt deal. However, Astros brass chose to stick with him as the staff ace, and that decision hasn't seemed to pay off so far. If Myers can get healthy and start pitching well again, another club just might be desperate enough to eat a lot of payroll and add him to their roster to make a playoff push.

Game 46: Astros 3, Blue Jays 2

For once, it seemed that everything worked out for the Houston Astros. Wandy Rodriguez gave up just 2 ER over six innings while dodging a lot of bullets, Hunter Pence hit a two-run bomb to give the Astros the lead, the bullpen was able to hold things down this time despite getting into some sticky situations, and Houston won just its second road series of the year by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.

No, Wandy did not look like the same guy who threw eight shutout innings against Atlanta, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Good pitchers, even on their off days, will still get guys out and limit damage. Wandy seems to be able to do that this year. Brett Myers does not. Rodriguez used his nasty curveball effectively, striking out six Jays while walking just three. I've said it for awhile now: I do think Wandy should be the number one pitcher on this staff. While it doesn't matter all that much right now who is "the number one" guy, Rodriguez should be starting games against the aces of opposing staffs later on down the road. Whether it was the heavy workload from last year or simply a nagging injury, Myers is not looking good right now, and putting him on the hill (especially against home run hitting teams) seems to be a risky proposition.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering just how long the Astros brass are going to continue the J.R. Towles Project. While Towles was never supposed to be on the big league club in the first place- Jason Castro was tabbed as the starter at the beginning of the year, with Humberto Quintero backing him up- an injury to Castro provided an opportunity for Towles to show what he had learned from his stint in the minors, and instead he has seen a promising start fritter away into an ongoing 0-for-31 slump. Towles is essentially Wandy Rodriguez's personal catcher, so he doesn't take up all that much playing time, but having a black hole in the lineup is never comforting. It's always hard to give up on homegrown talent, but one has to wonder if Towles' days in Houston are numbered. While Robinson Cancel is an older player and has only 86 ABs at AAA Oklahoma City, he's still hitting .314/.372/.407, and would bring a certain amount of veteran know-how to the clubhouse. However, I'm more disappointed that the Astros did not go out and actively try to make a trade or sign a second-tier catcher, someone like Jesus Flores or Bengie Molina when Castro went down for the year. Neither would have cost much, and both are improvements over Towles behind the dish.

Yes, critics, I did see that Wilton Lopez looked a bit shaky on the mound today and that Mark Melancon looked very sharp, but I am still an advocate of the Lopez-for-closer party. However, for perhaps the first time this season, I have to commend Brad Mills in the way he handled his bullpen today. With just a one run lead going into the 7th, and due to the fact that he wouldn't have to pinch hit for a reliever because of the nature of the matchup, Millsie brought in Lopez to presumably go for the entire 7th and 8th innings. It didn't end up working out that way, as he faced only three Jays in the 7th, but got into some trouble in the 8th. Unlike his previous relief appearance in the series, Lopez couldn't find his command and was struggling to throw strikes. For once, Mills took his reliever out at the right time (in the middle of an at bat, no less) before more damage was done. Melancon came in for a five-out save, and despite loading the bases in the 9th after getting two quick outs, he induced a grounder by Aaron Hill to end the game.

Yes, we haven't seen too many games like this so far his season, but it sure was refreshing to see the ball bounce our way for once. Hopefully, the guys can keep the momentum going into the home series against the Dodgers.

Andre Ethier had been the hot stick, but he is now mired in a slump.

Series Preview: Houston Astros (17-30) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (21-27)- May 23-25, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- Bud Norris (2-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 3.09 ERA)

Game 2:
7:05 pm- J.A. Happ (3-5, 5.30 ERA) vs. Chad Billingsley (2-4, 3.47 ERA)

Game 3:
1:05 pm- Aneury Rodriguez (0-2, 5.72 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (3-4, 4.71 ERA)

While Houston is at the bottom of their rotation, this is still shaping up to be a pitcher's series, as both Norris and Kershaw are high strikeout guys, Happ and Rodriguez have been pitching well lately, and Billingsley and Lilly are still better than average hurlers. I wouldn't look for too many runs scored in these three games, that is if the Astros' starters don't buckle.

Prediction: While I was pleasantly surprised to see the Astros take the series in Toronto, I'm just not sure that they'll be able to win this one at home. I'll take Houston to win one out of three, and I'll go with the wild card pick in tabbing An-Rod to get the win against Lilly. He looked good against the Jays, but ended up with a no decision. Even if Norris pitches well again, Kershaw will probably prove too much for the Astros lineup, and though Happ has seemed to be improving on the bump, there's no guarantee that he will be able to get outs against the likes of Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Jerry Sands.

Game 45: Blue Jays 7, Astros 5

Jose Bautista loves Astros pitching.

DISCLAIMER: The following post is rant that is likely to be full of information and opinions that avid readers have probably already heard and most likely criticized. However, due to the nature of the Astros' most recent loss, the author has deemed it necessary to examine the failings of the manager, one Brad Mills, to assist the team in any way possible. So, if you don't feel like reading this kind of stuff again, we don't blame you. Turn back now, or forever hold your peace.

That's right, Brad Mills. You ruined another game. The bats were fine against the Jays on Saturday afternoon; the pitching and the defense were not. However, I am choosing not to blame this loss on either of those factors, rather, I put this one squarely on the back of Mills and his inability to manage a game.

Sure, you can sign me up in the "Fire Brad Mills!" club, simply because I'm starting to think that he really is the most inept skipper in the league. I've chosen not to blame him too much so far, because it's overly apparent to any novice Astros fan that the tools he has to work with aren't exactly, shall we say, stellar. However, the two games so far against Toronto have proven that Mills doesn't seem to know what he's doing out there. Exhibit A- Having essentially been given an extra position player because of the stupidity of the designated hitter in American League ballparks, Mills still refused to start Brett Wallace against a lefty, even if it's Jo-Jo Reyes, he of the 27 consecutive non-wins, opting instead to place Jason Michaels in left field and Matt Downs at first base. Don't get me wrong, I like both Michaels and Downs, but neither of them are really essential to this team's future. Wallace is. It makes no sense to me that the manager will sit the young up-and-coming player who might soon be the face of the franchise against every single lefty pitcher, choosing even to ignore the fact that precious Carlos Lee will still get to bat as the DH. It's just plain wrong.

While that managerial choice didn't exactly change the outcome of the game, the ones that Mills botched today did. It seems like every single night, he chooses to take out the starter at the wrong time, either leaving the slumping Brett Myers in for too long against the Jays, or taking Wandy Rodriguez out against the Braves in the 9th when Rodriguez had pitched four hit baseball for eight innings. While the defense wasn't helping Myers out, Mills still chose to leave him in the game after Jose Bautista destroyed a pitch in the 6th for a 3-run bomb. The 7th inning Myers pitched resulted in a long flyout to center, a couple of singles that tied up the game, and then a homer by Yunel Escobar to give the Jays the lead for good. Then, of course, Mills decides to hook Myers. The supposed ace of the staff has shown all year that once he starts getting into trouble, he will give up hits and runs in bunches. So why not pull him after the 3-run jack surrendered to Bautista? The Astros would have still had the lead, and Myers' fantastic start would have only been marred by an unwarranted homer by the best hitter in baseball. While it's true that leaving the game to the Houston bullpen is not very smart, it was still bad timing by the manager. And that was before he botched another decision in the 8th.

The lead had been surrendered, but the Astros were still within striking distance with the score standing 6-4. Mills chooses to bring in Jose Valdez. I posted something almost identical to this when he brought in Valdez against the Pirates, when they were only trailing by two runs in the 8th in one of the games in Pittsburgh. Well guess what? Repeat performance. Valdez gave up another homer to Bautista, essentially setting the game out of reach, despite's Angel Sanchez's valiant efforts in the last of the 9th. Bringing in the young Valdez at this point is basically waving the white flag, as he's sporting a 6.94 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. He should be relegated to mop-up duty, but for some reason unbeknownst to everyone, he's still entering in situations where the game has not yet been decided. As far as I'm concerned, I would have sent him down before Fernando Abad. And that's saying something.

I just remember the winter of 2009, pleading that the Astros would hire Brad Mills as the new manager instead of the enigmatic Manny Acta. Well, now we can all see how that worked out, as Acta is leading the best team in baseball at the moment, while Mills is leading the worst. Baseball is a cold, cold game.

Wandy Rodriguez matches up against Kyle Drabek in the series finale tomorrow at 12:07 pm.

Game 44: Astros 5, Blue Jays 2

Chris Johnson's homer proved to be the difference on Friday.

Talk about a much-needed win. The Astros broke their 5-game losing streak and extended Jo-Jo Reyes' 26-game start losing streak by beating the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night with a total team effort in their first-ever visit to America's Hat.

Several things I liked about this one, but the performance of young Aneury Rodriguez (0-2, 6.00 ERA) is worth mentioning first. Rodriguez threw 5.1 innings of risky baseball, surrendering 8 hits but only 2 ER (one of which was given up by the enigmatic Enerio Del Rosario). While he doesn't have a dominant pitch- he's mostly a fastball and changeup guy- and while I'm also wary of the fact that his good starts usually come against teams that have never seen him before, Rodriguez still got outs when it mattered most, keeping the Astros in it for the whole contest. I'm not sure how long he's going to last in the rotation, as he does give up runs in bunches, but if he can string together a couple of good starts, he looks like a pitcher who could get on a roll.

'Twas refreshing to finally see the bats wake up as well. After being held scoreless by the likes of Reyes for 7 innings, Hunter Pence slapped a two-out double to right against big Jon Rauch in the 8th, plating Michael Bourn and Clint Barmes. While I bashed Chris Johnson on Twitter during the game, he was able to deposit a Frank Francisco fastball over the wall in left to give the Astros a 4-2 lead. One more run was tacked on when Bourn reached on an infield single, scoring Angel Sanchez, who had advanced to third on a nifty baserunning move. This team has hit the opposing bullpen well all year, and while I wouldn't call them the Cardiac Kids just yet, it's at least comforting to know that even if the starter is mowing down Astros, there's still a shot in the later innings against the relievers. Hey, that's probably what other teams think when they face us...

Another critique of Brad Mills strategy: I emphasized it in a previous post, but why isn't Wilton Lopez the closer? He worked a scoreless 8th inning, striking out the side in good morning, good afternoon, good night fashion. While Mark Melancon turned in a fine 9th by inducing a double play to end the game for just his second save, it's still a bit silly that the best reliever in the bullpen is pitching the 8th. I agree that Melancon had been the best guy up until the Brandon Lyon injury, but now that Lopez is obviously back and good as ever, why isn't he closing? It doesn't look like things will change anytime soon either, as it would be rather nonsensical for Mills to try a third different closer when Lyon recovers from his biceps tendinitis. Whether Melancon stays put or Lyon reclaims his spot will be interesting to see, but the fact remains that neither of them should be trying to get the last three outs anyway.

Brett Myers battles Brandon Morrow tomorrow (pun intended) at 12:07 pm (what is up with these Canadians and their starting times??) in the second game of the series.

Thoughts

After being singled to death in the first game and coming out flat in the second of the two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros have lost 5 in a row and 12 of their last 14. So what to do? Save your emotions, and do a quick hits version of your thoughts.

• This is the worst team in baseball, folks. Yes, I know that the Twins have a worse record. But they have some key players injured (like, ya know, Joe Mauer), and many of their stars just haven't figured it out yet (Justin Morneau, Francisco Liriano). The White Sox, you say? They're just scuffling. They have a better record now, and with the likes of Adam Dunn and Carlos Quentin in the lineup, I'm thinking they'll start winning some games pretty soon. The Astros, on the other hand, aren't in the same kind of situation. None of their key players are injured (unless you consider Jeff Keppinger or Jason Bourgeois key players). They look like they've "figured things out" as much as they're going to. Simply, this team is not playing well. When they hit, they don't pitch, and when they pitch, they don't hit. And they never run the bases or play defense well. That just doesn't add up.
• J.A. Happ is confusing me. While he fell behind a lot of hitters today, per usual, he ended up striking out 8 Cardinals, looking, dare I say, dominant. Happ seems to be progressing to Bud Norris level, where one or two mistakes each game prevents him from looking like an elite starter. I still don't like J.A., and no, I'm still not convinced that he knows what he's doing out there, but the last couple of starts he's had have been encouraging nonetheless.
• The hitting might soon surpass the pitching in team-wide ineptitude. After starting out surprisingly hot, the Houston bats have regressed to 17th in the league in runs and OBP, and 19th in slugging. A lot of this is due to most of the hitters moving closer to their mean hitting performance. Everyone knew that guys like J.R. Towles, Angel Sanchez, and Humberto Quintero weren't going to hit the seams off of the ball all season long, and with their decline, so's gone the team. Having two black holes in the lineup in Bill Hall and Chris Johnson doesn't exactly help the team average either.
• That being said, it is encouraging that the starters have been putting things together lately. Brett Myers finally was able to limit damage in Atlanta, Wandy Rodriguez threw his second straight 8 inning, 0 ER no decision, Aneury Rodriguez had a no hitter through 5 before blowing up, and Norris had his first "bad" start in awhile. Along with Happ's small emergence, Brad Mills might be more encouraged to leave starters out longer instead of handing the game over to the inept bullpen.

Series Preview: Houston Astros (15-29) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (21-21), May 20-22, Rogers Centre

The Jays should go back to this uniform. You can't beat blue pants.

Game 1:

6:07 pm- Aneury Rodriguez (0-2, 6.26 ERA) vs. Jo-Jo Reyes (0-3, 4.74 ERA)

Game 2:

12:07 pm- Brett Myers (1-3, 4.79 ERA) vs. Brandon Morrow (2-2, 4.85 ERA)

Game 3:

12:07 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (2-3, 3.75 ERA) vs. Kyle Drabek (3.2, 4.32 ERA)

This is the Astros' first ever trip to Toronto, and sadly, it comes at a time that the team is near rock bottom. The Jays have played rather well so far this season, mostly because of the unreal performance of right fielder Jose Bautista and the superb hitting by the rest of the lineup. Though the top of the Houston rotation is coming, I still think this will be a tough series to swallow.

Prediction: The Astros lose yet another series by winning one out of three. I'll take Reyes to finally break his however-long start losing streak against the slumping Aneury Rodriguez, and even if Myers does pitch well, you can't count on the Houston hitters to heat up against Morrow, and even if they do that, well, you can't rule out a bullpen collapse anymore, can you? I'll take Wandy to finally get a win against the young Drabek, assuming that the Astros put at least one run on the board.

It's a Great Time to Face the Redbirds!

Perfect timing right? Here's a mini-series preview against the Cardinals for you.

Houston Astros (15-27) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (23-19)- May 18-19, Busch Stadium

Game 1:
7:15 pm- Bud Norris (2-2, 3.42 ERA) vs. Kyle Lohse (4-2, 2.31 ERA)

Game 2:
12:40 pm- J.A. Happ (3-4, 5.40 ERA) vs. Kyle McClellan (5-1, 3.62 ERA)

Well, I'm really not sure what else to say about this one. It's going to get ugly.

Prediction: It will be an easy two game sweep for St. Louis. The Astros are in a deep, deep funk right now, and with a heart of the lineup like the Cards have, all Houston pitchers will be in for a long ride. While it's true that Bud Norris is a Cardinal killer, those kind of things only last so long; it's really only a matter of time before the St. Louis hitters figure out Norris' stuff. The Happ start won't go too well, and with McClellan on the mound, the cold Astros hitters don't look to have much of a chance in this series. And guess what? It doesn't get any easier, as they travel to Toronto to end the week against the Blue Jays.

If I Were Jim Crane/Ed Wade/Brad Mills...

Because a game recap would just depress me, I'm opting instead to assume the tyrannic role of owner/GM/manager of the Houston Astros franchise. Simply, these are the 10 changes that I would institute to ease the pain of this 2011 season. Though, to be frank, it's not like it can get any more painful than the game on Tuesday afternoon...or could it? Here you go, nonetheless:

1. Have a management meeting.

If I were someone in charge, I would think that the most important thing to do at this point would be to call the other people in charge and have a meeting that examines the realistic goals and the supposed course that we're intending to follow this season. I think what makes all the fans mad (myself included) is that everyone, for some inexplicable reason, is still expecting the Astros to win a fair amount of ball games. Quite simply, that is just not going to happen this year. Management has got to get everyone off of the Glory Days of 2005 kick because that was six years ago people. You know how many players are still on the roster from the World Series team? Hm....how about zero? Now I'm not saying you have to hold a presser to say, "We just want to officially say that the Houston Astros are going to suck this year, so don't come to the ballpark until we get the first pick in the draft next season". However, you can at least recognize that this is a rebuilding stage, and treat the roster and the free agent signings accordingly.

2. Make Wilton Lopez the closer.

Yes, yes I know that this seems fickle, but I can honestly proclaim that I never thought that Mark Melancon was quite ready for the closer's job. You can contend that it was just a mistake pitch to probably the second-best catcher in the game on Tuesday, but Melancon still blew the save when he already had gotten two outs and two strikes. Hitters have also been getting a lot of contact off of him lately, as I have explicitly detailed before. I have a pretty good guess that had Lopez not been injured at the time of Brandon Lyon's initial trip to the DL, he would have been given the ball in the 9th, high ERA be darned. He was the Astros' best reliever last year, and seems to have no problem getting outs this year, post-injury. My suggestion: Jeff Fulchino in the 7th, Melancon in the 8th, Lopez in the 9th. Once Lyon comes back, he takes Fulchino or Melancon's job. Either way, it's not like the bullpen is going to get any worse, so why not tinker with it?

3. Start bringing some guys up from the farm.

I wouldn't say that's it's necessary to promote top prospect Jordan Lyles just yet, but I think it's about time to open the floodgates and let some of the young guys who are ready get playing time. This is mostly aimed at the bullpen, with my suggestion being to at least bring up Wesley Wright and send down Fernando Abad. But why not some others? This team is not winning right now, and gauging which minor leaguers are ready for the majors is a good way to improve a club. Certainly avoid arbitration problems, but giving the fans a taste of what's to come might be the only way to sell tickets at this point.

4. Keep Ed Wade, but not as the GM.

I know this seems drastic, and I never try to be that guy who always calls for the coach's or GM's head when things go wrong, but I don't think it's any mystery as to why the Astros' farm system is terrible and the roster is overrun with aging veterans. Wade loves signing "leadership" guys, and to be more specific, he loves signing "leadership" guys that used to play in Philadelphia, as evidenced by his acquisition of Michael Bourn, Jason Michaels, Brett Myers, Pedro Feliz, etc. I think he's ridden the Bourn trade popularity wave long enough, and seeing as he really hasn't developed any young talent and continues to make questionable signings, it's probably time for him to be demoted under the new Crane regime. I'm all for keeping him in the organization, but maybe director of scouting or a different, less hands-on job is more appropriate for the aging baseball guy. A young team needs a young GM, and while the chances of bringing the Rays' Andrew Friedman here are not high, it's crucial to get somebody who knows today's game.

5. Stop hindering Brett Wallace's progression.

I am still baffled that Mills is replacing Wallace at first base with Carlos Lee when the Astros face a lefty. Sure, Wallace is a lefty too, but are they planning on sitting him against lefties for the rest of his career as an Astro? It would be one thing if Lee was actually a good first baseman, but he's an absolute joke on defense, and it doesn't really help the team when their best hitter, according to batting average, is sitting on the bench whenever a lefty pitches, which in case you didn't know, is quite regularly. Jason Michaels and/or Brian Bogusevic don't really need those starts in left field, and if management really plans on building around Hunter Pence and Wallace, they need to leave the young 1B in the game, no matter who's pitching.

6. Release or demote Bill Hall.

He's a joke, plain and simple. Hall has struck out about 3,000 times already this season, and his temper and defense isn't really setting the right example for the rest of the guys. He was, ahem, another one of those supposed "leadership" signings by Wade, a guy who could "bolster" the middle infield with his "power bat" and "excellent glove". In case you couldn't tell by all those quotation marks, he's done none of those things, and holding back Matt Downs, Jason Bourgeois, or Jeff Keppinger from being in the lineup every day is pure stupidity at this point. I understand not wanting to eat the $3 mill that the team owes him this year, but it's not like he hasn't been a utilityman before.

7. Flip the rotation so that Wandy Rodriguez is the #1 starter.

It seems like he has figured everything out already this season, and with Myers' heavy workload from last season appearing to weigh on him, Rodriguez should be the staff ace right now. It's not too big a deal that he's pitching in the 2 spot right now, but when the Astros start running in to the top hurlers on other teams, it would be nice to have their own best pitcher on the mound as well. With a 3.45 ERA, comparative to the rest of the starters (save Bud Norris), it's kinda hard to not think of him as the best pitcher right now.

8. Do something about the defense.

I don't care if it's defensive drills. I don't care if you have to buy the entire team some new gloves. Do some voodoo, have a team prayer about it. Make up a lucky dance. Anything you have to do, just do it. This defense is absolutely embarrassing, and while most of the blame has been attributed to the pitchers' inability to get outs, I still believe that the worst aspect of this team is it's defensive ineptitude.

9. Trade Carlos Lee.

Please, Astros brass, don't take the bait. If Lee keeps hitting and starts driving in a bunch of runs, a lot of the more novice fans are going to be calling for him to stay and finish out his contract. But please, please don't fall for it. Trade him. You'll only have to eat the $13 mill for one season, and then the terrible signing will be behind you. It's time to bring up J.B. Shuck or J.D. Martinez to man left field, and netting at least a few mediocre prospects from some AL team that needs a DH at the deadline is so, so worth it at this point. I plead, do not screw this one up Ed Wade.

10. Start passing out some of these, so at least we can have some...dignity.

Game 41: Braves 3, Astros 2

Craig Kimbrel: the next Billy Wagner.

To be honest, it was better than I expected them to do.

The Astros fell to the Braves 3-2 on Monday night behind a stellar pitching performance by Atlanta starter Tommy Hanson and yet another failure by the Houston bullpen to hold runners.

But honestly, this was a game that I expected the team to lose, and lose badly. Thankfully, Brett Myers was able to bounce back from a couple of scary early innings, in which he put six Braves on base, and pitch a decent game. Myers went 6 strong innings, giving up 2 ER on 8 H and 3 BB. He finally looked as if he was able to control what he was doing, recognizing that his performance in the last couple of starts were due to the overabundance of breaking balls that he threw. Opting instead to go with his fastball for at least part of the contest, Myers was able to get outs when it counted and certainly kept the team in the game.

And the typical happened next. Fernando Abad came in to work the 7th and ended up walking two batters and surrendering a run-scoring single to the suddenly potent Eric Hinske (don't get me started on his bunt single. Yeah, you read that right, BUNT SINGLE by Eric Hinske). That RBI proved to be the difference, as Eric O'Flaherty and Craig Kimbrel came in to shut the door on the game. (As a side note, Braves fans should consider themselves lucky with the pieces that they've assembled, as they boast a young and fiery bullpen, a nasty rotation, and a perfect mix of budding superstars and effective veterans. I'm thinking they'll be World Series champs in 2 or 3 seasons).

So my question is this: how long is Brad Mills going to leave the bullpen like this? Everyone knows it's less-than-stellar, and while I contended in my last post that it's not purely the relievers' fault, it's nevertheless painfully obvious that some of these guys don't belong in a major league bullpen. Abad is a good example of this. He impressed in spring training and in the Dominican winter league, but is now sporting a 1-4 record with a 7.43 ERA and 1.95 WHIP. You can't even contend that Millsie is using him exclusively as a LOOGY, because Abad almost always faces two or three batters in every appearance. While I'm not necessarily opposed to using a lefty out of the 'pen specifically to get another lefty out, a guy like Abad shouldn't be left in the game when he's struggling, simply because the next guy coming to the plate bats from the left side. Mills should have pulled him after he struck out Brian McCann (he had already failed to retire the first lefty he faced anyway by walking Nate McLouth), but he left him in instead, and it proved to be the difference in the game. True to the cold nature of baseball, Wilton Lopez entered after the Hinske hit and easily handled the rest of the 7th and 8th innings.

It will be very interesting to see what Jim Crane does to remodel this team in the coming months and years. The sale was announced today, and pending the rest of the team owners' approval, Crane will assume the role of financier and ultimate boss in the very near future. After sorting out who stays and who goes in the management levels, the chips will then fall on which players are still suiting up in Houston. Will Matt Downs begin to start at second base over the atrociously ineffective Bill Hall (who struck out three times on Monday, bringing his season total to a ridiculous 48)? Will Abad be sent down to Oklahoma City to make room for another LOOGY, or perhaps a more ML-ready righty? Will the suddenly hot Carlos Lee be traded? A lot of questions will be answered in the coming months, and luckily for the fans of this currently terrible team, the rest of the 2011 season should become very interesting.

Wandy Rodriguez closes the two-game set in Atlanta against Derek Lowe tomorrow at 12:05.

Is the Bullpen Really to Blame?

Chris Johnson is sucking at more than just hitting.

A game recap against the Mets is kinda pointless, as I didn't get to watch the game in the first place, and frankly it was another typical loss in which an Astros starter gave up 7 ER. Instead, I wanted to offer something based on stats, something I've been pondering for awhile. For fun, a quick series preview against the Braves finishes this post up.

My quandary is this: is the Astros bullpen really that bad? The easy answer would be yes, as Houston relievers are the worst in the National League and second-worst in the majors (trailing only Detroit) in terms of ERA, sporting a ghastly 5.25. However, with a deeper look at the numbers, something else is a bit more telling as to why the 'pen is giving up so many runs. The culprit is team defense. According to Fangraphs, the Astros' relievers FIP (that is, Fielding Independent Pitching, basically a statistic that attempts to measure a pitcher's effectiveness minus luck and the defense behind him, meant to be a more pure indication of the pitcher's value) is 4.10, nearly a run and a half better than their collective ERA. That number is not stellar, but it is still better than the relief corps' in Philadelphia, Detroit, both teams in Los Angeles, Minnesota, and Baltimore. Obviously, in a perfect world a pitcher's ERA would be the same as his FIP, assuming that the defense behind makes all or nearly all the right moves on balls put in play. Anyone who's been watching the Astros this year knows that the guys in the field are not doing that.

Houston has the second-worst fielding percentage in the majors (.978), and that's only one thousandth of a percentage point better than the Texas Rangers' percentage. The Astros have committed 32 errors in 40 games, second only to the Rangers' 34. Houston is also dead last with a UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating, an advanced fielding metric that I have no shot at explaining) of -18.1. Chris Johnson and Angel Sanchez are two of the main culprits, with 6 errors each.

So I ask you, with what looks like the worst defense in the majors, who's to blame? Is it the bullpen's fault? Is it the defense? Either way, it's going to take vast improvement on both ends for the Astros to start making any headway. 

Mini-series preview: Houston Astros (15-25) vs. Atlanta Braves (23-19)- May 16th and 17th, Turner Field

Game 1:

6:10 pm- Brett Myers (1-3, 5.01 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson (4-3, 2.51 ERA)

Game 2:

12:05 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (2-3, 3.98 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (3-3, 3.73 ERA)

With the Astros coming off four consecutive series losses, fans should be glad that this is only a two-game stint in Atlanta. The Braves are a club with the complete package: ripe with young power hitters, infielders who can hit for average and make great plays, pitchers who throw hard and compete harder. It looks rather bleak, but at least the 'Stros have the top of their rotation pitching. Not that Myers has been very comforting lately on the mound.

Prediction: A two-game sweep is very possible, but I'll say that Wandy wins his start against Lowe. The second game will actually be a very good matchup of pitchers, as both guys have pretty similar numbers, all things considered. If W-Rod stays hot, then the Astros will at least be able to keep from getting swept again. However, I'm not so sure that Myers has everything figured out yet, and with Hanson being as good a pitcher as he is, the first game could get ugly.

Game 39: Astros 7, Mets 3

He's El 2,000 now.

Sometimes when nothing is working, it will all make sense, if just for a little while.

The Astros sure didn't look like the worst team in the National League on a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon as they opened up another quick lead and actually held onto it this time, shellacking the New York Mets 7-3 in the second game of the series at Minute Maid Park.

The batters jumped quickly on R.A. Dickey's seemingly ineffective knuckler, starting with leadoff man Michael Bourn who opened the game with a triple to deep right. Clint Barmes hit a grounder to Jose Reyes to bring Bourn in, and the route was on. The home team put four runs on the board in their half of the first, getting contributions from everyone in the lineup save Humberto Quintero. Three solo home runs by Bill Hall (?!), Matt Downs, and Carlos Lee, respectively, gave the Astros their final run total of seven. J.A. Happ gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 full innings and got the win, raising his season record to 3-4. The bullpen made it through with nearly a clean slate, as Fernando Abad and Wilton Lopez combined to hurl two hitless innings. Mark Melancon surrendered a run to Reyes on an RBI single. The final score: 7-3.

These are the games that are particularly comforting to win. After staking out a 4-0 lead for the second consecutive day, the Astros needed a stabilizing victory in the worst way on Saturday. At first, it looked like the Mets would come back and spoil things all over again, as they slowly chipped the lead down to 4-2 after a few frames. However, Happ made his pitches and got outs when it counted. Look, I don't like J.A. Happ, and all of the readers of this blog know that. I never thought he was good enough to be the main trade chip in the Roy Oswalt deal. He falls behind hitters at an alarming rate, is a fly ball pitcher, and doesn't seem to have a dominant pitch in his repertoire. However, he's almost brought his season record up to .500, and frankly, he's an average 4th starter for a National League rotation, which in the end, is good enough for this ball club. I only hope this doesn't turn into a deal where management holds down a prospect in the minors (I'm not suggesting Jordan Lyles here...okay maybe I am...) because they are afraid of ceding Happ's spot in the rotation. I understand that by no means should Happ be moved down at this point, but I have no trouble seeing a forthcoming season in which he turns into the new Nelson Figueroa and is wholly ineffective for a year. For now though, just keep doing what you're doing J.A.

It's rather comforting to see Carlos Lee get back into a bit of a groove. Lee collected his 2,000th career hit on Saturday by knocking an RBI single in the first inning off Dickey. After another atrocious start to the season, Lee has come out of the slump a bit earlier than usual and raised his season average to .245 by collecting two hits. I still can't wait to dangle him as trade bait come July, but for that to happen, he needs to keep producing big time at the plate. The conundrum that presents itself is that he's going to have to hit really well for a contender to be willing to eat even part of his massive contract, and if he's producing in that range, the veteran-loving front office (assuming it's still the same people by that time) might be afraid to let him go. Let's face it, homers and runs sell tickets, and I'm not so sure that the Astros brass is going to be willing to give away that revenue, opting instead to letting Lee finish out his contract in Houston. Again, that's if he's producing well at the plate. However, they had no qualms in trading the vastly more popular Lance Berkman for peanuts, so a Lee trade is definitely plausible.

Lastly, I'm still a little skeptical about this whole Mark Melancon as closer thing. Look, if I had been Brad Mills, I would have selected Melancon as my closer at the time too. However, he's not exactly a lights out guy, and I feel like every time I've seen him pitch since he's inherited the role, hitters are getting a vast amount of contact off of him. The fact that Reyes drove in a run against him in the ninth may seem moot in a game in which the lead is 5 runs, but what if that would have been a one run game? We would have had another blown save on our hands. My advice to Mills: don't designate a closer just yet. I'm a huge supporter of set roles in the bullpen, as I feel it helps guys mentally prepare for and master their respective jobs, but that's only if you have enough competent pitchers to fill each role. Sadly, the Astros do not have that luxury. For now, use Melancon a couple times. Throw in Lopez if the matchups look right. Maybe even try Jeff Fulchino. Frankly, I think Melancon is just too young for this role right now, and needs to get more acclimated to being in the 'pen every day. All in all, he's pitched fine as of late, and there's really no reason to panic...yet...

Aneury Rodriguez closes up the series against Chris Capuano tomorrow at 1:05.

Game 38: Mets 6, Astros 4

Remember that whole "this season is becoming farcical" thing? Well...it's just become farcical-er. The Houston bullpen blew it again tonight, (though Bud Norris is certainly not free from blame) as the Astros dropped the first game of a 3-game series against the Mets at Minute Maid Park.

Bud Norris faced off against the young Dillon Gee, and at first glace everything seemed to be going in the home team's direction. Through a bunch of bloop singles (I can solemnly swear to you that the Houston Astros have never hit anything but a single this season, save Hunter Pence who occasionally knocks a two-bagger), hit batters, walks, and the Mets basically playing like the Mets, a quick 4-0 lead was built after 6 innings. And then, of course, all Houston fans were snapped back to reality.

Jason Bay hits a baseball to Galveston after Norris and Quintero decide to lob him a 3-1 fastball right in the happy zone: 4-1

Justin Turner (I don't know who he his either) gets on base and is summarily brought home after Fernando Martinez tattoos a Norris changeup into the second deck in right: 4-3

Jeff Fulchino is brought in, ya know, to stabilize things after Norris walks Jose Reyes.

David Wright says "Hey Fulch, stop trying to pick off Jose because I'm just gonna take you and your sorry beard yard anyway.": 5-4 Mets

After the bats failed to even things up in the bottom of the frame, some guy named Jason Pridie and a bunch of other nobodies knock around Wilton Lopez to secure an insurance run. Ballgame. 6-4.

Look, I love Bud Norris. I really do. I wholeheartedly believe that he is the best pitcher that the Astros have right now, and the fans watching on Friday might have been seeing the next Roy Oswalt on the mound. He's improved markedly from last year, and seems much more confident in himself to boot. But the one thing he's going to have to limit is homers. You see, Bud is so confident in himself that he gets a half dozen K's in his pocket and begins to think he's the next Halladay. Suddenly a 3-1 count to a great hitter like Bay becomes a challenge match, where Norris sits on the mound and says, "Screw it. I'm throwing him a freakin' fastball right down the middle. I'm BUD NORRIS, I mean there's no way he's gonna hit it." Boom. And that's where he lost his confidence in this one. Another homer given up to a guy who's only hit one in his career should have effectively chased Bud, but of course Brad Mills decided to leave him in for one more hitter, who he walked, setting up the Mets' go ahead long bomb by Wright.

Which, of course, leads to the bullpen. Fulchino and Lopez came in and gave up 3 ER, raising the Houston bullpen ERA to a ghastly 6.10, dead last in the majors. If new owner Jim Crane wants to improve this team in any way, it should be through this group of guys first. I'll be posting later on why I think the relievers really aren't the only ones to blame in this situation, but Friday showed once again just why this team is losing games so frequently. When the starter knows that the guys behind him probably won't be able to protect the lead, it's frustrating. You start out-guessing yourself, and your sense of calm and assurance turns into a sort of "Well, I better post a zero or we're screwed." Most of the time, this is what Astros' starters have had to do, as a 4-0 lead vanished like dry ice against the likes of the Mets.

Pitching. Defense. It's what won the Astros the NL pennant in '05, and whether Ed Wade wants to face it or not, signing "power bats" ( I know, I can't believe they called Bill Hall and Clint Barmes that either) is not going to work. Pitching. Defense. It's what wins championships. It's why we need Andrew Friedman.

J.A. Happ takes the mound against R.A. Dickey in the Battle of the Initials tomorrow at 3:05 pm (??). Come back here for another sorry wrap-up of that game as well.

And since Blogger deleted my previous post, a happy belated birthday to Kevin Bass, former Astros outfielder.

Game 37: Astros 4, Reds 3

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I took off my trusty baseball cap and looked at the logo on the front. It was a big, proud Astros star per usual, just one of the too many styles of Houston caps that I own. You see, I'm a collector of all sorts of baseball memorabilia (yes, my first-ever collection was Topps baseball cards, still love 'em). I put the hat in the closet and thought to myself something profound: during each of the past four days, I had been wearing strictly Astros caps. With each passing game, the team's results became more and more deplorable. So, I vowed that Wednesday would be a new day. I would use a bit of reverse psychology to trick the baseball gods by wearing a non-Astros cap all day. I selected one of my favorites: the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays alternate cap. I might just keep wearing it.

The Astros-Reds game didn't fail to excite on Wednesday afternoon, as the home team ended things with another walk-off win, this time thanks to the 9th walk of the game surrendered by a Reds pitcher, followed by a scalding double by Hunter Pence to score J.R. Towles from first. The couple points I observed, Quick Hits style, before I head back to studying:

• Pence is a legitimate player. I recently read an article on ESPN that ranked the RF as the "worst" best guy on a team, meaning that among all team MVPs in the majors, Pence was the worst. I beg to differ. He's tied for 4th in the NL with 10 doubles thus far. His triple slash line may be just .307/.352/.500, numbers that may not be the best among the best. However, who's on the Nationals right now that's better than Pence? Ryan Zimmerman? He's injured all the time. What about the Pirates? Sorry, as great as Andrew McCutchen is, he's not better than Pence. Neither is any player on the Orioles, Royals, Diamondbacks, or Padres (excluding Heath Bell, though he can't honestly be considered the team's MVP) singularly better than Pence at his respective position. Sure, prospects are great, up-and-comings are great. Who wouldn't love to have a Matt Wieters or Eric Hosmer on their team? But Pence is better than both of those guys right now. He's no Willie Mays, but he deserves to be in the game's upper echelon of players, his team's record be darned.
• I think Wandy might be putting it together a little earlier than usual. While it's true that his line didn't end up beautiful, (7 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) it was effective, not to mention his third straight quality start (at least 7 IP, > 4 ER allowed). He controlled his pitches exceptionally well, as evidenced by the zero free passes allowed, and got the outs when it counted, essentially negating a large portion of the hits. He made two mistakes by serving up back-to-back homers to Chris Heisey and Drew Stubbs, but despite that, he pitched quite well. Rodriguez has always been a bit of a shaky pitcher, even in some of his good starts this season, but if he is able to keep it together, the Astros might be forced to move him up in the rotation.
• Lastly, a bit of soberness, as this is a lesson this young team will have to learn. You can't stop playing. You can't cruise to a 3-0 lead after three innings and just expect to win. This team isn't good enough, point blank, to do that. After Michael Bourn singled in two runs in the 2nd, Matt Downs hit a sac fly to bring home Brett Wallace to put the home team in a semi-comfortable position. After that, they seemed to put the game on cruise control, and only collected two more hits until the 9th. Especially against teams like Cincinnati and St. Louis, that's not going to cut it. As the muscular Reds lineup illustrated, teams with power can jump back into the game very quickly. Triple. Single. Homer. Homer. Game tied. Walk-off wins are nice, but young teams like the Astros won't always be so lucky. Patience at the plate is key, and it looked like the team had a good thing going with 9 walks today. Keep that up, and more wins will come.

SERIES PREVIEW: Houston Astros vs. New York Mets, May 13-15, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:

7:05 pm, Bud Norris (2-2, 3.16 ERA) vs. Dillon Gee (2-0, 3.80 ERA)

Game 2:

3:05 pm, J.A. Happ (2-4, 5.75 ERA) vs. R.A. Dickey (1-4, 4.50 ERA)

Game 3:

1:05 pm, Aneury Rodriguez (0-1, 5.50 ERA) vs. Chris Capuano (2-4, 4.93 ERA)

In a matchup of last place teams in the National League, this weekend series might tend to underwhelm fans, but should be competitive nonetheless. The pitching matchups aren't all that great, as both teams will be cycling through the bottom of their rotation. However, the 'Stros were able to take two of three games in New York earlier in the season, and coming off a walk-off win against a much more potent opponent should bode well for the Houston nine.

Prediction: I was right in my series pick against the Redlegs, and so I'm hoping Lady Luck is on my side today as well. I'll say the Astros break their series losing streak and take two out of three in this one. The Mets heated up a little bit in recent weeks, but I think the Houston bats should finally be able to break out of their slump against starting pitching with the likes of Gee, Dickey, and Capuano on the bump. I'll take Bud Norris to win along with Aneury Rodriguez, as this will be the first time the Mets see him, and you saw how well that worked out against Cincinnati the first time. Still not sure Happ has it all figured out, and falling behind hitters like he does is something that could prove very detrimental against New York, as they still have bop in the lineup with the likes of Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Ike Davis. And even if Happ pitches well, Dickey could prove to be a conundrum against the free-swinging Astros lineup.

Game 36: Reds 7, Astros 3

Brett Myers sucked. Again.

Basketball is a game of runs. Baseball is a season of runs. Frankly, well, the Astros just aren't on a very good run right now. Brett Myers gave up 6 earned in the first two innings that he pitched, and despite (sorta) strong pitching by the Astros for the rest of the contest, the Cincinnati Reds came in and gave another royal shelling in the second game of the series at Minute Maid Park.

This is essentially the only observation that is important in this post. I believe Brett Myers is hurt. I don't have any idea what that injury is, but if it's anything like the biceps tendinitis that was Brandon Lyon was diagnosed with, no fan or even medical professional watching the game could simply call it by looking at the way the guy's pitching. My theory is this. Myers had three great starts at the beginning of the year, giving up only 4 ER total. After that, his lines have gone from mediocre to bad, giving up ER totals of 3, 5, 4, 6, and 6. That gives him an 0-3 record with a 7.88 ERA in his last four starts. Now I don't think he just woke up one day and forgot how to pitch, just like I didn't think Lyon suddenly had no ability to string three outs together (Don't worry though, I'm still on the Mark Melancon bandwagon). Sure, even staff aces go out and give up a bunch of runs every once in awhile. However, four straight "non-quality" starts is unusual for a top of the rotation guy, especially one like Myers, who had a ton of them in 2010. So therefore, I'm calling for Brett to be honest about his condition right now. If there's a nagging injury, like Lyon's, tell a trainer. Tell management. This isn't basketball or football where you can will yourself to succeed when you're hurt. Pitching in the major leagues requires incredible precision, and you're just not going to be able to do that when you're hurt.

That being said, after Myers nightmare of a start in the first two innings, he seemed to settle down and put up four consecutive zeroes to end his night. Sergio Escalona, Enerio Del Rosario, Wilton Lopez, and Mark Melancon successively spelled Myers in relief, with Escalona getting tagged for the last Reds run of the game when Joey Votto scored after being walked. Lopez worked nicely out of a jam that was of his own making, and Melancon only surrendered one hit in the 9th. I was glad to see Melancon get some work after having to sit for three consecutive games following his first major league save, but I must say I'm rather worried that hitters are able to get such hard contact off of his pitches.

Since the Astros pitching was less-than-stellar, maybe the bats would work well instead, right? Not exactly. For the seventh consecutive game, Astros hitters were held to less than 2 ER by the starting pitcher, as Homer Bailey pitched another gem, going 7 innings with 0 ER, 5 H, and 5 K's. The last six games before that, the opposing starters were 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA against the 'Stros. Looks like the hot-hitting days of the beginning of the season might be coming to a close. The team continued to hit the bullpen well however, getting 3 runs in the 8th after Aroldis Chapman walked three and hit a batter.

Lastly, I just can't wait until the day Bill Hall is sat on the bench for good. Maybe it will be when Jason Bourgeois comes back, maybe it will have to wait until Jeff Keppinger returns, but the guy just can't hit. Pitchers throw outside to him every night, and he strikes out at an astounding rate. Tonight? 0-for-4 with two punchouts. He looks like he's going to go up there with Preston Wilson and Pedro Feliz in the Worst Astros Signings of All-Time. Not that we haven't had a lot of those.

Wandy Rodriguez takes the bump against Edinson Volquez to wrap up the series tomorrow at 1:05. After that, they won't see the Reds until August 1st. REJOICE!

Minor League Look-In

Perhaps I'm just longing for an influx of new players to straighten out this awful season, but honestly, what's a baseball blog without a look at the team's young talent on the farm? Sadly, the Astros' farm system has long been a poor one in comparison to the rest of the major leagues, but there are a couple bright spots at each level that deserve mentioning.

1. Jordan Lyles, RHP, Oklahoma City Redhawks (AAA)

The top prospect in Houston's system, Lyles has shaken off a slow start to the season and now stands at 1-2 with a 4.23 ERA and 31 K's in 38.1 innings. He came into spring training battling with Nelson Figueroa and Ryan Rowland-Smith for the number 5 spot in the rotation, but was deemed a bit too green for the big leagues. However, a move up to the show may happen sooner than we think. Lyles doesn't have the nastiest stuff around, but his supreme ability to locate his pitches makes him a candidate to be called up in the late summer. Coaches have long raved about his knowledge of the game being second to none. The Astros don't really need starting pitching right now, but a call to the bullpen and a spot in the rotation in 2012 is not out of the question.

2. Wesley Wright, LHP, Oklahoma City Redhawks

Wright has pitched in 134 games for the Astros over the past three seasons, and I for one don't understand why he keeps getting sent back down to the minors. He's always had a bit of a problem with his control, and when he's off, he's off, but I still like him better than Fernando Abad or Sergio Escalona, the two lefty options in the 'Stros bullpen as of today. Wright's 3.48 ERA is mainly a product of an outing against Nashville in which he gave up 3 earned without recording an out. Erase that game and his line shows him with 10.1 IP and only one earned run allowed. That's not too shabby, small sample size be darned.

3. J.D. Martinez, OF, Corpus Christi Hooks (AA)

Julio Daniel Martinez has long been seen as the replacement at left field when Carlos Lee is finally traded, released, or sent back to Panama to herd cattle. His ascent to the big leagues can only be welcomed by Astros fans, as the 6'3" righty is tearing up Texas League pitching right now, hitting a triple slash line of .340/.402/.560 with 3 HRs and already 30 RBIs. He's only 24, and still has a lot to learn on the defensive side of the ball, but a September call-up isn't outlandish, especially if Lee is gone by then and/or the team is in dead last and not selling tickets. Martinez is currently on the 7-day DL with a sore hamstring.

4. Tanner Bushue, RHP, Lexington Legends (A)

Bushue, the Astros' second-round draft choice in 2009, has surprised just about everyone by storming out of the gate with a 5-0 record, complete with a 3.11 ERA and 18 K's in 37.2 IP. The Illinois native was a star in high school, and while he doesn't have any pitch that's particularly dominant, he seems to know how to win, a quality that can be overrated and underrated in baseball. He's only 19, but Bushue has a high ceiling; a late 2012 or early 2013 appearance in the majors sounds about right.

Game 35: Reds 6, Astros 1

He can hit homers, too.

The 2011 Houston Astros season is becoming farcical.

Not only did the Astros lose to the Reds for what seemed like the 50th time already this year, but Houston starter Aneury Rodriguez was tagged for two homers, one by opposing hurler Travis Wood and one by fill-in 1B Ramon Hernandez. The Astros' lone run came on a fluky round tripper by Hunter Pence in the bottom of the 8th. Pence drove a pitch by reliever Logan Ondrusek to deep right field, and it only sneaked over the wall thanks to a misread by the lumbering Jay Bruce. The ball glanced off his glove and landed in the hands of a rather surprised looking fan. Don't worry kid, every Astros homer is a surprise to me.

Yes, I thought that the team would be better than last year's club, but now I'm starting to realize that the experts might have been spot on by picking the 2011 club to finish in last place in the NL Central, behind even the lowly Pirates. (If you think we've got it bad, Astros fans, Pittsburgh is over .500 at this point in the season for the first time in seven years. It can always get worse.)

Rodriguez will be a difficult riddle to solve for the rest of the season, or however long he stays in the number 5 spot in the rotation. His line for the night was 5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K, 2 BB. While no one expected him to come out and throw near-perfect ball again, it was rather disheartening to see the young righty pitch so poorly. The homers didn't worry me so much as the location problems. It was something that was evident in the first start, but was more heavily exacerbated in this one. Rodriguez is mostly a fastball guy, so locating his pitches is a must. Unfortunately, he left a lot of his balls over the plate, which usually results in dingers, even by pitchers who haven't gotten a hit all season.

The Astros bats are faring no better than the pitching these days either. While it seems that many of the last couple games will have one or the other working, both the pitching and hitting were ineffective today, as the team managed 9 hits and only one run. I don't really feel like looking up numbers right now, but I can promise you that the last couple opposing starters (including the likes of James McDonald, Travis Wood, and Charlie Morton) have had no problem picking apart the 'Stros lineup. I would estimate that the starters' ERA against us in the last couple days is probably in the high 1's.

The only positive thing to come out of this: Jose Valdez pitched two innings of relief and didn't give up a run. Either way, he's gone once Jason Bourgeois (or even Jason Michaels) comes back, so it was perhaps just a good parting shot by Valdez.

And yes, I do have another questioning of a Brad Mills decision. I promise I'm not trying to be pessimistic here; I was a huge supporter of the Mills hiring, as I believed Manny Acta wouldn't be a very good fit for the club. In retrospect, he might have made the team better, but that's not the point now. Anyhow, I thought putting J.R. Towles second in the lineup was a bit optimistic. He went 0-for-4, including a groundout to end a bases loaded rally. I'm still not really a believer in Towles yet, as I can easily remember the days when he was under the Mendoza line. However, I think he does deserve to be moved up in the lineup, along with Humberto Quintero, though only to maybe the 6th or 7th spot. My favorite lineup still looks like this (considering the fact that Bourgeois is injured):

Bourn, CF
Barmes, SS
Pence, RF
Lee, LF
Wallace, 1B
Johnson, 3B
Quintero/Towles, C
Hall, 2B

While I was a heavy advocate of Brett Wallace for Cleanup Spot, I've now rescinded my request, as he's gone a bit cold lately. I do believe, however, that batting him below the likes of Bill Hall is absurd.

Lastly, thank goodness that Ed Wade and Mills finally came to their senses and designated Nelson Figueroa for assigment. Sergio Escalona should be a good lefty not named Fernando Abad to have in the bullpen, and holding onto pitchers like Figueroa is what wastes time and wins for a young team that needs them. He proved that he couldn't handle the number 5 spot, and then he proved he couldn't handle being in the bullpen, so a move to Oklahoma City (or hopefully, a release) is just simply the right move, emotions aside.

Brett Myers will take on Homer Bailey in game 2 of the series tomorrow at Minute Maid Park. 7:05 start as usual.

Game 34: Pirates 5, Astros 4

Just as it looked like the bats and the pitching would work on the same day, the ugly step-child of the Houston Astros reared its head again. That's right folks, another loss went to the bullpen on Sunday afternoon as Fernando Abad gave up a game-winning 3-run dinger to Ryan Doumit as the Astros fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the rubber match of the series, 5-4.

Maybe I'm a pessimist, and while it's true that Brad Mills and Ed Wade don't exactly have a healthy plethora of arms to choose from in the farm system to implement in the 'pen, but there's a few guys there who just need to get gone. Jose Valdez is one of them, but he's not so much of a concern due to the fact that when Brandon Lyon and Jason Bourgeois are healthy again, he'll be sent back to Oklahoma City along with Voodoo Joe Inglett (who was 0-for-1 today in his lone plate appearance, per usual). The other arm that doesn't belong, as I happened to be thinking right before he served up the homer (I swear), is Abad. Now, all the potential last-name puns aside, he's just not pitching well. A 7.54 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP is pretty atrocious, but then again, I feel like every Houston pitcher has those kind of numbers right now. Still, I'm not sure why Astros brass is giving him this many chances, though it probably boils down to the fact that he's a lefty. Either way, he now has two losses and two blown saves to his credit, not to mention the fact that he was the one who started the whole 9-run fiasco against the Cardinals.

Other than that, it was just a well-played game on both sides with not too much commentary to draw on. The typical things were present: Hunter Pence continues to hit reasonably well, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, J.A. Happ masterfully fell behind in the count to every batter he faced, Humberto Quintero scored from second on a bunt, ya know, just the usual stuff. In all seriousness though, I feel like the bullpen is the missing piece of the puzzle. While the Astros' bats have cooled down a bit since the 10-4 shellacking of Cincinnati, the starting pitching has really begun to figure things out, and if the 'pen can somehow hold things together, maybe we could actually WIN a game. Sigh.

Oh, and the daily questioning of Brad Mills? The streak is now at 3 days in a row I believe, with this simple observation. Wilton Lopez is back on track, Millsie, so you can go ahead and start inserting him back in the setup role. There's really no need to hand the ball to the young, unproven relievers who, in case you haven't noticed, aren't pitching well. At all. After Abad gave up the 3-run homer, Lopez came in and got two easy outs. Genius.

I would have nightmares about this if I were a kid in Cincy.

SERIES PREVIEW: Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds...May 9-11, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- Aneury Rodriguez (0-0, 4.15 ERA) vs. Travis Wood (1-3, 6.21 ERA)

Game 2:
7:05 pm- Brett Myers (1-2, 4.47 ERA) vs. Homer Bailey (1-0, 1.50 ERA)

Game 3:
1:05 pm, Wandy Rodriguez (2-3, 4.00 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez (3-1, 5.63 ERA)

Overall, I can't really see how the Astros are going to avoid a sweep in this one, as they face Bailey and Volquez, two pitchers who have some nasty stuff that could end up fooling the free-swinging Houston bats. If Myers continues his downward spiral, game 2 could get ugly; the likelihood of Aneury Rodriguez continuing his scoreless innings streak is not very high against a lineup like Cincinnati's. Lastly, who wants to bet on Wandy stringing THREE good starts together? Not me.

Prediction: After calling for a sweep of Pittsburgh that didn't work out so well, I'm gonna avoid another sweep prediction, though it would have been in the opposite direction. I'll say the Astros win one out of three, mostly because of home cooking, and because of the fact that they seem to always win the first game, get everyone's hopes up, and then get destroyed in one, and lose a heartbreaker in the other. Oh, the joy.

Game 33: Pirates 6, Astros 1

Charlie "Screw 2-12, I'm Good This Year" Morton

Well, frankly there's not a whole lot to hash out about this game. Since I need to be studying for finals, I won't overanalyze; instead this will be a Quick Hits version of the 2nd matchup in the Astros-Pirates series.

• You can't blame Bud Norris for this loss. Sure he gave up 3 ER in the 2nd, but after that he was surprisingly effective at scattering hits and striking out guys. Fans can't expect the number 3 starter to go out there and give up 1 ER in every 4 starts, which is what Norris had done until tonight. He still pitched a good game, and it simply wasn't his fault that the Astros lost on Saturday, even if the score card says so.
• That being said, I can't even necessarily say that it was the Astros' bats that were to blame tonight. Charlie Morton went nearly 8 innings, giving up only 1 ER on 7 H and 1 BB. The hits were there by the guys, but Morton was simply better tonight by getting outs when it counted. He's no Nolan Ryan, but I'm buying into the fact that he might actually be a quality pitcher now, having already collected twice as many wins as he had in all of 2010.
• Hopefully, Carlos Lee's recent (semi) hot streak isn't a fluke. He knocked in the Astros' lone run in the 8th, driving in Michael Bourn on a two-out single. That gives him 4 RBIs on a 4-for-10 stretch over the last 7 days at the plate. I would still love to see this fat LF get out of town, but at least he's above the Mendoza line now and seems to be somewhat figuring it out at the plate.
• Lastly, it's time for the nightly questioning of one of Brad Mills' decisions. After the Astros had staged their mini-rally in the 8th, the score stood 3-1, a close game that was certainly within striking distance for the hot-hitting club. So, naturally, to get the much-needed 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the frame, Mills brought in...Jose Valdez. Look, I recognize that this guy has potential, and that his debut against San Diego was downright nasty. However, he's sporting Figueroa-esque numbers with an 12.71 ERA and a WHIP over 2.00. Sure, he's young and he needs to get into games to round into form, but a 2-run deficit with a reasonable chance to win is not one of those situations. For those who didn't watch, Valdez only lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up 3 ER,  a hit and 2 walks. Here's the way to do it Millisie: when you're down by 3 runs or less, especially against a team like Pittsburgh, try bringing in your relievers that have proven that they can at least sorta throw the ball (i.e. Wilton Lopez, Jeff Fulchino, or Mark Melancon). When you're getting shellacked or doing the shellacking, then you can bring in the young guys like Valdez and Enerio de Rosario. Don't give up on a game that doesn't look absolutely hopeless. One win can make a big difference for a young club.

J.A. Happ goes against James McDonald tomorrow at 12:35 pm for the rubber game of the series at PNC Park.

Game 32: Astros 3, Pirates 2

Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You're telling me that not only did the Astros win, but Carlos Lee had TWO hits, the game-winning RBI, and a walk, Wandy Rodriguez pitched well for the second start in a row, the bats came from behind and took the lead, AND the bullpen gave up ZERO runs? C'mon.

Sounds fantastical, no? Luckily for you and I, this little fable actually held true on Friday night, as the Astros came in and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in the opening game of the first series between the two teams at PNC Park. Houston finished with 3 runs on 9 hits with no errors; Pittsburgh's line was 2 runs on 5 hits with no errors.

All in all, it was one of the most exciting games to watch all year. Michael Bourn came in and did what he does, leading the Houston attack with 2 stolen bases and a run scored. Sure, he only had one hit, but Bourn's importance to this team can't be overstated. The Astros were looking dry after scoring a 1st inning run off of Paul Maholm, who posted 6 straight zeroes after his slow start. Rodriguez had given up a homer to the surprisingly hot Neil Walker. Then, Bourn drew a walk, stole second base, and easily scored on a double by Hunter Pence. He's the spark plug that makes the team go, and without the speedy center fielder the 'Stros would not have won this game.

In other news, Wandy bounced back and is currently looking like the latter-half of 2010 Wandy as opposed to the I-love-giving-up-five-runs-in-the-first-inning Wandy. He finished with a line of 7 IP, 5 H, and 2 ER with 2 strikeouts, effectively lowering his season ERA to an even 4.00. It was comforting to finally watch W-Rod string two quality starts together, not to mention actually getting the win this time, following his 8 inning gem against the Brewers that was blown by Brandon Lyon.

There were only a few worrisome things from my point of view. The fact that Astros hitters swung at bad pitches again all game long was alarming, but I figure that that's going to become a regular thing that fans will just have to deal with from now on. What's more scary is that pitchers are starting to notice as well, seeing as Maholm, Chris Resop, Jose Veras, and Joel Hanrahan unabashedly challenged the boys by throwing gift pitches right down the pipe, counting on the fact that nobody would swing at them. Now I can understand taking a pitch or two when a reliever comes in to get the feel of him, but once it comes to the 4th or 5th pitch of the at-bat, and you're still letting fastballs go right over the plate, well, that's not good.

The last thing I have to point out is rather obvious, but it's simply time to address it, something that Brad Mills just refuses to do. Bill Hall is atrocious right now. Management isn't going to take some drastic action and release or relegate him, and I can understand that, but why not just move him down in the order? I'm not the biggest fan of Clint Barmes (grounding into that double play with the bases loaded was reprehensible), and I don't necessarily buy the fact that J.R. Towles is back or that Humberto Quintero is a legitimate hitter. However, all three of those guys deserve to hit in front of Hall at this point. At a .214/..278/.316 clip with a million strikeouts, it's just not sensible to have the second baseman hitting 5 or 6 hole anymore. The 8 spot would be my preference, but if that's just impossible because of Hall's ego (which is a legitimate concern), I wouldn't mind settling for the 7 spot. Either way, he needs to go down to save the extra ABs for people who can actually, ya know, hit.

Also, my respect for Millsie is quickly deteriorating due to his rather questionable decisions. I don't understand why Hall, who has video game numbers against Maholm, was told to bunt in his first couple of ABs, and then was free to swing away when the righty Resop came in the game. Little decisions make or break games, and it was just lucky for Mills that his bad one didn't result in an Astros lost. Finally, I was quite pleased to see someone else on the mound besides Lyon closing out the one run lead for the 'Stros. While Mark Melancon scared me a bit by giving up 3 fly ball outs, ones that were solidly hit at that, it was probably just a case of the jitters. A solid first major league save for the youngster, and I for one hope that there will be many more opportunities for him this season.

Bud Norris will take on Charlie Morton tomorrow for the second game at 6:05.