Perhaps as a blogger I became too attached to the Houston Astros. Perhaps. But I think that when it comes to fandom, any fandom, change is hard. It broke my heart when Rob Lowe left The West Wing. I didn’t like it when the Twilight Series replaced the actress who played Victoria. And when Jerome Bettis retired from the Pittsburgh Steelers, I felt as if it was a foreign team. Change, it seems, is hard to swallow when you’re a fan.

I guess then it shouldn’t have been too surprising when, at the end of the 2012 season, I’d had enough. I was watching the Houston Astros make change after change after change and I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to step away, get a little perspective and find a way to love my favorite baseball team again.

I haven’t written anything about the Astros really since the World Series. I took my own off season of sorts. I didn’t stop paying attention. I know about the coaching changes, the trades, the signings, the firings, the logo, the Spring Training schedule and everything else. I just didn’t talk about it.

Those of you who follow me on twitter have seen a comment or two, some of them sarcastic and bitter, some of them just happy for the things that are starting to take shape. I’m not back here talking to you about the Astros because the Astros did something to make me happy. I’m back here because I’m finally over it.

I am a Houston Astros fan.

I’m not a fan of one particular person in the organization or one particular player. I’m not a fan of a GM or a Manager or an owner. I’m a fan of a team. I cheer for the Houston Astros because I grew up watching them play and somewhere around age 11 they found a way to become a part of my life, like family, but in uniforms. And like family, I don’t always agree with their choices or how they treated me or talked to me, or that they didn’t ask my opinion before committing to something. But like family, when push comes to shove, I have their back.

So here we are, just a few short weeks away from the first players reporting to Spring Training. It’s the first time in 51 years that the Astros will field a team in the American League. They’ll do it under a logo that is new and yet familiar. They’ll take the field with a crop of players that likely won’t make the Hall of Fame someday and likely won’t be All-Star selections. But they’ll take the field knowing that the decisions of 2012 and 2013 were and will be necessary in order to make me smile in 2014 and beyond.

2013 will be a historic season in more ways than one for the team from Houston. Not every way they make history this year will make us cheer, but I’ll be there, in orange and blue, cheering, because that’s what you do when your family is going through a hard time. Yep, change is hard.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured Senior Houston Astros Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

fanatic [fuh-nat-ik] noun – a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal

With the Astros recent seasons of struggles, there have been some questions raised on the Internets about “true fans”. Most of the questions have been posted on Twitter by other fans, but they should still be addressed, because my “true fan” status is at stake here, yo!

You can love your team, and still admit they suck.

What makes you a “true fan” of a team? Is it your loyalty? Is it your tattoo? Is it your positivity? What about your negativity? Do you go to most of the home games? Do you travel to see your favorite team play on the road? Have you been cheering for the same team since you were 5?

In my mind “true fan” can be defined in countless numbers of ways and all of the above scenarios can realistically come in to play. A “true fan” lives and dies with their team, whether they’re winning or losing. You still go to games and follow their every move. A “true fan” is positive, but is also realistic and knows when his/her team isn’t good and can say it. Yes, it’s great to be positive about your team and to talk them up, but seriously when your team is the worst team in baseball it’s OK to be negative.

Confession time, I have been known to poke fun at the Houston Nine on Twitter quite often. I’ve said they look like little leaguers (they do at times), I’ve called out certain ballplayers for their strikeouts and lack of batting (I’m looking at you Jordan Schafer), and I joke about their fielding when errors are made. Seriously, they’re in the big leagues they shouldn’t be running into each other on the field, but all kidding aside I’m still at most every home game (I missed 10) and I still hope that they win, or play well, every night. Does my poking fun make me less of a fan? I don’t think so.

Another question that has been raised is what the proper etiquette should be if a player follows you, the fan, on Twitter. Twitter is an amazing social media tool that I think all ballplayers should be a part of. I think it’s an outstanding way to stay connected and to interact with fans. Ballplayers are big boys and they should be able to handle criticism and negativity. If they can’t, well they shouldn’t be on Twitter.

As fans I think it’s important to support your team in the good times and the bad. Obviously you want your team to win, but when they’re losing you don’t just give up and stop root root rooting. As fans I also think it’s important to support your fellow fan. Who are we to judge what makes someone a “good” fan or a “bad” fan. We’re all cheering for the same team and hoping that they do well and in the end that’s fan enough for me!

Greis Perez (AmazingGreis), pronounced Grace, is a lifelong Astros fan and contributor for Aerys Sports. You can email her at amazing_greis@yahoo.com, or follow her on Twitter, @AmazingGreis, where she’s considered a #BadFan and professes her undying love for Justin Timberlake and all things sparkly!

Fred Nelson, the Astros Director of Player Development, and Stefanie Brown, the River Bandits General Manager, make the announcement today about the new affiliation.

When the news broke that the St. Louis Cardinals would not be renewing their Player Development Contract with the Quad Cities River Bandits, the rumors then began flying over which Big League club would pick up the newly-free low-A club.

With Jeff Luhnow’s familiarity with the Cardinal farm system, the Astros seemed a likely fit.

The River Bandits thought so, too.

Today, the two-year PDC between the Astros and the River Bandits was announced at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa. Bandits general manager Stefanie Brown was accompanied by Astros Director of Player Development Fred Nelson as the two shared the news with local media.

“We’re extremely excited,” Brown said. “Jeff Luhnow has been a friend of ours … so, talking with him was very exciting. In the end we’re very excited about the direction and the rebuilding of the Houston Astros and to have them be part of this community.”

Nelson echoed her sentiments as he recalled the years the Astros had a home in the Quad Cities from 1993-1998.

“One thing that really pushed us towards the Quad Cities was Jeff Lunhow’s relationship and knowledge of the renovations, the operators of the league, and I think because of that, it might have given us a little bit of a leg up coming back into the Davenport area, back in the Quad Cities,” he said. “But, we’re thrilled to death to be here.”

“Rebranding” was the word of the hour, both for the Bandits and the Astros.

With new ownership, management, and front office staff, the Astros are on their way to fulfilling a vision Luhnow and company have — a vision that restores the Astros to the top in the Major Leagues.

“To give you an idea of the direction and the focus of Jeff Luhnow, George Postolos and Jim Crane, they’re all winners – they’re all driven to win,” Nelson said. “Jeff especially. I’ve seen a passion in his desire to win in the Minor Leagues, at all levels, and ultimately we think that will filter into the big leagues as we secure better players, players that we’ve been able to acquire in trades, and through especially this last draft which Jeff and his staff directed.”

For the Bandits, the vision now centers on the excitement of adding that fresh, newly drafted talent and introducing a whole new group to a community — especially since that community is full of Cardinal fans who were disappointed to see their parent club move their affiliate to Peoria. Brown says, though, that simply makes their job more interesting.

“Obviously we were very sad to see the Cardinals go,” Brown said. “They were a great organization, and there are many fans here that are Cardinals fans, but I think it’ll just be educating the community and letting them know the great things that the Astros are doing and probably trying a little bit harder to get the new players out in the community and get that personal touch with the fans. Every organization has a great group of guys and a great group of athletes, so it’s just going to be on us to get them out there.”

Local fans will recognize at least three players who made their way through the Quad Cities on their way to the Major League club in 2012 — Brett Wallace, Chuckie Fick, and most recently, Tyler Greene.

With the potential of a first overall draft pick on his way to town, and oodles of other promising young players, talent will definitely not be a problem.

Ultimately, it came down to three teams vying for the Bandits’ attention — the A’s, the Angels, and the Astros. When all was said and done, it came down to identifying the Major League team that offered the thing the River Bandits wanted most: partnership.

“We were looking for a Major League affiliate that understood what we were doing,” Brown said. “We wanted to have player appearances, we wanted them to be an intricate part of the community, [we wanted] someone that is easy to communicate with, that will hear out our ideas on different promotional ideas or appearances, someone who buys into the same vision.”

For the next two years at least, that team is the Houston Astros. And Nelson is confident that those two years will be exciting — both in the Quad Cities, and eventually all the way to Houston.

Welcome to the Quad Cities, Astros fans!

Tara is a St. Louis Cardinals reporter for Aaron Miles’ Fastball and a contributor to Around the Horn. Follow her on Twitter @tarawellman. 

Was the win against the Cubs on Tuesday night the start of momentum? Nope. It appears, after a 9-5 loss last night that it was a fluke. I’m not saying we should abandon hope, but sheesh, at 3-9 can we make some changes yet?

We don’t have long to wait for Clint Barmes to get back into the game. He took some dry swings earlier this week and reports he’s improving. Will his return make a difference? I’m not completely convinced. There’s lots of chatter among the Astros fandom about whether Barmes should get his starting SS position back when he’s healed and ready to go since Sanchez has been performing so well (.383 BA, 8 RBIs, .423 OBP). I initially thought that Sanchez should be left alone. But here’s an idea- give Barmes shortstop and hand second base to Sanchez. I mean, really, what’s Bill Hall done for us? Not much. His batting average is a less-than-average .233 and his on base percentage is .267, the lowest of our starting lineup aside from pitchers. He does lead the team in one stat – strikeouts. Aren’t we proud? Every time he goes up to bat he goes all out. It’s like he’s programmed for homerun or nothing and lately, it’s a whole lot of nothing he’s been hitting. I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out what the hell he’s doing in Houston. If someone else knows, can you clue me in?

What about pitching? There are rumors, that I’m sure you’ve read about, that the Astros are interested in the Blue Jay’s left-handed pitcher David Purcy. Another lefty in the bullpen would make Fernando Abad not so lonely. And Purcy’s relatively young, has a fastball that sits in the low 90s and in 34 innings pitched last season had a 3.71 ERA. Not too shabby. Since the Astros have two open slots on the 40 man roster, I think it makes sense to take a serious look at another reliever. He’s got a bit of a history with Arnie, so my guess would be he’d settle in quickly which is imperative for anyone who joins the Astros at this point. We don’t have the luxury of time to make you feel warm and welcome. We need you to get on board and help us win a few games. I’ve said time and time again that this team will go the way of the pitching and pitching is NOT the Astros strong suit. I suppose we’ll just have to sit and wait on this one, but I think it’s a good call.

Can we talk about Matt Downs at third more often? Downs has been better than good when he’s been in the mix so far this season. With a BA .417, OBP .462, SLG .917 (I know it’s just 1 HR) he’s shown that when he steps into the box, he’s there to play. In his 13 ABs he’s drawn as many walks as CJ (1), and looks better in every other batting stat there is. And yes, I know CJ’s had more than three times the ABs as Downs. I still think it’s worth considering.

When your team is 3-9 don’t you start considering every possibility on your depth chart? It’s what I would do. Hey Mills, give me a call, I’ll help you make some decisions. Better yet, I’ll be sitting in section 208 tonight – come say hi – you being out of the dugout on Tuesday seemed to work in our favor.

I think I’ve been chanting since opening day “pit-ching, pit-ching, pit-ching”. Well, last night at Minute Maid Park, Brett Myers led the Astros with fantastic pitching and the lineup responded to his lead by hitting a season tying high 16 hits to beat the Chicago Cubs 11-2. With this win the Astros now stand at 3-8 for the season.

So What Went Right? Everything!

First, there was Myers who pitched 7 innings allowing 8 hits and only 1 run (a homerun by Colvin). His ERA on the season is now a remarkable 1.77. This is the kind of pitching the Astros need more of! It’s worth noting that that Astros pitchers have been hitting remarkably well and Myers is no exception to that trend. He currently has the highest batting average on the team – .429!

Second, the hitting was outstanding. Where do I even begin? With runners in scoring position the ‘Stros went 9-20 last night, a definite improvement. In the first 2 innings the Astros had 7 hits and 5 runs. They added 2 more runs in the fourth and another 4 in the sixth. The top of the batting order was beyond impressive with Bourn going 2-5 with 4 runs and 1 RBI. He also added 2 more to his stolen base count for the season taking him to 4. Sanchez was an amazing 4-5 with 2 runs, and 2 RBIs and Pence went 3-5 with 1 run and an impressive 4 RBIs, 2 of which were with 2 outs on the board. We expect impressive hitting from those three and they certainly delivered what we’ve been praying to see.

Where we don’t expect amazing hitting but we saw it last night was from our Catcher. Yep, you read that right – Quintero hit 3-5 last night scoring 2 runs. Of those 3 hits, 1 was a double and the other a triple. That’s not something you see every game!

Oh what a night! If only the starting pitchers could all be like Myers. If only the lineup’s bats were always as lively as last night. There are a lot of “if only”s from last night that I’d like to apply to the whole season, but that’s not the way it works. This team’s got to find some footing and it looks like perhaps they are beginning to do just that. A few more nights like last night and they might just surprise us.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Reporter for Aerys Sports. You can read her Astros blog at www.talesfromthejuicebox.com, email her at agirlinthesouth@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

Tonight’s lineup for the second game in the series against the Cubs will see one of the starters sitting the bench. Brett Wallace will get the night off while Carlos Lee will take his first turn at first base of the season. Jason Michaels will get his first start of the season in left field.

Meanwhile, Brad Mills will serve a 1 game suspension tonight stemming from his ejection by Jim Joyce on Sunday during the game with the Marlins when a couple of pitchers played “beam the batter” in retaliation for Bill Hall’s hard slide into Hanley Ramirez two nights earlier. Aneury Rodriguez received a 3 game suspension that he is appealing. Standing in for the skipper will be Al Pedrique.

ASTROS Lineup

Bourn (CF), Sanchez (SS), Pence (RF), Lee (1B), Michaels (LF) Hall (2B), Johnson (3B), Quintero (C), Myers (P)

CUBS Lineup

Castro (SS), Barney (2B), Byrd (CF), Ramirez (3B), Pena (1B), Soriano (LF), Soto (C), Colvin (RF), Russell (P)

Last night’s game against the Cubs started off with disaster written all over it. Nelson Figueroa (0-2, 10.61 ERA) took the mound for the second time this season and looked the exact opposite of good. In four innings he managed to give up 8 hits, 5 runs and 2 walks. The only thing surprising about his removal from the game at the end of four was that it didn’t happen sooner. Meanwhile in the bottom of each inning the Cub’s Dempster was having a little strike out party, at one point striking out five straight Astros batters.

While Figgy was struggling at the mound, the offense couldn’t get their act together either. In the first four innings, the Astros managed only 1 hit, Carlos Lee, and drew only 1 walk, Brett Wallace, both in the second inning. Things were looking grim. And I think it was about at this point that I was trying to decide if I should continue watching the misery or flip over to watch Castle.

Then the tides began to turn. In the 5th inning Matt Downs, pinch hitting for relief pitcher Enerio Del Rosario, singled into right field to send Chris Johnson home. And the Astros were on the board.

Now, up until last night the Astros had been coming out strong, scoring early, and then imploding somewhere around the fourth or fifth inning. Apparently, the boys from Houston decided enough was enough.

After missing a huge opportunity with bases loaded in the sixth, the seventh inning saw Bill Hall hit his first homer as an Astro while pinch hitting for reliever Fernando Abad. That was followed by Michael Bourn doubling with a hit that would bounce off the right field wall and slow play slightly as the Umpires took to the very-rarely-used instant replay to verify that it wasn’t a homerun. The ruling of a double from the field stood. Angel Sanchez immediately took to the plate and sent one into the Crawford Boxes, allowing himself and Bourn home. The score at the close of 7 stood at 5-4 with the Cubs still leading.

The game would end with the Cubs’ reliever, Marmol, shutting down the Astros hitting spree, but not before teasing us with Wallace singling to right field and Michaels drawing a walk. So with the tying run on second and the game winner in first, Inglett’s strikeout would seal the fate of the Astros going to 2-8.

It wasn’t a win. But from my vantage point there was a win of sorts in last night’s game. The Astros fought to the end. They didn’t implode mid-game. They didn’t let the poor pitching start lead them down the path to destruction. The bullpen allowed no hits and runs. There were homeruns, singles, doubles. Are there issues? Yep. With runners in scoring position the club went 3-12 last night. There were 12 runners left on base.

There’s work to be done, but the team I watched Sunday and the team I watched last night were improvements. Hopefully It will continue tonight. I’m still optimistic that this team will surprise us. I’m not nuts – I’m not talking about a winning season or even a .500 season. I’m talking about surprises like last night. That wasn’t a win, but I wouldn’t have guessed that THIS team with only two wins this season would have the heart to rally the way they did. It was a win. Sort-of.

Tonight the Astros begin their home series with the Chicago Cubs. The thing I love about the Cubs is their rabid fans. Once you’re a Cubs fan, you’re a Cubs fan for life. I think Houston residents could take a little lesson from those particular Yankees. Tonight’s a crapshoot, much like all 9 games have been to date, but we are seeing marginal improvements in both pitching and hitting.

Anyway, Nelson Figueroa (0-1, 10.13 ERA) gets his 2nd start of the season against the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster (0-2, 6.59 ERA). I’m not expecting miracles, but am hopeful Fig doesn’t allow the onslaught of runs we saw when he faced the Reds last week. Here’s hoping, at least.

You’ll notice in the lineup below that Bill Hall’s been given the night off and Inglett will get his first start of the season. Not sure if that’s a reflection on Hall’s hitting so far, although the last few games he’s been pulling his weight a bit more. Also, after a day off yesterday, Chris Johnson returns to third base tonight.

ASTROS

CF Michael Bourn, SS Angel Sanchez, RF Hunter Pence, LF Carlos Lee, 1B Brett Wallace, 3B Chris Johnson, 2B Joe Inglett, C Humberto Quintero,RHP Nelson Figueroa

CUBS

SS Starlin Castro, 2B Darwin Barney, CF Marlon Byrd, 3B Aramis Ramirez, 1B Carlos Pena, LF Alfonso Soriano, RF Tyler Colvin, C Geovany Soto, RHP Ryan Dempster

Who are those Astros? Can we keep them? Those were the thoughts of many an Astros fan during Sunday afternoon’s series closer against the Marlins. The Astros put up an impressive 7-1 first win in their home ballpark to take their record to 2-7. And oh what a game it was!

J.A. Happ pitched a tremendous 7 1/2 innings allowing only 4 hits and 1 run. He walked 4 taking his season to date ERA down to 6.17. Not only was his pitching a huge highlight, but his bat was alive getting 2 hits and 2 RBIs in his 3 at bats. Can we clone him? Please? This is the sort of pitching I’ve been ranting about. This sort of leadership from the mound results in great things.

The hitting was exciting as well. The Astros 16 hits on Sunday was the 2nd best hitting game in the NL this season. Quintero (2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI), Happ (2-3, 2 RBIs) and Downs (1-4, 1 RBI) all contributed doubles while Bourn (2-4, 1 R) added 2 to the team count for the day.  For the first time this season we were able to see the ‘Stros be productive when runners were on base. With RBIs from Pence (3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI), Lee (1-5, 1 RBI), Downs, Quintero (2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Happ it was obvious that the whole lineup was contibuting. Bill Hall started to show his hitting abilities with a triple as part of his 1-3, 2R day. In addition Brett Wallace went 1-4 with 1 R. Another consistent standout was Angel Sanchez who went 3-5 Sunday with 1 run and is now batting .364. He has proven himself already this season to be a batter that can be counted on when he comes up to the plate.This was no one man show. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

There was a little excitement in the game when Marlin’s reliever, Edward Mujica, was ejected by plate ump Jim Joyce in the seventh when he hit Bill Hall with a pitch. Joyce then ejected Astros’ reliever Aneury Rodriguez in the ninth inning when his pitch hit Gaby Sanchez. Brad Mills argued his case to Joyce, but ended up in the locker room himself. That was a scene you don’t see every game!

On a personal note, this was my first glimpse this season at the new enormous video board over right field and all I can say is, “WOW!” It is really something to see. The way stats are projected during the game is much more informative than in the past and the picture is crazy clear. It’s amazing and you really have to see it to believe it!

The weeone enjoyed her first game of the year as well, scooping up a Michael Bourn bobblehead with the help of my dad who waited in line early to snag one for each of them. All around a fantastic day at the ballpark. Let’s hope for many more days like this one!

Friday’s Home Opener wasn’t what the Astros were hoping for and neither was last night’s loss. It seems they’re getting pretty good at coming out of the gate strong, but their scoring happens early and then fizzles. You can’t build a season on that. Last night they scored 3 runs in the first two innings, another in the 5th and then found themselves struggling as the final four innings ushered in 6 runs for the Marlins and only 1 for the Astros. That kind of play ain’t gonna cut it.

What will be different about today’s game? Probably not a lot. J.A. Happ (15.75 ERA this year) will take the mound for the ‘Stros and hopefully find his pitching groove. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the team will go the way of the pitching. If the pitchers can get the momentum they found during Spring Training, when the bullpen was pitching well and looking good, the Astros have a chance to push through the second half of a game and shut down the scoring frenzy that every team has experienced against them.

The hitting is improving marginally as we’ve seen Towles step it up and Wallace start to look like himself at the plate, however, the power of Carlos Lee and Bill Hall hasn’t been on display at all this season. With runners on base and in scoring position the Astros have only hit one homerun this season (2.67 BA). The boys with strong bats need to come out hitting or it’s going to be a very long season of fans watching lots of their favorite players left on base.

There have been some good surprises, Lee’s string of triples, Norris’ RBIs and run last night, and Towle’s Friday night bonanza. But these infrequent bursts of excitement are quickly put to sleep by the late game implosions.

This afternoon I’ll have “my” home opener as I sit in the stands at Minute Maid Park for the first time this season. I’m looking forward to seeing the new giant video board in action. I’m looking forward to seeing the boys from Houston try to put themselves together as a team again. I’m looking forward to the view from my new seats. I’m looking forward to the excitement that the weeone brings with her to a game and I’m looking forward to spending 3 hours cheering on my hometeam with my daughter and my dad. And if I’m very, very lucky and if all the stars align, I’m looking forward to seeing the Astros get their 1st home W of the season.

There’s still lots of baseball left to play. Let’s go ‘Stros!

*** Today’s Lineup***

Bourn (CF),  Sanchez (SS),  Pence (RF), Lee (LF), Wallace (1B), Hall (2B), Downs (3B), Quintero (C), Happ (P)