I want to scream “I TOLD YOU SO!” really loud from atop of Union Station, but I fear that is a bit premature. What we’ve seen of the Houston Astros is real, there’s a definite improvement in the baseball we’re witnessing at Minute Maid Park this year. I dare say this team is inspiring….hope.

At the pace they’re at now, they’d finish the season 121-41, so I it’s safe to say that the Houston 9 can’t keep THIS up, but I think the type of game we’re seeing….that will stick all season long.

What is it we’ve seen? Reliable starting pitching? Check. Relief pitchers who get the job done? Check. Consistent offense? Check. Solid defense? Check.

Have there been mistakes? Absolutely. The error-fest on Saturday night comes to mind. I think it’s to be expected that this team will see a bit of that from time to time. They are young, after all. They need to learn some lessons still and anyone over the age of 35 knows what that’s like – we learn better through suffering.

After the 2-1 series win against the Rockies I figured the pitching demise would come with the start of J.A. Happ last night. When I glanced at my scorebook during the 5th and realized that Happ hadn’t walked anyone, I could hardly believe it. I apologize to all of you for that, because I mentioned the anomaly to my dad and Happ promptly walked Matt Diaz. I take full responsibility for that one.

But that’s not to say that Happ’s start was solid. The second inning saw 4 consecutive hits resulting in 2 runs before a popup to the infield by Michael Bourn ended the suffering. Beyond that inning, Happ found a way to successfully shut down the Braves offense. With fives strikeouts during his six innings pitched, he got the the job done.

I almost don’t know what to say about this team. There’s little to gripe about which makes me have to rethink the way I write about this team. It’s a dilemma I welcome, however. It’s nice to have a smile on my face leaving the ballpark. It’s nice to wonder what the magic is that has this team of kids and castoffs playing so well.

I’ll take it. So Houston, keep Root! Root! Root! -ing for the Astros and let’s see how long they can keep this up!

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 in St. Louis the Houston Astros didn’t just lose. They did it with flair.

J.A. Happ had another rough start last night as he gave up 7 hits and 6 runs and walked 3 hitters in a mere 4.2 innings. At one point Houston fans had to be a little bit wishful that MLB had a mercy rule as it was painful to watch them get scored on time and time again. It wasn’t just the pitching although that was a major part of it. The outfield missed several defensive plays to contribute to the Cardinals run count.

In typical fashion, the Astros fought back. In fact, they were prolific hitters with 11 hits in the game. The problem offensively was once again their inability to make those hits productive. If this team manages to improve in any one area through the rest of this season, as much as I’d love to see it be the pitching, plating runners would be near the top of my list.

The offense was not without a few standouts as Jose Altuve, who fans on twitter have taken to calling #PocketJesus for his hitting prowess and size, went 3-4 with two doubles and a single. And then in the top of the 8th inning with the bases loaded, Carlos Lee found the elevation his hitting has been missing and sent one over the left field wall for his 16th career grand slam. It was a moment that gave hope to Houston fans, but that hope was dashed shortly thereafter as Clint Barmes grounded into a force out and Jose Altuve was robbed by an outstanding catch by Colby Rasmus. The ninth inning would see no more run production, ending the game with another Houston loss (10-5).

I’ve tried all season long to look at the bright side, celebrate the small achievements of the Astros and keep a positive spin. Last night it was almost impossible to keep my chin up. At one point I thought, “Why don’t we just trade them all!”

The Astros will get three more chances against the Cardinals who are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the lead in the NL Central. I won’t hold my breath and hopefully I can see the silver linings as this series presses on in what has come to feel, for Houston fans, like the longest baseball season known to man.

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.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Rays coming to Houston for a series witht the Astros? Will Ed Wade and Andrew Friedman have an uncomfortable passing in a hallway where Friedman wonders if he’ll be offered Wade’s job come the end of the season, and Wade wonders if he’s looking at his successor? Wow, I wish I could see that happen. *awkward*

The second thing that comes to mind? Epic battle of the JuiceBox teams. I wonder if leaving Tropicana Field to play at Minute Maid Park makes the Rays feel more comfortable or  like they’re cheating on their home juice? I’m hoping they feel out of sorts. I’d bet the Astros are too, but that’s pretty unlikely given that the Rays have got to be one of the most underappreciated teams in baseball.

The Rays are 41-34 (.547) and only 3.5 games back from the Red Sox in the AL East right now. They’re in striking distance and certainly have a lot more to lose in Houston than the hometown team. So who will we see and what do we expect over the next three days?

Friday, 7:05pm CDT

James Shields (7-4, 2.40 ERA) takes the mound versus Wandy Rodriguez (5-3, 2.88 ERA). Wandy is HOT right now. He hasn’t allwoed a run in the last twelve innings he’s pitched since his return from the DL, so he a force to be reckoned with right now. Seven consecutive quality starts ain’t too shabby. Shields is coming off a complete game that resulted in W so he’s nothing to sneeze at right now either. This should be an exciting battle of pitching. In addition, the Astros will welcome Hunter Pence back into the lineup which should bolster the hitting that we saw two nights ago in Arlington.

Saturday, 6:05pm CDT » Continue reading “Battle of the JuiceBox Teams”

I went to Minute Maid Park Thursday night full of hope. The Astros had pulled a win out of thin air against the Cardinals the night before led by the great pitching efforts of Bud Norris and I suddenly believed in miracles.

I thought Happ would pitch well. I thought the Astros would finally find a way to score on some of those numerous hits they keep getting. I thought Carlos Lee would hit into the Crawford Boxes. I thought they could win the series. I thought wrong.

It wasn’t all miserable. I had a helmet sundae. I was there with a friend who, despite being a Brit who was raised on rugby, has become a huge baseball fan. I had great seats, so there’s that. Oh, I was supposed to be talking about the game though, wasn’t I?

The upside of the game was Hunter Pence, once again. First, it has to be said that Hunter’s got some scruff going on his face. I don’t know if it’s a superstitious thing or if it will be around for much longer, but…wow…I hope so!

Hunter’s hot, and this time I mean at the plate. With two hits last night he extended his streak to a career-high 20 games. Within those 20 games he’s had multiple hits in 10. The boy is on fire with a batting average of .315. If we could get one or two more guys going like this, the Astros just might have some decent offense!

So while the Astros lost 9-2, I had a great time with a friend, laughed a lot, saw a few nice homers (that hurt us), had a chili cheese dog and a helmet sundae, and just enjoyed a night at the ballpark.

Meanwhile, the Astros will welcome back Brandon Lyon from the DL tonight as they take on the Braves at Minute Maid Park. In addition, Robinson Cancel has been sent back to AAA OKC and Carlos Corporan, who has missed most of this season with a broken finger, is being brought up to hopefully take some pressure off J.R. Towles, who’s been taking a beating behind the plate of late. Game time tonight is 7:05pm. Go out to MMP and have a helmet sundae for me.

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.

Friday night the Astros fell apart against the Diamondbacks leaving hope-filled fans devastated. Losing a 6 run lead was a painful thing to watch and losing that 7-6 crushing. Follow that with a painful beating where the fans had no hope from almost the very start. Saturday night’s final score? Diamondbacks 11 and Astros 3. Yep, painful.

Is Sunday the day that the Houston Astros find a little balance? After going out Friday night with guns blazing they fell apart. On Saturday they were stagnant until a too-little-too-late rally in the ninth. I’m hoping that today is the day they figure out that slow and steady wins the race. Pitch like we know you can, hit consistently, stop ground balls when they come right to you, make good throws, run the bases aggressively, and please-oh-please could someone hit a long ball? » Continue reading “Astros Sunday – Is this the day?”

Last night in Houston, the Astros let one slip away that shoulda, woulda, coulda been theirs. Lead by J.A. Happ at the mound the Astros fell to the Dodgers 5-4. That puts Houston 18-31 on the season- the second lowest winning percentage in the majors. So what was Good, what was Bad and what was Ugly?

The Good

Despite getting a loss, J.A. Happ was able to take his ERA from 5.30 to 4.99 with only 3 hits and 1 earned run. Unfortunately, the Jerry Sands homerun in the third gave the Dodgers a 5-0 lead that they would never lose. In addition the Astros bullpen threw four great innings allowing 3 hits but no runs. The bullpen has been pitching well in the past several games, allowing only 1 earned run in 19 innings and I hope that’s a trend that sticks.

» Continue reading “Astros: The Good, The Bad, The Painful”

*whispers*

Shhhhhh….there is no game as superstitious as baseball. That doesn’t just go for the players, but the fans as well. I might be a wee bit guilty of that myself. Because of my superstitious nature, I’m a little afraid to post this today. You see, since my last post on Friday, the Astros have gone 3-1. In case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s a whole lot better than the four games prior in which they had no wins.

Do I really think they won because I didn’t come chat with you guys? Nope. Am I scared that you’re all going to blame me now if they don’t beat the Dodgers again tonight? Yep.

I really think that perhaps a bit of Interleague Play might have been just what the doctor ordered for the Astros. Perhaps they needed to get away from division rivalries and thinking about standings in regard to the teams they were facing. After all, sports is half physical talent and half a mind game, right? They managed to win their series with the Bluejays in their first trip to Toronto and now they’re off to a great start against the LA Dodgers.

So who’s impressing me right now? » Continue reading “Shhhhh….Because I’m Superstitious and the Astros Won a Few”