Astros Insight: What's going on?

The Astros are sadly on the heels of a seven game losing streak after being swept in Cincinnati by the Reds. Their record now stand at 18-27, last in the NL Central and 9 games out of the first place Cardinals. Normally the Astros are slow first half starters and this year is no different. I remember 2005, the last and only World Series appearance by my Houston Astros. That year, the sport columnist of the Houston Chronicle, Dave Justice, posted an article with a tombstone and gave the Astros up for dead. Their record then stood at 15-30, worst than this year. The rest is history of course, as the Astros rallied and won the Wild Card and a wild ride to the World Series. I know, they lost, actually swept by the White Sox, but I will always remember that team, that even though they were given up for dead by most (me included), they still came back and shocked the world by advancing that far.

So, what do they need to do now to accomplish that same goal? Well, for starters, how about some pitching? Both starting and relief. This year corp has really been unsettling wth pitchers seemingly pitching on thin ice. The rotation, apart from Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez on occassions, has been disastrous. Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, Felipe Paulino and Brian Moehler are not exactly names that spell fear to the opposition. And as a fan, I'm always praying more than usual when any of those guys take the mound. Hopefully Brandon Backe comes back and delivers this group from its misery. Whatever happened to the times when the Astros were known for their pitching and their talents? The bullpen is in disarray as well. Having lost Jose Valverde and Doug Brocail to injuries the Astros had to plug in Latroy Hawkins as their closer, leaving the other guys (what are their names anyways?) to figure the rest out.

On the offense side, I see a lot of progress, namely Michael Bourn. This Houston native is leading the league in stolen bases and he's getting on base more regularly as his .286 batting average attests. Lance Berkman also needs to hurry up and find his groove because he is the weakest and missing link. At .229 average, Berkman is batting 70 points below is career average. If he starts to get hot and the pitching figures out a way out of its mess, I see the Astros shocking the world once again with another berth in the grand finale. The World Series.

My All-Star Teams

With the All-Star game fast approaching, here are the guys who won my vote:

NL ALL-STARS:

C-Ivan Rodriguez, Astros
1B- Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
2B- Chase Utley, Phillies
SS- Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
3B- David Wright, Mets
OF- Carlos Lee, Astros
Alfonso Soriano, Cubs
Carlos Beltran, Mets
Starting Pitcher- Tim Lincecum, Giants


AL ALL-STARS:

C- Victor Martinez, Indians
1B- Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2B- Brian Roberts, Orioles
SS- Derek Jeter, Yankees
3B- Michael Young, Rangers
OF- Jason Bay, Red Sox
Nick Markakis, Orioles
Torii Hunter, Angels
Starting Pitcher- Zack Greinke, Royals


And there you have it. My lineups for the All-Star game. Anybody I left out that you think should be in the starting lineup? Leave me a comment and we'll talk about it.

Quick and to the point with Fraud-Ram

I won't dwell on this topic of the Steroid Era for too much because sincerely, my opinions of this matter was buried, or so I thought, a long time ago. Right after the A-Rod news came out. I wasn't hoping for a day in which we would hear another Superstar linked to the Steroid Era, much less a guy like Manny Ramirez. But hey, I said that I wasn't going to be surprised if another player of his caliber would get caught, and frankly, I'm not. It was just a matter of days. And it will only be another matter of days for the next leaf of the Steroid tree to dwindle and fall, and disgrace the game even more.

I really don't care anymore whether it was a mysterious cream, or vitamins from the GNC store, or female hormone pills, the list of banned substances are given out each and every year to every member of the players union. I would assume that any player with the right frame of mine, and who wants to protect his reputation, should look over that list ANY time that they take any medicine or a trainer's miracle cream. You know, just in case there is anything that might get them SUSPENDED and hurt their team in the process.

Well, the Dodgers sure are glad that they didn't trade Juan Pierre this past offseason. He is their starter for at least the next 50 games. He'll steal you a bunch of bases and score a lots of runs, but he is no Manny.

First Month Recap

I know, I have taken an extensive break from writing this blog, but today I feel like writing about some baseball! Let's see, what has happened in the first month? Well, Bonifaciomania hit the streets after the Marlins' new speedy third basemen, Emilio Bonifacio, burst onto the scene by hitting the first inside-the-park homerun on opening day in 41 years (the last one was by Carl Yastrzemski in 1968) He had 14 hits in the first five games with 4 stolen bases and sporting and average of .500 after one week. He caught my attetion so much that I had to add him to my baseball fantasy team. He has cooled off since but he seems to be on the way to having a great season.

Also, three players hit for the cycle in the first month, all within a week. Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler went berserk on Jackie Robinson day against the Orioles with a perfect 6 for 6 night while hitting the cycle in front of a home crowd. Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers did the same a couple of days before Kinsler and he did it on the Dodgers' home opener going 4 for 5 and hitting mostly against the Giants future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson. And finally, Twins outfielder Jason Kubel did it against the Angels at the Metrodome. He completed the cycle by hitting a thrilling grand slam in the bottom of the eight inning with 2 outs and his team down two runs. Two other players were a triple shy of the cycle, Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox and the other player, believe or not, is pitcher Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.

The Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, with ace Zack Grienke leading the way; the Toronto Blue Jays in the east, with Adam Lind , Travis Snyder and Marco Scutaro overpowering everybody they play; and the Seattle Mariners out west with Brandon Morrow closing out games (who are all this players anyway?), these teams are now in first place in their respective divisions. In the National League, the Pirates, the Reds, the Marlins, the Padres, and the Giants are defeating odds and playing great baseball and most importantly of all, winning games. Ah, the beauty of baseball.

About the only thing that is missing for this first month is a no-hitter. A couple of pitchers came close, pitching into the seventh inning before the bid being broken. April is usually the month where most no-hitters happens, partly because batters are still getting their swings warmed-up.

A Day of Thoughts

I'm excited to announce that baseball season is just around the corner (in case you don't know by now) and I can finally sit down and watch a regular season game on TV. It's truly a long off season for me, but I think its worthy.

I was surprised to hear today that the Detroit Tigers decided to cut Gary Sheffield. He is sitting at 499 home runs and he still had a year left on his contract. The Tigers are now in the book for the 14 mills that he was set to earn this season. So, who needs a DH? Where is he going to land? The Twins need some power. So does the Royals. Or even the Orioles. Anybody?

Former Astros Curt Shilling announced his retirement a few days ago through his blog after a 20 years career in baseball. He is definetely remember most for taking the Phillies (in '93), the Diamondbacks (in '01) and the Red Sox (both in '04 and '07) to the World Series than the one season that he wore the Astros uniform. Schilling arrived in Houston in 1991 along with pitcher Pete Harnisch and outfielder Steve Finley in a trade that sent then Astros first basemen Glenn Davis to the Orioles. Maybe the Astros were just making room for someone named Jeff Bagwell at that time. In his only year in Houston, Schilling pitched out off the bullpen, appearing in 56 games going 3-5 with a 3.81 E.R.A. In a move that perhaps shouldn't have never been done, the Astros shipped Schilling to the Phillies right before the 1992 season started in return for reliever Jason Grimsley (this is the same guy whose house was raided by federal agents agents in 2006 in connection with the investigation in steroids use, AND he is also in ESPN's list of Baseball Biggest Cheaters) Grimsley never threw a pitch for the 'Stros as he spent his only season in Houston in the minors. And as for Schilling, once he got to Philadelphia, the legend began. Good luck.

Did anyone see the designs of the new stadium the Marlins are getting? It look awesome! The Marlins were in dire need of a new home and, even though they have won two World Series in the last decade or so, were unable to finance a deal until now. Also, once the team moves into its new crib (probably around 2012) they will change its name to the Miami Marlins. The next team that should step up and get a new stadium done is the Oakland Athletics. They have got to get out of the Coliseum. That place looks ancient!

Astros Insight: I told you so.

This is something that I wrote on a previous post regarding the Astros' Spring struggle:

"Amongst the Astros hitters, they ALL seem to be in a funk at the same time. Theoretically, that's good since then all should come out of their slumps at the same time, preferably by opening night."

Well, if you had already gave up on the Astros as early as last week, you might want to look again. They are now winners of six straight game (and we passed the Padres in the standings) and they are looking like a team that can get something done. The hits are finding holes, the pitchers are holding down the opponents, and all of the sudden everything is good in Astros town.

Now, let me remind you once again that this is Spring Training still and players are still getting their mechanic down, but surely the mood in the clubhouse took a sharp turn for the better and the remaining players in camp can ride this momentum and the positive attitude into the regular season.

This is still no indication that the Astros all of the sudden are not going to lose any more games, or that we are World Series bound, but is a positive step into the right direction, and as fan that is what I want to see. You don't want to hear excuses but you want to see results. This Spring has definitely tested Cecil Cooper patience and he responded by filling out the lineup card everyday and tinkering with the club until he got the results that he was looking for. Six wins in a row. Only 10 days until the season starts. Go Astros!

A Classic Finish. 2013 is next episode.

Japan sucessfully defended its title with a thrilling 5-3 extra innings victory against their Asian nemesis of Korea. What a great way to finish this second edition of the WBC. Although my team of Venezuela lost in the semis, I'm proud of the way my countrymen made it that far. I have to give some kudos to team Korea. They are, for me, the best team that has played in both of the WBC. And they have the record to prove it too, having gone 12-4 combine in the last two events. Japan gets the gold though, winning the game that mattered the most: the final. The Japanese at the end came through with a slurry of slap-hits to take the game in extra after the Koreans tied the game at 3 in the ninth innning. The hit of the game belonged to outfielder and Japanese sensation Ichiro Susuki. The 35-year-old Mariners right fielder snapped the 3-3 tie with a two-run single on an eight-pitch at-bat against Korean reliever Chang Yong Lim with runners on second and third and with two outs in the 10th. Japan pitcher Daiseku Matzusaka won the MVP for the second Classic in a row. Dice-K posted a 3-0 record with a 2.45 ERA in the tournament, winning all three of his starts, including his victory over the United States in the semifinal on Sunday. Way to go Japan.

On a different angle, I was also thinking about what Selig said in regards to expanding the current format of teams in the WBC from 16 to 24 for the 2013 edition. I started going through the possibilities of what other baseball countries can be added and I was able to come up with a few. Since there has to be 8 more teams added, here is my list: Nicaragua, Colombia, Germany, Britain, Russia, Thailand, Phillipines and New Zealand. With the new teams we are going to need a couple of more Pools which it could be played in Europe and Oceania much like the Asian pool in the last two tournaments. Nicaragua and Colombia would be added to the Latin American bracket. It will be a true World Baseball Classic. This is kind of what I have in mind for the first round:

Pool A-Japan, China, Thailand, New Zealand (played in Asia)

Pool B-Australia, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Phillipines, Korea (played in Australia or N.Z.)

Pool C-Italy, Britain, Russia, Germany (played around Europe)

Pool D-Netherland (Antilles), Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic (Played in Central America)

Pool E- Venezuela, Colombia, South Africa, Panama(Played in South America)

Pool F-United States, Canada, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico (Played in North America)

The teams and the stadiums would be alternated for each Classic. Anyways, let me know what you think.