Houston Astros Baseball

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Astros End Spring Training On High Note

Written by Baqqs on 3:24 PM

March 29 Vs the Tigers

Today was the last Spring Training game for The Astros before they start the season off against The Padres on Monday. Chacon got the start and pitched pretty well considering the circumstances. He was awarded with the win pitching five solid innings giving up five hits and three earned runs. Borkowski, Moehler, and Brocail followed Chacon combining for just one earned run.

Trends: Both Valverde, Chacon, Borkowski, and Brocail have shown recent signs of success and look to inspire some confidence a the season starts.

Offensive Notes: Hunter "Superman" Pence hit a HR today proving once again that he is ready for the season to start. Contributing doubles were Tejada, Berkman, Lee, and the newest man to the 25 man roster Jose Cruz Jr. All together it was a great time to win against a good team. Hopefully the team can carry some of this confidence with them into Monday.

Team Notes: Astros finalized their rosters today by cutting Humberto Quintero and sending David Newhan to AAA. Q must go through waivers were he will most likely be snatched up by another team before The Astros get a chance to send him to AAA.

Woody Retires:Upon hearing about the teams choice to cut Woody he stated that he will retire. He explained he wanted to end his career with his hometown and doesn't see any reason to change that now. Other members of The Astros had mixed feelings about the decision.

"I love Woody to death," Sampson said. "He's a great guy, a great teammate. I hate that it had to be him that I was going up against. That's the way it was. I'm excited, but also, my heart goes out to him too."
"I think it's unfortunate," Berkman said. "I think a veteran like Woody deserves the benefit of the doubt. We're talking about Spring Training and everyone knows it's a totally different ballgame when you suit up for real."

Oswalt echoed the sentiment.

"I think a lot of times they judge too much in Spring Training," Oswalt said. "If you went on Spring Training [stats], a lot of the superstars wouldn't be in the big leagues. I remember Jeff Bagwell told me after my first year, he said, 'If they judged me on Spring Training, I would never be here."




Astros 2008 Schedule

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Woody Williams Cut !!!

Written by Baqqs on 11:27 AM


It finally happened. After a bad season and after an even worse spring training The Astros decided it would be better for the team to not have 41 year old Woody Williams in the rotation. Consequently this will solidify the rotation with what I believe is the best possible staff out of the guys we have. Although the spring has been rough for those starters, I believe that once these guys get their feet wet again, they will surprise many people and perform pretty well. Well enough for our offense to carry most the load.

It is unfortunate that it had to come to this, Woody is said to be a great guy and positive influence in the clubhouse. However, you may be the nicest man on earth, but if you guarantee your team a loss every fifth day it doesn't make much difference. I wish nothing but the best to Woody, good luck in the future and enjoy retirement.









Astros 2008 Schedule

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What's $6.5 Million Worth ?

Written by Baqqs on 9:46 PM

March 28 VS The Tigers

Today marked the return of injured Wandy Rodriguez. Unfortunately for him, his rehab assignment was against possibly the best lineup in baseball. Wandy didn't stay long versus The Tigers leaving after four innings pitched and five earned runs. What made the day even worse (or better depends on who you ask) was Woody's performance. If management wasn't sure whether or not to cut 6 Mil. today should have made that decision for you. Woody went three innings giving up seven hits and five earned runs. I can't imagine how Coop and Drayton can defend keeping him on. Is $6 Million worth a loss every fifth day?

To be honest I am kind of tired about reporting nothing but negative Astros news so here comes the positive. It's only Spring Training! If there is another to grab a hold of in the form of hope it's that these games mean nothing, statistically. The Spring Training for The Astros may prove to be beneficial if Woody is in fact cut and thus saving the team several starts before and several losses before cutting ties.

Here is hoping the regular season gets these Astros pumped and ready to play for real!



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2008 Predictions

Written by Baqqs on 3:18 PM

MY friends and I have bet on the final standings for the last couple of years and I figured I would throw mine up here and see what you thought.


NL East

1.Mets
2.Braves
3.Phlliies
4.Nats
5.Marlins

NL Central

1.Cubs
2.Brewers
3.Astros (Sadly)
4.Reds
5.Cardinals
6.Pirates

NL West

1.D-Backs
2.Dodgers
3.Rockies
4.Padres
5.Giants

AL East

1.Yankees
2.Red Sox
3.Blue Jays
4.Rays
5.Orioles

AL Central

1.Indians
2.Tigers
3.White Sox
4.Twins
5.Royals

AL West

1.Angels
2.Mariners
3.Rangers
4.A's

World Series
Indians Def. D-Backs

AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabithia (again)
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb

AL MVP:A-Rod
NL MVP:David Wright

AL ROY: Longoria/ Butler/ Barton/ Adenhart
NL ROY: Cueto/ Pearce/ Towles/ Votto


Astros 2008 Schedule

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Player Profile: Miguel Tejada

Written by Baqqs on 3:17 PM

Miguel Odalis Tejada (born May 25, 1976 in Baní, Dominican Republic) currently holds the fifth longest consecutive games played streak (1,152), behind Cal Ripken, Lou Gehrig, Everett Scott and Steve Garvey. That streak includes time on The Oakland A's and The Baltimore Orioles.

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The Oakland A's
Tejada was signed for $2,000 when he was only 17 years old and reached the majors 4 years later in 1997. In 2000 Tejada helped lead The A's for their first division title in eight years. In 2001 Tejada helped lead The A's to a 102-60 record which strangely was only good enough for The Wildcard. For the second year in a row, The A's fell to The Yankees in the first round of The Playoffs.

In 2002 Tejada broke out. He won The AL MVP award and helped lead The A's to the playoffs once again, and again were defeated in the first round. By the end of 2003 Tejada would need to either resign or look elsewhere and The A's chose the latter.

During the 2003 off-season Tejada signed a 6 year $72 Million deal with The Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles
Signing with The Orioles seemed like a fit considering Cal Ripken Jr. was Tejada's favorite player and it only seemed natural that he fill his shoes at the same position on the same team.

In 2004 Tejada was again elected to The All-Star Team and won the Home Run derby in Houston against Houston Fan Favorite Lance Berkman. Tejada totaled a record setting 27 HR's. Another notable stat was that Tejada led all of baseball with 150 RBI's in that same season.

In 2005, Tejada was once again at The All-Star game but did not complete in The Home Run Derby. Instead he simply won The All Star MVP award. Although Tejada seemed to be thriving The Orioles were terrible, and had been terrible for several years. Towards the end of the 2005 season it was reported that Tejada asked to be traded to a contending team or that The Orioles would re-staff with players that could put the team in contention. Neither of those requests were met.

In 2006, trade rumors continued until Tejada finally said "I will remain an Oriole the rest of my career."

2007 was a typical year for Tejada, who was o the verge of eight straight 20+ HR seasons was hurt. Tejada was hit by pitch on the wrist by Doug Brocail (now teammates) and had to be placed on the DL. This injury cost Tejada twenty nine games, his streak of 20+ HR seasons and more importantly his consecutive games played streak.

During the 2007 off-season Tejada was traded for the last two remaining contract years to The Houston Astros for five players.

Steroids
During his career Tejada has been linked to steroids from several sources. The most detrimental of those sources being Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, and The Mitchell Report. Currently, Tejada is still under investigation for an interview with a house committee member.

Miguel Tejada Stats (BR)

Miguel Tejada Stats (THT)


Astros 2008 Schedule
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Improvement, Maybe ??

Written by Baqqs on 1:42 PM

Wednesday March 25 vs Indians

Today The Astros faced a tough opponent in The Cleveland Indians. Even more than that, we faced AL Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia. However, we presented with our own ace today, in Roy Oswalt. Roy however had a somewhat difficult outing throwing close to ninety pitches in under four innings. This was a result of poor defensive fielding by Astro regulars. It may be irony or coincidence but in either case it isn't funny that on this same day Coop had the team work on fundamentals instead of traditional batting practice. I can't imagine his reaction was all that pleasant today after The Astros combined for 3 errors on the day yielding 4 unearned runs.

Some bright spots on the day were Jose Cruz JR. sealing the deal to make this team by getting a pinch hit double scoring two. Cruz is currently batting .350. Also, our seemingly dismal pitching staff did much better than the score books would show. Wesley Wright rebounded quite nicely from his previous poor start with one and a third hitless and scoreless innings. Two major question marks so far have been Brocail and Geary and both responded with scoreless frames. Geary's inning was especially nice with no hits, walks, and two strikeouts. Brocail's improvement is evident with back to back appearances giving up no runs.

To sum up, it seems like whenever The Astros improved in one area, they seem to falter in another. Today the defense was awful and I can imagine Coop will have a few words for these "professionals," asking why they can't make plays college kids can make.



Astros 2008 Schedule

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Another Day, Same Story

Written by Baqqs on 7:55 PM




Another day, another spring training game, another spring training disappointment. Over the past couple of weeks it's been made quite clear what will work for The Astros and what won't. Unfortunately, I am a strong advocate for pitching, speed and defense. This Astros team wold appear to lack in most of that. I am not the type to write about doom and gloom situations and when it was said early this spring that we would see alot of 8-7, 8-9 games I was slightly skeptical. To my dismay this is what seems to be happening. Out offense is incredible, we to hit off almost all pitching(Including today with Verlander) and have a dynamic mix of speed and power which we haven't had in recent years. We have scored more runs than any team in spring training but also have just about the worst pitching staff or at least they have performed that way.

Vs The Tigers (March 24)

Chris Sampson got the start today against possibly the toughest lineup in all of baseball. All of Detroit's regulars played (minus Granderson who is on the DL)and that alone would leave an opposing pitcher to hope just to limit the damage. But Sampson looked very good early on. He got through the first very quickly with two strikeouts and no damage. Just as the first, he looked sharp in the 2nd innings yielding no runs and notching another strike out. The only negative so far was that his contact outs were by air and not by ground ball, which is concerning for a ground ball pitcher. In the 3rd, he has hit by a "comebacker" off the bat of Miguel Cabrera. Soon after Sampson got into some trouble. He gave up a solo HR to Pudge but was able to escape any further damage that inning. In the 4th he really struggled, giving up three more runs. So after he was replaced by R. Hernandez.

Later Sampson mentioned that initially after being hit by the ball he felt ok and that the adrenaline had taken away most the pain. He then explained after the half inning of rest while The Astros were hitting he tightened up and felt the effects of the line drive and that may have been a cause of his sudden poor performance.

After Sampson the pitching staff did little to hold on to the lead that was given to them. Important pieces to our bullpen Villarreal and Valverde combined for 5 runs (4 eraned) in the eventual loss.

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Astros 2008 Schedule

Written by Baqqs on 7:43 PM

All Times EDT

March 31 at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

April 1 at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

April 2 at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

April 3 at San Diego, 3:35 p.m.

April 4 at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

April 5 at Chicago Cubs, 1:05 p.m.

April 6 at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

April 7 St. Louis, 7:05 p.m.

April 8 St. Louis, 8:05 p.m.

April 9 St. Louis, 8:05 p.m.

April 11 Florida, 8:05 p.m.

April 12 Florida, 7:05 p.m.

April 13 Florida, 2:05 p.m.

April 15 at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

April 16 at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

April 17 at Philadelphia, 1:05 p.m.

April 18 Colorado, 8:05 p.m.

April 19 Colorado, 7:05 p.m.

April 20 Colorado, 2:05 p.m.

April 21 San Diego, 8:05 p.m.

April 22 San Diego, 8:05 p.m.

April 23 at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

April 24 at Cincinnati, 12:35 p.m.

April 25 at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

April 26 at St. Louis, 1:10 p.m.

April 27 at St. Louis, 2:15 p.m.

April 28 at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

April 29 at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

April 30 at Arizona, 3:40 p.m.

May 2 Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

May 3 Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m.

May 4 Milwaukee, 2:05 p.m.

May 6 Washington, 8:05 p.m.

May 7 Washington, 8:05 p.m.

May 8 Washington, 8:05 p.m.

May 9 at L.A. Dodgers, 10:40 p.m.

May 10 at L.A. Dodgers, 10:10 p.m.

May 11 at L.A. Dodgers, 4:10 p.m.

May 12 at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

May 13 at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

May 14 at San Francisco, 10:15 p.m.

May 15 at San Francisco, 3:45 p.m.

May 16 at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

May 17 at Texas, 7:05 p.m.

May 18 at Texas, 3:05 p.m.

May 19 Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

May 20 Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

May 21 Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

May 22 Philadelphia, 8:05 p.m.

May 23 Philadelphia, 8:05 p.m.

May 24 Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.

May 25 Philadelphia, 2:05 p.m.

May 27 at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

May 28 at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

May 29 at St. Louis, 8:15 p.m.

May 30 at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

May 31 at Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m.

June 1 at Milwaukee, 2:05 p.m.

June 3 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

June 4 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

June 5 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

June 6 St. Louis, 8:05 p.m.

June 7 St. Louis, 7:05 p.m.

June 8 St. Louis, 2:05 p.m.

June 10 Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

June 11 Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

June 12 Milwaukee, 2:05 p.m.

June 13 N.Y. Yankees, 8:05 p.m.

June 14 N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

June 15 N.Y. Yankees, 2:05 p.m.

June 17 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

June 18 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

June 19 at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m.

June 20 at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

June 21 at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m.

June 22 at Tampa Bay, 1:40 p.m.

June 24 Texas, 8:05 p.m.

June 25 Texas, 8:05 p.m.

June 26 Texas, 8:05 p.m.

June 27 Boston, 7:05 p.m.

June 28 Boston, 7:05 p.m.

June 29 Boston, 2:05 p.m.

June 30 L.A. Dodgers, 8:05 p.m.

July 1 L.A. Dodgers, 8:05 p.m.

July 2 L.A. Dodgers, 8:05 p.m.

July 3 L.A. Dodgers, 2:05 p.m.

July 4 at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m.

July 5 at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m.

July 6 at Atlanta, 1:35 p.m.

July 7 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

July 8 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

July 9 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

July 11 at Washington, 7:35 p.m.

July 12 at Washington, 7:10 p.m.

July 13 at Washington, 1:35 p.m.

July 18 Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

July 19 Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

July 20 Chicago Cubs, 2:05 p.m.

July 21 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

July 22 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

July 23 Pittsburgh, 2:05 p.m.

July 25 at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

July 26 at Milwaukee, 7:05 p.m.

July 27 at Milwaukee, 2:05 p.m.

July 28 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

July 29 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

July 30 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 1 N.Y. Mets, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 2 N.Y. Mets, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 3 N.Y. Mets, 2:05 p.m.

Aug. 4 at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 5 at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Aug. 6 at Chicago Cubs, 2:20 p.m.

Aug. 7 at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 8 at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 9 at Cincinnati, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 10 at Cincinnati, 1:15 p.m.

Aug. 11 San Francisco, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 12 San Francisco, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 13 San Francisco, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 14 San Francisco, 2:05 p.m.

Aug. 15 Arizona, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 16 Arizona, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 17 Arizona, 2:05 p.m.

Aug. 18 at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 19 at Milwaukee, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 20 at Milwaukee, 2:05 p.m.

Aug. 22 at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 23 at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 24 at N.Y. Mets, 1:10 p.m.

Aug. 25 at N.Y. Mets, 7:10 p.m.

Aug. 26 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 27 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 28 Cincinnati, 2:05 p.m.

Aug. 29 St. Louis, 8:05 p.m.

Aug. 30 St. Louis, 7:05 p.m.

Aug. 31 St. Louis, 2:05 p.m.

Sept. 1 at Chicago Cubs, 4:05 p.m.

Sept. 2 at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 3 at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 5 at Colorado, 9:05 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Colorado, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 7 at Colorado, 3:05 p.m.

Sept. 8 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 9 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 10 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 11 Pittsburgh, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 12 Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 13 Chicago Cubs, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 14 Chicago Cubs, 2:05 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Florida, 7:10 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Florida, 7:10 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Florida, 7:10 p.m.

Sept. 19 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 21 at Pittsburgh, 1:35 p.m.

Sept. 23 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 24 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 25 Cincinnati, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 26 Atlanta, 8:05 p.m.

Sept. 27 Atlanta, 7:05 p.m.

Sept. 28 Atlanta, 2:05 p.m.

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Let's Go Sampson !!!

Written by Baqqs on 11:55 AM


Today, in about 3 hours Chris Sampson will make his most important start of the spring. Unfortunately for him he will face a potent Tigers lineup. However, that's ok! He doesn't need to strike them out just induce a few ground balls and he should be fine. It is weird that I am a little bit nervous for him. They may be drawn from my love for the team and knowledge that Sampson would win more games this year as a starter than Woody would. This game is pretty much Chris' lat shot at winning that spot.



The season officially began today with the Red Sox squeaking out a 10th inning win against The Oakland A's. Nerves may have gotten the best of Dice-K as he gave up a few early runs. Both Blanton and Dice-K couldn't make it into the 6th and The A's took the lead in the 9th as Street gave up a run in the 9th and two in the 10th to get the Blown Save and Loss. In the end it was Manny R. who was named player of the game and was given a giant Million Yen check.

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Pitchers Struggles In Marlins Tie

Written by Baqqs on 9:20 PM


Spring Training Update (March 24)

Highlights: We were able to score ten runs without the help from most of our regulars. Hunter Pence,
Lance Berkman, and
Miguel Tejada did not make the trip this Monday and yet The Astros were able to produce 10 runs.


Lowlights: Our pitching looked pretty bad. It was a mixed bag, Chacon, Moehler, and Wesley Wright gave up all 13 hits and Wright had his first poor performance of the spring with a blown save. The positive (if there is one) is that most of the hits given up were not driven well and would lucky to drop/roll where they did.

Although our pitching was sup-bar, I have comes to terms with that, the thing that really has me nervous was the performance of Michael Bourn. Today he went 0 for 6 and has seen his batting avg drop .100 points in less than a week. I have faith in the kid however and will reserve the right to be cautiously optimistic about his ability to get on base when the season started. The silver lining again, is that he only struck out once in those six at bats, which means that he was able to make contact, but just hit the ball to someone. This is unlikely to continue this way and I would still stand by my prediction that his OBP (on-base-percentage) will hover around .360 this year, which would be plenty.

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Woody Makes It Interesting

Written by Baqqs on 7:01 PM

Astrs pitcher Woody Williams turned in a improved performance Sunday earning himself at least one more chance to prove himself as The Astros #5 starting pitcher. Prior to Sunday, Williams had pitched 11 2/3 innings yielding 26 hits and 18 earned runs, including 5 HR's. (13.88 ERA)

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His competition remains Chris Sampson (10.61 ERA) and Jack Cassel (5.73ERA). All three have shown glimpses of what Cecil Cooper is looking for. Sampson particularly has pitched well about 80% of his innings and being hit hard in one or so innings per outing. Cassel has an uphill battle for the position based solely on his lack of experience. This competition really comes down to experience or upside? Coop would love to save the team $6 Million Dollars which is owed Woody, however, at what point does hurting the team warrant $6 Million Dollars?

Woody's Line vs The Braves (6 IP/6 H/6 R/6 ER/1 BB/0 K/ (10.71 ERA)

Other Spring Training Notes

Tejada continues to hit well, increasing his batting avg to .353. He is now tied for 2nd best batting avg of those with at least 40 AB's. The Astros spring training batting champ is none other than Hunter "Superman" Pence. Hunter continues to dominate on a daily basis causing Cecil Cooper to re-think his desire to bat Pence 6th. "He's just an exciting player and you want him to bat as many times as you can," Cooper said. "If he's down sixth, it would probably keep him from hitting one extra time. You want your best guys right up top."

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Hunter's Spring Stats

H. Pence 68AB/ 27H/ 4HR/14RBI/ BA .397/ OBP .417/ SLG .735

Compared to 2007 ROY Candidates

T. Tulowitzki 41AB/ 14H/ 4HR/ 6RBI/ BA .341/ OBP .438/ SLG .756
R. Braun 39AB/ 11H/ 4HR/13RBI/ BA .282/ OBP .370/ SLG .641

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Players Out Of Options

Written by Baqqs on 3:21 PM

Athletics - Dan Johnson, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Rob Bowen, Donnie Murphy

Angels - Nathan Haynes, Chris Bootcheck

Astros - Reggie Abercrombie, Humberto Quintero

Blue Jays -

Braves - Blaine Boyer, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, Scott Thorman, Brayan Pena, Tyler Yates

Brewers - Gabe Gross

Cardinals - Rick Ankiel, Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick

Cubs - Ronny Cedeno, Geovany Soto, Angel Guzman

Diamondbacks - Dustin Nippert, Brandon Medders, Edgar Gonzalez

Dodgers - Hong-Chih Kuo, Delwyn Young

Giants - Rajai Davis, Fred Lewis, Erick Threets, Merkin Valdez

Indians - Andy Marte, Shin-Soo Choo, Franklin Gutierrez

Mariners - Mike Morse, Cha Seung Baek, Jake Woods, Charlton Jimerson

Marlins -

Mets - Ruben Gotay

Nationals - Joel Hanrahan

Orioles - Guillermo Quiroz, Luis Hernandez, Dennis Sarfate

Padres - Paul McAnulty

Phillies - Clay Condrey, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, J.D. Durbin, John Ennis, Chris Snelling, So Taguchi, Jayson Werth

Pirates -

Rangers - Robinson Tejeda, John Rheinecker, Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz

Rays - Edwin Jackson, Jason Hammel, Carlos Pena, Jonny Gomes, Gary Glover, Scott Dohmann, Willy Aybar

Red Sox - David Aardsma, Kyle Snyder, Craig Breslow, Bryan Corey

Reds - Bronson Arroyo, Juan Castro, Francisco Cordero, Ryan Freel, Scott Hatteberg, Jeff Keppinger, Brandon Phillips, David Ross, Javier Valentin, David Weathers

Rockies - Jeff Baker, Jayson Nix, Clint Barmes

Royals - John Bale, Jorge De La Rosa, Jimmy Gobble, Luke Hudson, Ron Mahay, Gil Meche, Leo Nunez, John Buck, Alberto Callaspo, Joey Gathright, Esteban German, Ross Gload, Jose Guillen, Justin Huber, Tony Pena Jr.

Tigers - Denny Bautista, Yorman Bazardo, Tim Bydrak, Francisco Cruceta, Jason Grilli, Bobby Seay, Mike Hessman, Ramon Santiago, Freddy Guzman

Twins - Brian Bass, Carmen Cali, Boof Bonser, Garrett Jones

White Sox - Nick Masset, Gavin Floyd

Yankees - Sean Henn, Wilson Betemit



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Tejada Takes Off

Written by Baqqs on 7:50 PM

The Astros have won three straight on the heels for Tejada's offensive awakening. Tejada was originally excused for the game today but asked Coop if he could play anyway. It's a good thing he did, as he hit another HR and and singled in another run. In the past two days Tejada has gone 6 for 7 with two HR's and 4 RBI's, raising his avg all the way up to .318 for the spring.

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Another notable performances include Jack Cassel improving his ERA by throwing two perfect innings with two strike outs.

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Chacon and Wright Look Good

Written by Baqqs on 1:00 PM

Yesterday's game against The Braves gave us fans a little bit of hope that our pitching won't be terrible this year. Chacon retired the first 10 of 11 hitters he faced with no walks, hits, or runs. In total he went 5 innings giving up 1 run and would have been good for a couple more innings if in the regular season. This performance pretty much guarantee's his place in the rotation. (Like there was a choice) Also making strides were Valverde, Wright, and Brocail. All pitched the way we originally thought they would. Papa Grande (Valverde)pitched one perfect inning yielding no hits, runs, or walks, and with two K's. His goal of 55 saves looks to rest on the starting staff as Papa looks ready to go.

Wright looks to have cemented his position in the bullpen as the lone lefty with another strong outing. He came into the game in a jam and had to get one tough out. His response, a beautiful strike out. Coop seems very high on Wright and unless he hurts himself count on Wright being on the 25 man roster.

As for the for sole remaining starter spot. It would appear that the #5 spot is between Woody Williams, Chris Sampson, and Jack Cassel. the position is still Woody's to lose, but he is coming very close to doing just that. We all know he is a veteran and for that reason we believe their spring stats mean less, but I would argue that if a player knew his season/ career was on the line he may put forth his best stuff. The question remains, Is this his best stuff? Age may have caught up with Woody and unless he can pitch say a 5/6 inning 2 run game he may be out of the loop for this year. If Coop plans Woody's next outing on regular rest then expect Woody to get the start against The Reds this Saturday. Either way, let's hope that Sampson pitches well today against the Nats.

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Matsui Goes Under The Knife

Written by Baqqs on 7:12 PM

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Although Kazuo Matsui's surgical procedure to repair an anal fissure on Monday was a success, the second baseman will need extra time to recover and consequently will begin the season on the disabled list.

Effect On The Team

Omitting Matsui from the Opening Day 25-man roster opens a spot for another player currently on the bubble, such as infielder David Newhan or catcher Humberto Quintero, who would have to pass through waivers before the Astros could send him to the Minor Leagues. Tomas Perez is also an option.

Matsui's situation also creates a hole at the top of the order. Matsui was slated to hit second, behind Michael Bourn, but Cooper may have to shuffle the lineup depending on who plays second base.

When Loretta plays, he'll likely hit second, but when Blum plays, he'll hit in the lower half of the order. Hunter Pence could also slot into the two-hole.

A Fans Opinion

I think it's a win-win situation. If Loretta bats #2 he is likely to get on base about 35% of the time which would be great for our run producers, including Pence at #6. The negative would be that our top of the order isn't the hot-bed of speed that Wade and Coop envisioned. Loretta is highly unlikely to steal where as someone like Pence would if needed. In the end I beleive it all comes down to Pence, would you rather him gather RBI's or Runs? In either case I think our offense is still a potent one.

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I AM BACK!!!

Written by Baqqs on 3:24 PM

Spring Training is upon us and I finally have enough time to dedicate towards the Astros and the upcoming season.

Spring Training Notes:

Astros Spring Training Stats (As of 3/15/2008)

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Spring Training Highlights and Lowlights

Highlights:

- Ed Wade's first major trade bringing over Michael Bourn as well as others has looked great so far, with Bourn putting on a show both offensively and defensively.
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- Oscar Villarreal has looked exceptional so far, and may have a legitimate shot at the 8th inning.

- Wandy and Brandon Backe have both shown signs of improvement and look to be up for the challenge of 190+ innings and 14+ wins.
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- Berkman has had a very solid spring and looks to start the season off strong, which he was unable to do last year. It's just my opinion, but the addition of Miguel Tejada may have given Lance new life and will be out to once again prove himself as a dominant hitter in 2008.
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Lowlights:

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- Kaz Matsui has only appeared in 6 games for 18 AB's with a random "Anal Fissures" injury.

- Woody Williams may be done! His performance in Spring Training is not encouraging to say the least and will HAVE to perform well on Monday 3/17 to prevent a possible demotion.
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- Dough Brocail, who admittedly has "bad springs" certainly is proving that this year. His numbers are honestly hard to contemplate. We have rookies who are performing better than the 40 year old vet. Unlike Woody, Doug is assured a spot in the bullpen, but he may lose his 8th inning set-up status to Villarreal if he doesn't improve SOON.

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Grade Ed Wades Performance

Written by Baqqs on 3:21 PM

Poll Results

A: 12
B: 7
C: 1
D: 1
F: 3

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