As the Astros take on the Washington Nationals this week in D.C., I’ve got to wonder what it will be like for this young crop of players to take on the pitching rotation that currently has a combined ERA of 1.99, by far the best in Major League Baseball. It’s a series that I certainly don’t want to miss a moment of, do you?

The thing about a four game series is that you face all but one of the opposing team’s starting rotation. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but when that rotation includes ERAs of 0.69, 0.90, 1.29, 2.57 and 3.38 I’m not sure there’s anyone that you look forward to hitting against.

Compare those ERAs to the Astros ERAs of 2.38, 3.27, 3.75, 4.15, and 7.20 and you’ll likely guess that this series doesn’t looking like a pitching duel. Nope, not one bit.

But there’s a silver lining to all of this. Houston’s team BA is a bit higher than the Nationals. Could that make the difference? Absolutely. Over on SB Nation Houston today I talked about the problems the Astros are having with hitting when the bases are loaded. That’s a hitting problem that the Astros HAVE to address.

But that scenario aside? The Astros bats have been pretty darn reliable thus far. With a team BA of .255, 5th in the NL, they’ve not been too shabby. Compare that to the Nats who aren’t basement dwellers either, with a .247 that puts them 7th in the NL.

This could very well come down to a series about whose bats are hot and whose aren’t.

A couple of the Houston Astros have had slow starts at the plate this season. Brian Bogusevic who was a rockstar hitter in the second half of 2011 hasn’t quite found his groove yet this season. Jason Castro has struggled at the plate as well after a pretty nice Spring performance. If either of these guys find a way to turn it back on? And if we can see Matt Downs bring back his clutch hitting prowess of the past off the bench? Watch out, because aside from the #9 pitching spot, the Astros lineup could be a serious threat to any pitcher.

Now, I’ve got a few members of the Aerys Writing Staff poking me in the eye over this series. Taunting me with the Astros of the past. Of course I find it interesting when fans of the Phillies or the Cubs are calling the Astros terrible when, if the numbers don’t lie, the Astros have had better to equal starts compared to either of their clubs.

Am I feeing a bit defensive of the Astros as they seemingly walk into the lion’s den against the Nationals? Absolutely. But remember boys and girls, this is baseball and anything is possible. We’ve seen crazier than splitting a series against the Nats. And frankly, I don’t think that’s crazy…I think it’s likely.

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.

The rivalry between the Astros and the Cardinals runs deep. For many years these two teams dominated the NL Central. This season, there’s been no doubt which team has taken the lead as the Astros have struggled. But tonight the ‘Stros seemed to find steam in that old rivalry and pulled off a 10th inning 5-4 win to keep the Cardinals chasing the Braves in the hunt to see postseason play.

Matt Downs, who had another outstanding night at the plate, contributing a 2 run homer in the 4th, said after the game, “There’s more Cardinals fans here than Astro’s fans. It’s good to shut them up.”

Indeed it was good to stun the numbers Cardinals fans. But it was a night of back and forth with St. Louis getting on the board first in the third inning when Matt Holliday singled to send David Freese across the plate.

The Astros countered quickly when Barmes scored on Wandy Rodriguez sacrifice bunt. And then the Astros followed that with Jason Bourgeois doubling to left to send JR Towles home to put them up 2-1 at the end of 3.

The bottom of the fourth would see Downs 2 run homer putting it at 4-2 until in the 5th John Jay scored on a GIDP by Freese. Astros still led 4-2. The scoring went quiet until the top of the eighth when Albert Pujols singled, Matt Holliday walked then stole 2nd base and Lance Berkman came to the plate. He was set to bat left, so onto the mound came Wesley Wright, forcing Berkman to bat right. The switch hitter proved his dominance in Minute Maid Park by doubling to shortstop sending both Pujols and Holliday home. The game was tied at 4.

The next inning was scoreless and sent the game into extras. The top of the 10th saw Adron Chambers line out, Yadier Molina double on a fly to center, Theriot singling, but with Molina being thrown out at 3rd and finally, Theriot was caught stealing second to send the Astros to the plate.

Brian Bogusevic hit a well placed fly to left giving the Astros a lead-off double to start their 10th. Jason Bourgeois with the sac bunt was able to get on base thanks to an error by pitcher, Octavio Dotel, as Bogie advanced to third. The Angel Sanchez gave a walk-off bunt to seal the game 5-4.

Oh what a night! The excitement off a walk-off (the Astros’ 8th of the season), the ability to make the postseason a bit further away for an old rival, and a win to guarantee no sweep in their last home stand were all highlights.

On a pitching note: Mark Melancon pitched two amazing innings in the 8th and 9th despite knowing his wife was being induced at 10:30pm local time. He headed off to the hospital as soon as his 9th was over. We wish him and his wife, Mary Catherine all the best for a healthy and happy baby.

What a great night of baseball. Does anyone remember a last week of the regular season that was quite this exciting???

One final note – If you go back one post, you’ll see that Drayton McLane thinks Astros fans have no objection to moving the team to the AL and how you can contact him and let him know what you think about taking the Astros out of the NL.

With a comeback against the Reds tonight, the Houston Astros find themselves 53-100 with 9 games left to play in the season. Can they hit 60? It’s the mark I thought early on that they could reach and although it’s still possible, is it likely? Probably not, but I’ll still hope.

Tonight saw David Carpenter get his first Major League win, it saw Matt Downs (2-3 with 1 HR and 1 walk) start in right field and come up with a big clutch hit in the eighth when he homered and lifted the Astros to a 3-2 lead that they hung onto to take the win. It was also a night in which we saw Jimmy Paredes make 2 throwing errors, making fans nervous.

JA Happ was agressive on the mound, as he has been since his return from AAA OKC. He was throwing strong into the strike zone and the result was 6 innings in which he allowed 3 hits, 2 earned runs, had 3 walks, but struck out 9, yep, nine batters. And it’s worth mentioning that two of those strikeouts were Joey Votto.

Stats don’t really seem to matter anymore this season. Each game seems to be more about keeping the loss count down and giving players a chance in different spots around the field. The kids are starting to see the reality of the big leagues. They’re struggling while pitchers have started to figure them out. We’re in an odd place in the season with the rookies no longer really “new” and the veterans still producing

Even though the win-loss record doesn’t really matter for this team anymore, getting wins still matters to those of us who are left watching and to the guys on the field. No one wants to end the season on a loss; not them, not me and not you. Some well timed hits have kept hope alive tonight. There’s no changing the fact that they’ll still be the worst team in baseball in 2012 and there’s no changing that they’ll likely be the only team to cross the 100 loss threshold.

So what is there to look forward to still? These last nine games give this team a chance to hit the 60 win mark. I’ll be watching with my fingers, arms, legs and anything else I can manage crossed.

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.

It was just a week ago that the Astros beat the San Francisco Giants two out of three games in Houston. So when the battle moved to the West coast many assumed the hometown Giants would easily handle the last place ‘Stros in four games. Not so fast. In a series where runs were sparce and pitching was immaculate, the Houston Astros managed to take two of four games, splitting this series, but taking the season series, 4 games to 3.

If there’s anything that fans can be proud of (other than the winning itself) it’s the pitching in this series. We saw a great outing from Henry Sosa on admittedly little rest. We saw JA Happ come back up from AAA OKC and put together one of the best outings we’ve seen from him this season. We saw Brett Myers look like the Brett of late last season. And finally today, we saw Bud Norris pitch against his childhood team with fantastic efficiency and a crazy number of strikes. It was a pitching-palooza for Houston.

Unfortunatly, the Giants pitching was spot on as well, hence the low scoring games and close finishes. Despite the two losses in San Francisco, Houston proved it can hang with the best when they’re playing their best. Not once did this team roll over and give up. Not once did this team look defeated. They battled all the way through.

Today especially, there were surprises for me in the offensive victories. Carlos Lee had more hustle than I’ve come to expect from him as he managed to stretch 2 hits both into doubles – the second resulting in a slide that led to a mild right ankle sprain. He’s not expected to miss any playing time as a result. In addition, in the 10th inning Jason Michaels clocked one into left center for an RBI double that let Houston take the lead 3-2. The Giants would counter back at the bottom of the 10th, but still an outstanding hit from JMike.

There was also help from the offense that I’ve come to expect. Jimmy Paredes (who is one of my favorites of the new kids) was 3-4 scoring 2 of the Astros 4 runs. Jordan Schafer is making himself known on his new team as well, as he went 1-4 today with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 walk. A big day for him, indeed. And Jose Altuve, pinch hitting for Lee, was 1-1 (2B) with a run. That run came on a single from former Giant, Matt Downs, proved to be the game winner.

Interestingly enough, lately I’ve come to expect the new guys, the kids, to be the hotshots in any Houston game. That was not the case today. It was most definitely a team effort. Without Study, Cudly Budly pitching an amazing game, without Lee’s obvious efforts, without Paredes hitting or without Down’s and JMike’s well-placed hits this game would have ended much differently. It was great to see the plays come from all parts of the team.

It’s too little too late in this season, but still, I’m happy to see the Astros come together a bit. Now if only we could see some consistency in the lineup that Brad Mills puts together perhaps we could see this sort of success a bit more often down the stretch. I don’t know about you but for me the “guess the lineup” game is getting old. I understand that the rookies can’t start each and every game, but a little consistency would go a long way to the team getting into a groove. Consider it, Brad, will ya?

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.

Despite a 9th inning rally where they batted around, the Astros fell in game one to Colorado at Coors field tonight. The Astros got plenty of hits, but couldn’t string them together into scores and Brett Myers had some major struggles at the mound combining for a disappointing loss.

The first inning all but shut the door to hope when the Rockies batted around racking up 6 runs against Myers. After a second inning homer by Carlos Gonzalez putting the lead at 7, Myers finally settled in and started pitching more like himself. He then put away 10 of the next 13 batters. Unfortunately, it would be too little too late.

Too little too late was a theme last night. The bats were alive for Houston, out hitting Colorado 15 to 11, but the timing of the those hits didn’t allow them to be as productive as the Rockies’ were. The entire starting lineup, except for new Astro, Jordan Schafer, managed hits and the team would bat the full order in a ninth inning surge that made us all wonder if they could somehow pull this one out.

Brian Bogusevic was a standout at the plate. He was 4-3 with 1 run, 1 RBI and a walk. He was a triple shy of a cycle last night as once again he managed a single, double and home run in the same game. This kid just keeps looking better and better. Between the rocket arm that can throw a strike from right field to the hitting bonanaza he’s been having, it seems there was a gem hiding behind that previous right fielder. Word is Mills is planning on platooning him with Jason Michaels and JB Shuck and I’m not sure I agree with that when he’s this hot. I’d like to see him get starting play time on most days.

As for other batting standouts, no one will be surprised that Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes, and JD Martinez all landed doubles last night as well. And Matt Downs hit an eye-opening 3 run homer in the ninth. 2-9 with runners in scoring position is not the worst they’ve done this season, but it’s not the best either. If these guys can just find a way to make all those hits mean something, they will win more ballgames and possible catch those Baltimore Orioles.

They’ve got two more chance in Colorado to see if they can put it all together. Tonight we’ll see Studly, Cudly, Budly Norris take the mound. His 6-8 record belies his 3.61 ERA. If the Bud we all adore comes out to play tonight and the Astros’ bats are as hot as last night, we stand a chance in this series. Maybe we can catch at least one Rocky Mountain High while in Colorado!

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.

Last night was exactly why I love baseball. When the odds are against you, when your fans have already assumed a loss and left the ballpark, when no one thinks the last place team will come back from trailing 5-2 anything is possible. Brian Bogusevic made Astros fans believe just a wee bit more that this team can be good again.

After Brett Myers struggled early on against the Cubs (7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SOs, 1HR), it didn’t look very promising. Despite excellent bat swinging by Jimmy Paredes (2-4, 1RBI), JB Shuck (2-4, 2R), and Clint Barmes (2-3, 1R) my hopes weren’t high. In fact, the most exciting part of the game through 8 innings was Fox Sports Houston Announcer and former Astros pitcher, Jim Deshaies catching a foul ball in the 2nd, off the bat of Ryan Dempster. It was really not that exciting of a game.

The energy level drastically changed in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the Cubs leading 5-2 and historical “Astros Killer” Carlos Marmol on the mound, Jimmy Paredes lined out to left field. Shuck followed with a single to right field. It was at this point that many Houston fans rolled their eyes at the thought of hope. After all, how many times have the Astros had a chance this season only to watch it fly past?

Then Marmol threw a wild pitch allowing Shuck to head to 2nd and Barmes connected for a line drive to left sending him to 1st. Then Matt Downs, pinch hitting for Quintero walked. The adrenaline was rising at this point. The chat on twitter was feverish as fans could taste hope. The bases were loaded. Up next in the order? Pitcher Aneury Rodriguez.

Now Brad Mills makes some odd decisions from time to time that we all question, but his putting Brian Bogusevic in to pinch hit for the pitcher was what anyone would have done at that point. Then the unthinkable happened to the worst team in baseball. With the count at 2-2 and 1 out on the board, Brian Bogusevic hit only his 2nd home run of his major league career, but the most exciting one so far. A pinch hit walk-off grand slam. Astros win 6-5. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Wow, was all I could think, speak or write. It was quite the moment. It epitomized why I love baseball. One half inning of ball changed the whole game. One batter made all the difference. One ball hit 423 feet and an unexpected team wins. Man, I love this game. Bogie himself said it beautifully on twitter -

Perfectly stated.

Now, I would be remiss not to point out that Aneury Rodriguez got his first major league win last night. And he did it by retiring only 2 pitchers. Congratulations, Aneury, but I think you got upstaged last night and I would guess, you’re probably 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.

In a season that has been littered with blown saves by the Astros bullpen, they finally got to see how the other half lives. With a Carlos Lee double, a Chris Johnson double, a Jason Michaels single, some help from a wild pitch, and a Matt Downs pinch hit homer – the Astros rocketed to a 5-3 win over the Rangers in the ninth inning. It seemed a bit of poetic justice actually, after the Rangers stole a game-long lead in the 11th on Tuesday night.

So there was no sweep in Arlington and for that, Astros fans are thankful. In fact, that win put the ‘Stros at 3-3 for their roadtrip and broke a three game losing streak. It was about time. But it seems every win lately starts the talk of “is this the turnaround?” as Astros fans anticipate the second half comeback the team’s been famous for year after year.

I’ve got news for you. » Continue reading “Wait- Which Bullpen Blew a Save?”

It’s been about eighteen hours since the devastation the Astros experienced in Atlanta yesterday afternoon. I’m still not over it, but I’ve calmed down enough to at least talk about it. Okay, scream about it really. If nothing else came out of that game we learned one thing, this club has problems top to bottom.

I propose that with all areas falling apart that the Houston Astros get back to basics. Perhaps we should all start at page one in Baseball for Dummies? Don’t worry, skipper, there’s a book for you, too- Baseball Coaching for Dummies is also available. Now, I don’t really think these guys are dummies, but I do think it’s time to revisit the basics.

Wandy pitched a beauty yesterday, proving that he’s settling into this season and is becoming a dependable guy to start games. In 8 innings pitched he allowed 5 hits and no runs, walking two. Wandy deserved a win.

A win was not to be, however. Everyone’s been blaming the bullpen, and they have often deserved the blame. You can make an argument that Melancon let the game slip when he was one strike away from ending it and instead took a homer off the bat of McCann. But I think the offense blew the game. » Continue reading “Astros Bookclub? A little light reading.”