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.

5. Will the new General Manager be ALL NUMBERS?  You ask that as if it would be a bad thing! No, I don’t think Jeff Luhnow will be all numbers and according to Jeff himself he’ll use a blend of the old methods and the new methods. But yes, the front office is definitely upping the nerd quotient.

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.

When you look back at the Houston Astros 2011 season, there are many things that come to mind. I think about the lost chances, the bad baseball, the crazy number of rookies, the fan-crushing trades, but the one continuous thread throughout the 2011 season was the will they / won’t they roller coaster about Jim Crane & Co. being approved as the new owners of the ball club.

The first time we were told officially of the sale was back in May when Drayton McLane had a press conference to announce he’d made a deal with Crane and his group of investors. Bud Selig didn’t want that press conference to happen.

Little did we know that day that the approval of Crane would hinge not on his professional and personal history, but his willingness to give Selig what he’d long wanted: an even number of teams in each league. And so the waiting game and the guessing game and the game of political power matches had to be played out and an agreement to move the Houston Astros to the AL West in 2013 had to happen before the MLB owners would unanimously vote to approve Crane.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but with Crane as the new owner came the chance to really begin rebuilding and the hope of future for the Houston Astros. It didn’t take Crane long to put his stamp on things as he removed both President Tal Smith and GM Ed Wade from the organization.

It’s only fitting then that in the favorite moments of the Astros season that this be included. I know it didn’t happen until the season was long over for this team, but it was the culmination of a year of what ifs and hopefully gives my favorite baseball team a rebirth.

Click the photo to watch the video of Crane’s press conference.

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.

And it’s all official. After a unanimous 30-0 vote by the MLB owners, Jim Crane has been approved as the new owner of the Houston Astros. Bud Selig announced it this morning as well as confirming that they will move to the American League for the 2013 season.

Selig also laid out plans for another WC with the additional playoff being a one game round. The additional WC teams will be set in place for 2012.

I know a lot of people are hurt and angry about the way this all went down, myself included. It felt like Selig was a 5th grade bully picking on a scrawny Kindergartner. I suppose this was a wake up call reminder that baseball is indeed a business.

Now that it’s done, let’s get back to the important things in HTX baseball- strong draft picks, reinforcing the minors, making smart decisions in the majors and putting smiles on the faces of Astros fans again.

We have 93 days until Spring Training. Throw your fit, cry your tears, throw something, get over it. In 93 days we’re back to supporting our boys of summer.

Terri Schlather (AGirlintheSouth) is the tortured 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 ridiculous ramblings on sports, vodka and the weeone on twitter @agirlinthesouth.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. As I run into and chat with other Houston Astros fans, the most common question has been, “Now what?” After setting a franchise record for games lost (106) and spending a season wondering if new ownership would or would not happen, fans are still left in limbo.

The discussion of whether the move to the American League will happen and should happen has pretty much been hashed out. If you’re going to have an opinion or argument on it, you already do. By the way, it’s never to late to contact Bud Selig and Drayton McLane and tell them what you think. While you’re at it, flood Jim Crane’s office with faxes. ;D

And so now we all sit and wait. We wait for the mid-November owner’s meeting. We wait for the winter meetings and free agency hoopla to begin. We wait to see who is invited to Spring Training. We wait to see if we have a chance in hell of having anything to look forward to in 2012.

That’s a lot of waiting. So, how are you killing the time? I’ve been learning about hockey. I’m watching the World Series. What are you doing?

Here’s the deal, whether you think Jim Crane should or should not be approved by Major League Baseball is really beside the point. The fact of the matter is that as long as the Houston Astros organization is in limbo, they’re screwed. They’re stuck in this alternate universe where nothing good can happen.

You see, Drayton McLane doesn’t want to own a baseball team anymore. He was never a baseball guy from the beginning so really it’s surprising he was ever an owner. Jim Crane desperately wants to own a baseball team. He keeps trying, after all. He’s a baseball guy. He even played college ball. That was before he allegedly did a little war profiteering and instituted discriminatory hiring practices at his company. Frankly, I don’t even care about any of that anymore. Even if it were true (and I have NO idea if it is, but I’d guess no on the war profiteering and maybe on the rest), I just want someone at the helm.

The Astros are in the worst shape they’ve been in for years – 106 loss record, a farm system that, although improving, is still in disarray, a 40 man roster that has a gargantuan number of rookies, a 5 man starting lineup with like 2 or maybe 3 starters, rumors swirling about negating 50 years of NL history and moving the team to the AL. It’s a mess. The worst part about the mess is that it feels as if no one is cleaning it up. Why is that? MLB hasn’t made  announced a decision about approving Jim Crane as a new owner or not. Uncle Drayton doesn’t want to make decisions because it may not be his team for long and Jim Crane can’t make decisions for a team he may not ever own, so that leaves the fans of Houston in a bit of a quandary, doesn’t it?

Tell us, Ed Wade, who’s giving you your orders right now? Inquiring minds want to know.

At this point the fans just want it decided, as I’d venture to guess McLane and Crane do as well. We need this settled so this team has a chance to really rebuild, to really think about the future, to really get back on track BEFORE Spring Training.

Jim Crane’s contract to buy the Astros is only good through November 30th and I have a feeling if there’s not an answer from the MLB owners by then that this deal is done. And that’s sad for Uncle Drayton because there’s no way he’ll get $680 million out of anyone else for this team now, not after that season, not with the rumors of a very expensive move to the AL. And so he’ll be stuck with a team he doesn’t want to own, much less spend money rebuilding.

And so here we sit, with a team in ruins while the MLB owners dawdle, essentially screwing the Houston Astros. Thanks, guys, really.

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.

Apparently Drayton McLane doesn’t spend a lot of time chatting with fans at Minute Maid Park. He doesn’t think there’s much opposition to the idea of moving the club from the National League to the American League.

Excuse me, Mr. McLane? We think the idea stinks.

In an article by Greg Lucas on Fox Sports Houston he discusses a conversation with McLane in which the Astros owner states he’s only received a handful of letters about the potential move of the team.

So, here’s your chance fans – let’s get the word to Drayton, Bud and anyone else who will listen. Let your voice be heard. Tell them what 50 years of National League tradition means to you. Tell them what will change for your in your fandom of the Houston Astros.

They may or may not take our words to heart. We may or may not influence the big machine that has its sights set on moving this team, but I know when all is said and done I don’t want to sit back and think there was something else I could have done.

You can email Drayton by clicking HERE.
Or you can contact him through the mail.
Mailing Address:
Drayton McLane, Owner
Houston Astros
501 Crawford St.
Houston, TX 77002
Phone Number:
713-259-8000

You can contact Bud Selig through the following:
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner
245 Park Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10167
Phone: 212-931-7800
Fax: 212-949-5654

It will only take a few minutes to have your voice heard. If Drayton and Bud truly believe we’re all just fine and dandy with the move, there’s no reason for them to think twice. Let’s give them a reason.

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.

When it was announced yesterday that there would be a Press Conference today at Minute Maid Park there wasn’t really any doubt what it would be about. Drayton McLane is selling the Astros. We’ve all known this was coming as there’s been lots of speculation over buyer and price for weeks and weeks now. McLane confirmed last week that Houstonian, Jim Crane was the head of the only group that he was negotiating with and that all that remained of the the process was the “dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s”.

So this afternoon at 2pm at Minute Maid Park Drayton McLane, Jr. took the podium to announce the deal. He called it “one of the single most important days in this franchise.” Jim Crane and a small group of investors are the Owners-in-Waiting of the Houston Astros. Reportedly for a whopping $680 million the group has purchased the team as well as McLane’s stake in the new Astros/Rockets Network expected on Comcast in 2012.

McLane spoke about how owning the Astros has changed his life. “It’s been a privilege and an honor…” He was incredibly complimentary of the incoming ownership as he introduced Jim Crane assuring everyone that Mr. Crane “knows a whole lot more about baseball today than I knew in 1992.” That statement received a well deserved round of laughter as it’s no secret that McLane came into his ownership without a ‘love of the game’ or a whole lot of knowledge about it.

Crane thanked McLane for his years of service that included the building of Minute Maid Park as well as taking the Houston Astros to their first and only World Series. When talking about how he will move forward, Crane spoke of how baseball had a big impact on him. “It’s taught me confidence, taught me discipline, taught me to work hard, and to be a team player. I will use all those lessons moving forward with the Astros.” He was quick to acknowledge that he wouldn’t be taking over this team without the partners that are a part of his group as well.

What might be the most important thing with a team that’s struggling, then came Crane’s message to fans. “First and foremost, the Astros fans come first. You are the customer. Our team will work hard to deliver a superior product and a great experience for the fans. I believe in running a first class franchise. And everything we will do will be built around building a championship team.”

Crane went on to call this opportunity to own the Houston Astros a “dream come true” stating that today is “a great day for me and my family.”

This is all quite exciting and change usually is, but don’t get too excited yet because even once the deal is inked it’s going to take another 30 to 60 days for the club to actually change hands. McLane stated today that he thought the deal would “sail right through.” Jim Crane still needs the official nod from the MLB Owners. I don’t think that will be a problem because, frankly, if they were going to have an issue with him I don’t think the deal would have made it this far along.

So now that we have an official “deal” what do we know about Jim Crane? Well, to me, the biggest thing in his favor is that he is a baseball guy. Imagine that? An Astros owner who is not just a fan of the game, but played college baseball once upon a time. In fact, Mr. Crane still holds the school record for strikeouts in a game (18) at University of Central Missouri. Those college baseball roots ran deep and have stuck with him over the years. This is his third attempt at buying a professional baseball team.

Mr. Crane got a quick taste of what it’s going to be like as owner as he was inundated today by questions regarding what his first priority would be (getting the deal through MLB was his answer) and how much cash he and the group plan to infuse into the organization over the next eighteen months (he joked that his pockets were now empty) and if he would find a way to keep ticket prices reasonable for fans (he hasn’t delved into ticket prices but assures everyone he wants to make it affordable).

So what do I think? I think we’ll see what’s he’s really like once he takes over but a couple of things he said today make me hopeful and happy. He talked about being smart, hiring people who know what they’re doing, letting them do that job and holding them accountable for doing their job well. He also talked about being aggressive with the draft and building a future for the club starts there. These words are music to an Astros fan’s ears right now. He sounded like he would be relatively hands-off and with rumors that he’s already planned a hire for CEO that seems likely. His history in previous businesses would tell us that he’ll keep his word on this.

I think I might like him.

I’ll reserve full judgement until we see him in action, but I think this is a change that could be truly invigorating for the Houston Astros and I look forward to seeing how it all plays out. How about you? What do you think about this deal and the new owner-in-waiting?

There’s a lot of hype about today. In case you’ve been without digital communication for the past 24 hours, there’s a big news afoot in Houston. Today a formal press conference is being held to announce that Drayton McLane is selling the Astros to a group led by Houston businessman Jim Crane. My question is, does today really matter?

If you’re on twitter, do a quick search on #Astros and more than half of the posts you’ll see today will be excitement about the announcement. Where have these people been? It’s Jim Crane. It’s always been Jim Crane. McLane told us last week it was Jim Crane and that they were just dotting i’s and crossing t’s. So why all the excitement?

When you’re an Astros fan I suppose you find every reason you can to cheer. Saturday afternoon when Carlos Lee got his 2000th career hit, I cheered. Yesterday when Clint Barmes got his first home run of the season, I cheered. When my waiter brought me my chili cheese dog at the game yesterday, I cheered. What can I say, desperate times and all…

So I supposed it’s exciting that there’s a press conference today. I’ll try to get myself worked up about it, but it’s not going to be easy. It’s not that I’m not glad the Astros are getting new ownership. In fact, I’m thrilled that the face of that ownership has a baseball background and truly loves the game. That puts him a step above the current owner from the start. I just don’t have the false hope that the team changing hands will change anything this season. It’s going to take time for the change of hands to really occur and then there won’t be much season left anyway. So although I’ll smile when the deal is done, I’ll save my cheering for when they start making real and impactful changes.

What do you think about Jim Crane and what do you think his first change will be? Should Ed Wade be looking for a new job?

This morning someone asked me, “Can the Astros be fixed?” It’s a good question. The club is going on a handful of years of less than stellar performance, so it stands to reason that some repairs and renovations are needed and I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone. But can it be done? I think it can. Will it happen soon? I don’t think so.

Why do I think the Astros can be fixed? There are several reasons.

#1 -The farm system has been struggling in recent years and although it’s not in tip-top shape as of right now, there are indicators that things are moving in the right direction. If you look just at AAA OKC, you’ll find a few pretty decent players. Jordon Lyles is the guy that’s gotten the most press and he definitely has big league potential. There’s one heck of an arm on the RHP and he’s been performing rather well in OKC (with the exception of yesterday’s rather rocky start). As April ended he was 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA with 19 Ks and 6 BBs in five starts. He threw 13 consecutive scoreless in innings in just two of those starts and he leads the club in innings pitched. Then there’s Koby Clemens. Koby’s .284 BA, 5 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI in 20 games in April are nothing to sneeze at. He leads the Redhawks in homeruns and RBIs while playing mostly at 1B this season. Then there’s Carlos Corporan who has managed to throw out 7 of 12 attempted basestealers and has only had 1 error in 17 games that he’s caught this year. So there’s some talent up the road in Oklahoma. And if you know anything about minor league ball it’s that talent in the farm system is imperative if you want your big league club to improve. So although there needs to be more money siphoned into the draft budget and it still needs building, the farm system is improving. This is a great indicator that the Astros can and will improve with time.

#2 – Brad Mills and Ed Wade are not afraid of making changes and making them quickly. We’ve seen it all season as he keeps tweaking the lineup, the starting rotation and the bullpen. For example, Angel Sanchez is still getting playing time even with the return of Clint Barmes because Sanchez earned it while Barmes was on the DL. Also, despite Mills’ hopes that Nelson Figueroa would improve on last year’s reliever stats when moved to the starting rotation, he didn’t and Mills didn’t hesitate to move him back to the bullpen. After a couple of poor showings as relief, the team designated Figgy for assignment yesterday and is bringing up Sergio Escalona to fill his void. Escalona will join Abad as the only other lefty in the bullpen. The bullpen will, I’m certain, see more changes in the near future as it’s been a major downfall in recent weeks. At least 8 games have been lost specifically because of the failed efforts of relief and closing pitchers. This is an area that needs major renovation and fortunately is an area that is relatively easy to change on the fly during the regular season, so there’s potential improvement that can come from the bullpen.

#3 – Completion of the sale of the team is reportedly imminent. According to KTRK, the ABC Houston affiliate, all that’s left for Drayton McLane and Jim Crane to do in order to finalize a deal that will result in the Astros selling for an estimated $680 million is to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Bear in mind that even when that part’s over, the MLB owners will have to approve Crane, and the word on the street is that it won’t necessarily be smooth sailing. We can anticipate a couple more months with McLane at the helm. But, a sale is still on the horizon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – with a new owner will probably come big changes. Will we see those this season? It’s not likely as I expect he’ll get some input from Ed Wade as far as any acquisitions Wade’s wanted but hasn’t had budget approval for, so we’ll likely see a small amount of movement in the 2011 season, but I think if Crane’s in place before the draft we could see aggressive spends in that department. It won’t result in overnight wins, but will effect the longterm health of the club.

So be patient Astros fans. The team will get there. It won’t be this season and it may not be next season either, but there’s change a-coming. The Astros can, and hopefully will be fixed.

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.

Some days I feel like all I do is complain about the Astros. I suppose I’m entitled since they’re off to a rough start this season (12-17) and odds are it will be a long season for those of us who still consider ourselves fans. So, it seems that while they finally managed their first series win against the Brewers and with last night’s 10-4 win v. the Reds they have a 3 game win streak going, it’s a good time to reflect on what we, as fans, can cheer about this season.

#1 – You get your pick of seats at Minute Maid Park this year and there are great deals to be had. Since the club is struggling, there are great ticket deals being waved in fans faces, ie All You Can Eat Tickets, $2 Powerade Tickets, Price Matters Days and the like. I don’t remember there ever being a better season to get deals good enough to take the whole family to enjoy the National Pasttime. And no matter how badly the Astros are doing, no one can question that MMP is a beautiful ballpark to spend an afternoon or evening with your family. Nothing is more fun to me than spending a day with the weeone teaching her about a sport I love. She’s come to love it too and has formed her own opinions. There’s nothing quite like your nine year old telling you what she thinks Brad Mills needs to tweak in the lineup for a professional baseball team to have success. Those are the fun moments as a parent.

#2 – Brett Wallace. Seriously, did anyone expect him to hit the way he’s hitting? During Spring Training he tied for 2nd in the Grapefruit League for RBIs (18) so we got a little taste of what this boy could do, but since 4/7 of this year he’s leading the NL batting .463. He started out batting 6th, then Mills moved him up to 5th and last night while Carlos Lee was still nursing rib contusion from Sunday’s collision with Angel Sanchez, Wallace batted cleanup. Now, many questioned whether such a green player would cave under the pressure there, but Wallace rose to the occasion going 2-5 with 2 runs and his 2nd homer of the season. He’s now on an 11 game hitting streak. I wouldn’t call that caving under the pressure. Now, we’ve seen a month of baseball at this point and the sample size isn’t so small that we can’t start to see trends and although I don’t expect him to keep hitting over .400, I think B-Dub will be quite the spectacle to watch at the plate this season. Kudos to Mills for pushing him up the order.

#3 – The team will likely get a new owner before the All-Star Break. It’s no secret that there’s one bidder for the ‘Stros and it’s Houston’s own Jim Crane. Crane was the guy who tried to buy the Astros once before and then tried to buy the Rangers with Mark Cuban, so he’s a man on a mission. It’s been revealed in recent days that he’s the only one currently in negotiations. I say this is something to cheer about not because Drayton McLane’s a bad guy, but because he wants to sell. A guy who wants to unload a team isn’t going to be as interested in said team. A new owner is going to want to put his mark on the organization and although the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know, in this case, can it get any worse than the situation the club is in right now? Losing team, not a ton of talent in the farm system, no influx of good pitching. Change can sometimes be a good thing, so let’s embrace it.

#4 – Bud Norris. Pitching is not the Astros’ strongpoint, but this guy has great potential and seems to just keep getting better. The 26 year old right handed pitcher has 6 starts this season with a 3.03 ERA which is one of the best in the National League. In his 35.2 innings he’s thrown 43 strikeouts and hitters are only managing a .237 batting average against him. He keeps improving and I think we’ll see some amazing games from him this season. I think this is a guy we’re going to see in an Astros uniform for quite some time to come and I really look forward to it.

#5 – Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence in the outfield and at the plate. All it takes is one game at MMP to discover that these two outfielders are crowd favorites, and for good reason. Michael Bourn is a two-time Gold Glove winner and plays his heart out. He goes hard in the outfield for every ball, climbing Tal’s hill when needed – a feat that should be commended. And he’s not too shabby at the plate. With a .274 BA and 11 stolen bases, he gives fans the excitement they crave at a ballgame. What’s better than a stolen base? It’s just plain fun to see. Pence gives the team the same consistency at the plate (.292) and he leads the club in RBIs with 21. To answer what’s better than a stolen base? Seeing a player run home. Hunter Pence at bat is the Astro’s best chance of that. So whether they’re diving for balls in the outfield or holding a bat, these two guys are a joy to watch.

And if none of that is enough, just remember you can always enjoy the Taco Bell Sauce Packets racing around the infield – Go Fire!!!

***As this is posted, Aneury Rodriguez (who HAS to have the nickname The Aneuryism) has completed his first major league start. Remember when I recommended Mills use him as a starter instead of Figgy? He completed the 5th inning with the Astros  leading 2-0 and he looked pretty darn good. 83 pitches, 5.0 IP, 1 H,0 R, 1BB, 3 SO -4.15 ERA – Keep it up Aneury and you just might be another reason for Astros fans to cheer.

Go ‘Stros!