I woke up this morning wondering if it was all a dream. I mean, no one expected the Houston Astros to win against the Texas Rangers on Opening Night in baseball. I’d hoped for it though.

In case you hadn’t been paying attention to those morons, they’ve been whining about the Astros damaging “the integrity of the game” by slashing payroll, not to mention their repeated posts about Alex Rodriguez making more while injured and sitting on his rear than the entire Houston Astros payroll.  I think they can all shut it now.

The Astros strutted into the AL West last night. They did it with home runs, triples, impressive pitching and the attitude that no matter what the media says about them, they can beat anyone. And beat anyone, they did, as they took down the Texas Rangers 8-2.

The win was the franchise’s 4,000th. I was disappointed when that win didn’t come against the Cardinals at the end of last season, but I see now that the 4,000th win had bigger and brighter things to accomplish – it needed a National spotlight. That win needed to show that no matter what league Bud Selig decided to put the Astros into, they could still produce hits, runs and wins.

In the first at bat by a Houston Astros in the American League, Jose Altuve started things off right with a first-pitch single to left field. but Justin Maxwell owned the  night in many ways, making some great catches in center (one that probably wasn’t  catch at all), but coupled with his 2 triples – one driving the first 2 runs of the night home-, and his two runs secured his place as a leader on this young team. Interestingly, the other guy who stood out? Rick Ankiel who came off the bench to blast a pinch-hit, 3 run homer in his very first at bat as an Astro. The last guy to homer in his first club at bat? Yep, Justin Maxwell.

The offense was outstanding, but without good defensive pitching it means nothing. Hats off to Bud Norris who pitched 5 2/3 innings – 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 5K – 3.18. He struggled in the 6th inning, collecting  3 hits, 2 runs and a walk in that 2/3 of an inning alone. Before the 6th, Norris looked solid and used his slider to his advantage.

But behind Norris, Erik Bedard was ready close out the game. Since Bedard isn’t scheduled to start a game until Saturday, the Astros chose to use him in relief. It was a masterful decision as he pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 2. Bedard earned the save and Norris the win. A nice night of pitching from the Astros.

It would be easy to remind everyone that currently, the Astros lead the American League, but there are still 161 games of baseball to play. Last night showed, however, that anything is possible with this young club. These guys are walking – no running since Bo won’t let them walk – with a fire in their bellies. Bo Porter has ingrained in them that being a champion is a construction project, and that each day you’ve got to show up, put in the work on the project or the champion never gets built.

I don’t expect the Houston Astros to be champions this year…but it’s nice to see the progress on that construction site.

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 when new Astro Francisco “Coco” Cordero blew his first save opportunity with the Astros against the Reds, I thought to myself, “Self, he’s adjusting to a new team, cut him some slack.” Tonight when he blew his SECOND save opportunity, I was not so nice. In fact, I’m pretty sure I dropped a multitude of f-bombs while shaking certain fingers in his general direction.

After an impressive start by Studly Cuddly Budly Norris (7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1ER, 1 BB and 7 SO) I was optimistic that the Astros bats could maybe eek out a win.

Optimism in Houston is for fools.

There were other jewels in the night – Jose Altuve went 3-4 and scored a run, Scott Moore was 1-3 with a run and an RBI, J.D. Martinez’s shoulder seems better as he was 2-4 with a run and an RBI – so it wasn’t all depressing….just the ending.

In the top of the ninth, leading 3-2 all the Astros needed was for Coco to get three guys out. But in what seemed like a replay of last night, Drew Stubbs put the kibosh on the win when he doubled on a fly ball to center to send  Xavier Paul and Brandon Phillips home. Jay Bruce would then single off Fernando Abad when Coco got benched and that would be the ballgame….because the Astros didn’t quite have the firepower in the bottom of the ninth.

Blown Save. Again. Shit.

I don’t have high expectations for this ball club. I haven’t since the start of the season. I know what’s going on and the focus isn’t and shouldn’t be the major league club. It’s rebuilding time and that HAS to happen from the bottom up. BUT COME ON! The mistakes these “major league players” are making are little league.

I wish Lou Brown was the GM…he’d make these guys drop and give him 10 every time they screwed up. The games would be like 7 hours long, but perhaps the players would learn a lesson.

Hey Coco…drop and give me 20…you owe us for two nights. And Brad Mills, the next save opportunity that the Astros have, if we see Coco come out to the bump…you can blow me.

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 the Houston Astros arrived in San Diego late Sunday night from San Francisco, they were 9-35 on the road. That record was haunting them, greeting them in every new city, laughing silently as they continued to fall.

San Diego fans were not kind to the Astros last night during the first game of the series as “Astros suck!” was screamed on numerous occasions, sometimes by the 7 year old kid sitting next to me. But the gods of baseball were kind to the visiting team. They decided last night was the night to end the suffering and torment so they blessed J. A. Happ with the pitching of his past and donned Jose Altuve the prince of the run.

And with steady and reliable pitching from Happ, two runs from Altuve, both courtesy of the bat of Scott Moore, and the short ninth inning from Brett Myers, the Astros held on 2-0 to end their road losing streak giving them that long-awaited tenth road victory.

It could have just been time, it could have been who they were playing, but I choose to believe that it was because the weeone and I were in Petco Park that the Astros won. Of course, we’ll be at Tuesday and Wednesday’s games here in sunny California as well as Friday and Saturday’s in Phoenix…so we’ll see if we’re the real good luck charm or not.

Regardless of why they won, I hope they walked away last night reminded of what it feels like to win on the road, of what it feels like to not hang your head in shame. And I pray to the gods of baseball that they find a way to keep feeling THAT.

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 begged for the bleeding to stop the other day and with a win against the Brewers last night, the Astros have ended their 9 game losing streak. But will the winning thing stick? I don’t think it’s likely for a lot of reasons.

In my house we’ve been joking that the Astros losing streak was because the weeone was at camp, but truth be told, I think the win yesterday had less to do with my daughter’s return and more to do with the insanity of the first inning and the ejection of Zack Greinke. I’m sure you’ve heard the tale or seen the footage by now, but when Greinke and Jose Altuve raced to first, and Altuve was called safe, Greinke spiked the ball in the dirt and was ejected.

I am certain that ejection was responsible for breaking the Astros losing streak.

Now, I’ll give credit where credit is due – the Astros offense was better yesterday than it’s been in a while. They put up 13 hits and attacked the bases full on, giving themselves every possible opportunity to get across home plate  and we hadn’t seen that in a while. Jordan Schafer was 2-4, Altuve 3-4, JD Martinez 3-4, Jed Lowrie 2-4 and Scott Moore hit his 3rd homer in 8 games. The bats were definitely alive. Add to that the 2 stolen bases – one each from Schafer and Altuve and the 2 sac flies from Jason Castro, and you’ve got an offense. Wandy Rodriguez put up another solid starting performance, allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 in the 5.1 innings he spent on the bump.

But can the bandaid hold? With today’s series finale against the Brewers being the last game before the break for the All-Star Game, I’ve got to wonder if the turn in the tide yesterday was enough momentum to carry over to a second game? Add to that concern the fact that the Brewers will send Zack Greinke back to the mound today since he only threw 4 pitches yesterday. They’re trying to showcase him before the trade deadline and there was a decent crowd of scouts at Minute Maid Park yesterday who saw much less Greinke than they expected.

I applaud the Astros for taking advantage of yesterday’s events and riding the momentum they were handed in the first inning, but good baseball teams create their own momentum and that’s something this young club hasn’t figured out quite yet. So how long will the bandaid hold? Hopefully at least another 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.

Jed Lowrie's been spending a nice amount of time on base for the Astros.

I love when the Cubs come to Minute Maid Park. There’s a few things that I adore about it. First, the Cubs fans come out in droves. Generally that annoys me at a game, but this year in particular, the opportunity to watch Cubs fans cry at MMP is more than I can resist smiling at. Yep, I know, I’m a bit evil.

But the Cubs are the “Astros of last season” sitting in the bottom of the NL Central standings and that’s just a whole lot of fun for an Astros fan, right? Admit it…you love it too.

The match-ups for this series aren’t too shabby either. The timing in the starting rotations means we’ll see some fun baseball. But when push comes to shove, I expect the Astros to take 2 of these 3 games and really in my heart of hearts I think they should sweep this team of baby bears.

JA Happ’s coming in with momentum after his last start, the same for Cudly Studly Budly Norris and Wandy Rodriguez has to want to come out and prove that the hit parade by the Rangers last Friday was a fluke and he’s still the pitcher we all know he is. After all, at home, Wandy’s ERA is a very impressive 1.52. Come on, Wandy, we know you want to kick some ass this week.

Jordan Schafer will still be sitting out and isn’t expected to play on Monday thanks to that lower leg strain, but Jose Altuve once again proved Sunday he can hit in any spot you stick him and did a fine job as the leadoff hitter. If Schafer was missed anywhere it was in centerfield where Justin Maxwell isn’t quite as quick (or used to Tal’s hill) defensively. That should only affect Monday and possibly Tuesday.

But on the other hand….let me tell ya’ story ’bout a man named Jed…yep, that SS is finding a nice groove at the plate (.273/.354/.461) and I look for him to continue to hit well and make the plays down the middle.

In the meantime, I’ll be waiting on JD Martinez to lose the “lost” look he’s been sporting at the plate and find his swing again. And I’ll be waiting for Brian Bogusevic to fix the little things that seem to be keeping him off-balance from time to time at the plate as well. If the Astros can get those two kicking it old school, I think the Astros will continue to be the scrappy little brother who just won’t give 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 I walked into Minute Maid Park to watch the first of three games between the Astros and the Cardinals excited, but nervous. There’s the deep seated rivalry that makes me yearn for a win when the red birds are the opposing team, but there was also the great desire for this Astros team to earn a little respect.

Prior to first pitch, I said to my friends sitting with me, “If we can just get through this game without embarrassing ourselves against Lohse on the mound, I’ll consider it a success.”

Turns out, even I was selling this Astros team a bit short.

In a  game full of ups and downs, home runs and errors, Jose Altuve stood out as the leader and superstar. Many will say that he won the game with his game saving double play. Many a second baseman would have just caught that ball, but not Altuve. He let it drop. Yes, let it. By letting that ball hit the ground he set up and executed the double play that set up Brett Myers to get one strike out to finish off their long time rivals.

The Astros won 5-4 and I screamed like I haven’t screamed at an Astros game in year.

Today Bud Norris takes the mound in an attempt to lead this club to their second series win in a row and a most meaningful series win against this long time rival. The Astros keep proving they have all the pieces they need to get it done, including a very intuitive infielder named Jose Altuve.

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.

With all 63 guys having reported to camp -it’s a full house in Kissimmee. The Pitchers have live hitters to throw to and the guys are all working on getting game ready for the start of the Spring Training Schedule.

Astros fan Carole Oetke Townsend has been in Florida this past week and was kind enough to share some photos. Take a look at what fun the guys are having! (and thanks, Carole!)

General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, takes in the bullpen action. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Pitching Coach, Doug Brocail, and Brett Myers watch Jordan Lyles throw a bullpen. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Throwing bullpens. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

George Springer, one of the few pairs of short pants in ST. The Astros need more short pants. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Bud Norris doing sliding drills....glad they kept those hands full. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Wilton Lopez doesn't want to do the sliding drill. Hang in there Wilton, in 2013 there will be no reason. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Yes, there really is that big of a height difference! Jose Altuve chats up Jason Castro. Photo courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Look who's come to Kissimmee! Carlos Lee takes a few swings before facing live balls. Photo Courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

Burt Hooten, AAA Pitching coach, watches Lyles take on a group of hitters. Photo Courtesy of Carole Oetke Townsend

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.

Apparently if Jim Deshaies was in charge of what the Houston Astros were known as, they’d be the Houston Screaming Yellow Parakeets. I like it.

Last week’s online chat was with Astros broadcaster, Jim Deshaies. JD, as always, brought his opinion and the funny. In case you didn’t get to participate, here’s what Brownie’s sidekick had to say.

Bill Brown "Brownie" and Jim Deshaies "JD" - In my opinion, the best the on-air team in Major League Baseball.

johnny14k: A lot of fans are concerned about a possible name change; where do you stand?

Jim Deshaies: Hi, everybody, hope all is well. Fire away! As for the name change, I like Astros, but if forced to change, how about Screaming Yellow Parakeets?

As I collect and share these favorite Houston Astros moments of the 2011 season, there’s no denying that a great deal of the excitement around baseball this year came from a crop of kids that saw the Majors long before anyone expected.

When Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, JD Martinez, Jordan Lyles and the gang (The J’s) all arrived at Minute Maid Park, there was a definite buzz in the air. But what was in the air on Saturday, August 20th was a little different.

In the very first inning against the San Francisco Giants, Jose Altuve not only hit his first big league homer, but he made it a memorable one by doing it while keeping that ball in the park. In a hit that quite likely would have been a triple, Altuve ran through the stop sign at third to give us all a little show that night.

The Astros would go on to win, 7-5, over the Giants, but Altuve’s in-the-park home run was without a doubt the highlight of the game.

To watch the video, click the photo below.

I was sitting with my mother, the weeone and a family friend at Minute Maid Park when Altuve hit this one. Excitement is not a strong enough word.

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.

Yep, that's 100 baseballs: One for everyone Astros loss so far this season.

100 Losses.

I’m not even sure what to say. In what had to be the most boring baseball game in the history of the sport, the Houston Astros lost their 100th game of the season to the Chicago Cubs. That’s all I’ve got.

Oh, wait, that’s not true. We have a winner in the “Guess the Date” contest for 100 Losses! Andrew guessed it would be today. His comment back on August 2nd was -

It is going to be on September 17th, against those !@*&# Cubs. Soriano will hit a home run.

Well, Soriano didn’t hit a homer, but LaHair did. Even with that, you got the date right. Congratulations, Andrew! Email me at agirlinthesouth (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize.

Meanwhile, I’ll be over here wondering how much better it will be in 2012. I’m not hopeful for much, but it sure would be nice to at least win 60 games. And I wasn’t kidding about the tshirts – #Astros2013 – I’ll keep you posted about how to order yours!

I guess we can talk about this game a little. Henry Sosa was on the mound for Houston and once the first inning was behind him and he settled down, he actually pitched pretty well. In 6 innings he allowed 4 hits and 2 earned runs, walking 5 (4 in that 1st inning), and striking out 5. Unfortunately those 2 runs would be all the Cubs needed to win it 2-1.

The Astros biggest problem? Leaving runners on bags. With runners in scoring position they were 0-13. This has been a problem all season long. The Astros can’t figure out how to get productive hits when it really counts. It’s incredibly frustrating as a fan. When the bases get loaded or there are runners on the corners and only 1 or even no outs, but then nothing comes of it, it’s the biggest let down there is. So the fact that in the top of the ninth with bases loaded and 1 out, Altuve and Quintero couldn’t get it done pretty much sums up the season in clutch hitting.

This is something that, no matter who plays on the Astros team next season, Brad Mills has got to get a handle on. If there’s no clutch hitting, there’s also no winning. Regardless of whether your roster is all veterans or all rookies or something somewhere in the middle, if you can’t knock guys in, your season will be long and painful. Sound familiar? Yep.

And with that…have a great Saturday. I’m going to go watch some NCAA football now and try to cheer up!

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.