The Houston Astros are poised to have a pretty horrible season. I have no reason to believe that the team, as it sits now, will win more than 60 games this year. Is that me being pretty negative? Maybe, but I think it’s me being pretty realistic. I’d love to say that the rebuild efforts were further along than that, but they’re not.

The good news is that the minor leagues look good. They’ve jumped in the rankings from the very bottom of the pack (30) to being a top 10 minor league system in a very short time. And we all know that to have a successful ball club, a minor league system jam-packed with talent is essential. So Jeff Luhnow’s plan seems to be moving forward and, dare I say, working.

In the meantime, those of us who mainly follow the big league team suffer a bit. So how will the Houston Astros keep our attention this year? Is a new Manager in Bo Porter enough? Is watching Jose Altuve enough? Is Carlos Pena enough? Nope. None of those things will get fans to put their butts in seats.

I’ve wondered if the dismal failure that is the spread of Comcast Sports Net would encourage attendance to games. “You can’t see it on tv, so see it live!” But at a dinner this weekend 2 out of 4 fans said they’d change cable providers to insure their ability to watch Houston baseball. For the record, I have AT&T Uverse and will not be switching. I”ll find another way and there’s always radio.

But if you’ve been following the announcements coming out of Minute Maid Park recently, you know that everything old is new again…and I don’t just mean the logo. The team’s recruiting former players for roles in the organization. Is this an attempt to draw us back? If a favorite of mine is working for the team, will I come to more games?

Who’s on the menu so far, you ask. We all know that Craig Biggio already has a role as a special assistant to the GM and I can only see his role increasing over time. Roger Clemens will be working with the pitching staff. He’ll be hands on starting at Spring Training and will likely spend the majority of his time working with minor leaguers.

Alan Ashby, who played with the Astros throughout the 1980′s as a catcher is back as a tv* guy. And Geoff Blum will join the television broadcast team and is expected to cover about 60 or so games to fill in when Bill Brown isn’t on air.

Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett will return to the club in roles in the minor leagues. Ensberg will be a development specialist assigned to Class A Lancaster and Everett will be an infield instructor and will work with both the minor league teams and the major league club. Both of these guys were on the 2005 Astros World Series team.

So, is this a gimicky parade of boys from the past to get our attention, or are these legit hires? I’d argue that they are both. Every one of these guys is definitely qualified to do the job they’ve been hired to do and in some cases, Clemens in particular, I don’t think there’s anyone who could do it better. Adam Everett was a fantastic defensive player and we all know that the Astros could use some serious help in that regard – if you don’t know what I’m talking about – go watch THIS VIDEO. (By the way, Bo Porter gets a shoutout in that video as the Nats 3B coach).

I salute the Astros for reaching out to former players who have the talent to help coach the young staff. I think it’s a good move. And in a year where good moves are needed to appease fans who are angry about all the bad moves (Jim DeShaies, Dave Raymond, Brett Dolan – good talent lost needlessly). Will this be enough to get former fans to come back and buy tickets? Nah. It’s not enough. But it’s an interesting move and one I’ll be following to see how these new coaches pan out.

None of these guys will be in high profile positions and fans aren’t going to see them, hear about them, etc throughout the season, but there is a little flicker of something – dare I say “hope” – that players who played in Houston’s glory days are coming home to play a role in returning the team to the days of old.

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.

*Edited – my first draft went out before I had caffeine and I stated that Alan Ashby would be joining the radio team. That was incorrect. He will be joining the television team.

A note from Terri: if you sit near Greis at a game, you will know at all times who her favorite Astro is and where he is on the field, in the dugout and in the lineup. And if you let her near your daughter, she will convince your daughter to join in. But never fear, she’s no cleat-chasing fangirl….this chick knows good baseball. Consider yourselves warned! 

Recently, while talking to a friend about something sports related, he said, “Wow, you really do know your sports!”. My initial thought was “Do you know nothing about me at all?”, because obviously, and then I died a little because HELL YEAH I DO!! I was raised right, yo!

I’m a sports fanatic. I take pride in my sports love. It’s one of those pieces of me that will never change, but don’t worry, we can still be friends if you don’t like sports. However, I can’t date you if you’re a fan of the Baby Bears, the Red Birds or that NY team…I do have standards.

When it comes to my favorite teams (Astros, Texans, Longhorns)  I’m as loyal a fan as you’ll ever meet. I root for them in the best of times and I’m still there cheering in the worst of times. I live in Houston, let’s be honest, there have been a LOT of bad sports times here.

My first true (sports) love is baseball. I haven’t missed an opening day in over 20 years and most seasons I make it to more than 60% of the home games (there are 81 total). Minute Maid Park is one of my “happy places”. It’s where I feel most content and stress-free, unless the Astros are in play-off contention and then I’m a big ball of nerves. I go watch the game and forget about life for a few hours. It truly is one of the few things that makes me really happy!

As a fan you become connected to the players. You grab hold of one or two that you deem your “favorite” and you hope that he sticks around for a very long time. Sometimes your favorite will stick around forever (Craig Biggio) and other times (Lance Berkman) you’ll find yourself crying in the middle of Target (true story) as the news that he’s been traded makes its way to you.

The Astros are in a re-building stage right now. They are a “young” team, of relatively unknown players, that is still trying to find its groove. They’ve been a whole lot of fun to watch, just one month into the season, already exceeding a lot of people’s really low expectations for them. At the start of the season, last month, I was content to not have a “favorite” player. I was ready to take on all the new faces and cheer for them all equally.

My root for everyone equally mindset lasted all of one week, because that’s when I found my new “favorite” player, or as I like to call him on Twitter, #MyBaseballBoyfriend. His name is Travis Buck and I think I may have a slight obsession with him now. I was immediately drawn to his smile and his good looks, but as I’ve watched him play more intently I’ve fallen in love with Travis Buck the baseball player.

Travis is not just a pretty face. As a pinch hitter off the bench he’s contributed his fair share this season, hitting .714 in those 7 PH at bats. His overall BA is a respectable .297 and he’s a reliable outfielder whenever anyone needs a day off.

And then this happened…

and I fell in LOVE with him even more.

I’ve met a lot of ball players in my 33 years. Only a few have made me nervous. Travis can now be added to that list. You can’t tell from the picture but I felt like a giddy 13 year-old, racing heart and shaky hands included. I can only assume it’s the same way I’ll fee, times 100, if/when I ever meet Justin Timberlake.

Mark my words, Travis Buck will be a household name in Houston by seasons end, and I just hope that he always remembers the fan who loved him FIRST!

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 professes her undying love for Travis Buck (#MyBaseballBoyfriend), Justin Timberlake and all things sparkly!

At 1 o’clock central this afternoon the Baseball Hall of Fame Class will be announced. There will likely be only one in that class, Barry Larkin. But that is a true shame. Jeff Bagwell deserves it.

There are those that think he’ll get in next year when long time friend and teammate Craig Biggio is HOF-eligible and 2 Astros appear on the ballot. That’s likely, but it makes me a bit sad. When you have a career like the one shown in the numbers below, you deserve your own day in the sun.

All of those hits with THAT stance? Definitely HOF-worthy!

Jeff Bagwell….in numbers -

Years in the league – 15
At Bats – 7797
Runs – 1517
Hits – 2314
HR – 449
RBIs – 1529
SB – 202
BA – .297
OBP – .408
SLG – 540
OPS – .948

Yep….that’s a Hall of Fame-worthy career.

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.

We’re only 5 days into 2012 so I figured it was time to kick off this year’s series of Houston Astros: You Asked, I Answered. The questions that I’ll be answering were sent to me via Facebook, Twitter and Email. You are always welcome to ask, I’ll answer just about anything. Ready? Here we go -

1. Who is the Ace this year and what’s the rotation going to look like?  Thanks for starting me off with an easy one. I’ve said for a long time that Bud Norris is the guy this team should build around when it comes to pitching and last night on Astroline GM, Jeff Luhnow, said he agreed with me. Okay, he didn’t so much say he agreed with me as much as he said he thought Studly Cuddly Budly was a key to the future of the club as well. Can we call him an ace yet? Probably not, but I don’t think he’s far from developing into one.

As for the rest of the rotation? Well, as long as Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez are getting fat checks from the Astros I expect they’ll be #1 and #2 in the rotation. Hopefully JA Happ gets his mojo back. As for that 5th spot, I think Spring Training will decide it. But I will say this very unpopular belief. I want Jordan Lyles in AAA this season. I don’t think he was ready yet, despite his impressive maturity. I want him to cook in the minors just a wee bit longer.

2. Will Jeff Bagwell get into the Hall of Fame this year?  This is the question of the week, for certain. Although I fully expect to see the number of votes for Bagwell to significantly improve this year, I am doubtful that he will get the 75% required to put him into the HOF. The guys over at Astros County have been tracking ballots made public and it’s not looking good.

Here’s the deal: Bags deserves to get in- his numbers tell us that. Voters seem to think because he was muscular and a power hitter and played in the 90′s he must have been doing steroids, despite the lack of accusation or proof. It’s one of those “guilty by association” type things. Hogwash is what it is. Bagwell put up HOF numbers. If you think there isn’t anyone already in the HOF who didn’t use some sort of performance enhancer, you’re nuts.

Short answer – Bags won’t get in this year, but I think the third time’s the charm and he’ll see the Hall with Craig Biggio next year when both are on the ballot.

3. What did you get for Christmas? As far as Astros type things? I got a pair of Astros pajama pants. I also got a panini maker and wine glasses. Astros + food + booze = idyllic Christmas.

4. Who has a breakout year for the Astros? Bogusevic, J.D, Altuve, Carpenter, Paredes? Any of those four are possibilities, but my money’s on Brian Bogusevic. Not only did he have a great year when he got his shot with the big club, but go take a look at his Winter Ball numbers. The boy’s got game. In 120 at bats in the Dominican he hit 4 home runs while posting a .317 BA, .446 OBP, .500 SLG and a holy-moly-worthy .946 OPS. I’m betting the sophomore slump is busy killing someone else’s mojo. Yes, Bogie…I’m watching you.

Keep in mind this is still a massive change for the Astros. Historically, the team hasn’t relied on data to a large degree. I’m pretty sure Ed Wade’s office didn’t even HAVE a computer in it and I’m still not convinced he knows sabermetrics exists. So, utilizing the data that’s available along WITH old school scouting reports should go along way to helping form a more complete picture of both the big league club as well as the farm system.

With that in mind, Luhnow made a couple of hires this week to head the team in this new direction. From the Astros Press Release:

 The Astros have hired Sig Mejdal as Director of Decision Sciences and Stephanie Wilka as Coordinator of Amateur Scouting, General Manager Jeff Luhnow announced today.

Mejdal, 46, had worked with the St. Louis Cardinals since 2005, most recently as Director, Amateur Draft Analytics. While with the Cardinals, he was involved with modeling, analysis and data-driven decision making throughout all levels of the organization and was a key contributor in the draft decision processes that led to more Major League players than any other organization during that time frame.

Mejdal earned two engineering degrees at the University of California at Davis and later completed advanced degrees in Operations Research and Cognitive Psychology/Human Factors. He has also worked at Lockheed Martin in California and for NASA. Mejdal has been active in baseball statistics and analytics since earning his membership in The Society for Baseball Research (SABR) while in grade school.

Wilka has previously worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. She earned a degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law and passed the California Bar Exam in July of 2011. Wilka also earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University in 2005.

6. Are you pro-muppet?  If we’re talking custom made muppets from FAO Schwartz that are fabricated to look like Drayton and Tal and can be found somewhere in the Bullpen boxes chatting it up and making fun of players people during games ala Statler & Waldorf from the Muppet Show of my childhood? Then yes. I am definitely pro-muppet.

7. Have you gotten over the move to the AL or are you still mad?  Define “gotten over.” I’m adjusting. I have one more season to get used to the idea. I think more than anything the change is intimidating to me. I have to shift the way I think and let’s just say I don’t care for change. I’ll survive, and so will you. At the end of it all, I’m an Astros fan, not a National League fan.

8. Who’s the closer?  Brandon Lyon, who else would it be?

9. Will the Astros lose 100 games again in 2012?  Probably. I predicted last year that the Astros would win 60 games, so what the heck kind of predictor am I? I think there will be a lot of losses and they may well go up over 100 again. In fact, I’ll just say that yes, they’ll lose 100 games. The silver lining in that? There are mechanisms in place and processes in the works to make sure that our suffering as fans now results in long term success and happiness later.

Thanks for playing!

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.

Seriously? I swear he never looks any older!

I’ll take any reason you give me to spend a little time talking about Craig Biggio.

He was the first Houston Astros player the weeone claimed as her “favorite,” he provided countless hours of entertainment on the baseball field, he was and continues to be a role model for the entire Houston community, he is a dad who puts his kids first, he holds more records with the Astros than I’m willing to post and will hopefully be rewarded one day with a spot in Cooperstown.

Happy 46th Birthday, #7!

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.

Last night as the Astros lost to the Nationals, I was watching from home. My daughter, the weeone, was sitting with me for the first few innings. She doesn’t always like to watch a game on television as she’s spoiled a bit to live baseball, but with Jordan Lyles pitching (and really well at that), she couldn’t resist. He’s quickly won her heart since he was brought up from OKC.

As the game went on we talked a little about the struggles of the Astros this season. Granted, my analytical baseball discussion with a nine year old was bit top line, but it made me realize something. I think the city of Houston needs to start looking at the Astros through the eyes of a child.

Children have a blind loyalty to the things they love. They easily forgive a friend who has wronged them, a parent who has disciplined them, a teacher who has awarded them a less than stellar grade. They also apply that loyalty to the sports teams and players they adore. It stands to reason that a child raised by me would be an Astros fan, but you might be surprised at the ferocity with which she stands by this team. I’m pretty sure that Hunter Pence will own her heart for the whole of his career no matter what he does on the field. She still talks about Craig Biggio as if he were the first man to walk on the moon.

The Weeone introduces a good friend to her first love, the Astros, earlier this season.

Wins are celebrated by kids and losses taken and tossed away by the next morning. So to my daughter, the Astros are her Astros regardless of how many games they lose this season. She’s asked when they’ll start winning more games and at that moment I thought it might be easier if she’d asked me to explain sex. I’ve tried my best to convey how a failing farm system makes a major league team weak and the only thing that strengthens it all in the end is time and good decision making by owners, GMs and Managers. She completely understands that, so why don’t the rest of the fans in Houston?

Maybe we all need to take a trip down memory lane, remember what it felt like to love a team because it was the one you were raised with or because there was a player you identified with or because it was the team representing your city. It always feels better to win, I don’t deny that. But it also feels good to be loyal and watch a team rise from the ashes.

The Astros are in the ashes this season and I, for one, am excited to see what happens over the next two to three years. With a change in ownership we will certainly also see changes in other aspects of the leadership of this team. With the approach of the trade deadline we will certainly see changes in the players we cheer for each game. With the state of the current team we will certainly see improvement in the coming years.

So, Houston, can well all just look at the Astros through the eyes of a child for now? Can we lend them a little blind loyalty and love and hang on to the hope that one day our beloved boys from Houston will give us more to cheer than to jeer? I won’t stop questioning what decisions are made, but I also won’t stop cheering. I’m apparently not much older than my nine year old daughter and I’m okay with that.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the Senior Houston Astros Writer 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.

This hasn’t been a fun year at the plate for Carlos Lee (.229 BA, 20 RBIs, 3 HR). He’s been slow to get moving toward any sort of power hitting so I started wondering if the magic of Friday the 13th could be the date that turns the tide for El Caballo and the Astros organization.

You know what I found? On April 13, 2007…a Friday…Carlos Lee hit three-yes 3, that’s tres – home runs in one game. Is tonight the night he gets his hitting mojo back? During that 2007 game in Philadelphia, Roy Oswalt struggled early to put the Phillies up 3-0 at the end of the first inning. But Lee hit a solo homer off Brett Myers (of all pitchers) into right field to put the Astros on the board 3-1.

In the second inning Brad Ausmus started the inning strong with a double followed by an Oswalt strike out. Craig Biggio came up and grounded out, but moved Ausmus to second base. Myers walked both Morgan Ensberg and Lance Berkman loading the bases. El Caballo walked to the plate and nailed one to centerfield off Myers again for a Grand Slam to put the Astros up 5-3.

By the ninth inning the Astros still clung to an 8-6 lead and had 2 outs and no one on base when Carlos Lee hit his third home run of the game – a nice shot to center off reliever Ryan Madson. The Astros won that game 9-6 and Carlos went 3-5 with 6 RBIs. It was quite a game for the man in left field.

Not only was that Friday the 13th in 2007 good for Carlos Lee, but Craig Biggio moved up to eighth place on the all-time doubles list that night, and Roy Oswalt got the 100th win of his career. I’d say that Friday the 13th has some freaky good luck for this team.

Some people think that Friday the 13th is bad luck and fear it. I think for Carlos Lee and the Houston Astros, Friday the 13th could be the right amount of freaky good luck they’ve been waiting for this season. We’ll see if I’m right tonight as they welcome the NY Mets to Minute Maid Park and Studly-Cudly-Budly Norris (2-2, 3.16 ERA) faces Dillon Gee (2-0, 3.80 ERA). There won’t be a hockey mask in sight.

What do you believe about the Friday the 13th? Evil day filled with bad luck? Just another day? All things are possible?

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.