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

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.

Another Series Slips Away - Changes on the Horizon

The Astros overcame an early 4-0 deficit, but fell short in the end, losing to the Yankees 5-4. As the Astros now prepare for Detroit, they'll do it with some new, albeit familiar faces, as Jordan Lyles and Dallas Keuchel are back up, and Brad Peacock and Rhiner Cruz are bound for Oklahoma City (no real surprises there). Some more thoughts on the loss:

1) Jason Castro is really getting things going at the plate. With two more doubles last night, he now has 10, and if you take away that 0/11 in the Rangers series, he's hitting .325 (25/77) on the year. He's really taken to the 3-hole too which is only going to help the guy hitting ahead of him (Jose Altuve). Speaking of Altuve, he's just a machine. The Pocket Jesus is hitting .336 now and has 38 hits to go along with a team high 14 runs batted in.

2) Over his last 4 games, Carlos Pena is 7 for 14 with 3 of his team high 16 walks. Could he be starting to get things going? His average is still a pedestrian .234, but that's a heck of a lot better than the .180 range he was living in last week. I'd still like to see more power from him though. Two homers in 28 games just isn't going to cut it.

3) Brandon Barnes continues to do little things that are going to keep him in the lineup. He beat out a double play ball to drive in a run, got a bunt down, and even started a failed 9th inning rally with a leadoff single off of Mariano Rivera. This kid is making it really hard on Bo Porter which is every manager's dream.

4) Speaking of the failed 9th inning rally, how many games are we going to endure just ZERO luck at all. Barnes gets a big jump, Dominguez hits into a line drive double play. We're going to lose enough games just on talent, we don't need any help from the baseball Gods.

5) Erik Bedard endured another subpar start lasting just 4 innings and allowing 4 runs on 6 hits to go along with 4 walks. He also gave up a home run to Ben Francisco (former Astro) who with the home run is now hitting .133 on the year. It's getting harder to defend the guy, so hopefully he figures it out soon. With 4 long relievers on the Astros roster right now (Keuchel, Clemens, Cisnero, Blackley) and Josh Fields on the mend, Bedard has to be next in line to get sent down or let go. I really want the guy to succeed and he's shown glimpses of what he can do, it's just got to be more consistent and more efficient. That said, time is running out for him to prove himself.

6) Big time pitching from Hector Ambriz last night who pitched his way out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the 8th without allowing a run to keep Houston in the game. That very easily could have turned into a big inning, and it was nice to see one of our relievers pitch their way out of trouble and getting some big strikeouts when they needed to.

7) Wesley Wright has really turned into a nice find. A Rule 5 Draft Pick back in 2008, it was touch and go for a while, but he's followed a solid 2012 and a good start to 2013. After last night's outing, Wright has now put together 7 straight scoreless outings spanning 9 innings.

Final Thoughts on the Boston Series

No matter how you slice it, the Astros simply got outplayed in every facet of the game these past four contests with the Sox. Pitching, offense, defense... Boston got it done, and we did not. Their long at bats ended with hits, ours generally ended with strikeouts. They got runners into scoring position and scored them, we had the tying run on base or at the plate late in each of the last three games and we failed to get a run across. In most cases, we ended up striking out. Their starting pitching battled, ours with exception of Bud Norris, got beaten down. Pick a reason, but that's why the Sox are at the top, and we're at the bottom. Hopefully our kids grew just watching a team like that play, because otherwise that was just a painful series to watch. Some final thoughts on Game 4:

1) Bud Norris got us six innings, which was huge for the bullpen given the way our starters had been pitching, but it wasn't enough. Bud still allowed 11 baserunners via hit or walk, and then there was Marwin's double-error which led to two more unearned runs. I don't want to say Bud pitched badly, but he's still got a ways to go before he goes from being "our ace" to a "true ace". The flip side of that is, if our guys are logging quality starts, our offense needs to be giving them more of a chance to win.

2) Ronny Cedeno, our DH the past two games, was the only Astro to get a hit with runners in scoring position on Sunday and he did it twice. Cedeno, who is hitting .333 on the year, now has 8 rbis in his last 4 games. By comparison, Matt Dominguez has 8 rbis this season, Carlos Pena has 6, Jason Castro has 4, J.D. Martinez has 7, Justin Maxwell has 6, Brandon Laird, Robbie Grossman and Fernando Martinez have 8 between the three of them, and Marwin Gonzalez has 7. And that is why, much to everyone's amazement, Ronny Cedeno has been our unlikely designated hitter.

3) Jose Cisnero finally got scored on, but his response to that was particularly impressive as he struck out 3 hitters in a row after yielding the run. I like this kid, I think he's going to stick around. But again, like Paul Clemens, I'd like to see him get some more meaningful innings under his belt.

4) The series ended as you would expect, with Robbie Grossman absolutely smoking a ball into right field only to have Daniel Nava make a full extension diving catch robbing him of extra bases. This was just that kind of series. Jonny Gomes making silly defensive plays in left, Nava in right... We could not buy a break the entire series. Hey, if that's the kind of year it's going to be, go ahead and just pencil us in for 110 losses.

5) Don't look now, but Rick Ankiel put the ball in play in all four of his plate appearances. Could he be on the verge of turning things around? Perhaps not, but it's still a step in the right direction.

6) Jason Castro went 1 for 3 with a walk raising his average to .266 as he continues to grow into the role of 3-hitter. It'd be nice if we could get him some more rbi opportunities, but at least he's getting hits, and getting on base. Castro has now hit in 6 straight, and if you forget the Rangers series ever happened, he'd be hitting .309. He's also drawn a walk in 4 of his last 5 starts.

2 Runs Are Better than None

So on paper, scoring just 2 runs might not seem like an accomplishment, but the Astros gave Clay Buchholz his highest ERA in any of his 5 starts by crossing the plate twice against him in 7 2/3 innings. That shoots his ERA all the way up to a Bob Gibson-esque 1.19. Hey, small victories, right? Some more notes on yesterday's game:

1) Philip Humber is having a rough go of things lately. After being arguably Houston's best starter the first three trips through the rotation, Humber has been crushed by bad first innings in his last two outings sending his ERA from 2.89 up to 7.99. In his last two first innings, he's retired just 4 hitters and allowed 12 earned runs. You ready for the math on this one? That's an ERA of 81.00. No good. You've gotta feel for the guy though. He's 0-5 which makes sense given his high ERA, but if you take away the 6 runs Houston scored in their 19-6 blowout loss to the Indians, the Astros have managed to score just 3 runs in Humber's starts. Unless you're Clay Buchholz, that makes it awfully tough to win.

2) Fernando Martinez was a bright spot yesterday going 3 for 4 in his 4th start since returning from the DL. Nice to see him squaring up on the ball against some pretty good pitchers (Buchholz and Daniel Bard). People tend to forget Martinez is only 24 so he's still got a lot ahead of him if he can stay healthy.

3) Jose Cisnero was very sharp in his second outing, once again throwing shutout baseball. J-Cizzle tossed 2 scoreless innings against the Sox bringing his scoreless innings streak up to 5 2/3 innings since his arrival. It's going to be awfully hard to send him back down to AAA if he keeps throwing like this. The next big question is, can he pitch effectively when the game is on the line? So far we've only seen him in blowout baseball.

4) Travis Blackley had his best outing as an Astro yesterday going 1 1/3 innings in relief of Humber and fanning two while walking just one. The lefty from Australia has gotten better each time out following his return from the DL which is very promising. It will be interesting to see how his role in the pen progresses, especially with Clemens and Cisnero on the roster. There's no real reason to carry 3 long relievers (unless your starters can't get out of the first inning 3 nights a week), so it stands to reason that someone will start to take on a different role. However, until the day comes when our bullpen isn't completely burned out, all we can really do is speculate.

5) Rick Ankiel drew his first walk of the season yesterday giving him 1 walk and 28 strikeouts. Ridiculous. Ankiel has drawn 155 walks in 1837 at bats in his career, with a high of 42 in 2008. On a brighter note, Ankiel has already matched his home run total from 2012 (which took 158 ABs) and needs just 4 more rbis to hit last year's total in that category as well.

6) After drawing just one walk in his first 16 games, Jason Castro has walked in each of the last three contests. Castro has also seen his average jump out lately going from .200 a week and a half ago, up to .250 and he's hit safely in 5 of the last 6 games.

7) Chris Carter struck out two more times yesterday giving him 37 strikeouts through the first 22 games of the season. Carter has only played one game this year in which he did not fan at least once. That came against the A's on April 16th in which he was 1 for 3 with a walk. Carter has struck out 3 times on 3 occasions, and twice in ten different games. He's currently on pace to end the year with 272 strikeouts which is almost as absurd as Rick Ankiel's strikeout to walk ratio. On the plus side, both Ankiel and Carter are on pace to hit 37 homers with 35 of Carter's projected to come against the Mariners.

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).

Norris Shows Ace Stuff, Astros Win Third Straight

Three wins in a row? On Monday people were joking that this time wouldn't win three games all season. Suddenly, pitchers are making pitches, hitters are making contact, the defense is making plays... These guys actually look like a competitive ball club! Some more thoughts on last night's win:

1) Bud Norris pitched like an ace last night. I don't care if the Angels entered the game 2-7 and in last place in the AL West (can you believe that we're actually NOT in last place???), this is still a lineup that boasts Mike Trout, Albert Pujols AND Josh Hamilton. And yet Norris went out and threw 7 strong innings allowing just 3 hits and didn't allow a runner to get past FIRST BASE!! That's what your ace is supposed to do. Go out and absolutely slam the door on your opponents. They shouldn't want any part of you every fifth day. And let's not undersell the importance of him pitching SEVEN innings. Only two other Astros starters had even pitched SIX in the first nine games. That's huge for our struggling bullpen and takes a lot of pressure off of them.

2) Want to talk hitting streaks? Justin Maxwell has now hit in 8 straight after adding a double and a home run last night. He's now hitting .359 this season. Chris Carter, meanwhile, has hit in 5 straight, and Jason Castro has hit in six straight. Hey, if they're all going to slump at the same time, it's only fair that everyone get hot at the same time.

3) Speaking of Maxwell, I never would have thought of hitting him second. He's got good speed, but I just figured he struck out too much, and in last year's lineup he was the only legitimate power threat so it made sense to hit him in the middle of the order. Seems to be working out pretty good right now though. He's hitting for average, has scored a team high 8 runs, is tied for the team lead in walks, and most importantly, he's cut down on the strikeouts. Kudos to Bo Porter for thinking to try him there.

4) Do you know who the team leader in rbis is right now? Rick Ankiel with 8. Ankiel has 8 rbis despite being 4 for 22 with 16 strikeouts. That means on balls he puts in play, he's hitting .667 with 1.3 rbis per contact. That's ridiculous.

5) The Astros, not known for their patient approaches at the plate, actually drew six walks last night. And I'm going to be honest with you, that's HUGE for this team. Whether or not you buy into Moneyball, the reality is that 1) you want guys to get on base any way they can, 2) if we're drawing walks, it means to at least some extent we're not chasing balls out of the strike zone, and 3) we're forcing opposing pitchers to throw more pitches and getting them out of the game quicker. Case in point, last night, known Astro kryptonite Tommy Hanson threw 108 pitches in 5 innings of work.

6) The Astros will be facing Garrett Richards in lieu of Jered Weaver today. Richards made 30 appearances for the Angels in 2012 (9 starts) and was 4-3 with a 4.69 ERA while opposing teams hit .280 against him. I would expect to see the struggling Brett Wallace back in the lineup today after a couple of days off, especially with the tough lefty C.J. Wilson set to go on Sunday. That said, Bo may not want to mess with what's working. And let's face it, could you blame him?

Week 1 in Review

Well, we're one week into the season. Here's some stats to note:

Weekly Results

3/31 W Rangers 8-2
4/2   L Rangers 7-0
4/3   L Rangers 4-0
4/5   L A's 8-3
4/6   L A's 6-3
4/7   L A's 8-3

Overall Record: 1-5
Team Batting Average: .199
Runs For: 17
Runs Against: 36
Home Runs: 2
Strikeouts/Walks (Hitting): 74/9
Stolen Bases: 0
Caught Stealing: 0
Team ERA: 5.00
Team WHIP: 1.54
Starters ERA: 4.55
Bullpen ERA: 5.64
Strikeouts/Walks (Pitching): 34/24
Times Shutout: 2

Team Leaders (Hitting):

Average: Justin Maxwell .381 (8/21)
Runs: Justin Maxwell 5
Hits: Jose Altuve/Justin Maxwell 8
Doubles: 5 tied with 1
Triples: Justin Maxwell 2
Home Runs: Rick Ankiel/Jason Castro 1
Runs Batted In: Rick Ankiel/Jason Castro 3
Walks: Jose Altuve/Justin Maxwell 2
Stolen Bases: None

Team Leaders (Pitching):

Games: Wesley Wright 4
Innings: Bud Norris 11 1/3
Wins: Bud Norris 1
Saves: Erik Bedard 1
Holds: None
Strikeouts: Bud Norris 9
Quality Starts: Lucas Harrell 1
ERA:  Bud Norris 3.18
WHIP: Bud Norris 1.32

On the Farm:

Oklahoma City (AAA) - 3-1
Corpus Christi (AA) - 3-1
Lancaster (AdvA) - 3-1
Quad Cities (LoA) - 4-0

Minor League Leaders:

Runs: Robbie Grossman (AAA) / Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 5
Hits: Jimmy Paredes (AAA) - 8
Walks: Robbie Grossman (AAA) / Nolan Fontana (AdvA) - 5
Home Runs: George Springer (AA) / Preston Tucker (AdvA) - 2
RBIs: Preston Tucker (AdvA) / Carlos Correa (LoA) - 8
Stolen Bases: Delino DeShields (AdvA) - 3
Wins: 13 tied with 1
Saves: Jason Stoffel (AA) - 2
Strikeouts: Asher Wojciechowski (AA) - 7

Errors Will Kill You Every Time...

The Astros took a 3-1 lead into the 6th, but an error by shortstop Ronny Cedeno led to three unearned runs and Houston dropped a fourth straight, this one by a final score of 6-3, to the Athletics. Some notes on last night's game:

1) Houston hitters struck out only four times after fanning an average of 14 times a game through their first 4 contests. They still didn't manage to draw any walks and have just 5 on the season, but at least they're putting more balls in play. The absence of Rick Ankiel and Brett Wallace from the lineup may have contributed to the reduced strikeout numbers, but across the board, at bats were better.

2) Jason Castro clubbed an opposite-field 3-run home run in the fourth to give Houston a short-lived 3-1 lead. This was what I was envisioning when I said that he's going to have a big year this year. His ability to drive the ball to all fields gives him 20-homer potential in my opinion which is almost unprecedented for an Astro catcher.

3) Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak to 5 games when he "beat out" an infield single to former teammate Jed Lowrie. Replays show that Altuve was out by half a step, but his hustle got him the benefit of the doubt. Now, if somehow Altuve breaks DiMaggio's record, does it come with an asterisk? These are the things you think about when you love a team like the Astros.

4) I know hindsight's 20/20, but I really think Bo Porter should've pulled Bud Norris in the 6th rather than let him tally 122 pitches. I know he's the ace, but this is April, and it's not like we're playoff bound or anything. Was our bullpen really that spent that we didn't have anyone we could throw out there? What about Josh Fields?

5) Is Brandon Barnes in the doghouse? The guy got the start on Opening Night, but hasn't gotten into a game since. Instead, we've seen a steady diet of J.D. Martinez who wasn't even supposed to make the team out of camp (he's here because of the Fernando Martinez injury).

6) Dallas Keuchel looked decent out of the bullpen last night after getting the call to replace newly injured Travis Blackley. Nothing like trading for a guy and having get hurt throwing a bullpen session...

7) Astro starters are now just 1-4 on the year, but boast a 2.63 ERA. Only one Astros starter has made it through 6 innings which will have to improve to save the bullpen, but at least the starters are keeping us in games. 

We Scored!

Another loss for the Astros as a missed opportunity on a potential double play ball turned what could've been a scoreless inning into a 7-run 5th. The 8 run deficit was too much to overcome, but at least the Astros managed to score this time. Some observations from Game 4:

1) Houston middle infielders are pulling their weight, but that's about it. Jose Altuve and the shortstop platoon of Marwin Gonzalez and Ronny Cedeno are a combined 13 for 29 (.448) while all other Astros are 12 for 100 (.120).

2) Astro hitters struck out 13 more times last night giving them 56 through 4 games (an average of 14 per night). Brett Wallace notched his third hat trick of the season giving him a team high 11 strikeouts through the first four games. He wasn't even the worst offender last night though as Rick Ankiel managed to strike out in all four of his appearances. After slugging a pinch hit three-run homer in his first at-bat as an Astro, Ankiel is 0 for 10 with 9 strikeouts. If you play fantasy baseball, you may want to consider starting whatever pitcher is throwing against the Astros. Even Bartolo Colon.

3) Chris Carter and Jason Castro finally notched their first hits of the season. Houston now has only three players still looking for their first hit of 2013: Carlos Corporan (0/3), Brandon Barnes (0/1) and J.D. Martinez (0/3).

4) Brad Peacock has good stuff, but he needs to be more efficient. Peacock threw 89 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of work causing the bullpen to be forced into action early once again. And considering Houston's bullpen has an ERA of 7.53 (and that's including 3 1/3 scoreless innings from Erik Bedard), that's not a good thing. On a brighter note, the Astros starting 5 have a collective ERA of 2.16 through 4 games.

5) Having to get extra outs will kill a bad team. Marwin Gonzalez's misplay of a groundball in the 5th led to 7 runs, 3 of them unearned. If Houston gets out of that inning without yielding a run, maybe it's a different ballgame. You can come back from 1-0 down. 8-0? Not so much.

6) Brandon Laird went 3 for 5 with a home run and 4 runs batted in during a AAA double header yesterday. Keep an eye on his production in Oklahoma City, especially if Brett Wallace continues to struggle.

Hard to Win if You Can't Score

The bats were lifeless for a second straight game as the Astros fell to the Rangers 4-0. The Astros racked up double digit strike-outs for a third straight game to start the year and wasted another strong pitching performance, this time from newcomer Philip Humber. Some more observations from Game 3:

1) The inability to put balls in play is killing the Astros right now. They have ten times as many strikeouts (43) as walks (4), and hit just .172 in the series while fanning in 46% of their at bats. You can point your finger in any number of directions too as every Astro with the exception of Carlos Corporan struck out at least once in the three game series. Top offenders: Brett Wallace (8), Chris Carter (7), Carlos Pena (6), Justin Maxwell (5), and Rick Ankiel (5). Even pitchers don't strike out at that rate, so you have to figure things will get better and average out, but still...

2) Jason Castro and Chris Carter both went 0 for 11 in the Rangers series. Have faith, both will break out of their mini slumps. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

3) Lance Berkman is not welcome in Houston any more. The Big Puma reached base in 9 of his 13 at bats and drove in 3. His "replacement" Carlos Pena was just 2 for 11 and as previously noted struck out six times. I say the word replacement loosely because Pena didn't really "replace" Berkman, we just opted to sign him instead. Any regrets yet?

Game 2 Pre-game Musings

Some things to note before the Astros try and go 2-0 for the first time since 2003.

1) This will be Houston's second crack at Yu Darvish having faced him once in his rookie season. Darvish had little trouble with the Astros last June going 8 innings and fanning 11 while allowing just 2 runs (an rbi infield single by Jed Lowrie and a solo home run by Justin Maxwell) on 7 hits. The good news? Two of those hits were by Maxwell, two more by Brett Wallace, and another from Jason Castro. Don't expect to see J.D. Martinez though as he went 0 for 4 against Darvish while fanning 3 times.

2) As I mentioned above, Houston hasn't started a season 2-0 since 2003 and even that was dicey. Houston had to score 5 times in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-7. The late Jeriome Robertson was beaten the next day to end the streak at 2.

3) Lucas Harrell was the only Astros pitcher to beat the Rangers last season, and finished the year 1-1 against them with a 4.91 ERA. He surrendered home runs to David Murphy in his win, and Nelson Cruz in his loss. Harrell is coming off a strong spring in which he posted a 2.25 ERA in 6 appearances spanning 24 innings.

Bang, Bang, Maxwell's Silver Hammer

"The road to being a champion is always under construction." - Bo Porter

For one night, the Astros looked like a contender. Houston outplayed the Rangers in every facet of the game and cruised to an 8-2 victory giving them the best record in all of baseball, and the distinction of being the only undefeated franchise in the American League. I know it's short lived, but I'm going to enjoy this moment, because that's what baseball's about. Some observations from last night's game: And yes, I know this is only one game into the season.

1) For me this game turned on two plays, both of them in the sixth inning. The first came with 2 on and 2 out in the top half, and the Rangers rallying having cut the Astros lead in half. Erik Bedard entered the game to face catcher A.J. Pierzynski and induced a weak fly ball to centerfield to end the threat. A hit by Pierzynski and the momentum swings in favor of the Rangers, and then who knows what happens. Then in the bottom half of the inning, in the same situation, two on, two out, pinch hitter Rick Ankiel crushed Derek Lowe's 3-2 offering into the right field bleachers for a 3-run home run putting the game all but out of reach. GM Jeff Luhnow's offseason moves are looking pretty smart after one game.

 2) Speaking of Bedard, the Canadian lefty looked brilliant last night. He faced 11 hitters and surrendered just a broken bat single to Nelson Cruz on his way to his first Major League save. If Bedard pitches like he did when he was with Baltimore a few years ago and stays healthy, he's going to look like a steal.

2013 Opening Day Starting Lineup

Four and a half hours to go, here's the Astros Starting Lineup: