Special thanks to Ashley Meyers for being understanding about my hiatus. One of my sons had an emergency appendectomy, so I took some time off to help my wife attend to various affairs. Chip's much better, thanks, after dealing with a burst appendix.

Onto business:

...Yes, I'm glad the Houston Astros have been on a tear. Wow, they now have a winning record. I hope they can continue this. Now, all they need to do is get rid of those ugly uniforms and return to something more classy. At 22-18, the Astros are third in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals and the first-place Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, no doubt, want to end 100 years of futility. Was a little disappointed the 'Stros didn't sign recently-released Jim Edmonds. Not that Edmonds is the player he used to be, but he's had many great games against Houston and I'd have preferred to see the team acquire him to prevent him from lighting up Astros pitching again...

Continue reading "Back after a hiatus"

Revolution Number Nine...Number Nine...Number Nine...

For some abstract reason, that infamous Beatles song reminds me of Astros outfielder Hunter Pence, who wears jersey number nine.

Pence used his second career grandslam--an opposite field line drive--to propel the Astros past the Chicago Cubs 4-2 in the second game of their series. Houston, which had been near the bottom of the cellar earlier in the season, is now 26-21 on the season and in second place. The Cubs, who this year will celebrate their dubious 100th year anniversary since their last World Series victory, are still in first place.

Pence had been struggling earlier this season but has hit .356 in the month of May. His current batting average is a respectable .293. In the game, he went 3 for 4.

Lance Berkman, meanwhile, is hitting .388 with 16 homeruns and 44 RBIs and is trying to do what hasn't been done since Boston Red Sox slugger Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967--win the Triple Crown. No National League player has won the Triple Crown in the past 70 years, when St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joe Medwick hit 31 home runs and drove in 154 runs for a .374 batting average back in 1937. To give a perspective on this, my 71 year-old Dad was a year old when Medwick did this. And when Yaz got his triple crown, my 41 year-old sister was a nine month-old.

Continue reading "Astros get a slam from Hunter Pence"

No doubt, Spurs fans are loading up on the throat sprays and getting ready to shout "GO! SPURS! GO!" Might seem like a breathtakingly boring battle cry for one's favorite basketball team, but the Spurs since 1999 have won four NBA championships (including that "asterisk" year of 1999 that Shaquille O'Neal likes to whine about--especially now since he's enjoying his off-season). After squeaking by the New Orleans Hornets* in Game 7, they now face the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are hungry for two reasons:

Coach Phillip Jackson is eager to break Red Auerbach's record by winning his 10th NBA title as a coach; Kobe Bryant is trying to prove that he CAN win without the abovementioned O'Neal on the floor with him.

Jim Rome noted on his show that the Spurs used a great performance by sixth man Manu Ginobili and their stifling defense to outlast New Orleans. Question remains: will it be enough to get past L.A.? Will noted Laker fan Jack Nicholson reprise his Jack Torrance role from The Shining and try to scare Tim "The Big Fundamental" Duncan by chopping down his hotel room and screaming "HEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!"?

Continue reading "Western Conference Finals for San Antonio Spurs"

Sometimes, it's a blessing to go to sleep early and have to work early mornings--especially when the Los Angeles Lakers are in the playoffs. Nothing against the Lakers, but I get very tired of their celebrity pseudo-fans. Not Jack Nicholson, of course, who attends every game and probably knows as much about the game of basketball as Phil Jackson does. Years ago, John McEnroe was at a Lakers playoff game. Yes, the New York-born McEnroe who's supposedly a New York Knicks fan. I suppose some celebrities go there to be seen, as if they're hoping a television monitor will spot them and their agent, watching from home, will say, "Huh? Oh yeah! They're a client of mine! Maybe I should see if I can get them a cameo in an upcoming indie film!"

Ah, I feel much better, thanks.

Continue reading "Lakers 89, Spurs 85; Lakers lead Western Conference Finals 1-0"

Baseball's long 162-game season indeed can be long, winding and mercurial. I, for one, feel stupid, having written the Astros off after the first few games when they played so terribly that they wouldn't have even been able to get a hit off of Paris Hilton, had she chosen to take a break from posing for pictures to throw some pitches.

Things are looking better as Houston concluded their three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with a 5-3 win on Wednesday. Houston's now at 27-21. The only thing bad I feel is that though I'm not Cubs fan, I'd really love to see them win a World Series. The last time the Cubs won the Fall Classic was in 2008. My grandfathers, who were both born in 1907 and would be 101 this October if still alive today, were only a year old.

Houston scored four runs in the third inning, three on a homer by Carlos Lee.

Continue reading "Astros take 2 of 3 from Cubs, win rubber game 5-3; Phillies and 'old friend' next"

By vultures, I'm not talking about the paparazzi and their quest to get the latest on Eva Longoria-Parker's hubby Tony Parker. Instead, I'm being painfully realistic.

The Spurs are down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Best-of-Seven Western Conference finals. The first game the Spurs barely lost despite having had virtually no rest and despite giving up a 20-point third-quarter lead. In the second game, things fared even worse as L.A. beat San Antonio 101-71. The Spurs have four championships, a great strong, silent leader in Tim "The Big Fundamental" Duncan and a team known for its defense. Well, this year the Lakers have given Kobe Bryant a nice supporting cast so that Kobe doesn't have to worry about doing it all by himself.

And I'm starting to think that the Lakers just have too much firepower for the Spurs. That and maybe Mega-Laker fan Jack Nicholson is sticking his leg out onto the court whenever a Spur runs by.

Continue reading "Vultures are flying over the San Antonio Spurs"

The Philadelphia Phillies' 7-5 win Thursday night over the Houston Astros reminded me so much of Alanis Morrisette's song Ironic. You remember, don't you? Back in 2005, Brad Lidge steps to the mound to close out Game 5 of the NLCS and give Houston its first-ever visit to the World Series. Up steps Albert Pujols, who promptly launches Lidge's fastball somewhere near...well, its landing has never been officially confirmed. Lidge's "Lights Out" nickname promptly faded as he struggled. Houston felt a change in scenery was needed, so Lidge was sent off to the Phillies.

So what does the punk pitcher do in his first night back in Houston? He pitches the ninth inning, giving up one hit and striking out a batter to seal the win for Philly. Lidge, as of that game, had 13 saves on the season and a season ERA of--no, I'm not making this up--a microscopic 0.43.

Continue reading "Former Astro gets his revenge"

In one corner we have Brandon Backe, who pitched a gem of a game last night in the Astros' 4-3 win over the Phillies--giving up six hits and only one earned run in 7.1 innings pitched. He walked a hitter and struck out six.

In another corner we have Hunter Pence, the Houston Astros' outfielder who hit two solo homers, raising his season batting average to .294--after having gotten off to a horrible start.

In another corner we have Mike Tyson, who's making a comeback in hopes of making some money--JUST KIDDING! (Seriously, I wish all the best to Iron Mike).

In another corner you have Astros closer Jose Valverde, who closed out the game last night with a shaky ninth--giving up four hits and two earned runs for his 15th save of the season. Valverde now has a season ERA of 4.15 and is starting to show vast improvement over his slow start.

Continue reading "Who's the man? Brandon Backe? Hunter Pence? Jose Valverde? You decide"

How I regret living in Michigan and not being able to attend the August 17 Houston Astros home game.

That afternoon, before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 'Stros will retire the number of Astros legend Craig Biggio.

The Number 7 jersey of Biggio's will join the other retirees: #5 (Jeff Bagwell, who hit .297 with 449 home runs and 1,529 RBIs in a brilliant career that was cut short by shoulder injuries); #24 (Jimmy "Toy Cannon" Winn); #25 (Jose Cruz, a four-time Astros MVP who it over .300 six times in his career and currently serves as Houston's first-base coach); #32 (the late Jim Umbricht, who returned to playing for Houston after cancer surgery); #33 (Mike Scott, whose split-fingered fastball earned him Houston's last Cy Young Award and helped him come ever so close to propelling the Astros to the 1986 World Series); #34 (Nolan Ryan, do you really need to know why?); #40 (Don Wilson, who threw two no-hitters for the Astros and holds the club record for 18 strikeouts in a game); #42 (Jackie Robinson, MLB's first African-American player whose number was retired league-wide in 1997); and #49 (Larry Dierker, who won 137 games in his 13 years in Houston and still holds many Astros pitching records).

Continue reading "Astros to retire Craig Biggio's number 7 on August 17"

Well, things seemed to be going really great at first. Until the Astros bullpen came in to pitch batting practice.

During the middle of the game, no less.

Carlos Lee's first-inning three-run homerun went for nought as the Phillies scored a combined 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to win 15-6. Astros starter Chris Sampson gave up four runs in five innings, but compared to the relievers, he looked like Cy Young. Fernando Nieve, pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2006, didn't get anybody out as he gave up four runs. He picked up the loss and has a hefty ERA of 18.00. Lefty Wesley Wright gave up one run in an inning and Dave Borkowski gave up six runnings in one inning.

It must really stink for Sampson, since the bullpen cost him a win. Phillies starter Cole Hamels pitched very shakily, giving up 7 hits and 6 earned runs in four innings. At least Houston was able to have success off a left-handed starter. After the game, Nieve was optioned to Houston's minor leagues to Triple-A Round Rock (near Austin, Texas). Jack Cassel, another righty, was called up.

Continue reading "Astros brought down to earth by Phillies"

Game 3 of the Western Conference finals saw the Spurs at home at AT&T Center as they blew out the Lakers 103-84. San Antonio ended the first quarter trailing by three but opened things up with a 28-15 second quarter to take a 49-39 halftime lead. Kobe Bryant may have led the way for the Lakers with 30 points, but the Spurs had three players with at least 20 (Manu Ginobili with 30, Tim Duncan with 22 and Tony Parker with 20). Bryant got called for three personal fouls in this game, something sure to anger Lakers head coach Phil Jackson enough to make him tear in half a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

As far as fouls go, it was fairly even. The Spurs had only three less than the Lakers, and Spurs guard Bruce Bowen led with four.

It really sounds like this series will boil down to who's shooting the ball the best. In Game 3, the Lakers shot 43 percent while the Spurs were at 51 percent.

Continue reading "Do the Spurs have a chance, or are they being set up?"

I have to wonder how Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson (or Phillip, as former one-time Laker Isaiah Rider once called him) is handling this. Jackson whines about NBA officiating the way the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield whined about getting no respect or, for a better example, the way billionaire Warren Buffett might whine about having to pay a 50-cent overdue fee on a library book. You remember: if a defender got within the same area code of Michael Jordan, he was called for a foul. If Jordan fouled while on defense, at worst an offensive charge would be called. When the referees did call fouls on Jordan, Jackson would gripe. He also griped when the referees actually called fouls on former Laker Shaquille O'Neal and current Laker Kobe Bryant.

Enter Wednesday night, Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

Continue reading "Lakers lead Spurs 3-1 in Western Conference Finals; NBA admits referees screwed up "no-foul" call"

Astros lefthander Wandy Rodriguez' first start after coming off the disabled list with a groin injury showed definite rust as he gave up six hits, six runs (three unearned) and four walks in 4.2 innings as the Houston Astros lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1.

To tell you just how well Rodriguez had been pitching: the 3 runs he gave up in the 4.2 innings "raised" his season ERA to 2.89.

The three unearned runs came off a first-inning throwing error by Astros secondbaseman Kaz Matsui.

Meanwhile, Houston has to do something about letting pitchers dominate them. Cards starter Adam Wainwright pitched 8.1 innings, allowing three hits and only one earned run while striking out eight. In his career pitching against Houston, he is a disgusting 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA.

Continue reading "Wandy Rodriguez' return to mound not 'wand-erful' as Cardinals beat Astros 6-1"

Throughout this series, I've thought the winner would have to do two things: shoot better from the field and play great defense.

Last night, the Lakers took more shots than the Spurs--85 to 74. Going into the final quarter, the Lakers held a razor-thin 64-63 lead over the Spurs.

But then Kobe Bryant took over, scoring 17 of his 39 points in the final quarter. The Lakers, who'd trailed the Spurs earlier in the game by as much as 17 points (sound familiar?), rallied to win 100-92.

Los Angeles moves on to take on either the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals while the Spurs go home to contemplate. Tim Duncan might make a few more H-E-B pre-cooked meat commercials while head coach Gregg Popovich will undoubtedly evaluate the team's needs and get ready for next season.

Continue reading "Lakers beat Spurs to reach NBA Finals"

In their Thursday 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Houston Astros did something again that worries me: giving up first-inning runs.

Astros ace Roy Oswalt, still not completely in his groove yet, gave up two first-inning runs. He would give up only one other run--a sixth-inning home run to Albert Pujols (I'm guessing Pujols confused Roy O for former Astros closer Brad Lidge). Houston hit two homers--one by Lance Berkman and one by Carlos Lee. Unfortunately, both were solo shots.

While Oswalt pitched 7 innings and gave up 3 runs on five hits, Houston's line against Cards starter Kyle Lohse was somewhat disconcerting: six innings pitched, five hits and only 1 run allowed. Interestingly, Lohse gave up a walk and had no strikeouts.

Houston is now 25-20 heading to Milwaukee.

Continue reading "Astros lose rubber game to Cardinals, 3-2; Roy Oswalt roughed up early"

Mr. McLane:

Since, 2000, the Houston Astros have had the miserable distinction of having the ugliest uniforms in baseball. You decided to ditch the space-theme look and pattern a new logo and uniforms in a railroad theme (to reflect the old railroad site that Minute Maid Park is built on).

The result: black, reddish-orangish-brick and sand uniforms. These uniforms are on a par of ugliness unequaled by anyone else in baseball right now.
 
Please return to space-theme uniforms. After all, the team is called the Astros. The name is short for Astronaut and comes from the Greek word for star and is intended to honor Houston's space exploration industry.
 
I am really starting to miss both the blue and orange of old and even the blue and gold from the nineties. What I'd really love to see is Houston return to the blue and orange and change to a modified version of their shooting star uniforms (which I absolutely loved, and Craig Biggio is said to have liked also). Or, perhaps Houston can borrow the blue, red and silver from NASA's logo and come up with a new, space-themed logo.

Continue reading "Drayton McLane, please, PLEASE change the Astros uniforms!"