The Black Flag Is Flying On Tal's Hill...

We here at H-town Sports have very few favorites, so when one of them is unceremoniously dumped, we can be counted on to deliver a proper eulogy. Astros.com is reporting the 'Stros placed Raul Chavez on waivers and that he has been picked up by the Baltimore Orioles.

Farewell, Cha-Cha. We hardly knew ye, but the memories you gave us will last a lifetime. Not so much on the field, as you didn't see it very often, but the stories of you and your brood terrorizing the postgame spread at Minute Maid are the stuff legends are made of. Our sources inside the Astros organization uniformly said they had never seen anyone, much less a father and son team, eat more hot dogs in one sitting. You were truly the Everyman of Houston sports, if Everyman is a glutton who has a lifetime batting average of .215. You will be missed. But fear not--we hear the Orioles' postgame spread is replete with stone crab and all manner of seafood delicacies. For every referigerator door that closes, a drive-thru window opens.

On a related note, this means hot-hitting Eric Munson has seemingly sewn up the back-up catcher's job after a torrid spring. Congrats to the Houston fanbase, who will now get to incorporate more "Kingpin" references than we ever thought possible.