One Third of the Way Done

Well, we're at the one third mark of the 2013 season and the Astros find themselves coming off a 3-1 series win over the Rockies bringing their record on the year to 17-37. That puts them on pace to go 51-111 on the year, which doesn't sound great, but it at least isn't going to set any records for futility outside of Houston. Some projections based the first third:

C - Jason Castro .286, 45 2B, 18 HR, 48 RBI, 45 BB, 141 K

1B - Carlos Pena .231, 27 2B, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 87 BB, 165 K

2B - Jose Altuve .302, 33 2B, 6 HR, 63 RBI, 42 BB, 75 K, 24 SB

3B - Matt Dominguez .238, 24 2B, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 18 BB, 96 K

SS - Marwin Gonzalez .237, 21 2B, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 15 BB, 75 K, 12 SB

LF - J.D. Martinez .282, 30 2B, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 15 BB, 99 K

CF - Brandon Barnes .295, 12 2B, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 21 BB, 78 K, 12 SB

RF - Jimmy Paredes .237, 12 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 12 BB, 57 K

DH - Chris Carter .218, 12 2B, 30 HR, 84 RBI, 60 BB, 231 K

BN - Carlos Corporan .311, 9 2B, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 15 BB, 48 K

BN - Ronny Cedeno .288, 12 2B, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 9 BB, 54 K

BN - Trevor Crowe .243, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 9 BB, 24 K

SP - Bud Norris 12-12, 3.71 ERA, 189 IP, 114 K

SP - Lucas Harrell 12-18, 5.37 ERA, 191 IP, 105 K

SP - Erik Bedard 0-6, 5.32 ERA, 132 IP, 126 K

SP - Jordan Lyles 6-3, 4.50 ERA, 96 IP, 69 K

SP - Dallas Keuchel 3-6, 5.53 ERA, 122 IP, 84 K

RP - Hector Ambriz 3-6, 4.68 ERA, 75 IP, 63 K, 27 HLD

RP - Travis Blackley 0-0, 3.66 ERA, 59 IP, 54 K, 21 HLD

RP - Wesley Wright 0-3, 4.22 ERA, 64 IP, 54 K, 12 HLD

RP - Paul Clemens 9-6, 4.13 ERA, 98 IP, 72 K, 15 HLD

RP - Jose Cisnero 3-0, 3.13 ERA, 69 IP, 57 K

RP - Brad Peacock 3-9, 8.51 ERA, 73 IP, 63 K, 3 HLD

CL - Jose Veras 0-12, 4.70 ERA, 69 IP, 72 K, 24 SV

Some of the highlights for the first half as far as numbers go:

*Paul Clemens and Jose Cisnero each earned their first Major League wins.

*Jose Veras already has a career high 8 saves

*Hector Ambriz already has a carer high 9 holds and recorded his first Major League save.

*Carlos Corporan is just one homer shy of tying his career high of 4 set last year.

*Jason Castro's 15 doubles and 6 homers have tied career highs set last year.

*Marwin Gonzalez already has set career highs in homers and steals and needs just 1 more rbi to match last year's total.

*Trevor Crowe's home run was his first at the Major League Level since 2010.

*Erik Bedard is on pace to make 27 starts this year, the most for him since 2007 when he made 28.

*Carlos Pena's .231 average is his highest since he hit .247 in 2008 for the Rays.

The following Astros have made their Major League Debuts this season:

Paul Clemens

Brett Oberholtzer

Jose Cisnero

Robbie Grossman

Josh Fields

Week 6 in Review

Humber is out. Ankiel is out. F-Mart is back in AAA. Edgar Gonzalez is an Astro again... BUT, despite a 2-4 week, the boys showed a lot of fight and nearly swept a 3-game series with the Angels before a bullpen meltdown in the final game of the series. Hey, it's progress...

Weekly Results

5/07   W Angels 7-6
5/08   W Angels 3-1
5/09   L Angels 6-5
5/10   L Rangers 4-2
5/11   L Rangers 8-7
5/12   L Rangers 12-7

Overall Record: 10-28
Team Batting Average: .247
Runs For: 154
Runs Against: 235
Home Runs: 39
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 381/100
Stolen Bases: 18
Caught Stealing: 8
Team ERA: 5.79
Team WHIP: 1.66
Starters ERA: 6.19
Bullpen ERA: 5.36
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 239/153
Times Shutout: 4
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .336 (51/152)
Runs: Carlos Pena/Chris Carter 20
Hits: Jose Altuve 51
Doubles: Jason Castro 11
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter 9
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter 22
Walks: Carlos Pena 21
Stolen Bases: Jose Altuve/Brandon Barnes 4

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Wesley Wright 18
Innings: Bud Norris 45
Wins: Bud Norris 4
Saves: Jose Veras 4
Holds: Hector Ambriz 6
Strikeouts: Bud Norris/Erik Bedard 31
Quality Starts: Bud Norris 4
ERA: Bud Norris 3.40
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.49

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 22-14
Corpus Christi (AA) - 21-15
Lancaster (AdvA) - 22-15
Quad Cities (LoA) - 20-15

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 34
Hits: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 43
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 34
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) - 12
RBIs: Andrew Aplin (AdvA) - 33
Stolen Bases: Jonathan Villar (AAA)/Austin Wates (AA/AAA) - 13
Wins: Bobby Doran (AA)/David Martinez (AA) - 5
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 9
Strikeouts: Vincent Velasquez (LoA) - 44

Holy Crap, We Won A Series!

I don't know if it was getting a day off, or the players-only meeting after sunday's loss, or the roster shake-up that came on Monday night, but the Astros are suddenly playing better baseball. Yeah, it's only two games, and yeah the Angels have been playing badly, but the Astros just strung together back-to-back close game wins over their division rivals, 7-6 and 3-1. Jose Veras just put together back-to-back saves. Bud Norris just threw 8 innings and only needed 84 pitches to do it. Jimmy Paredes has been with the Astros for 2 games and already has 3 doubles. That, in case you're keeping track, is more than Chris Carter has this season. And speaking of Carter, Trogdor the Bombinator has now homered in 2 straight games. That's huge! Even a devastatingly bad call on a missed tag at home that killed a rally and took a run off the board couldn't deter the Astros tonight. And I'll be honest, when Trout and Pujols gave the Angels 1st and 3rd with no one out in the 9th, and Trumbo, Hamilton and Kendrick due up, I started feeling queasy. But hey, they pulled it out. And I love it. More to follow tomorrow, but I just wanted to get this out there because I am PUMPED right now. The Future is Bright. Go Astros.

Week 5 in Review

The Astros ended the week with 6 straight losses. Brad Peacock and Rhiner Cruz were sent down, Erik Bedard lost his spot in the rotation, and Philip Humber fell to 0-7 on the year. No one ever said this year was going to be easy...

Weekly Results

4/29   W Yankees 9-1
4/30   L Yankees 7-4
5/01   L Yankees 5-4
5/02   L Tigers 7-3 (14 innings)
5/03   L Tigers 4-3
5/04   L Tigers 17-2
5/05   L Tigers 9-0

Overall Record: 8-24
Team Batting Average: .245
Runs For: 123
Runs Against: 198
Home Runs: 30
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 323/83
Stolen Bases: 12
Caught Stealing: 7
Team ERA: 5.70
Team WHIP: 1.65
Starters ERA: 6.53
Bullpen ERA: 4.90
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 199/128
Times Shutout: 4
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .323 (42/130)
Runs: Carlos Pena 17
Hits: Jose Altuve 42
Doubles: Jason Castro 10
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter 6
Runs Batted In: Jose Altuve 15
Walks: Carlos Pena 17
Stolen Bases: Marwin Gonzalez/Brandon Barnes 3

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Wesley Wright 16
Innings: Lucas Harrell 39 1/3
Wins: Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 3
Saves: Jose Veras 2
Holds: Hector Ambriz 5
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 29
Quality Starts: Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 3
ERA: Bud Norris 3.89
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.54

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 18-11
Corpus Christi (AA) - 18-12
Lancaster (AdvA) - 17-12
Quad Cities (LoA) - 17-11

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 28
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 41
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 28
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) - 10
RBIs: Andrew Aplin (AdvA) - 26
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 12
Wins: Bobby Doran (AA)/Michael Dimock (LoA) - 4
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 7
Strikeouts: Vincent Velasquez (LoA) - 35

So Close... Yes So Far...

I'm trying to put a positive spin on last night's game, but it certainly isn't easy. For the second time in as many nights, we let a game slip away against the Tigers. This time, closer Jose Veras surrendered a 9th inning 2-run homer to Alex Avila, who's now hitting an Astro-like .179 on the season, dealing us a 4-3 loss. On top of that Jose Altuve got robbed on a great play by Omar Infante in the 9th and Jason Castro hit a line shot, but right at left fielder Don Kelly to end the game. So, positive spin... right. The only thing I can really think to say is that we're in these games, and we're actually expecting the results to be different. A couple of weeks ago, we expected to lose EVERY game, and by a lot. But now the starting pitching is getting better, and with the exception of Veras, both Hector Ambriz and Travis Blackley were solid out of the pen. Robbie Grossman reached base 3 more times as he continues to work his way out of that 0 for 17 skid in Boston, Jose Altuve had 3 hits, we actually rallied from a 2-0 deficit late in the game to take a 3-2 lead... Good things are happening with this club, they just aren't translating into wins yet. And let's face it, this year isn't about wins, it's about next year, and the year after that. It's about figuring out what we have, and who's worth keeping. Did anyone really think Jose Veras was the long term solution at closer? No, he's there the mentor younger guys in the bullpen. But as guys like Ambriz and Clemens and Blackley and Cisnero start to emerge out of the pen, and Harrell and Norris and Lyles have successes in the rotation, Castro emerges as an every day player, Dominguez plays his Gold Glove defense at third, you're starting to put together a team, which is something we haven't been doing since the early 2000s. Don't get me wrong, I hate losing, and it's frustrating to look at our record and see we're 8-22. But we are making progress, however small, and you've got to buy into what the organization is trying to do otherwise you're in for a long couple of months/years. So hang in there, Astro fans, and stay positive. Take the small victories for what they are and a few years from now, you'll be able to say you were there through the dark years, and always believed. It'll make the end reward that much sweeter.

I Stayed Up Late for THIS???

I'm going to keep this one short. Last night was awesome and gut-wrenching at the same time, but I'm dragging today. As much as I love extra inning games, I love them less when I have to wake up for work before 6 (in the morning). Anyways, 5 quick observations.

1) Jordan Lyles looked like he's finally starting to figure things out. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

2) Paul Clemens' stuff is absolutely filthy. Finally pitching with a lead, he needed just 7 pitches to get 2 strikeouts. Kid's got stuff and kid's got swagger.

3) Jose Veras struck out all 4 hitters he faced and is pitching like a pitcher with a lot of confidence right now. We just need to get him some leads to protect.

4) For the first time all year, Brandon Barnes looked overmatched at the plate going 0/5 with 3 strikeouts. Hey, it happens. Doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things unless he strings a few of those together.

5) Carlos Pena has his average all the way up to .240 with 2 more hits last night. Pena has 4 multi-hit games in his last 5 games.

Week 4 in Review

The week started out well with a series win over the Mariners, but things quickly soured as the Astros franchise stayed winless at Fenway Park. Things aren't going to get any easier next week either with upcoming series against the Yankees and Tigers.

Weekly Results

4/22   L Mariners 7-1
4/23   W Mariners 3-2
4/24   W Mariners 10-3
4/25   L Redsox 7-2
4/26   L Redsox 7-3
4/27   L Redsox 8-4
4/28   L Redsox 6-1

Overall Record: 7-18
Team Batting Average: .247
Runs For: 98
Runs Against: 148
Home Runs: 25
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 248/68
Stolen Bases: 11
Caught Stealing: 4
Team ERA: 5.51
Team WHIP: 1.62
Starters ERA: 6.34
Bullpen ERA: 4.61
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 151/95
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .317 (32/101)
Runs: Carlos Pena 13
Hits: Jose Altuve 32
Doubles: Matt Dominguez 6
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 5
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Jose Altuve 12
Walks: Carlos Pena 14
Stolen Bases: Marwin Gonzalez 3

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 12
Innings: Bud Norris 30
Wins: Bud Norris 3
Saves: Jose Veras 2
Holds: Hector Ambriz 3
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 22
Quality Starts: Philip Humber/Bud Norris/Lucas Harrell 2
ERA:  Lucas Harrell 4.08
WHIP: Lucas Harrell 1.57

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 13-10
Corpus Christi (AA) - 13-10
Lancaster (AdvA) - 14-9
Quad Cities (LoA) - 13-8

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 21
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 31
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 26
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) - 7
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) - 23
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: Bobby Doran (AA)/Vincent Velasquez (LoA) - 3
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 6
Strikeouts: Nick Tropeano (AA) - 29

Astros Drop Third Straight in Fenway

The Peacock did not fly yesterday and Houston dropped a third straight to the Sox at Fenway. A promising start quickly went up in smoke as a 2-0 lead became a 5-2 deficit that the Astros just never recovered from. Some more thoughts on the loss:

1) Brad Peacock once again struggled to hit his spots, watching his pitch count spiral out of control and failing to get through the 4th inning. When the dust cleared, Boston had drawn 5 walks off of Peacock, 4 of them in the second inning, and the kid's ERA had jumped to 8.44. Peacock has made it through 5 innings just once this year, and it's largely due to his inability to put hitters away early in the count. You can't keep running counts full on every hitter and expecting to pitch deep into games. It's starting to raise questions as to whether or not Peacock projects to be a rotation guy, or someone destined to pitch out of the bullpen. I still think it's too early to make that call, but if he goes another 4-5 starts and things don't start to get better, I think you have to consider making a change.

2) Jose Veras was sharp once again extending his scoreless streak to 5 innings following his blown save against the Angels. He's actually lowered his ERA down to a respectable 4.66 and he's taken a leadership role out in the bullpen which is good to see. Now we just have to figure out how to get him some leads to protect.

3) Houston hitters drew 7 walks, but struck out 12 times and were just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. That makes them 1 for 24 with runners in scoring position over the past two games. Hard to win a lot of games that way. While it's impressive that we've been scoring runs without the benefit of hits (bases loaded walk, rbi groundout, sac fly), the Astros have to do better with runners in scoring position. But that shouldn't come as a surprise seeing as it's been our achilles heel for a couple years now. Not sure what the answer is other than that someone needs to step up.

4) Chris Carter struck out 4 times yesterday, including once with the tying run on first in the 7th inning. Carter now has 43 strikeouts in 24 games, but this marked the first time that he'd fanned four times in a game this year. In case you're keeping track, Carter is now on pace to strike out 290 times. And yes, that'd be a record. I realize he's tied for the team lead in rbis and he's second on the team with 12 runs scored, but can you really keep hitting him in the 3-4-5-6 spots in the order when he's hitting .216 and striking out in practically 50% of his ABs? Would it be so bad to trot out OBP machine Brandon Barnes, Fernando Martinez and Robbie Grossman as our starting outfield for a while?

5) Wesley Wright was bailed out by a line drive double play, but he now hasn't been scored on in 5 straight outings spanning 6 2/3 innings. His ERA has dropped down to 3.00 and he hasn't allowed a home run in 12 innings this season.

6) Two more hits for Marwin Gonzalez last night (two of our FIVE hits) as our 8 hitter raised his average on the year to .321. Marwin, who continues to play stellar defense, clubbed his fourth double, stole third for the second time in the series, and scored a run, continues to do almost every right (minus that bunt he didn't get down last weekend). Not sure what he has to do to hit somewhere higher in the order, but at least he's hitting.

7) As bad as things seemed at times yesterday, Houston had Chris Carter at the plate with the tying run on first in the 7th, and Rick Ankiel at the plate with the bases loaded representing the tying run again in the 8th. So even though we're losing, we're right in these games, which is all you really want. Baseball's one of those games where you just need to be competitive and eventually the law of averages will even out and we'll start winning some. Hey, it's better than losing every game 10-0.

Winning is Way More Fun

VICTORY! The one thing about pulling for a team that isn't very good is that the wins are a lot more fun. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather go back to winning most of the time, but the wins are a little sweeter when they're harder to come by. On a down note, last night's win came at a price as starting centerfielder Justin Maxwell broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch, so he's headed to the DL. Some more thoughts on last night's big win:

1) Bud Norris didn't have his best stuff last night, but pitched out of trouble all game and earned his third win of the season. That means he has 50% of our 6 wins. With lots of speculation that Norris is going to get moved come the trade deadline, it's beneficial to Houston that he continues to perform so if we do end up dealing him, we can justify getting a lot in return. If it comes to that, I'll certainly be sorry to see him go, but if you believe in what the organization is trying to do right now, it makes sense. And if you want proof that we're on the right track, all four of our minor league clubs currently have winning records.

2) The loss of Maxwell is going to hurt, but Houston's got some intriguing options able to take his place. First off, defensive specialist Brandon Barnes who's been solid so far this year off the bench. And then there's newly recalled prospect Robbie Grossman who's been tearing it up in AAA. Grossman is especially enticing because he does something most of the current Astros don’t do: he draws walks!! If he can hit at the big league level, he might even be the leadoff hitter we're looking for which would allow us to drop hit machine Jose Altuve down in the order where he might actually be able to drive in some runs.

3) Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi! Travis Blackley was solid in relief last night retiring the first six hitters he faced before surrendering a mammoth home run to Kendrys Morales. With three long men now on the roster (Blackley, Clemens, Cisnero), it'll be interesting to see how roles evolve as we go forward. I personally think Clemens has the stuff to be a back of the bullpen type guy, but I don't know that his long term role won't be in the starting rotation. Things are going to get even more muddled up when Josh Fields comes off the DL in a little bit. Don't be surprised if Rhiner Cruz draws the short straw and gets sent down. While he has the physical tools, I think he'd benefit from some more time in the minors to hone in his stuff. Plus, everyone else is starting to pitch better: Ambriz has only allowed 1 run over his last 7 outings, Wesley Wright has been pitching better, Veras has 2 straight saves, and all the long men in the bullpen have been delivering. I think the only other real plausible option if it's not Cruz is for it to be Cisnero, but after his performance against Seattle on Monday, he's kinda earned the right to stick around a bit. We'll see though.

4) Speaking of Veras, the closer finally delivered last night making by far his most dominant appearance of 2013 setting down all three hitters he faced, two by strikeout. That makes 4 straight scoreless outings for Veras after his blown save against the Angels including a pair of saves. As a former collegiate closer, I can speak to how important confidence is when you're that guy and it's looking like Veras is starting to grow into the role. Over the past week, Veras has seen his ERA drop from 9.64 to 5.19. Still not great, but getting better. It should also be noted that both of his converted saves were 1-run games with no margin for error.

5) I thought it was kind of funny that twitter was blowing up last night with people dogging Hector Ambriz before he'd even thrown a pitch. Including last night's 1-2-3 8th, over Hector's last 7 appearances, he's thrown 8 1/3 innings and allowed just one run (solo homer to Mark Reynolds) on 6 hits while walking 1 and fanning 5. He's had 3 holds, more than anyone else on the team, and has held hitters to a .207 average during this stretch.

6) "Defensive Specialist" Marwin Gonzalez set a new career high in home runs last night with his 3rd of the young season (and it's till April!). He's also just 5 RBIs shy of the 12 he had in his rookie season. One of Houston's more consistent hitters this year, Marwin's power surge is a pleasant surprise to say the least and while he probably won't stay on this pace and eclipse 20+ homers, he may end up with 10 or 12 which would be great. I'd really like to see Marwin get a shot at hitting higher up in the order instead of sitting down in the 9 hole, but as long as we win, I suppose I can deal. All three of Marwin's homers have come against Seattle, and all of them from the left side of the plate.

7) Lefty reliever Xavier Cedeno was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals after being designated for assignment by Houston. The 26 year old Puerto Rican pitched in parts of 3 seasons with the Astros posting an ERA of 6.00 with 1 save and 6 holds over 52 games. In 44 games in 2012 he had a 3.77 ERA striking out 36 in 31 innings.

Cisnero Debut a Success, but That's About It

The losses are starting to pile up again, but the truth is, there's not a lot of shame in getting shut down by King Felix. It would've been nicer to see Peacock go a little deeper into the game, but short outings are apparently all the rage right now. At least we got a great outing from Jose Cisnero in his debut. Some more thoughts on last night's game:

1) Brad Peacock had his worst outing of the season allowing 3 homers in 4 1/3 innings skyrocketing his ERA up to 7.50. After striking out 7 his last time out, Peacock managed just 1 strikeout last night, and once again just threw too many pitches. Unfortunately, no one else is pitching any better right now, so it's hard to justify making any sort of move.

2) Jose Cisnero was terrific last night in relief logging 3 2/3 scoreless innings in his Major League debut. He becomes the latest in a long line of long relievers that have appeared on the Astros roster this year: Edgar Gonzalez, Travis Blackley, Dallas Keuchel, Paul Clemens, Brett Oberholtzer, and now Cisnero. If nothing else, Cisnero has earned the right to stick around a bit. The kid has pretty good stuff, so many he can help out sooner than expected. I just wish we could have a game where our best player wasn't one of our long relievers.

3) All or Nothing Ankiel crushed another homer last night raising his average up to .237. Ankiel is now  9 for 38 with 24 strikeouts. He has two singles, two doubles and five home runs for a team high 11 runs batted in. When he puts the ball in play, he's batting .643. Simply ridiculous. Even more ridiculous is that he still hasn't drawn a walk in 2013.

4) Jose Veras tossed a scoreless inning in relief last night, but once again allowed a hit so he's now gone 8 straight outings without retiring the side in order. On the plus side, he has gone 3 straight appearances without allowing a run after blowing that save against Albert Pujols and the Angels.

5) Jason Castro had his 3rd multi-hit performance in the last 4 games with a pair of doubles and a walk raising his average up to .242. Unfortunately, the walk was just his 2nd of the year which is way down from his walk rate a year ago. He's not the only one this applies to on this roster, but Astro hitters need to work more counts, and draw more walks. Cutting down on the strikeouts would be nice too. Yes, I'm talking about you, Chris Carter. Carter picked up a hat trick last night giving him 31 strikeouts in 70 at bats this season. No good.

6) Jose Altuve went 1 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 8 games and he's now hitting .377 on the year. The only other Astro hitting over .300 right now is reserve outfielder Brandon Barnes (.333 - 8/24).

Week 3 in Review

Rough week for the Astros as three times they saw their starters knocked out in the first inning and they finished the week 1-5, dropping them to 5-13 on the season. On the bright side, they didn't get shutout:

Weekly Results

4/15   L Athletics 11-2
4/16   L Athletics 4-3
4/17   L Athletics 7-5
4/19   W Indians 3-2
4/20   L Indians 19-6
4/21   L Indians 5-4

Overall Record: 5-13
Team Batting Average: .250
Runs For: 74
Runs Against: 108
Home Runs: 20
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 173/47
Stolen Bases: 7
Caught Stealing: 3
Team ERA: 5.40
Team WHIP: 1.58
Starters ERA: 5.73
Bullpen ERA: 5.04
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 100/73
Times Shutout: 3
Shutouts: 1

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Jose Altuve .370 (27/73)
Runs: Carlos Pena 12
Hits: Jose Altuve 27
Doubles: Carlos Pena 5
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 4
Runs Batted In: Chris Carter/Rick Ankiel 10
Walks: Carlos Pena 9
Stolen Bases: Justin Maxwell/Jose Altuve 2

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Rhiner Cruz/Wesley Wright/Hector Ambriz 10
Innings: Lucas Harrell 21 2/3
Wins: Bud Norris 2
Saves: Erik Bedard/Jose Veras 1
Holds: Hector Ambriz 2
Strikeouts: Lucas Harrell/Brad Peacock 15
Quality Starts: Philip Humber 2
ERA:  Bud Norris 4.74
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.47

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 10-7
Corpus Christi (AA) - 9-7
Lancaster (AdvA) - 11-6
Quad Cities (LoA) - 10-5

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Hits: Jake Elmore (AAA) - 23
Walks: Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 17
Home Runs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 5
RBIs: Marc Krauss (AAA) / Zachary Johnson (AdvA) - 18
Stolen Bases: Austin Wates - 9
Wins: 9 tied with 2
Saves: Jose Valdez (AAA) - 5
Strikeouts: Luis Cruz (AdvA) - 22

Sweet, Sweet Victory

Nothing quite like ending a long losing streak. Houston finally got win #5 last night holding on to beat the Indians 3-2. Yeah, it was a former Astro that we beat, but that doesn't cheapen things any for me. Some more notes on last night's win:

1) It was nice to see the Astros aggressive on the basepaths for a second straight game. After just one steal in the first 13 games, Houston has had back-to-back 3 steal games. Jose Altuve stole his second base of the season, and Justin Maxwell stole second and third on back-to-back pitches at one point. I think this aggressiveness is going to pay off if we keep it up. It was certainly effective during the spring, and when you don't get a lot of baserunners, you've got to do whatever you can to get them in scoring position.

2) Tough break for J.D. Martinez last night who sprained his knee on a check swing in the 4th inning. J.D. had slugged an opposite field home run in his first at bat, before being forced to leave the game in the middle of at bat. With his roster spot sort of in jeopardy with Fernando Martinez on a rehab stint in Oklahoma City, the timing of the injury certainly isn't good. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, and he'll just be out a couple days, but it certainly doesn't help his rhythm any. On the bright side, Brandon Barnes stepped right in for him and picked up 2 more hits to raise his average up to .350. Barnes, who has some pop, runs very well, and plays terrific defense might now finally get a chance to show his stuff this season.

3) All-or-nothing Ankiel struck again yesterday with his 4th home run of the season. Ankiel is now 6 for 31 with 4 home runs and 21 strikeouts. That means when he hits the ball, he's hitting .600. Which is ridiculous. He's also the team leader in runs batted in with 10. If only he could hit the ball just a LITTLE bit more often...

4) Lucas Harrell earned his first win of the season, but his command failed him again. For the second time this season he walked 5 hitters in a start, and that's just no good. Of the 98 pitches he threw, just 49 were strikes, and it was only thanks to some solid defense behind him that the Astros managed to escape with a win. It continues a trend of shortened outings by Astros starters. Only 4 of 15 Astros starters have made it through a full 6 innings. And that means a bigger load on the bullpen. Granted, last night the pen did what it's supposed to holding the Tribe at bay, but they can't log that many innings over the course of a full season without consequences. In short, the starting pitching has to get better.

5) Jose Veras rebounded from his blown save against the Angels to earn his first save as an Astro last night. Once again though, he failed to set down the side in order which continues to raise my concerns as to whether or not he's the answer for us. Don't get me wrong, the guy's a solid reliever and he's got good stuff, I just don't know that he's a 9th inning guy. Here's a name to keep in the back of your mind moving forward: Josh Zeid. Part of the Hunter Pence trade a few years back, Zeid has been solid in AAA this year fanning 11 in 6 1/3 innings while allowing just 3 hits. He picked up a 4-out save for the RedHawks last night too. Probably too early to give him a shot with the Astros, but certainly a name to remember.

6) Scott Kazmir returns to the Majors today making his first start since 2011. The injury-prone lefty has made 30 or more starts just twice since 2004, but there's never been any doubt about his stuff. Don't be surprised to see Brandon Laird and Brandon Barnes in the lineup to give the Astros a right-handed heavy look.

Astros Swept By A's Again

Another sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics. At least we were in a couple of the games this time around. Heck, if J.D. Martinez doesn't strike out with the bases loaded and one out in the second game, or Rick Ankiel's rocket line drive down the first base line doesn't miraculously find the first baseman's mitt, we probably come away with a win. We knew the 'Stros weren't going to be great this year, all you can really ask is for them to be competitive. Some more thoughts on the past two games:

1) I love Brad Peacock's stuff. I'd love it more if he'd pitch deeper into games, but he's showing more and more every outing. I know he's failed to get out of the fifth in two of three starts, but his 7 strikeouts were a team-high this year. I look forward to seeing him develop over the course of the season.

2) Nice to finally see Carlos Pena start hitting the long ball. Two home runs in two days after none in the first 13 games of the season. And now he's back to where he should be, with more home runs than bunt singles. I would like to see a few more rbis from him though as he only has 6 through 15 games, but I could say that about almost anyone on the team. Like I said the other day, it's not like anyone other than Jose Altuve is a really tough out right now.

3) What's up with our starters not getting out of the first inning? Twice in the same series? I read that this was like only the third time since 1900 that pitchers on the same team had allowed at least six runs in a start while pitching less than an inning in the same series. Awesome! Of course one of the guys involved in the most recent time prior to this one was a former Astro. Hooray Jim Clancy! Anyhow, if there's a silver lining to the poor starting pitching it's that our long relief was terrific. In this series we got 5 1/3 scoreless innings from Paul Clemens, 3 scoreless innings from Dallas Keuchel, 2 1/3 scoreless innings from Wesley Wright, and 2 2/3 innings of one run ball from Xavier Cedeno. Now we just need to figure out how to translate those performances into games when we NEED them!

4) Nice to see the Astros FINALLY start stealing some bases. After just 1 steal (and 3 caught stealings) in the first 14 games, the Astros stole three bases on Wednesday afternoon (Brandon Barnes, Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Altuve). I really think this is a MUST for this team. If you're not going to hit for a high average, you have to be proficient on the basepaths. Get 'em over, get 'em in. Hopefully we'll see more of that moving forward. And yes, its helps if you have guys on base to start with.

5) Brett Wallace is headed back to Oklahoma City to get some more playing time and figure out what's going on with his swing. As a result Brandon Laird got the call, but it wasn't thanks to John Ely going on the 60 Day DL like I'd initially thought. Instead, Xavier Cedeno and his 11.37 ERA was designated for assignment which means he's off the 40-man roster. I'll be the first to admit, I'm somewhat surprised that that was the route that took. But then again, you can't average 3 baserunners an inning, and pitch at the Major League Level. Plus, we do still have to lefties in the pen with Keuchel and Wright. And another one starting a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City in Travis Blackley. So maybe having that lefty specialist isn't all that valuable. You could probably also argue that having a closer on this team isn't very valuable, but that's another story. Anyhow, Brandon Laird, who was hitting .353 for the RedHawks with 5 doubles, 2 homers and a team high 14 runs batted in is going to get his shot. Now 25 years old, Laird was 9 for 35 over 17 games for the Astros late last year with a homer, a double and 4 runs batted in. He was absolutely smoking the ball this spring though, and has continued to play well in AAA. He certainly deserves the opportunity. But now with Wallace gone, it will be interesting to see who goes down if/when Fernando Martinez finishes his rehab. My money is on J.D. Martinez (.227 1 HR), especially with Laird (a righty) replacing Wallace (a lefty). We'll see though. I've been wrong many times before.

6) The A's have now swept us twice this month. The good news for Astros fans? We get THIRTEEN MORE SHOTS AT THEM! We're bound to win at least ONE, right?

7) Jose Veras pitched a scoreless inning on Wednesday, but he still has yet to put together a 1-2-3 inning this season now allowing baserunners in each of his first six outings.

8) Next up, the Cleveland Indians and a return to Houston for Brett Myers and Brad Mills. It'd be a homecoming for Michael Bourn as well, but he's on 15-Day DL right now. Cleveland was 5-8 heading into today, so let's see if we can snap this skid and get Win number FIVE!

Albert Pujols is a Bad Man

Losses like that one are always hard to swallow. You can't help but look at missed opportunities, and wonder about what might've been. That said, it's one game, and if you're going to get beaten by someone in the bottom of the 9th, it might as well be one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Hats off to Albert, once again he beat us. Some more thoughts on last night's game:

1) I've mentioned before how I'm not sure Jose Veras is the answer at closer. But when you look at our bullpen right now, I don't know who is. Wesley Wright hasn't been as effective in 2013, Rhiner Cruz is still learning the finer points of pitching, Hector Ambriz has allowed more than 2 hits an inning, Xavier Cedeno has control issues, Paul Clemens has pitched in exactly one major league game, and Dallas Keuchel is, at best, a serviceable long reliever. Now last night wasn't exactly an easy save situation, but Veras has yet to put together a 1-2-3 inning and any of his 5 outings now. You can't put that many runners on base and expect to be effective in the late innings. Plus, you can't walk the #9 hitter. Make him put the ball in play! We'll see how Veras bounces back. Hopefully his next opportunity involves a three run lead so he has more of a margin for error and can gain some confidence.

2) I probably should have led with this, but Brett Wallace had 4 at-bats last night and struck out exactly ZERO times! He even battled for a walk which helped facilitate Houston's 2-run 7th. I don't want to say he's on the verge of breaking out of his season long slump, but last night was a good step in the right direction. We'll see if he can build on that moving forward.

3) J.D. Martinez's error proved to be pretty costly. And let's face it, errors in close games usually are. You've got to make that play though if you're a Major League outfielder. Now I realize J.D.'s game is probably better suited for left field, but still... If he's going to be out there, he needs to make those types of plays.

4) Chris Carter is a beast. Trogdor bashed his 4th home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to 6 games. He's still managed to strike out in 11 straight games passing Wallace for the team lead with 18, but so long as he's producing, I can live with the occasional (or more than occasional) strikeout. After starting the season 1 for 19, Carter has raised his average up to .289 during the streak.

5) Lucas Harrell pitched much better this time out. After getting roughed up pretty good by Oakland, he continued the trend of solid starting pitching for the Astros allowing just 1 run in 5 2/3 innings. Houston starters have allowed more than 3 earned runs just once this season and have a 3.49 ERA through 11 starts.

6) Marwin Gonzalez executed a perfect bases loaded squeeze play in the 7th inning to bring home Houston's 4th and final run. It's nice to see us able to bring that runner home from third base this season. Houston stranded just 3 runners last night and was 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Houston sends Philip Humber to the mound today in an effort to win their second straight series. The Astros have not scored a single run in either of Humber's two previous starts this year.

Harrell Roughed up as Streak Hits 5

Lucas Harrell had far from his best stuff today as the A's lit him up, knocking him out of the game before he could get through 5 innings. Harrell struggled with his control, and when he did find the plate, the A's made him pay. At the end of the day, he'd walked five and conceded three home runs. Not exactly what we were hoping for. Some other thoughts and observations from Game 6:

1) Brett Wallace looks like he's lost all confidence at the plate. He went 0 for 3 today with 2 more strikeouts bringing his season totals to 1 hit in 17 at bats with 13 strikeouts. You can tell he's all up in his head right now, and that's a tough thing to break out of. He needs a hit, and he needs it bad. The only guy who probably needs one worse right now is Rick Ankiel who fanned for the 10th time in his last 11 at bats as a pinch hitter in the 9th. If they keep it up, you have to wonder how long they'll last, especially when you've got guys like Brandon Laird (6/16 with 6 rbis), Jake Elmore (7/16), Jimmy Paredes (8/15 with 3 doubles), and Robbie Grossman (5/13 with 5 walks) off to fast starts in AAA.

2) Am I the only one who's wondering where the heck is Josh Fields? With our bullpen logging crazy innings, our Rule 5 draft pick has faced just 2 hitters. Surprised he didn't get work yesterday or today, especially when you consider we were extending Dallas Keuchel and Xavier Cedeno beyond two innings of work.

3) Speaking of Xavier Cedeno, it was nice to see him have some better luck today. After facing seven hitters on Friday night and retiring ZERO, he tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings today. His control was still a bit shaky, but he appeared to be able to work through some of that and he got stronger as he went. It was also nice to see a 1-2-3 inning from Hector Ambriz, especially after allowing 7 hits in his previous 2 innings of work.

4) Carlos Corporan and Brandon Barnes each logged their first hits of the season today meaning every position player on the roster now has at least one hit this year. It was nice to actually see Barnes in the lineup today too, especially with the way Ankiel has been struggling.

5) I'd say I was concerned about Jose Veras being our closer, but the way we're playing right now, we don't really need a closer, so I guess it doesn't matter. Veras has yet to record a 1-2-3 inning in three appearances this year and he's allowed 7 baserunners (5 hits, 2 walks).

6) Nice to see Chris Carter finally get an extra base hit. I think it's funny how everyone was ragging on Justin Maxwell this spring, when it's been Carter who's been ice cold out of the gates. Carter, who legged out a triple to left center in the 8th, is now 2 for 22 with 11 strikeouts. Conversely, Maxwell, who only had 9 hits all spring, is 8 for 21 and has scored a team high 5 runs. Meanwhile, our leadoff hitter Jose Altuve has scored ZERO. Figure that one out.

7) Edgar Gonzalez, who was designated for assignment following the trade for Travis Blackley, didn't clear waivers and is headed for Toronto. Gonzalez, who did not pitch for Houston this year, was 3-1 with a 5.04 ERA in 6 starts in 2012.

8) Next up for the Astros, a West Coast road trip that includes stops in Seattle, L.A., and Oakland. Things aren't going to get any easier for this club, they're just going to have to keep fighting. Eventually the hits will start dropping in there. As frustrating as it is, it's still really early in the season. There's lots of time for the boys to turn things around.

Whirling Darvish Dazzles Astros

Not quite the follow-up to the season opener we were all hoping for, but hey, at least we didn't get no hit. Thank you, Marwin Gonzalez. Some observations on the loss:

1) Yu Darvish made our lineup look silly. I made a comment the other day that there are going to be days where this team resembles a minor league ball club at the plate, and this was one of those days. Yu Darvish cruised through the Astros lineup retiring 26 in a row - 14 of them via the strike out - as the Rangers evened the series at one game apiece. In fact, the only Astro not to strike out last night was backup catcher Carlos Corporan. Now it's not like Darvish is a slouch. As we saw last year, he's a legitimate ace. But even as good as he is, you expect to hit more than one ball out of the infield. It's not going to get much easier today when the Astros get Alexi Ogando, but I don't think anyone will miss Darvish.

2) One of the many, many questions surrounding this year's Astros team is their bullpen. And the bullpen looked REALLY shaky last night. Yes, it's a small sample size, but it wasn't pretty. The pen inherited a 1-0 deficit in the 7th inning last night, and between Xavier Cedeno, Rhiner Cruz, Wesley Wright, Josh Fields, and Jose Veras, they surrendered 6 runs turning a close game into a rout. Only Fields managed to get through the game without giving up a run, and he pitched just 1/3 of an inning.