Colt 45s Blog

It’s hard to even remember the Astros were in the World Series back in 2005.  Now they’re the worst team in baseball.  Sometimes it doesn’t take long to fall.  Throw in the ownership issues and this has been a rough year for Astros fans.  Right now they’re right around on pace to be the lone 100 loss team in baseball.

Wandy Rodriguez has been a pleasant surprise.  He’s 6-4 with a 2.97 ERA and while he’s probably going to fall short of striking out 200, it’s also not out of the realm of possibility.  Bud Norris has also been solid in the rotation.  Still this is a team with the second worst pitching staff in baseball and soon they could be the worst.

On offense, it’s not much better.  They’re middle of the pack in batting average but they fall quite a few spots when you look at slugging.  Hunter Pence is getting it done and Carlos Lee has been good but it goes down hill after that.

Next up are the Red Sox.  It’ll be Bud Norris against Tim Wakefield tonight.

The Astros struggles continued with their fifth straight loss.  It came at the hands of the first place Cardinals and the Astros now sit at 15-29, dead last in the National League.

J.A. Happ fell to 3-5 on the season.  He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.  The pen, which has been decent, also threw two shutout frames in this one.

The Astros managed just six hits in this one.  He went two for four.  Carlos Lee singled and drove in a run.

The Astros are in last place in the NL Central.  They’re also tied for the worst record in the National League.  With only two days left to play in April, this would probably be a big deal but the good news is, the Astros are just five games back in their six team division.

Even though the home run power hasn’t been there yet, you have to like the start Brett Wallace is off too.  He’s hitting .373 and he’s scored 15 runs.  Not too bad for the first round pick.  Hunter Pence has been the hitting star though.  He’s hitting .293 and he leads the team with four home runs and twenty RBIs.

The pitching has been a problem though.  Bud Norris and Bret Myers have been solid but the rest of the rotation has been spotty.  It’s also rough when your closer is amongst the lead leaders in wins.  You wonder how long Lyon is going to keep his job with an ERA flirting with 5.00.

Next up is a three game series at home against the Brewers.  At this point, any win, especially one in the division, is an important one and the Brewers are one of the teams in the top half.  Two of three would be nice.

The Astros fell to 10-15 on the spring in a tight game with the Braves yesterday afternoon.  Nelson Figueroa had a tough time and he gave up three runs in five frames while Gustavo Chacin gave up two runs in his single inning of relief.

Jason Michaels had a really nice day at the plate.  He went three for three with two doubles, a run and an RBI.  Brett Wallace went two for three with a run.

Next up are the Tigers.  Bret Myers gets the start this afternoon.

The Astros start their spring slate today with against the Braves.  Several regulars will be in the starting lineup and Wandy Rodriguez gets the start on the mound.  Henry Villar, Enerio Del Rosario, Fernando Rodriguez, Lance Pendleton, Sergio Escalona and Wesley Wright should also see some time on the mound.

I’m just happy baseball is going again.  Single game Astros tickets are on sale now and I’m going to have to peruse the schedule to see what I can manage.  I know a lot of people aren’t giving the Astros much of a chance this year but I think this is going to be a fun year.

The Astros list of top ten prospects is out and topping the list is Jordan Lyles.  At the age of 19, he pitched as high as Triple-A this year and this kid looks like he’s close to a spot in the rotation.  Brad Miles talked about Lyles pitching in the rotation to start the 2011 season but I have mixed feelings.  I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a full season at Triple-A under his belt.  There’s no reason to rush the kid along although my bet is, even if he doesn’t break camp with the Astros, he’ll be on the team pretty soon.

Number two is the Astros first round pick in 2010, Delino DeShields, Jr.  Just like his dad, this kid can run but his position is up in the air because he’s played second base but also in the outfield.  He probably brings more value as a second baseman if he can stick we’ll just have to wait and see.

Jonathan Viller comes in at number three.  He was only nineteen and while he shined at Lakewood, he struggled at Lancaster.  It’ll be interesting to see whether he starts back at High-A or whether they bump him up all the way to Double-A.  Mike Foltynewicz (right handed pitcher, another 19 year old) and Jio Mier (shortstop, a couple of years away) round out the top five.

So there’s some nice talent, just most of it isn’t major league ready which is why I hope they give Miles some time.  No sense rushing him when the rest of the crop is making their way through the system.

Houston traded Matt Lindstrom to the Rockies today for a pair of minor league minor league pitchers.  With guys like Brandon Lyon and Wilton Lopez in the fold, the Astros must have felt they could part with Lindstrom who saved more games in 2010 then any other Astros pitcher.  That came with a price though because his ERA of 4.39 wasn’t anything spectacular and opponents hit over .300 against Lindstrom.

Of course you never know when you get minor leaguers.  Wes Musick had a mediocre season at Low-A so even if he pans out, he’s a couple of years away.  Jonnathan Aristil is the other player who was shipped and while he’s major league ready, his career minor league ERA is just 4.47.

The Astros have had a tough season.  They got off to that rough start but after being considered one of the worst teams in baseball early on, they’re sitting just five games below .500.  At their worst, they were 19 games below .500 but since then, they’ve gone 31-18, which is the second best mark in the National League.  Only the Phillies have been better.

Still, they’re out of playoff contention and in an interesting piece, BP kisses them goodbye and examines the ups and downs in the season.  The Oswalt and Berkman trades should help them fill some of their gaps and while I’m not saying they’ll contend next year, the fact that the Reds came out of nowhere goes to show the Astros could make some noise next year.

The Astros have been gutted as far as minor league talent is concerned.  Trades and some spotty drafting have done them in, but the Astros picked up a stud in the draft and there’s some light at the end of the tunnell. 

Drew Sutton was the organizations top hitter.  He hit .317 and he scored 24 first inning runs as the leadoff hitter for Corpus Christi.  Throw in 102 total runs and 20 steals and you have a guy who could be hitting leadoff for the big league club here in a couple of years.

Polin Trinidad was the top hurler.  He finished with 10 wins, 109 strikeouts and a 3.14 ERA.  He’s still a ways away, but this is a guy who could make some noise in a couple of years. 

Koby Clemens looks like he got a double whammy.  He laid somewhat of an egg in his first year at catcher and to make things worse, the Astros top prospect going forward, Jason Castro, probably figures to be the teams catcher of the future.

Speaking of Castro, he made his mark in the New York Penn League and now he’s doing his thing over in Hawaii.  Just what you’d expect from the number 10 pick.

I know it’s football season but I still like to get out and toss the ball around with the boys.  I got a new baseball bat from Baseball Rampage, a fantastic online resource.  I now know that whenever I need baseball gear, Baseball Rampage is the place I’m going to fill my need.

The Astros chances of making the playoffs are pretty low but I’m definitely going to catch a few more games at Orange Juice park.  The Reds, especially since they’ve dumped Griffey and Dunn, really don’t interest me at all.  The weekend series against the Cardinals does though because I’ve never seen Albert Pujols play in person so I’m definitely going to the game.  Even with the Astros mediocre season, it’s hard to find tickets at the Astros box office that are really close to the action.  Fortunately, that’s not the only source of tickets so after checking out three baseball ticket brokers, I was able to find EXACTLY what I needed.

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