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.