There was much ado about pitching last night; conversations on twitter and message boards, fan reaction at the ballpark. For years I’ve said, it’s about the pitching. Good defensive pitching can make a mediocre offense a little less important. But if a team has subpar pitching, it takes a whole heck of a lot of amazingly impressive offense to make up for the sins of the guys on the bump.

The Astros starters have been reliable, not outstanding, but definitely reliable. The first 5+ innings of baseball haven’t been the site of anything tragic. In fact, they’ve been pretty darn good. Even when they’ve struggled and seen inflated pitch counts, Astros starters have battled their way through. If you look at the ERA of starters, throwing as starters, you can’t complain – Lucas Harrell (1.50), Philip Humber (1.59), Bud Norris (3.18), Brad Peacock (4.15) – as a group, the starters have a 2.63 ERA. It’s a stat where the Astros are not, in fact, the worst in baseball. They rank 8/30 clubs in starting pitching ERAs so far. Not bad.

If any real criticism can be made after ONLY FIVE games – and let’s all remember it’s only been 5 measly games – it’s more about the fact that a starter should come in throw six innings, but the starting rotation in Houston has only Lucas Harrell as a member of the 6 inning club. Last night, Bud Norris got pretty darn close, but still didn’t clear that hurdle. Bear in mind this is after FIVE games…there are 157 more to go and we need those shoulders and elbows to remain intact, so SPs only going 5 1/3, 5 2/3 isn’t a “real” concern, but something to ponder.

The biggest problem with the starters unable to go a full six is the the Houston bullpen has been terrible. Several people commented via social media last night that the team’s bullpen was stretched and that’s why Porter left Bud Norris in during the sixth after a homer, an error by Ronny Cedeno, two fly ball outs, a walk and a hit. That’s not why Porter left him in.

“Bud did a tremendous job. To me, tonight, he grew up,” were manager Bo Porter‘s words. “He did what a number one starter should do.” Porter told Norris he had earned the right to earn the win, resulting in Norris throwing 122 pitches in 5 2/3. Perhaps not his most efficient start, but not devastating by a long run.

The problem? The bullpen. Their ERA so far this season? 6.62 Yep, folks, that’s the problem. So you can go on twitter and whine about how long the starters are lasting. You can moan and groan about whether Brett Wallace is getting hits or Chris Carter is striking out again (although I admit I have fun with that last one), but when the umpire yells, “Play ball!” it’s going to come down to the guys on the mound. If they can’t their job done, then no amount of offense will save your team.

Jason Castro hit a three run homer last night in the Astros 6-3 loss to Oakland. Not even close to being enough to make up for pitching that wasn’t defensive. Justin Maxwell and J.D. Martinez were both 2/4 last night. No matter how productive that offense is on any given day, poor pitching can give a game away. And the Astros’ bullpen has been giving a lot away. Where do they land in baseball? 26 /30, so not the bottom of the barrel, but not anywhere they’d want to be.

One more comment of note from Bo Porter since the strikeout count has been so high and noted both in historic and sarcastic context by everyone under the sun. Last night the Astros struck out only four times – that’s the lowest in a game so far (again ONLY  FIVE games). When asked his thoughts on the matter, Porter, being the guy we’ve all come to expect him to be, said, ”I couldn’t tell you how many it was yesterday or how many it was today. What I do know is that we lost the game.”

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.

There are times in sports where you stop cheering for the win and start cheering for something else. Last night around the 7th inning, fully aware that the Rangers’ Yu Darvish was cruising through a perfect game, I stopped cheering for the win and began cheering for a hit. I just wanted the Houston Astros to not allow that piece of history to take place on that night, in that stadium, against this team.

The Astros have never been no hit in Houston…I didn’t want that to change last night.

There was a part of me that would have loved to say I was at a perfect game, but the Astros fan in me didn’t want anything close to that. There were too many zeros on that side of my scorebook. So I stopped cheering for a win, and prayed for a hit. Any hit would do. It didn’t need to be a home run or a double. It just needed to put an Astro, any Astro, on base.

My scorebook at the end of 8. That was a LOT of zeros.

When perfection is looming and some would say it was inevitable, you start to notice things in a bit of a different way. It was the bottom of the 8th when things started to seem surreal and I started taking note of the things around me. Here are a few of my observations as perfection loomed:

1. Yu is annoying:  No, I’m not annoyed by the man himself. The “YUUUUUU” cheer that the Rangers do at the end of each inning Darvish pitches sounds like they’re booing their own player. It gets annoying…really quickly. If I were Darvish, I’d hate it. Of course, if I were Darvish, I’d beg to play for the Astros, too.
2. Know your neighbor: In times of crisis at Minute Maid Park, you will make friends with anyone who happens to sit around you. For example, the guy in front of me wanted his photo taken with his kids with Yu in the background. I blanched until he said, “If I take the photo, I’m hoping it will jinx the no-no.” How can I NOT be friends with that guy?
3. Rangers fans think Minute Maid Park is a second “home field”: The fans from that city in the northern part of the state known for fake boobs, big hair and a 1970′s tv show are WAY too comfortable in Minute Maid Park. We need to work on that.
4. Memories aren’t enough: It’s the bottom of the 9th, one out and a perfect game is only two outs away is when you will realize there are a LOT of cellphones in this world, because every single one of them will be held in the air, set to video the next pitch just in case it’s something historical, because you certainly will not ever be able to find that clip in the morning.
5. Diamonds are smaller than you think: typically a baseball field feels huge to me, especially at Minute Maid Park, but last night it was the smallest ballpark in the world. When perfection is looming every player is in just the right spot to stop a ball, make a catch, thwart your team’s effort to break it up. The intensity with which players play defense behind a pitcher who is in that zone? Amazing. Imagine if all players played with that intensity during every at bat of every game!
6. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover: I spent 2 of his 3 at bats talking about how weird Marwin Gonzalez‘s stance and swing were and how he sort of arches his back and contorts in an odd way. Marwin – your swing is just fine. In fact, now I believe it to be a thing of beauty.
7. Perfect storms happen: It’s no coincidence in my mind that the skies in Houston began to open and the wind began howling moments before Marwin Gonalez’s at bat. It’s just further proof that God is a baseball fan.
8. Losing doesn’t always hurt the same: Losing 7-0 but not being on the wrong side of a perfect game hurts a lot less than losing 7-5 or 7-1 even. Sometimes, not making history is as important as making it.

Cover your ears before you watch this home video of Gonzalez’s hit – there’s a LOT of screaming!

Without going into too many details of the game, I’ll say this about the Astros play last night – the defense left a little to be desired (hello, Brett Wallace at third base) and there were some plays missed that should have been made, but Lucas Harrell looked good. I can’t complain about that guy’s performance last night.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be in that position again, where I’m at a game while perfection looms. Like any baseball fan, I think it would be fantastic to be in the stadium when it happens, but just not to my team and not in my house.

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.

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. 

Ladies and Gentlemen – Your 2012 Houston Astros

I am cursed. I will adore and cheer on the Houston Astros even in a season like this one. Even in a season like the one they’re sure to have in 2013, I cannot turn away. I don’t know if it’s a masochistic tendency or some bizarre sense of loyalty that my Italian heritage has instilled in me, but it’s annoying as hell this year.

Since I can’t just cheer for another team, I’ve taken to trying to find the upside. DO NOT GET ME WRONG, I am not enjoying the world’s most ridiculous losing streaks. I am not enjoying watching guys who just aren’t cooked enough to be in the majors play against men who truly belong at this level. I am not enjoying any of that.

But, like the players have got to be feeling, I can’t wallow in the horror, shame and misery every single day. It’s not good for my sleep patterns, if nothing else.

So what’s the upside of the 2012? I have a few…here you go:

• The Astros are almost assured a #1 draft pick for 2013.
• Odds are good that the train is leaving Minute Maid Park (I’m guessing based on the giant dumb ass sign blocking it).
• A true rebuilding, well, deconstruction so far, is underway.
• The minor league teams have been kicking ass and taking names. To follow along, make sure you’re reading What the Heck, Bobby.
• Kevin Goldstein. Yes, he gets his own bullet – ask the people who were with me when I found out about this hiring. I was a teensy bit excited.
• The new previous at bat graphic on El Grande.
• Lucas Harrell. Certainly you don’t need an explanation for that, right?
• Bud Norris. Again, please refer to his best-in-the-NL home ERA of 1.90.
• Brett Wallace it seems, really CAN hit against lefties. Mystery solved. #BrettWallaceIsFree
• Zachary Levine’s twitter account. If you haven’t been paying attention, this painful season has brought out his funny.
• There will be baseball during the offseason, well, baseball stuff. The Astros need a new Manager after all. Look for any announcement of a new hiring to take place in the middle of the night. The front office is made up of Vampires, I swear.
• Every now and then, when the Astros do win? It’s like they just won the World Series!

So there you have it. The straws I am grasping in order to maintain my fandom sanity. What’s keeping your chin up and your blood alcohol level from getting too high?

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.

Yoo-hoo! Has anyone seen the Houston Astros offense? It seems to have gone on holiday a couple of weeks ago and doesn’t seem to want to come back. I mean, I can’t blame it, really. I like to go on holiday, too. But come on! This is now officially ridiculous. The Astros have lost 10 out of their last 11 games.

The team has 9, yes NINE, more road games before they return to Minute Maid Park and I don’t believe any of us want to watch another 9 losses.

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In their defense, I will say this: The San Francisco Giants pitching is unreal. It’s like those guys are pitching machines. Those boys have a team ERA for the season of 3.60, 6th in the majors. But despite the great pitching in the Bay Area, there were all those games before the All-Star break where the pitching wasn’t amazing. The bats have run away and hidden.

Last night in the 5-1 loss, Chris Snyder scored the lone run (a nice long blast over the left field wall) and there were only a total of 3 hits. This ain’t gonna cut it. Add to that mix the fact that Wandy Rodriguez struggled in the first couple of innings and you have a recipe for…well, what’s become typical. Wandy was able to recover and the pitching beyond the second inning was pretty good, but at that point, against the Giants pitching? The damage had already been done.

Now what. Well, there are a couple of things looming in July that could have impact. First, we have the end of month trade deadline. Jeff Luhnow has gotten pretty darn good at shocking us with moves we weren’t expecting so although I don’t anticipate mayhem at the deadline for the Astros, I think that a handful of moves are likely. We know the club would move Wandy and Brett Myers if given the chance, so perhaps moves such as those shake things up a bit.

Secondly, as we’ve all been saying, “Where the hell is Brett Wallace?” After struggling last season and being sent to AAA Oklahoma City, Brett’s found his hitting mojo. He even impressed us all when he came up for a stretch earlier in the season. In just 11 games and 36 at-bats he was hitting .333 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles and 4 runs batted in. So when Carlos Lee was traded to Miami, everyone expected to see that floppy wild hair and massive thighs return to first base in Houston. Well….we’re still waiting. Talk is that he will come up at some point, but when?

WE NEED HIS BAT RIGHT NOW. I know that rebuilding takes losses and patience and time, but come on! You’re killing us here. Watching this team night after night while they do nothing or the wrong thing is painful. Throw the fans a bone. We need something or someone to look forward to and the September call ups are too damn far away.

Meanwhile, there are still those calling for Brad Mills head on a platter. I’ve always been a fan of Millsie. He’s a nice guy and I have always thought that he was dealt an unfair situation when he came to Houston from Boston. But my patience is running thin and more and more I think that perhaps the talent on the field is not the problem….the coaching is. Is it Mike Barnett? After all the team’s not hitting. Is it Doug Brocail? The pitching hasn’t been as good as it could be with this group of guys. Is it Brad Mills? Perhaps the direction from the top just not what this young club needs.

I’m not in the clubhouse and I don’t have a super secret spy decoder ring (although I always wanted one) to figure out this mess. But someone needs to figure it out…and fast or this year will be as disastrous as last.

For now, I’m packing a bag (2 really) and taking the weeone on this year’s ballpark tour. We’re heading to San Diego where we’ll hopefully get to see our boys win a few road games and then we’ll pitstop in Arizona for a couple of games before we head back to Houston. Cross your fingers, hold your breath, wear your lucky shirts. This team needs all the help it can get.

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.

How could I not come talk to you about that ridiculousness of a baseball game last night? I mean, really. It started off like any normal game and then J.A. struggled big time from the third inning on. I kept glancing over at the bullpen thinking certainly they’d kick him to the curb soon, but, nope…he stayed put a lot longer than I expected.

As the game spiraled out of control a few notable things happened that are worth mentioning and commenting on.

#1 – David Carpenter got his first major league hit of his career. It was a single hit with one of Bud Norris’ bat. We had a good time with the whole “Carpenter is batting 1.000″ in my group last night. It’s the little things that keep me smiling in a blow out like that one!

#2 – Carlos Correa was introduced to the crowd at Minute Maid Park after signing on the dotted line to come play in the Astros organization earlier in the day. He walked by me a couple of times and from what I could tell, he was joined by his parents, brother, sister (who is cute as a button!), grandparents and all the pomp and circumstance of the Astros front office. He was greeted with a standing ovation by the crowd at MMP, Astros and Cards fans alike. You can’t help but cheer for a 17 year old kid that worked his ass off to make a dream come true. It’s the stuff Disney films are made of. Welcome, Carlos….and best of luck to you.

#3 – In the top of the ninth there were some…um…changes to the positions being played. Jason Castro was brought in to catch because Chris Snyder was moved to first because Brett Wallace was moved to third because Chris Johnson was moved to right field because….well, because Brian Bogusevic was going to pitch.

Yep, you read it right. Makes sense – why should Mills burn a reliever’s arm when the game’s a blow out? He has a great right fielder who happened to be drafted out of Tulane as….a pitcher. And frankly, Bogie didn’t do too shabby. His first fastball? 88mph. For a guy who hasn’t been throwing bullpens, I was impressed. Of course, so were the Cards batters who knocked in a couple more including a homer off of him. Meh…at that point – who cared? It was a novelty little league game being played at a big league park.

So, the Astros lost this series to the Cards, but that just evened the season series up since the Astros took the last one. There are a couple more meetings of these two teams while they’re in the same division….should be fun. I doubt we’ll see Bogie pitch in any of those games though!

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.

Happy First Workout of Spring Training Day, Astros fans! The long, cold, dark winter is over. And now, there is baseball.

What better way to kick off this first day of Spring Training than to hear from the skipper? Last weekend during FanFest I was given the chance to chat with Brad Mills about this coming season and hear his take on what direction this 2012 team is taking.

The day I sat with 5 other Astros bloggers in the media room with Mills, the CAREavan had just ended so it seemed fitting to ask Mills about what this year’s experience with fans was like for him.

“it’s always good to get out with fans. The difference this year is that it was so late and close to Spring Training and it seems like maybe it’s allowed them time to get the want for the season to get started.”  For a city that watched a tough year of baseball, that’s a win.

The big question in the room was what Mills is looking forward to the most this season. “We’ve got a lot of talent…with the guys that are going to compete. We’re bringing 61 guys to camp (it’s now 63) and those guys are going to have to battle through things.”

Battle indeed. With just about every starting spot on the field available, this will be the first time that Mills, as a Manager, won’t have set people in set positions walking into camp. As fans, we’ll get to see what Millsie can do this year in terms of placing the right guy in the right position. It’s a scenario we haven’t seen yet and I am excited to see what the skipper has in mind.

He’s given us a taste already by sharing that Johnson, Downs, and Wallace will all take some reps at both first and third, but what that means for a starting position will remain to be seem. This Spring Training may just be the most exciting one in years.

Mills will take a calculated approach to who goes where. He has plans in place to go over video of the younger players, the data available will be utilized to evaluate them along with all of the hard work they put in while in Kissimmee from now through the end of March. There’s definitely a lot of talent and information to wade through and Mills conveys nothing but excitement to have a chance to build the starting team though the process.

So what is success for Brad Mills in 2012? He makes no excuses for the rough 2011 season and takes a lot of the blame on his own shoulders, deserved or not. “It’s my job to get the coaching staff to bring the guys together to play and we want to play the best brand of baseball we can whether it’s fundamentally sound, whether it’s developing each of their skills and putting them in situations to succeed.”

“We’re hoping the memory [of the losses last season], it’s a situation that can bring us together and bring out the type of players they are. Now put that together with the talent we have.”  Mills recognizes the pressure that is on him. At the same time, the smile on his face when he’s asked about the young kids shows that he’s looking forward to watching them as much as the rest of us.

I walked away from that interview room with more respect for Brad Mills than ever before. He’s got a plan. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. So today’s the starting line. It’s a long way to the finish line in September, but there’s confidence in the organization that the Skipper steering the boat is well equipped and the right one to lead this ball club back up the stream to success. No one’s saying it will be this year, but the process is definitely underway. Play ball!

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.

Shall we discuss the Brett Wallace taking a turn at 3rd base thing? I suppose I wouldn’t be your friendly neighborhood Astros blogger if I just let it go without comment. I mean, every other site, traditional media or blog, took it on immediately yesterday. I needed time to marinate on it.

To begin with, let’s talk about what we already have available at third. There’s Chris Johnson. CJ had a tremendous rookie season in 2010 with a .303 BA / .337 OBP / .481 SLG / .881 OPS. Be still my heart, I liked that OPS from a rookie. And then 2011 came.

Last season CJ struggled with his hitting line dropping to .251 / .291 / .378 / .670. Not only was his bat just mediocre, but he struggled defensively, ultimately landing him down to AAA. It’s not uncommon to see a sophomore slump in the Majors and perhaps a trip back to minors was just the inspiration that the 27 year old needed.

CJ seems to be of a mindset to arrive in Kissimmee ready to do battle. He’s tweeting about workouts, tweeting excitement about the upcoming Spring Training and interacting with fans. I think the spark we all saw in Chris Johnson, the rookie, has been reignited.

And then there’s the kid. When CJ headed to OKC last season that corner spot was filled with one Jimmy Paredes. The 23 year old put on a good showing last year for the second half. Paredes is a tough one for me to talk about since he was part of the package the Astros received from the Yankees in exchange for Lance Berkman. I was poised to not like him.

The problem is…he came up, played well and I DO like him. He isn’t a power hitter, per se, but a hitting line of .286 / .320 / .393 / .713 wasn’t too shabby for a guy who jumped from AA Corpus to the big club all in one swoop. I think Paredes has a future and a big one in the majors, but I also think he needs some more development time. To crown him the everyday third baseman is a bit premature in my eyes.

Then there’s Matt Downs, the current Prince of infield utility for Houston. I think they’d rather float him around than give him a starting spot so I expect him to be a nice bat off the bench for 2012 as well as being a mentor to the young guys.

So that brings us back to Brett Wallace and Brad Mills’ comments yesterday about giving him some time at third base. When I heard it, I took it to mean that the club would give him a go a few times during Spring Training and perhaps play him at third from time to time come the 2012 season if at all. Wallace used to be a third base guy, but with his size, it’s really not a good fit.

What B-Dub could be perfect for is the club’s 2013 DH. Yep, I said it. the dirty word. The thing is, he’s built for it. The problem is, he hasn’t figured out yet how to harness the power in those massive thighs and use them to drive balls into the seats. With only 5 homers in 2011 and a .339 SLG he’s got work to do.

Wallace absolutely has potential to be a big power hitter, he just has to figure out what adjustments it will take to get him hitting that way regularly. Remember the home run last season that was the longest hit by an Astro at MMP who isn’t named Lance Berkman? That doozy was a B Dub special. I’d like to see him start clocking those on a regular basis. What do you think, Brett? Can you and Barnett cozy up and work on that for me.

Yes, the Astros will give Wallace some time at third base, but I think the focus for him will be on fine tuning that stance and swing to get more balls out into fans hands.

Of course, a lot can change in the sunshine of Kissimmee, Florida and every spot is up for grabs, but for now, my money ‘s on Chris Johnson for the 3B starting job.

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.

I’ve been revisiting some great moments in what was a less-than-exciting Houston Astros season in the past couple of days and it is amazing the great plays we so easily forget. When October comes around and your team is done playing baseball, it’s as if our minds just want to hit a “reset” button.

There is no reset button for the Astros 2011 106 loss season and some players might actually be glad for it. In that category you may well find Brett Wallace. Although Brett bounced between the majors and the minors and struggled at the plate at times this past season, he had one at bat that makes my favorites list.

In a home game against the Colorado Rockies on September 24th, Wallace hit a 448 foot home run in the second inning off Rockies’ pitcher, Jason Hammel. The home run was the fourth longest home run hit by an Astro at Minute Maid Park, but it was the longest hit by an Astro who wasn’t Lance Berkman (his 2003 shot off of Jeremi Gonzalez of Tampa Bay that went 464 feet is still the longest).

It was a BIG way to snap a 0-28 hitting streak. This was one game on which Brett Wallace wouldn’t want to hit reset.

Click the photo to watch the video.

Brett Wallace kills a hitless streak...and a ball.

I can’t post this without mentioning that in the Budweiser patio that night, Astros Sr. Director of Digital Media, Alyson Footer, was hosting a Social Media Night (plus it was her birthday), so the patio was packed with die-hard fans and one of them got that ball. Congratulations Jessica on the catch!

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.

I really should NOT be trusted to have photoshop on my computer!

Dear Santa, I mean, Mr. Luhnow,

I figure since you’re brand spanking new to the Houston Astros organization and you have not yet had the privilege of meeting me, I should give you a little help as to what would make a perfect gift for me this Christmas.

I mean, I AM on the nice list, right? I don’t see how I could be anywhere else. I spent the whole summer this year cheering for the worst team in baseball. I am, after all, a forever-Astros-fan.

Here it is, the things that top my list for the coming baseball season.

1)  I would really, really, really like to have a roster that is free of at least ONE of the four big contracts. That means Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Carlos Lee or Brandon Lyon would have to go. Although my preference would be to say adios to Carlos, I know that you’d have to still pay his whole salary and then what’s the point? So maybe you could shop Brett and Wandy a bit more?

2)  Could you please tell the ticketing people how ridiculous it is to ask me to spend the same amount on season tickets this year? I sat through a LOT of bad baseball last year and I am certain I will again this year, but why should I pay full price and “johnny-come-lately” fans who aren’t there all the time get the 1/2 off deals all season long?

3)  I know you told us the other night during your fireside chat with fans that you’d leave managing decisions up to Brad Mills, but can you get to the bottom of the whole sitting-Brett-Wallace-against-lefties business? How will anyone know what he can do against a Major League southpaw unless someone lets him hit against one a few times? I mean, it wasn’t like him striking out a few extra times was going to keep the Astros from the World Series last season; it was the perfect trial and error year.

4)  Can you get me a Stella Artois on the Club Level, please.

5)  As you build this team, can you consider character? I mean, I know the ability to play good baseball has to come first, but it’s sure nice when the team is full of guys that a city full of kids can look up to. Plus, our kids are going to grow up with these guys given the ages they are!

6)  Keep talking to us. The fact that you had that chat the other night online was excellent. For a group of fans who have felt very disenfranchised, ignored, pushed aside and to some extent betrayed, you reaching out and being willing to answer our questions (to the extent that you can on some) and listen is incredibly comforting. It makes me feel like you’re not sneaking around behind my back changing my team into something I won’t like. It makes me feel like you’re proud of the path you have planned. Please keep talking to us.

7)  Please stand by your belief to build from the bottom up and to build for the future and not simply patch the team to “get by” for a year. I want the weeone to have many years of cheering for a contending Houston Astros team, just like I had as a kid. Baseball is a mother/daughter affair in this house and we’d like it to stay that way.

So, there you have it, Jeff…er, I mean, Santa. That’s my Christmas list. I know that you can’t promise everything on my list, but if you could manage a couple, I’ll surely have a very Happy New Year.

I’ll put out the beer and pretzels for you on Christmas Eve and cross my fingers that I get my wish.

Thanks, Santa!

Love,

Terri

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.