My name is Richard Zowie. Yes, that's my real surname. Long but interesting story that's for another time. My favorite teams include the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Astros and San Antonio Spurs. I like watching sports, although up here in Michigan, it's tougher to watch my favorite teams on TV unless they happen to be a featured game. I look forward to many blogs.

Continue reading "New blogger with a weird last name"

The Astros take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a brief three-game road trip, followed by a brief homestand. Taking the mound tonight for Houston is righthander Shawn Chacon. Good news: Chacon is undefeated on the season with six strikeouts. Bad news: he is also winless and has walked eight batters. Can Chacon carry on the success shown so far by Brandon Backe and Wandy Rodriguez? We'll find out.

For the game, the 'Stros will have backup catcher Humberto Quintero to complement Brad Ausmus. J.R. Towles is out with a bruised left hand after getting hit by a pitch; his injury eerily reminds me of Jeff Bagwell's tendency to get his left hand broken by pitches. Maybe Towles can borrow Baggy's padded batting glove.

Few people, including myself, have picked Houston to be successful this season. If the Astros want to prove people wrong, they have to have good pitching. It's a cliche, but it's true: offense wins games, but defense wins championships.

Continue reading "Houston Astros' road trip begins tonight"

Good news, Houston Astros fans. Last night, Shawn Chacon pitched a brilliant game, giving up no runs in eight innings.

 

So, what’s the bad news? The bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Closer Jose Valverde gave up four runs in the ninth inning while getting only one out as the Phillies beat the Astros 4-3. It was Valverde’s second blown save of the season. In the inning, two of the hits he gave up were home runs. The other hit was a walk-off double. It’s interesting to note that Valverde actually had two strikeouts in the inning, but the second was on a passed ball that allowed what turned out to be the winning run to be safe at first.

 

Pitching today for Houston is Roy Oswalt. Roy O is 0-3, which seems almost like a belated April Fool’s Day joke. I like to think he’s just off to a rough start and will soon regain his groove.

Continue reading "Astros waste another brilliant pitching performance, lose to the Phillies 4-3 on bullpen collapse"

Ahh, Roy Oswalt is back.

 

Roy O, as Astros fans affectionately call him, notched his first win of the season. against the Philadelphia Phillies last night, Oswalt (1-3) threw seven innings and gave up five hits and only one earned run. He walked two and struck out three as the Astros (6-9) edged out the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

 

What I liked about this game is that Houston’s bullpen was almost flawless. Wesley Wright earned his first hold, pitching a perfect eighth inning by striking out the side. Doug Brocail earned the save, allowing a ninth-inning hit but striking out two hitters. Wright and Brocail’s ERAs on the young season are an impressive 2.70 and 1.17, respectively.

 

Now, if only Hunter Pence can get things going offensively. For him, the sophomore jinx continued as he went 0-3 with two strikeouts.

Continue reading "How Roy Oswalt got his groove back"

I knew the Astros were in trouble today when it was revealed that shortstop Miguel Tejada is two years older than previously thought. Makes me wonder if his parents got his birth certificate from the same office that issued Danny Almonte’s infamous birth certificate.

 

Tejada, well on his way to qualifying for AARP benefits (actually, he now has 17 years instead of 19), did hit a home run today—as did Carlos Lee. Bad news, that was all of the offense as the ’Stros got creamed by the Philadelphia Phillies 10-2. I guess the City of Brotherly Love wasn’t so brotherly for Houston.

 

Astros starter Brandon Backe, who’d done so well so far, lasted three innings and got shelled for 10 hits, six runs (five earned) and a home run. Jose Valverde, who had been the Astros closer, went out and essentially pitched batting practice in the eighth inning: two hits, two earned runs and a home run. He has an ERA of 12.27. Of course, considering the score had been 8-2 when Valverde took the mound, he was essentially a mop-up pitcher today.

Continue reading "Back to the drawing board for the Astros as they lose 10-2 to Phillies"

…you might want to prepare for disappointment.

 

Yes, McFadden has oodles and oodles of talent. Yes, he’s a two-time Doak Walker Award winner. But he’ll be long gone by the time the Cowboys have their first pick at Number 22 over all in the 2008 draft. The only way for Dallas to get him is to trade up, and considering that the ’Boys have major issues at the cornerback position, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Continue reading "If you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan with your heart set on Darren McFadden…"

I have to go to bed early and get up early for work, but I find myself wondering how the Houston Astros will fare in their weekend series against the Colorado Rockies.

 

To be honest, I’m a little nervous. Rockies first baseman Todd Helton always seems to have a great night at the plate whenever he faces Astros pitchers.

Continue reading "Astros versus Colorado Rockies tonight"

Whenever the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies get together for a game, it’s sure to be anything but boring. Both teams play in hitter-friendly parks: Colorado in Coors Canaveral and Houston in Homeron Field.

 

Houston was abole to score four runs in five innings off Rockies starter Franklin Morales. Pretty good when you consider that Morales is a lefty, and Houston has had its struggles with lefthanders. Morales gave up five hits, four walks and has a season ERA of 6.60.

 

So, Houston won, right?

 

Wrong.

 

Morales stunk less than Astros starter Chris Sampson, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning. Sampson was hardly Samson the Biblical strongman as he gave up six hits, six earned runs, and, amazingly, no home runs. His replacement, Brian Moehler, didn’t fare much better as he gave up five hits and three earned runs in three innings of work.

Continue reading "Colorado feasts on Astros pitching; Hunter Pence starts to find his groove"

The Astros were able to salvage a win in their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, winning 6-4—courtesy of a three-run eighth inning. The runs in that inning came off a single from Kaz Matsui and a double from Miguel Tejada. What’s more, Matsui and Tejada’s run-scoring hits came with two outs. Very nice to see Houston hitting in the clutch.

 

Because Houston’s go-ahead runs came late in the game, starter Shawn Chacon’s decent start of six innings, seven hits and three earned runs (his ERA is now 2.77) resulted in a no-decision. Wesley Wright picked up the win in relief. Who got the save? Surprise, surprise—Jose Valverde, who pitched an inning, gave up a hit and a walk but no earned runs.

 

Yes, Astros killer Todd Helton got a hit and Hunter Pence had only one hit (granted, he scored the tying run). Hopefully, Houston can ride this momentum.

Continue reading "Houston salvages a win against the Rockies, 6-4"

If you're a fan of the Phoenix Suns, you have to be worried about your team's series against the San Antonio Spurs.

Game 1 went into overtime, courtesy of a three-point shot by Tim Duncan as time expired. Duncan, who finished the game with 40 points and 15 rebounds, doesn't hit many three-pointers. In his career from downtown, The Big Fundamental is 24 for 126 in the regular season for a paltry .190 average. He was 0-4 this season and is only 4-24 in the post season.

Manu Ginobili then won it in overtime with a last-second shot, a lay-up with 1.8 seconds left.

Continue reading "Will the San Antonio Spurs make quick work of the Phoenix Suns?"

Reading the post-Game 1 comments of Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal, it's hard to believe he has a Master's Degree from Louisiana State University. It's also hard to believe that he calls himself The Big Aristotle.

O'Neal was telling reporters that he  said he doesn't plan to change anything for Game 2 after scoring 11 points with five rebounds and five personal fouls. The five personals were a sore spot for him, and he let it be known.

"I ain't [sic] changing nothing [sic]," O'Neal said. "I've got 700 days left (on his contract), and I ain't [sic] changing a (expletive) thing. Screw that. I got four (rings) doing it my way, and I'm going to continue doing it my way."

O'Neal accused the Spurs of using their thespian skills to trick the referees into calling him for fouls, adding: "That (flopping) is some bull. Then you all write like these (expletive) guys can play. Give me a (expletive) break."

Continue reading "Shaq blames officials, Spurs for 'bad calls', says he won't change anything"

Monday night’s 10-3 win over the San Diego Padres was what I’d call the ideal type of game for the Houston Astros: if they can play like that more often, then they’ll start winning games. If they make a habit of playing like that, then they’ll have one of those newfangled ticker-tape parades in downtown Houston in November.

 

On the pitching side, Houston had a very good game. Starter Roy Oswalt earned his second win against three losses on the season, pitching seven innings and allowing six hits, three runs, two walks and six strikeouts. He did allow two home runs, though. Relievers Tim Byrdak and Oscar Villarreal combined for two innings, two runs, a walk and one strikeout and, most important of all, no runs and no four-baggers.

 

On the offensive side, the Astros had their way with right-hander Justin Germano. He pitched three and a third innings, giving up 10 hits, 10 runs, three walks and a strikeout. He also gave up two home runs.

Continue reading "Astros get good pitching and hitting, excommunicate Padres 10-3"

The San Antonio Spurs are now up 2-0 on the Phoenix Suns, courtesy of a 27-11 third-quarter spurt in Game 2 that propelled the Silver and Black to a 102-96 victory over the Copper and Gray and Purple.

 

San Antonio had trailed 61-54 at halftime, including being outscored 35-26 in the first quarter.

 

Leading the way in scoring for the Spurs was Tony Parker with 32, Manu Ginobili (recently named as the NBA’s sixth man of the year) with 29 points and Tim Duncan with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Duncan did, though, struggle from the free-throw line as he hit only two of six shots. Amazingly enough, Duncan wasn’t called for any personal fouls (that might change when the series heads to Phoenix).

 

Suns center Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t so lucky, picking up four personal fouls. He did score 19 points and 14 rebounds while hitting seven of 14 free throws.

Continue reading "Spurs go up 2-0 on Suns"

On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros did something that they generally don’t do—something really, really good, besides defeating the San Diego Padres 11-7.

 

They not only got hits off of Padres ace Jake Peavey, but they scored runs off him. Peavey in six innings gave up seven hits, four runs, two walks, struck out two and gave up two home runs (Geoff Blum and Hunter Pence, who got his first four-bagger of the season).

 

Lance Berkman also tripled off of Peavey, and what makes this hitting performance of Houston’s encouraging is that Peavey led active pitchers (minimum of 10 starts) with a career-low 2.32 ERA against Houston (the list also has on it Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux [whom the Astros roughed up earlier this season], Chris Carpenter and John Smoltz). What’s really amazing: Peavey gave up those four runs in six innings, and it ballooned his season ERA up to an obese 2.00.

Continue reading "Are the Astros bats waking up? Houston 11, San Diego 7"

Ok, so it was against the Cincinnati Reds, a team that's a shell of the famed Big Red Machine of the 1970s.

 

Astros pitcher Chris Sampson notched his first win of the season, scattering eight hits over seven innings, allowing two runs, a walk and six strikeouts as the Houston Astros continued their red-hot ways Wednesday night, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 9-3.

 

Red Stockings pitcher Bronson Arroyo (not related to Charles Bronson or Bronson Pinchot) didn’t fare as well as Sampson. Arroyo was chased after 3.2 innings. He gave up 10 hits, eight earned runs, walked one and struck out five.

 

Hunter Pence continued to show signs of getting out of his slump as he went 3-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a walk. He’s now up to .256. It’s also looking more and more like a good idea to have Matsui lead off. Matty went 1-5, but he also scored a run, drove in two runs and drew a walk. He’s hitting .308 on the season. Carlos Lee added two doubles.

Continue reading "Houston continues winning ways Wednesday, beats Cincy 9-3"

…Courtesy of a 5-3 win this afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds. Houston (11-12) is learning this simple formula: Solid pitching + Clutch hitting = Victory

 

today, Houston’s pitchers were very impressive—especially the bullpen. Starter J Cassell picked up the win as he pitched five innings, allowing seven hits and three runs. Houston’s relievers (including Jose Valverde) combined for four innings pitched, giving up only one hit, no runs and striking out three. What’s more, Astros pitchers today didn’t walk a single batter.

 

Lance Berkman provided early fireworks with a two-run, first-inning home run. Apparently Lance likes Great American Ballpark: his sixth home run on the season was also his 18th career round-tripper at GAB—the most of any active non-Reds players.

Continue reading "Houston's only one win away from .500..."

Mixed results for Houston in their first two games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

 

In Friday’s game, Houston’s hitters did nothing for the first eight innings before scoring three ninth-inning runs off Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen. Lance Berkman tied the game with a sacrifice fly while Carlos Lee won it with a home run.

 

Astros starter Shawn Chacon, despite giving up six walks, pitched well enough to win as he scattered five hits over seven innings and gave up only one earned run. However, Houston’s bats couldn’t get anything going. Wesley Wright picked up the win in relief while Jose Valverde picked up the save.

 

In Saturday’s game, Houston again struggled against the Cards’ starting pitcher as Adam Wainwright. Wainwright pitched a complete game, giving up five hits, three runs, two walks and six strikeouts. He did give up three home runs (two to Lance Berkman), but when they’re all solo shots, no worries. St. Louis scored a ninth-inning run to win the game 4-3 and end Houston’s six-game winning streak.

Continue reading "Back to work for the Houston Astros"

Houston is learning that they can play well against bad teams and pitching. But as evidenced by the St. Louis series, they have yet to show consistency against good pitchers and hitters like Albert Pujols*.

The Astros (12-14) managed only one run and four hits today as St. Louis used only two pitchers. Houston relied on four and is going to wear out its bullpen if it can't get more innings out of its starters. Brandon Backe, so good in recent starts, gave up five hits, four runs and five walks in five innings pitched today.

Michael Bourn, with today's 0-4 performance, is now hitting .195 and is now officially below the dreaded Mendoza Line.

If Houston's bats turn anemic again, it'll be time for manager Cecil Cooper to do one of two things: get ejected from a game or borrow a classic skipper gesture and flip over the post-game buffet tables.

Continue reading "Back to work, Houston; Astros fall 5-1 to Cardinals, drop 2 of 3 in series"