So a road trip where you lose all 7 games is pretty damn painful. Add that other loss and the Houston Astros now find themselves on an 8 game skid. This completely sucks. The last thing you want as the season rolls into All-Star week is bad juju. And yet, all the Astros can find at the moment, is bad juju.

When the pitching is on, the offense stinks. When the offense is on…wait…the offense hasn’t been on lately.

I really can’t blame anything but a lack of offense for this loss-fest happening right now. I was hoping that the trade of Carlos Lee to the Miami Marlins would be seen as change enough to kickstart the team into doing something. After all, they lost their “power hitter.” Everyone should step it up then, right? Apparently not.

So the Houston Astros will return home tonight with their tails between their legs after being swept by the CUBS, yes, I screamed that, and the Pirates. *sigh* What’s a girl to do?

The bright light in this dismal road trip? A little managing by Brad Mills put a smile on my face. When Jordan Schafer had “behavioral issues” on the field during the 2nd inning of game 3 against the Pirates, Mills benched him. He didn’t like what Schafer was doing out there in center field and despite the fact that the move shorted the bench, he did it anyway. Bravo, Brad. I like this style of management. Reward performance, and bench the guys that aren’t following the plan.

Mills did put Schafer back in the game last night to pinch hit, but Schafer struck out (which would stop happening if he would change his walk-up music from “Call Me Maybe” and yes, I know they don’t get their music on the road, but the carryover affect of that song seems particularly lethal).

So the Houston nine play at home tonight, in rainbow should jerseys. Can they stop the bleeding? Damn, I hope so.

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.

Most of the city has tuned out on the Astros this season. They are still licking their wounds from 2011 and weren’t ready to put their full heart into the team this year. Well, if you are part of that group, it’s time to tune in. While you weren’t paying attention, the Astros have gotten themselves off to a decent start.

I think what I love about Houston baseball so far this season is that it’s been impossible to predict what these Astros will do. One day I have them pegged as completely unable to hit for power and then the next….well, they’re out homering the Mets 5-0 to sweep a series. At least we can’t say they’re boring!

When 2012 kicked off its season, I said the Astros wouldn’t be dead last in the NL Central. I felt certain that the Cubs or maybe the Pirates would implode and the little team that could from H-town would sail past them.

I was wrong.

I know it’s only May 3rd, but that “little team that could?” They’re now tied for 3rd in the NL Central behind only the Cardinals and the Reds. Who would’ve guessed? I suppose Jeff Luhnow. He said early on that he thought this ball club had enough talent to win a decent amount of ball games. Looks like the hashtag #inluhnowwetrust will become a regular on twitter.

It’s only May, but this group of guys is demanding the city pay attention. The Astros, 25 games in to a 162 game season are 11-14 and seem to be gaining ground.

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 other Aerys Sports MLB writers and I decided to share the “3 things” we thought fans within the division should know /care about / consider regarding opposing team. I gave them my thoughts on the Astros and below you’ll find what they think you should keep your eye on in the rest of the NL Central.

Cherish it, this is the last time we look at these teams at the start of season while the Astros are with them in the National League.

St. Louis Cardinals, Christine Coleman – Aaron Miles Fastball
1: It seems trite already since the question’s been asked so many times, but it really is No. 1: how will the World Champions fare without Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan?
2: How will Mike Matheny handle his first-ever managing job?
3: With Chris Carpenter, Allen Craig and Skip Schumaker starting the season on the DL and with several players with long injury histories, how will health affect the 2012 Cardinals?

Chicago Cubs, Julie DiCaro – A League of Her Own
1. Will this team lose 100 games?
2. Will Brett Jackson and Anthony Rizzo be left to rot in the minors all season? Or will they be called up ro the big club sooner rather than later?
3. How long will Matt Garza and Geo Soto be on this team? Are they part of the rebuilding process? Or merely chips to be traded to bring in more prospects?

Cincinnati Reds, Tara Franey – C-ing Red
1: “The Win Sometime ” approach. This offseason, GM Walt Jocketty made a lot of proactive, arguably aggressive moves, aimed at making real improvements. While the Madson injury and extensions for Joey Votto and Sean Marshall temper the previous “win now” message of this club, it seems clear that Jocketty’s not keen on waiting around when problems present themselves. This could lead to a quick trigger on personnel issues this summer, but the long term Votto deal probably means no fire sale even if the team struggles in the first half.
2. “Pitching wins championships”. The addition of Mat Latos was costly, but adding a number two starter without a 10 million dollar salary is always good, and for this team, it’s essential. The Reds scored plenty of runs last season, and gave up a bunch, too. Maybe we need better luck, or more clutch-hitting, but we’re going to answer a lot of our prayers simply by improving the pitching. A little regression to the mean by Bronson Arroyo, a tiny amount of improvement by 26 year old Homer Bailey, and adding Mat Latos could totally change the look of this rotation. Remember, with guys like Votto and Bruce in the lineup, we don’t the creme de la creme of rotations, but we do have to be at least mediocre.
 3. “Revolving Chapmania”. A few years ago, we signed Aroldis Chapman as a flame-throwing lefty starter, which we held to for about three months, before deciding we’d like him in our bullpen. This spring, Chapman was given a chance to start, and was pretty good at it, but was still placed in the bullpen to fill in some injury gaps, but it’s still not clear whether this is a short-term or a mid-term stint. If Bill Bray (left handed reliever) returns to form, will Chapman return to the rotation? Will he go to AAA to get stretched out again? If he starts this season at the MLB level, it’ll be something to watch.

Milwaukee Brewers-
1.  How will the recent steroid “scandal” effect Ryan Braun’s performance and will it have any impact on the team as a whole?
2.  With the loss of Prince Fielder, will the team be able to compete for the division again?
3.  With this being Zack Greinke’s contract year, will he be the pitcher he was from 2009 or will he continue to struggle and will he sign an extension with the Brewers or hit free agency?

Pittsburgh Pirates
1) Pitching: The Pirates’ rotation excelled in the first half of 2011, and cratered in the second half. Will they even out this year? Can AJ Burnett lend a helping hand, once he recovers from breaking his face?
2) Andrew McCutchen: The center fielder finally got a well-deserved All-Star nod last season, and became the eighth Pirate to join the 20-20 club. There’s no reason to believe McCutchen, only 25, can’t repeat his elite performance.
3) The record: Pittsburgh has had 19 straight under-.500 seasons. Last year, they led the division as late as 100 games in before slipping to fourth place. A shiny new starting roster with free agent additions like Clint Barmes and Erik Bedard could finally push them into the black.

Want to know what I said about the Astros?

#1 – The Breakout Star(s): General Manager, Jeff Luhnow, has said it and I will too: with a team comprised of so many young and sophomore/rookie players, someone is going to have a breakout year and it’s going to be oh-so-fun to watch. I’d go so far as to say 2 players will. My money? Brian Bogusevic and JD Martinez.
#2 – Bud Norris: Once the youngun’ in the rotation, Studly Cuddly Budly is now one of the veterans on the mound for the Astros. He had a strong Spring start and has set the goal of going at least 200 innings this season. He’s in excellent shape and could become the Astros next Ace.
#3 – The Rising Phoenix: There’s no doubt that the Astros finished last season in the ashes, but with new ownership, a new team President/CEO, a new General Manager, and a crop of players begging for the chance to prove their ability, this team will begin its rise from the ashes this year. It won’t always be pretty and there will still be plenty of losses, but the difference between 2011 and 2012 is palpable, off the field…and on.

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.

In what has been a quiet offseason for the Houston Astros things are starting to happen. Since Jeff Luhnow came to town several moves have been made to the Htown roster. None of those moves were mega-deals, but each has brought a little something to the table with a side serving of a glimmer of hope.

The latest of these moves is the signing of Zach Duke to a minor league with an invitation to Astros Spring Training in Kissimmee, Florida.

Duke, who is a native Texan, is a left-handed pitcher whose career started off very promising with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, his numbers have climbed where they shouldn’t and have sunk in places you’d rather not see. He has a relatively low walk rate (2.4/9 career) but also a relatively low strike out rate (4.6/9 career). His fastball hovers around 87mph so it isn’t his bread and butter, but rather a changeup and curveball that get him through.

Despite an All-Star appearance in 2009 representing the Pirates, Duke hasn’t had much success in the majors. Last season in 9 starts with the Diamonbacks he put up and 4.93 ERA and went 3-4.  Interesting note: Duke hit his first career homer last season with the Diamondbacks…..against Houston’s own Bud Norris.

I’m not expecting much to come from this trade. Luhnow could have been thinking that this veteran presence and nice guy would make a good clubhouse addition if Wandy were to be gone and they needed another middle to late rotation guy. Spring Training will likely tell the story.

In the meantime, there are rumors flying about former Astro, Roy Oswalt. There’ve been whispers about offers for him from Boston, St. Louis and even Houston. Don’t get all aflutter on this one. Roy is most likely to land in St. Louis.

And finally, congratulations and best wishes to Jeff Luhnow and the soon-to-be Mrs. Luhnow who are getting married today! I love a good wedding…almost as much as a good trade.

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.

It’s funny how the first two favorite moments of the Houston Astros 2011 season came to me so quickly, but then I had to really start thinking about the next few. This one came to me this morning while I was wondering why there wasn’t more interest in Wandy Rodriguez in the current starting pitcher market.

On August 29th against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Wandy had a great night striking out 13 batters to help the Astros win 7-4 (win #45 if you’re wondering). For those of you who are in need of a starting pitcher, remember that on a really bad team without much in the way of run support, Mr. Rodriguez went 11 -11 with a 3.49 ERA, 7.82 K/9 and 1.31 WHIP. The boy’s got game.

Click on the photo to watch Wandy strike out 13 Pirates.

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.

For the second straight day at PNC Park in Pittsburgh the Astros and the Pirates battled in the rain. Yesterday, the Pirates came out on top 3-1, but today roles were reversed as the Astros took the game 4-1…in the rain.

After both teams retired batters 1, 2, 3 in the first, the second inning saw Carlos Lee single to right field and then *gasp* steal second base. Really? What has gotten into Carlos these days? Can we bottle it and make him drink it again before next season? That was his fourth steal this year for those keeping count. So then Brian Bogusevic singled to right getting Carlos to third. Next up? My favorite – Jimmy Paredes, who grounded into a force that found Bogie out at second, but allowed Carlos to score. The Astros were on the board.

Clint Barmes would then strike out, followed by Humberto Quintero doubling on a fly ball to center to send Jimmy home to put the Astros up 2-0 halfway through the second. Brett Myers finished the inning striking out.

The Pirates response? Neil Walker singled, but was caught stealing second base. Why haven’t runners learned that when Q is behind the plate, stealing is not wise? Ryan Doumit hit his 8th homer of the year, this one to right center field. to put the Pirates on the board, 2-1. That would be all the run productiont his game would see from the Bucs.

There was hope for another run for Houston in the top of the seventh when Paredes singled, and Barmes singled sending Paredes to 2nd and Q ground into a force out for Barmes but sending Parendes to 3rd. Myers came up next and managed to reach on a fielder’s choice with Paredes attempting the squeeze play and failing. It was painful to watch!

There would be more runs…and they all came in the 9th. Bogie walked, Jimmy doubled, Barmes struck out, Q singled allowing Bogie and Jimmy to both score. 4-1 Astros. Then it was just wait, play good defense and pray. Mark Melancon came in and got the save, his 17th of the season, preserving Myers 4th win.

I liked Brett Myers tonight, and there haven’t been many games I could say that this season. In his 7.2 innings pitched, he allowed 4 hits, 1 earned run (a home run) and threw 6 strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches in those 7.2 innings and 65 of them were strikes. I like that. Maybe missing a start was his key? Or maybe baby Kace is a good luck charm for him? Coming after him in relief was Wesley Wright. I like this kid. I like him a LOT. Tonight it was one batter and he walked him, but still, I think the kid’s got good stuff.

I’m not complaining about tonight’s win at all, although I thought it was a boring game. Boring games can be good sometimes. I think the 9,000+ people at PNC park tonight were just glad it wasn’t a marathon game. I’m sure they were ready to get out of the rain.

So, my standout of the night? Jimmy Paredes. He was 3-4 with 2 runs, and an RBI. He was pretty much half of the offense tonight. There wasn’t a lot of offense from the Astros in this game, but it was just enough to get the W. Along with Paredes, Barmes and Q contributed a great deal as they each were 2-4 at the plate.

The Astros are now 48-94 on the season and still chasing 100 losses with 20 games left to play.

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.

I am sitting at Minute Maid Park watching game two of the Astros’ series against the now NL Central leaders- the Pittsburgh Pirates. As usual, my mother is sitting next to me and we have been discussing the best way to entertain ourselves here whilst the Astros continue their massive losing streak. So here’s what we’re up to tonight:

1st Inning: since Minute Maid Park has wifi, you can be productive. My mom just downloaded the Skype app to her iPhone and I gave her a little lesson on it. She’s all set for her trip to Barcelona later this Fall. Oh, and they’re playing baseball. There’s no score yet.

2nd Inning: Start reading the backs of people’s tshirts. Tonight’s favorite within my view was worn by Tracey Viehe…pretty nice thought if you’re sitting near an obnoxious Pirates fan.

Carlos Lee just scored so now we’re all getting our hopes up and trying to decide which inning it will be when the Astros implode and blow it. Will it be lack of offense? Bad defense? Bullpen? So many options.

3rd Inning: Do you ever pay attention to the ads on the ribbon boards? Sometimes you just have to wonder about PR people and what they’re thinking. “Do you smell gas in your house?” Um…no. Things just perked up as Michael Bourn singled, but then was caught stealing at 2nd. Angel Sanchez walked and Jeff Keppinger decided tonight was a nice night for home run number 3 to put the Astros up 3-0.

4th Inning: I’ve resorted to rehashing with our neighbors (they sit behind me and have the same game package) how MMP catered to the Red Sox fans while they were in town. This team can’t build a new fan base without respecting the team and what they represent- no matter how poorly they’re playing this season. I hope the Astros organization learned from the fan outrage over that one. The game’s still 3-0 with the Astros leading. Could this possibly be the start of the second-half-of-the-season comeback? I won’t hold my breath, but a girl can dream…

5th Inning: The wave has now made four rotations around Minute Maid Park. Can someone stop the insanity? What is the point of the wave? And can someone make my father stop participating in it? Crap. Neil Walker just hit a dinger over the right field wall. It’s 3-1, Houston. I blame the wave for that Pirates homer.

6th and 7th Inning: I’m sitting here with Patti Smith of Fox Sports Houston- I’m the fan of the game! I have no real clue what happened during that inning other than chatting with Patti, who is incredibly nice, and her assistant (not sure what her title really is), Reagan, who is the one responsible for thinking that because my jet lagged self is at this game I was worthy of being on tv. Thanks, Reagan! The Pirates keep hitting ball over the outfield walls. It’s 4-3 Pirates.

8th Inning: Now that the Pirates have the lead, the conversation around my seat has moved on to the trade deadline and who will be trade bait. I’m betting that Bourne, Keppinger, Wandy are all names being tossed around. And yep, I intentionally left Hunter off the list. Again…a girl can dream…please, Ed Wade, at least leave us Hunter.

(On a different note- the Sony Dance Cam just came by, there are a lot of kids that sit behind me. I dared my Dad to join the kids on camera doing the Air Guitar and I’d buy his beer the rest of the season. Silly Dad…he turned me down!)

Things are getting good again. Hunter walked. Lee was out but moved Hunter to 2nd. With Wallace pinch hitting, Hunter stole 3rd. With a single, Brett Wallace gave Pence just enough time to hustle home with a slide to tie it up at 4. There’s only one out. Let’s go ‘Stros!

Quintero singles to send Brian Bogusevic (pinch running for Wallace) home. The Astros take the lead 5-4 with 2 outs. Michael Bourn just made this 8th inning even more exciting with a single to left center moving Q to second and keeping hope alive at MMP, but a groundout by Angel Sanchez closed the inning. Tonight, small ball is the Astros’ friend as they lead 6-4.

9th Inning: We don’t often do this during the 9th because it’s not necessary, but I’m just praying during the top of the ninth. Taking down the very hot Pittsburgh Pirates and breaking a parade of losses would be big tonight….and with Mark Melancon on the mound- the Astros pull it out- 6-4. The Astros get their first save since June 8th. Well done, boys!

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.

Homestands are usually the shining moment for a team, right? Not this particular homestand. The Astros, who are struggling no matter where they play, had a particularly difficult run at Minute Maid Park in recent days. Yesterday afternoon’s loss to the Pirates left the ‘Stros 2-8 on the homestand with one of those series being a sweep by the Pirates who hadn’t swept Houston in Houston since like 2008 or something crazy.

The facts from this 10 game home stretch are plain and simple. With runners in scoring position the Astros hit .149 (15-101) and they left 89 guys on bags. Wow. That’s an average of almost 9 guys left on base per game. That statistic really speaks for itself. And there were PH decisions that made NO sense to me. » Continue reading “Home Has NOT Been Where The ‘Stros Heart Is”

Last night at PNC Park, the Astros took on the Pittsburgh Pirates and came out the victor 3-2 after conquering wind and rain and sleet and hail. Okay, not really, but there was a pretty good rainstorm that started at the end of the third inning and continue into the sixth. Apparently the umpires had good weather sense knowing if they could keep the game going there would be a break in the weather.

A good part of the Astros success last night was the result of Wandy Rodriguez’s pitching. In the past, we’ve seen Wandy take time warming up in a season, getting off to a slow start and not really finding a groove until the season was well under way. That, coupled with this season’s on again off again performance didn’t leave me with a lot of confidence at game time yesterday.

But Wandy looked good, really good. In 7 innings he allowed 5 hits and 2 earned runs, walking 2 batters. The pitching was strong on both sides and it made for a really exciting ballgame with the lead changing hands a couple of times. Mark Melancon, who took his first turn as closer with Lyon on the DL, looked amazingly strong in the 9th. It was impressive to see him not alter his usual approach given the change in his role. He still nailed fast balls aggressively into the strike zone and was able to close the game in quick order with a little help from the outfield. I think he’ll fill this role well and look forward to watching him pitch during other save opportunities.

Although Wandy seemed to be getting into a groove, the Astros couldn’t have won last night if not for the first three batters in the order – Jason Bourgeois, Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence. Bourgeois managed 3 hits, 1 run and a stolen base – his 12th of the season while Bourn had 1 hit 1 run and stole 2 bases himself taking his season total to 13. And then there’s Pence, who continues to send runners home – getting 2 hits, 1 run and 2 RBIs. These three guys have been the heart and soul of baserunning for the Astros thus far with Pence alone hitting in 20% of the Astros total runs this season.

When asked about the Bourgeois-Bourn top of the lineup, Hunter Pence said, “I’ve nicknamed them ‘The Lethal Weapons’.” And lethal they can surely be. I don’t just mean lethal at the plate or on base – Michael Bourn is consistent in centerfield and there’s no doubt that Jason Bourgeois in left field is nice change. He’s played extremely well when filling in for Carlos Lee (who played first last night). Combining his fielding with his hitting (.412 BA) you’ve got to wonder if he will become a permanent part of the starting lineup. I think if he continues to play the was he has been, he deserves it.

So tonight at 6:05 they’ll play game number two at PNC. Bud Norris (2-1, 3.03 ERA) will take the mound for Houston and the Pirates will send Charlie Morton (3-1, 3.52 ERA). This will likely be a battle of pitchers, but I like the Astros chances in this one. Studly-Cudly-Budly has been strong on the mound and has even been helpful at the plate, so he’s contributing all around. If the Astros can battle a whole game, like last night, I like their odds of a series win in Pittsburgh.

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.