Coming Soon: Interview with Greg Rajan

Check back soon for the results of a Q&A session that H-Town Sports recently had with Greg Rajan, who works as the Corpus Christi Caller-Times' beat writer for the Hooks.

Last Night on the Farm

AAA: Brandon Backe was roughed up for five runs in three innings in his first start since going on the DL with a sprained right elbow back in mid-April. Laynce Nix was the thorn in Backe's side, hitting a three-run bomb in the first inning and a two-run double in the second. Jailen Peguero pitched two scoreless innings for the Express. Hopefully he'll keep that up and become an option for Tim Purpura to consider for the big club's bullpen, although that's unlikely because Jailen does not turn thirty-five for another decade or so.

In brighter news, the Express will be represented by starting pitchers Jason Hirsh and Chris Baker and outfielder Luke Scott at the 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game on July 12 in Toledo.

AA: The Hooks were rained out in Wichita on Thursday night.

High-A: Salem returned to action with a 2-1 loss to Winston-Salem. All-Stars Drew Sutton and Beau Torbert combined for five hits to lead the Avalanche, and IF Neil Sellers had two hits, including his first home run of the season. Ronnie Martinez continued his string of brilliant starts, allowing only two hits in seven innings, which shot his ERA skyward to 1.76. To show how reliable W-L records are when evaulating a pitcher's ability (in case our Wandy Rodriguez exercise did not convince you), Martinez is 2-4 now with the 'Lanche, despite that 1.76 ERA.

Low-A: The Legends were shut out 4-0 by the Greenville Drive, who won the game on a walk-off grand slam in the eleventh inning by 1B Logan Sorensen. RP German Melendez continued to destroy opposing hitters, hurling 2.1 innings of hitless, scoreless relief and striking out three, which lowered his ERA with the Legends this season to 1.05. Legends' manager Jack Lind's decision to walk the bases loaded after the Drive got a runner to third base with one out in the eleventh worked out about as well as the Victor Riley signing by the Texans in 2005.

Short-Season A: The Dust Devils won their second straight game, this time 1-0 over Boise. Another fine start for Shane Lindsay led the Devils.

Rookie: Greenville blasted Johnson City 8-2. The Astros pounded out ten hits, and starter Sergio Severino allowed only one hit in five scoreless innings to earn his first win.

[Deadspin] Let the 'Shooting Straight' Jokes Begin (Again)

Deadspin says all there is to say. Still searching for rock bottom, eh, Ed?

How Can You Not Love Shane Battier?

From today's Chronicle:

"Shane Battier knows just how you feel.

He doesn't blame you. He takes no offense.

He also is not worried that he will win over the fans that booed their way out of Toyota Center on Wednesday.

'It's completely understandable for fans,' Battier said Thursday, a day after the Rockets agreed to send Stromile Swift and the rights to No. 8 draft pick Rudy Gay to the Memphis Grizzlies for Battier.

'The nice, shiny-red fire engine looks better than the old, shabby teddy bear that's been around the block a few times. But I'm going to do everything I can to earn the city of Houston's respect, to earn Rockets fans' respect.

'It's going to end up a pretty good deal.'"

Screw that shiny-red fire engine. It never had any heart. Bears, on the other hand, have a fully functioning circulatory system. Bears dive after loose balls. Bears play defense. Bears don't disappear in crunch time.

Mark my words--Houston fans will dig Shane Battier. Health permitting, the Rockets are going to be legit.

Astros Farm Report

AAA: Round Rock held off Oklahoma 8-7 Wednesday night on the road powered by the bat of IF Brooks Conrad, who homered and scored four runs for the Express. C Humberto Quintero had three knocks in the win, and Luke Scott added a pair of hits and drove in two. Chris Sampson had a so-so outing and recorded the win, and more importantly, Mike Gallo came in to face one hitter in the eighth inning, and that hitter promptly doubled in two runs. Nice to know that there are some things that you can always count on in life.

Don't forget, Brandon Backe makes his first rehab start tonight for the Express.

AA: Corpus Christi embarassed Springfield 8-0 behind Chance Douglass' stellar pitching effort. Douglass' name seems to be forgotten behind guys like Patton, Hirsh and Albers, and understandbly so, but he is quietly moving up the minor league ladder in rather dominant fashion. Douglass struck out ten and allowed only five hits in a complete-game shutout. 25 year-old Ben Zobrist continued his boring annihilation of Double-A pitching, reaching base four out of five times and stealing a pair of bases. Marc Saccomanno hit his fifth home run for the Hooks as well.

As a quick aside, let me re-state this: Ben Zobrist played college baseball at Dallas Baptist University, is 25 years old and is currently playing in Double-A. In his first season (2004) at Tri-City, Ben recorded astounding numbers at the plate: .339/.438/.463. He split 2005 between Lexington (.304/.415/.413) and Salem (.333/.475/.496) and is currently hitting at a .331/.439/.462 clip for the Hooks. He's unquestionably a better hitter AT THIS VERY MOMENT than Eric Bruntlett or Adam Everett, and he's older than everday major-league shortstops Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Jhonny Peralta Aaron Hill, Ronny Cedeno, Ian Kinsler, J.J. Hardy and Yuniesky Betancourt. As part of a recurring theme, this is further proof that the Astros minor-league philosophy is a complete joke.

Greg Rajan, the excellent beat writer for the Hooks, has a great feature on the Hooks' closer Paul Estrada out of Venezeula. Estrada's got 91 K's in 54 innings, and opponents are hitting just .197 against him on the season. As a reliever, he's SECOND in the Texas League in K's behind teammate (and starting pitcher) Juan Gutierrez. His out pitch is a devastating forkball, about which pitching coach Joe Slusarski simply raves in Rajan's piece. T-Poo: Pick up the phone. What's the point of waiting? This guy is clearly ready for the next level, right? He's 23, not 18. Make a MOVE!!!

High-A: The Legends rallied for three runs in the ninth to knock off Greenville 7-5. Four hits, including a home run, for Ole Sheldon, and two hits, a walk and a homer for RF Ryan Reed.

Low-A: Salem had a fine showing at the All-Star Game, with Beau Torbert racking up two hits and two RBI, Chad Reineke pitching a scoreless inning for the win and closer Pablo Escobar earning the save.

Short Season A: Tri-City defeated Vancouver 2-1 despite picking up only a single hit. Three errors and five walks helped push a run across for the Dust Devils, got seven scoreless innings from Tomas Santiago.

Rookie: Greenville pushed across a pair of runs in the eighth inning to earn a home win over Johnson City. DH Ralph Henriquez was the hero with a two-run shot, his second of the season.

Make the Call, CD

Andy Katz has a piece on his blog about guys who went to sleep disappointed last night. I'm not big on Darius Washington, though I think I like him better than Daniel Gibson, and though I enjoyed watching West Virginia play the past two seasons, I'm not huge on Kevin Pittsnogle either. However, I pray that Carroll Dawson and Daryl Morey have already made the call to Mike Gansey from that same Mountaineer team. He is quite Jon Barry-like and could be an excellent role player off the Rockets' bench. Pops-Mensah Bonsu out of GWU would also be fun to watch in summer league play.

Pts + Reb + Def + Winner - (Potential * Enigma) = Daryl Morey?

Packaging a player (and his burdensome contract) who simultaneously manages to lead his team in SportsCenter highlights per minute played, benchings per minute played and lingering cases of pinkeye with a similarly situated player from the college ranks and obtaining a proven, effective professional basketball player in return? Do I smell Moneyball? If this trade is a prelude of the Daryl Morey era, then being a Rockets' fan is about to become a much more enjoyable experience than it has been for the past decade.

Courtesy of the innovative minds at 82games.com, amateurs like us can easily get their mitts on stats like those that Daryl Morey and his ilk use to evaluate players.

One such example is +/-, which is used primarily in hockey, but which is beginning to become trendier in the basketball world. Here's a quick comparison:

Battier led the Grizz in +/- ratio in 2005-2006 - the Grizz outscored its opponents by 360 total points while he was on the floor last season, at an average of +6.1 points per 48 minutes. When Battier was off the court during games, his team was outscored by an average of 2.4 points per 48 minutes, an amazing spread of 8.5 points, which led the team. He was second on the team in defensive average (86.2), indicating that his presence on the court correlated strongly with a more effective defensive performance from his team. In 2/3 of the games in which Battier played last season (54 out of 81), the Grizzlies outscored their opponent while he was on the floor, which also lead his team. Note also that this was not a small sample size, as Battier was on the floor for 71% of the minutes that his team played, second only to Paul Gasol's 78%. And for those of you concerned about Battier's multi-year contract, under which Battier made $4.9M last season, the guys at 82.games interpret Battier's play last season as being worthy of $10.54M, more than double his actual salary.

Stro? Think opposite. The Rockets were outscored by an average of 4.8 points per minute while Swift was ON THE FLOOR, breaking even when he was on the bench. His "Fair Salary" based on his play last year is estimated at $1.94M, or 38% of the $5.0M that the Rockets paid him for the season. The contrast between Battier and Swift could not be more clear, if your goal is winning basketball games.

***Two tidbits:

#1) Which Rocket led the team in Win% - you guessed it. Or did you? The answer is (I proudly reveal) - Kentucky's own Chuck Hayes. The Rockets outscored their opponents by 7.3 points per 48 minutes when Chuck was on the floor and outscored their opponents while he played in 70.3% of the games in which he played.

#2) Which Rocket had the worst impact on his team from a +/- perspective? Without a doubt, the answer is Juwan Howard. Howard was sixth worst in the entire NBA, as the Rockets fared 9.0 points per 48 minutes better when he was on the bench than when he was in the game. Let's see how that plays out in Juwan's future with the Rockets.

#3) Need a backup PG? New Orleans fared 7.8 points per 48 minutes better while Speedy Claxton was on the floor than when he was not.

Now, THAT'S a Draft!

After listening to the usual talk radio screaming in the wake of last night's NBA Draft, I have realized that Scott and I must be the only guys who absolutely LOVE what the Rockets did last night. Here's the final tally:

Rockets Acquire
F Shane Battier (10.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 48.8% FGP, 39.4% 3FGP last season)

Grizzlies Acquire
F Rudy Gay (taken 8th overall by the Rockets)
F Stromile Swift (regrettably signed as a free agent last summer)

Battier instantly makes the Rockets markedly better. He is a top-notch defender and a great third offensive option. Most importantly, he's shown that he's capable of hitting the three. The bottom line is that Dawson, Van Gundy & Co. realize that they have a window of another two to four years to make a title run with T-Mac and Yao. Winning immediately, not waiting for a rookie to develop, is the key. Battier gives the Rockets the best chance to do that.

For all the fans lamenting the loss of Rudy Gay, I ask that you take some time to watch his play at UConn last season. The guy is a complete and total dog. Amazing talent to be sure, but he has zero heart, hustle, and/or grit. I would rather gouge my eyes out than deal with him on my team for the next ten years. As I said in my comment to Scott's mock draft yesterday, I'll eat my hat if Gay turns out to be anything but an enormous bust.

For all the fans lamenting the loss of Stromile Swift, I ask that you substitute his name in place of Rudy Gay's in the previous paragraph.

It's a banner day, Rockets Nation. We subtracted two dogs and added a gamer. Get excited about the 2006-2007 NBA season; the Rockets just got a whole lot better.

News from the NBA

In an effort to improve scoring throughout the league, NBA Commissioner David Stern today announced the implentation of a new ball(s) system. The system will debut in the 2006-2007 season. New league sponsor Dave & Busters is excited about the move, and subject to approval by the NBA Players' Union, an amendment to the current collective bargaining agreement will allow NBA teams to pay their players in the form of Fun Tokens or Party Tickets, which the players will be able to redeem at stations located conveniently throughout NBA stadium concourses in exchange for Hot Wheels Escalades, stuffed rotweilers and slap bracelets.

It's Draft Night - (How) Will the Rockets Blow It This Time?

Before we start discussing tonight's draft, how about a quick recap of the Rockets' drafts since 1994.

The Hits:
Yao Ming (#1 pick, 2002): I give the Rockets credit for this because many pundits thought Jay Williams should have been the pick. Yao has been outstanding, even for a #1 pick.

Kenny Thomas (#22 pick, 1999): Solid contributor who never should have been traded. Nice late first-round pick.

Cuttino Mobley (2nd round pick, 1998): Above-average NBA starting two-guard selected in the second round of the draft. Can't ask for much more than that.

The Misses:
To conserve bandwidth, I'm only going to mention the first rounders, but my intent in so doing is not to give the Rockets a free pass for their multitude of horrible second round picks (Badiane, Flores, Maddox, Washington, Hamilton...oops, sorry, I said I was only going to mention first rounders). Occassionally selecting a player with a second-round pick who at least makes your traveling squad for a year or two would be a real bonus.

OK, first rounders only. Boki Nachbar. Three first-rounders traded for Ed "Shoots Straight" Griffin. Jason Collier. Michael Dickerson. Bryce Drew. Mirsad Turkcan. Rod Rhodes. Thanks to some deft swapping, there were several years where the Rockets were prevented from botching a first-round pick.

Since Ace of Base hit the charts with Tim's personal anthem, The Sign, the Rockets have exactly hit one home run, one double (Mobley) and a single (Thomas) with ALL of their draft selections. Tonight, the Rockets face their most crucial draft in fifteen years. Their roster already contains one of the greatest wing players in the game and one of the most dangerous post players in the game. The Heat showed that by adding the right complementary pieces to a dynamic duo, a team can win an NBA title. The Rockets are certainly a bit strapped by Juwan's contract, Sura's injury woes and Swift's inability to give a flying crap, but a couple of great picks tonight and a nice addition or two in free agency, and this team can be playing for an NBA title next season.

Tonight's draft promises to be exciting on a couple of fronts. First, there is absolutely no consensus among the talking heads as to who is going to be drafted where. Secondly, trades in the top ten appear to be certain, which always livens up the evening. Finally, I have actually heard of about 80% of the players eligible to be drafted, which is certainly a change from the last few years. Now that does not mean that I support the NBA's new age limit, because I absolutely do not, but that new rule in conjunction with the recent drop in Euro-splashes (how do you spell Tsikitsvilli again?) has apparently motivated more NBA teams to look to the college ranks for help.

Before we unveil the official Official H-Town Sports 2006 NBA Mock Draft, let's take a final look at what the internet pundits are predicting for the Rockets in the first round tonight:

NBADraft.net: Rodney Carney
Real GM: Brandon Roy
Chad Ford (ESPN): Randy Foye
Draft Express: Shelden Williams
Fanball: Shelden Williams (then traded to Atlanta for Brandon Roy)
Ian Thomsen (SI.com): Adam Morrison
Chris Ekstrand (SI.com): Marcus Williams
Brendan McGovern (About.com): Randy Foye
Collegehoops.net: Brandon Roy
Inside Hoops: Marcus Williams
Hoops Hype: Shelden Williams

A couple of the most interesting names being tossed about in trade rumors are Allen Iverson and Sebastian Telfair, both of whom are being mentioned in connection with Boston's #7 pick. I'm not sure how much value Philly can expect to get in return for AI at this point in his career, but I do think it's time for him to move on from Philly. Without further ado:

The Official H-Town Sports 2006 NBA Mock Draft - UPDATED

1. Toronto: Andrea Bargnani, Italy
- Toronto's hiring of Bargnani's GM in Italy, while apparently credible from a pure basketball standpoint, just cannot be ignored when making this prediction.

2. Chicago: LaMarcus Aldridge, Texas
- Chicago has plenty of backcourt talent, but they still need another banger on the front line. Aldridge seems to be the most sure pick, which likely means the Bulls avoid him, but I'll keep the Bulls' historic draft insanity out of the equation for purposes of this mock draft.

3. Charlotte: Rudy Gay, UConn
- Brandon Roy reportedly dissed Jordan by refusing to work out for him. Would it not be classic, Jordan being Jordan, if MJ refused to give in and took Roy with the third pick in spite of Roy's public unwillingness to be a Bobcat. In the alternative, Jordan takes a chance on the incredibly talented Gay in the hopes that his own personal presence will provide the spark necessary to send Gay into stardom.

4. Portland: Adam Morrison, Gonzaga
- The Blazers and Portland are struggling to co-exist, and this pick makes sense from a basketball and a business perspective.

5. Atlanta: Brandon Roy, Washington
- Don't fret yet, Rockets' fans.

6. Minnesota: Randy Foye, UConn
- The Wolves' backcourt is in desperate need of an upgrade, and Foye will help immediately.

7. Boston: Tyrus Thomas, LSU
- Boston continues its trend of stockpiling incredibly talented, unproven players as Thomas slips.

8. Houston: Shelden Williams, Duke
- There's just too much smoke to ignore here. Arn Tellem's clients both get their wish, as do the Hawks and the Rockets, who swap their first-round selections.

9. Golden State: Saer Sene, Belgium
- The Warriors add an athletic freak to their frontcourt, and he immediately gets a phone call from J-Rich advising him to stay the hell out of his way.

10. Seattle: Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas
- The Sonics add athleticism, creativity and defense by selecting the most underappreciated talent in this year's draft.

11. Orlando: Rodney Carney, Memphis
- The Magic need an athlete to complement Dwight Howard and replace Grant Hill, and Carney may be the most gifted player in the draft.

12. New Orleans: Cedric Simmons, NC State
- PJ Brown cannot play forever, can he?

13. Philadelphia: Rajon Rondo, Kentucky
- The Sixers cannot pass up on the potential of Rondo, though there's always the minor character flaw that he cannot put a ball through the hoop without simultaneously hanging on the rim, which may prove somewhat limiting.

***It will be interesting to see how far down J. J. Redick falls tonight. With the already-existing doubts about his ability to adapt his skills to the NBA style of play, his character issues and his back injury, he may fall a long, long way. Don't look to me for a net, Hemingway.

Second Round Sleepers:
Leon Powe, Cal: If the Rockets could find a taker for Swift, Powe would be a great backup PF.

Mike Gansey, WVU: He's just a great basketball player. He'll have a long, successful NBA career no matter where he winds up.

Steve Novak, Marquette: If the Rockets could somehow trade back a little bit, I'd love to see them take Novak. He's a dead-eye shooter with a better-than-advertised floor game.

David Noel, UNC: A late-blooming player who ranked as the best all-around athlete at the NBA's draft workouts.

Revisiting our Preseason MLB Predictions

Since we're almost at the halfway point, let's revisit the predictions made by Tim and me prior to the first pitch of baseball's regular season:

Tim:
1. Cards 89-73
2. 'Stros 87-75
3. Brewers 80-82
4. Cubs 75-87
5. Reds 74-88
6. Pirates 73-89

Good call on the Pirates (really out on a limb), but Tim appears to have undersold the Reds and oversold the Cubs. Not to mention the references such as "the massive stroke I suffered after reading Scott's prediction that the Reds will finish at .500" and "There's simply no way you just called 81 wins for the Reds. Perhaps you should lay off huffing the Elmer's."

The Astros have some serious work in front of them if they are to ever see twelve games over .500, the number which Tim picked for them. Similarly, barring an undefeated second half, Atlanta's hopes in the NL East do not look too promising, but the Padres continue to look reasonably safe in the NL West. Timmy had the AL pegged nicely, except that Cleveland's drop makes them unlikely to land the wildcard berth.

Scott:
1. St. Louis 90-72
2. Milwaukee 84-78
3. Cincinnati 81-81
4. Houston 80-82
5. Chicago 77-85
6. Pittsburgh 71-91

I also gave the Cubs a little bit too much credit, which is strange considering the amount of deep-seated hatred that I hold for their organization as a whole. For the most part, though, everything else is pretty much on course with regard to the Central. The Cards are even more vulnerable than I had anticipated, and I now think that 87 wins will take the Central division title.

My league-wide picks are much more askew. My NL Champion Phillies are stinking up the joint, making a World Series berth a bit of a long shot, and I also had the Braves winning the Wildcard. My world champion Angels have seemingly aged a decade or two overnight, but they do have a stockpile of young talent and an owner with extremely deep pockets, so it's not too late for them to make a run.

C.B. Bucknor Is the Spawn of Satan

After the NBA Finals, it seems that the fashionable thing to do these days is bashing the officiating. Well, far be it for me to refrain from jumping on the bandwagon. As I watched the first two games of the 'Stros-Tigers series, I couldn't help but tumble to two indisputable universal truths. First, the Astros bullpen may well be the worst collection of "talent" this side of "Battle of the Network Reality Stars." Second, C.B. Bucknor hates the Astros with every fiber of his being.

On Monday, it was the ridiculous ejection of Lance Berkman (followed by the understandable ejection of Phil Garner). Yesterday, it was the worst strike zone I've ever seen. When Houston was hitting, pitches that nearly hit Astro batters were called strikes. I clearly recall seeing Burke, Ensberg, and Everett dodging inside pitches only to see them called strikes by Bucknor. But I've got to give Bucknor credit; he was consistent in his screwjob of the Astros. When Clemens was on the hill, Bucknor seemingly refused to call any strikes that were not fouls or swing-and-a-miss. It was outrageous. So outrageous that Clemens completely lost his cool after Bucknor called a clear strike a ball in the 7th inning. Garner, who had already come out to "advise" Clemens earlier in the game, ran out to pull the Katy Rocket in lieu of him getting tossed. From there, Dan Wheeler ran in to predictably blow open the game, with a little help from Adam "Mr. Defense" Everett's throwing error.

The umpiring was so bad that when Burke fouled a fastball off Bucknor's facemask in the 9th, I just knew that he was going down unless he put the ball in play. It was obvious that Bucknor couldn't wait to call him out. And sure enough, Burke went down looking on a low "strike" to end the game.

I don't know how the Astros or the City of Houston wronged C.B. Bucknor. My guess is that someone at the Hilton forgot to put a mint on his pillow one night. But unless Drayton McLane tortured one of his family members, there is no justifiable excuse for his burning hatred of the team. In that same vein, there's no justifiable excuse for an Astros reserve (I vote Orlando Palmeiro) not waiting outside the umpires' locker room before today's game to beat Bucknor senseless.

Last Night on the Farm

AAA: Round Rock nipped Oklahoma 2-1 on the road last night on Charlton Jimerson's 9th inning dong. Jared Gothreaux had a nice start for the Express, striking out nine and allowing only one run in seven innings. Gothreaux was a 16th round pick by the Astros in 2002 out of McNeese State University. He has had a very solid run through the minor leagues, including a 3.96 ERA in 27 apperances (24 starts) in AA in 2004 and a 4.29 ERA in 15 starts in AAA last season. Jared's now 3-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 15 starts in AAA so far in 2006.

In transaction news, ex-Oakland and ex-Cincinnati reliever Joe Valentine was released by the Express and Zeke Astacio was placed on the 15-day DL with an ankle injury (so much for Tim's hopes of Zeke being called up to save the bullpen).

AA: The Hooks kept up their winning ways on Tuesday night, defeating Springfield (Cards) 7-3. Some guy named Hunter Pence went 3-3 and hit his 20th home run of the season, and LF Jorge Cortes extended his hitting streak to 23 games. At this rate, T-Poo's dream for Pence of winning the Texas League MVP may really come true! At least it's not at the expense improving the franchise as a whole or developing Pence's career by challenging him at higher levels. Someone pass this quote from Hooks' manager Dave Clark along to T-Poo for us: "I didn't see [Pence] swing at many bad pitches. I think I counted one." Purpura, you're a joke if this guy does not at least see Round Rock in the second half, and if he does not pee his sliding pants against AAA pitching, he deserves a September call-up as well. It is quite clear that he can handle AA pitching, and if he needs work against off-speed pitches, then he needs to move up a level and see some.

Mitch Talbot pitched six good innings for the win. I'm fully convinced that the Hooks would take four out of seven games in a series versus their major-league affiliate.

High-A: Salem's still off.

Low-A: Lexington fell to Greenville 6-5 in twelve innings. Last year's #1 pick Eli Iorg and SS Wladimir Sutil each had three hits for the Legends. German Melendez continued his dominance by striking out five in two innings, and he now has 31 K's and only six walks in 23+ innings for the Legends, not to mention a 1.16 ERA.

Short Season A: Vancouver rallied for four in the ninth to tie Tri-City and won the game with a run in the tenth. SS Daniel Mayora continues to be the most exciting Dust Devil. Daniels got three homers and four errors in nine games, and his error in the ninth opened the door for four unearned runs to score.

Rookie: Greenville fell to Johnson City 4-2 last night. OF Steve Brown had two hits to raise his average to .562 in sixteen at-bats.

Not-So Magic Wandy

Wandy Rodriguez had a solid, nearly spectacular April: 4-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.13 WHIP. His May and June have been nearly as terrible as his April was splendid: May- 2-2, 5.29 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and June - 2-3, 6.42 ERA, 1.69 WHIP. Unfortunately, those splits are much more in line with his career splits than his April numbers were. Potentially worst of all, the Blistered One's confidence appears shot. A pitcher with an 85-mph maximum fastball must have the confidence to place it perfectly and to mix and match his pitches fearlessly. Instead, he looks as scared as a lone tamale on the post-game spread with Raul Chavez lurking.

It's time to end the Wandy experiment. In 49 lifetime starts, his ERA is 5.20 and his WHIP is 1.49. He's got 98 BB to 143 K, and those 143 K have been scattered in 228+ innings. Moral: Wandy is not a good starting pitcher. Much like Jeriome Robertson, he manages to win games in spite of his pitching ability, or lack thereof, due to incredible run support (3rd in NL with 6.95 runs per game of support from his offense). There certainly is a creative way to look at this. Roger Clemens was 4th from the bottom of the NL in 2005 in run support, maybe because his hitters relax on days when he pitches, similar to how the Astros hitters transform into the 1927 Yankees on days when Wandy pitches. Want to solve the offensive woes? Start Wandy. Daily. Sure, it might ruin his arm, but it's not like there's much there, and the Astros seem to win games in spite of his consistent inability to prevent the opponents from scoring, so what's to lose?

More traditionally, you've got a guy in the bullpen in Fernando Nieve who clearly has more stuff and more confidence than Wandy, and for that matter, you've got another guy in Triple-A for whom the same can be said (Jason Hirsh). The front office has long maintained the posture that it does not want to risk ruining young players by bringing them up too early. Nieve's already up. There's no such risk. Wandy's morale is not going to be done any favors by leaving him in the big-league rotation. He's been good against lefties so far in 2006 (0 HR, .228 BAA), contrary to previous years, so maybe try him as your Gallo (synonymous with "ineffective bullpen specialist"). There is no excuse that can be made with a straight-face for running W-Rod out there anymore this season.

Down on the Farm

AAA: Round Rock dropped Oklahoma 5-1 behind the pitching of Mark McLemore and recently demoted Phillip Barzilla, who combined to shutout the Okies for six innings. If you needed further evidence that T-Poo reads H-Town Sports, Jailen Peguero, promoted Monday from Double-A Corpus Christi, made his debut for the Express, allowing a run in 1.2 innings pitched. The timing of his promotion, though certainly reasonable considering his stats in AA, makes me think that the front office is looking to fast track Peguero to Houston. There were no relievers on the Express roster prior to JP's arrival worthy of a call-up. Oh, and fan favorite Alan Zinter hit two homers in the win.

AA: Matt Albers continued his dominance of AA batters in a 7-4 win over Springfield. Albers struck out eight in five solid innings of work, running his record to 9-2. Big Walter Young (pictured) homered and drove in four for the offense. Steve Kent arrived in Corpus from Round Rock, replacing Jailen Pegeuro on the roster. Kent, who sported a 2.43 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the Express, was surely thrilled with the demotion. Courtesy of Greg Rajan with the Corpus Christi Caller, LF Jorge Cortes has a 22 game hitting streak and a 45 game on-base streak, and H-Town Sports' favorite Jonny Ash has a 37-game on-base streak for the Hooks.

High-A: Salem is off until the 29th.

Low-A: Lexington fell 5-4 to Greenville despite Koby Clemens' 2nd HR of the season.

Short Season A: The Dust Devils lost 3-1 to Vancouver. Joshua Sullivan made his second consecutive solid start. Sullivan was a 5th round pick by the Rockies out of Auburn in the 2005 draft.

Rookie: Greenville lost to Danville 4-3 in ten innings. Four Astros had two hits apiece in the loss.

At Least Scrap Iron Hasn't Lost His Sense of Humor...

After getting tossed for arguing Lance Berkman's ridiculous ejection last night, the Chronicle reports that Phil Garner uttered this gem when asked about throwing a chair from the dugout:

"I got thrown out, and that chair had been bothering me the whole game," Garner said after his first game in Detroit since the Tigers fired him as manager after losing the first six games of the 2002 season. "And I finally had a chance to throw it out of the dugout."

I totally know what he means. I hate chairs. And I'd sure as hell be focused on witty quips instead of figuring out a way to poison everyone in my bullpen. But that's just level-headed guys like me and Scrap Iron. The rest of Astros Nation might feel differently.

Query for the readers: What is the ideal Astros rotation? I'd second the idea Kentucky Scott proposed yesterday (yes, we spend an abnormally large amount of time trying to solve the Astros' problems, even outside of this forum)--Oswalt, Pettitte, Clemens, Buchholz, and Nieve. Throw Wandy in the bullpen and hope his eephus pitches get a few guys out in the seventh, and try to reshape Backe into a two-inning guy. Then, if T-Poo was so inclined, he could, you know, poison the rest of the bullpen with some bad Chinese food. Or some bad ham. Really, the possibilities are endless.

Somebody Pinch Me

Courtesy of excellent Rockets unofficial fan site Clutch Fans and website Draft Express, the Hawks and Rockets are heavily rumored to have finalized a trade that will take place on Wednesday night. The trade would involve the Hawks selecting Washington Husky SG Brandon Roy with the #5 pick in the draft and then shipping him to Houston, who would select Shelden Williams #8 and package him with Luther Head to Atlanta in return from Roy. This all sounds spectacular to me as a Rockets' fan, but most things that I have read indicate that Roy will not be around at #5 for Atlanta to select. I think the Rockets had better move higher than #5 if they want to be guaranteed getting their man.

Other rumors include Portland and Houston swapping picks (possibly involving Juwan Howard) and the Rockets selecting Tyrus Thomas and a Philly Enquirer piece suggesting Juwan Howard as the trade bait to Atlanta rather than Luther Head.

The Weekend in the Minors

AAA:

On Friday night, Chris Sampson marked his return to Round Rock with a decent outing, as the Express won 4-3 over Nashville. Mike Rodriguez homered for Round Rock, and Brandon Puffer, Steve Kent and Travis Driskill combined to pitch four scoreless innings of relief to secure the win.

On Saturday night, the Express eked out an 11-inning victory 3-2, with H-Town Sports favorite Michael Dwain Gallo running his record to 1-0 with a scoreless frame. Jason "What the Hell do I have to do to get a Promotion" Hirsh pitched eight innings, allowing only three hits and an unearned run and striking out twelve, and he threw an astounding 131 pitches in the no-decision. Mike Rodriguez and Luke Scott had two hits apiece.

Ex-Astro Jared Fernandez took the Express on a trip through the No Spin Zone on Sunday, 'hurling' a three-hit shutout and striking out seven. Chris Baker was the hard luck loser, despite allowing only one run in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.21.

As for the potential call-ups (other than Hirsh, who fits perfectly into the Chris Burke/Jason Lane/Luke Scott mold of guys too talented to call up), I'm sure you remember Brandon Puffer getting shellacked for Houston in years past, Chris Baker is a 29 year-old journeyman with a grand total of 5.1 major league innings who cannot strike minor league hitters out, Travis Driskill is a 34 year-old journeyman with a 5.26 career major-league ERA in 190 innings pitched for Houston, Colorado and Baltimore and Steve Kent is a 27 year-old journeyman with a nearly 1:1 walk:K ratio in the minor leagues and a 5.65 ERA in 57 major league innings (2002 Tampa Bay). Your best hope, aside from Hirsh, of course, is Mike Gallo. Enjoy that with your wings and beer tonight during the game.

AA:

The Hooks won 7-5 on Friday night, courtesy of a 12th-inning walk-off HR from some guy named Hunter Pence. Ben Zobrist piled up three more hits to run his average to .332 and sensational closer Jailen Peguero struck out five in three scoreless innings to earn the win and drop his ERA to 0.70 on the season. T-Poo, are you reading this?

Arkansas' Jesse Smith shut the Hooks down 7-0 on Saturday night. Hooks' CF Josh Anderson did pick up two hits in the loss.

On Sunday, the Hooks held off a late Arkansas rally to pick up a 5-4 win. Juan Guiterrez continued his push for a promotion with seven good innings. Hunter Pence homered (#19), scored three runs and drove in a pair.

High A:

Salem gave up six runs in the eighth inning on Friday night to lose at Kinston 11-7. Rodrigo Escobar had a rare bad outing to take the loss. 1B Neil Sellers had three hits for the 'Lanche.

The Avalanche bounced back Saturday for a 4-1 victory behind a four-man pitching team that scattered nine hits over nine innings. 2B Drew Sutton had two hits and SS Edwin Maysonet had two hits, including his 5th HR.

Salem took the rubber match on Sunday by a score of 4-2 in a rain-shortened affair. Troy Patton picked up his third win and lowered his ERA to 3.66.

Low A:

The Legends lost 4-2 on Friday night in a rain-shortened game against Asheville. Mark Ori continued his hot hitting with a pair of knocks. Lexington then rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday to knock off the Tourists 4-3. Mitch Einertson had three hits, and Josh Flores, Jose Lopez and Koby Clemens had two hits apiece. Sunday saw the Legends emerge victorious 5-2 (highlighted by a spectacular managerial tirade from the Tourists' skipper, available here). Thomas Fairchild had another great pitching performance and Mark Ori again led the offense with two hits.

Short Season A: Dust Devil SP Shane Lindsay, a 21 year-old Aussie, who pitched well for the Dust Devils in 2005, struck out twelve hitters in five one-hit innings on Saturday.

Rookie: SP Ryan Mitchell had a great pro debut on Friday night, allowing only one hit over five shutout innings. CF Orlando Rosales had a 4-4 day on Sunday, and SS Ronald Ramirez continued his torrid hitting with a 3-4 and 3 RBI.

Time to Vent a Little...

I am just now beginning to recover from last night's epic duel between Roger Clemens and Frank Liriano. I chiefly blame my poor decisions regarding alcohol intake for the slow turnaround, but I digress. Accompanied by loyal H-Town Sports reader and long-suffering Cubs fan Bert (thanks again for the ticket), we had a great view of the diamond from Section 109. Rather, we would have had a great view of the diamond if it wasn't for the myriad assclowns that insisted on getting in and out of their seats, up and down the aisle, at random times in the middle of the action. I came disturbingly close to committing a homicide several times.

It's really simple, people: There is no excuse for getting up any time in the middle of any sporting event minus a cardiac episode or a screaming baby. Wait until a break in the action (e.g., half-inning, timeout, etc.) to leave or return to your seat. Didn't your fathers ever teach you how to behave at a game? It's common freaking courtesy.

But then I started looking around, and a profound realization hit me. These people weren't baseball fans. They were just there because it was the hip place to be last night. There were surely thousands of real Astros fans who would've killed to be there to support the team, but the same clueless morons who gobble up the tickets to every high profile athletic event were there instead. These people only go to games when it's the cool thing to do. These people couldn't name three guys on the Astros' current roster. These people should be at home sipping merlot and discussing how the Rockets really blew it by taking Reggie Williams instead of Mario Bush. I hate these people.

As I was focusing my ire, Joe Mauer stepped to the plate. And sure enough, a couple of the clueless patrons behind us busted out with this exchange:

Idiot One: "Hey...who's this Mauer guy?"
Me (silently seething): Are you freaking kidding me? He's leading the majors in hitting! He's a former No. 1 draft pick! He's one of the best young players in the game! Please, friend of Idiot One, say any of the above to highlight the idiocy of your compatriot.
Idiot Two: "Never heard of him. But look at that average. He's pretty good."
Me (speechless, enraged, and nearly choking on my own tongue): ...
Idiot One: "Yeah, that's pretty high. That means he gets on base almost 40% of the time."
Me (vainly searching for a sharp object with which to stab the two asshats): "Sweet Mariah. I'm actually getting dumber listening to Bill James' illegitimate offspring."

If there is a God, He will see to it that people like that are habitually struck down every time they try to enter a stadium. Or He'll start speaking to me directly, thus giving me a foolproof insanity defense when I go on a killing spree at Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center, or Reliant Stadium.

That said, a few quick observations from last night's game:

1. Is there any pitcher you'd rather have for the next five years than Francisco Liriano? Me neither.
2. Clemens fell behind in the count far more often than he usually does, but his ability to battle back amazed me. As much as I hate to say it, Scott's analysis of him needing a few starts to get it together is probably dead on.
3. I think Ensberg is hurt a lot worse than he's saying. His swing just isn't the same since the injury.
4. Nice to see Garner throwing Lane back out there. The 'Stros need him in the line-up.
5. I still don't know how Trever Miller has a job pitching in the major leagues.

Rockets Draft Tidbit

This year's version of the NBA Draft may make up for what it lacks in big-name appeal by providing an above-average amount of unpredictabilty and deal-making, at least if ESPN's Chad Ford's sources are correct. No one seems certain about the top eight picks, except for Arn Tellem, whose clients include LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy. Aldridge and Roy, according to Ford's blog on ESPN.com, refused to work out on Thursday for Charlotte's new executive, some guy named Michael Jordan, not because of injury, but instead because Tellem is "very comfortable with where they are going in the draft". Charlotte picks #3. Does that mean Aldridge and Roy are going #1? Is Toronto's hiring of Maurizio Gherardini as their new Vice President and assistant general manager a sign that the Raptors are going to spend their #1 overall pick on Bennetton's own Andrea Bargnani?

The most interesting tidbit that Ford provides for Rockets' fans is the thought that the Rockets are rumored to be interested in moving Luther Head and their #8 pick in return for the #5 or #6 pick in the first round, a move which Ford speculates would be motivated by the Rockets' desire to draft Brandon Roy. If it costs the Rockets Luther Head to get Brandon Roy, I'm okay with that. Head was courageous and valuable to the Rockets last year, but only because the Rockets were awful. Head is nothing more than a fourth-string guard on a playoff team, while Roy would step in and start at the shooting guard position for Houston on Day One of training camp.

Farm Update

I'm going to try to be a little more consistent with these updates, especially with regard to players who seem ready to make an impact on the big-league level:

AAA: The Express was one-hit by Ben Hendrickson, recently demoted from the Brewers' big-league club. Super Joe McEwing, ace pitching mechanics' detective, got the only scratch for the Express in 2-0 loss. Mike Gallo pitched two scoreless innings for the Express, walking three and striking out one.

AA: Mitch Talbot, the Astros 2nd-round pick in the 2002 draft, was brilliant, pitching seven shutout innings and allowing only two hits while striking out twelve. OF Josh Anderson went 4-5 with a HR, and Ben Zobrist and J. R. House added two hits apiece.

High-A: The Avalanche lost 2-1 to Myrtle Beach, as their offense continues to struggle. SP Ronnie Martinez pitched seven strong innings to lower his ERA to 1.62 in seven starts at Salem since being called up from Lexington in May. Martinez is 23 years old and signed with the Astros as an undrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2001. He has pitched very well at all three stops heading into Salem, so he may be a guy to keep an eye out for, although with the Astros' track history of advancing players through the system, he may be 40 by the time he reaches Round Rock.

Low-A: The Legends lost their opening game of the second half 5-2 to Asheville. Josh Flores had three hits, and German Melendez continued his stellar relief pitching with two hitless, scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Melendez is 24 years old and is being converted from a position player to a relief pitcher.

Short Season A: Tri-City swamped Everett 10-1 on the road. Daniel Mayora and Joshua Banda paced the offense, and Andrew Kreidermacher pitched 6.2 excellent innings to earn the win.

Rookie: Greenville was shut out 3-0 by Kingsport. 2006 11th round pick Thomas Vessella, a 6-6 pitcher out of Whittier (CA) College, pitched three scoreless innings in his pro debut.

Crucial Month Begins for the Astros

Tonight the Astros begin a three game series with the Chicago White Sox in a rematch of the 2005 World Series. If the Astros have any real hopes of reaching the postseason again in 2006, they had better pick up their level of play over the next thirty days because their schedule becomes much more difficult during that span. According to ESPN's Relative Power Index Standings, the Astros have the the weakest Strength of Schedule in MLB through their first 73 games. They have also been outscored by twenty runs, despite managing to put together a 37-36 record. Starting with the recent three-game stint against the Twins, in which the Astros lost two out of three games, the Astros face the following schedule:

3 v. Twins, 3 at White Sox, 3 at Detroit, 3 at Texas, 3 v. Cubs, 4 v. St. Louis, ALL-STAR BREAK, 4 at Florida, 3 at Cubs, 3 at Mets, 3 v. Cincinnati

The Tigers are 1st in the MLB RPI standings, the White Sox are 2nd, the Rangers are 6th, the Mets are 7th, Twins are 9th, the Cardinals are 10th and the Reds are 11th, and the Marlins have won 20 of their last 27 games. In terms of starting pitchers' ERA, the Tigers are 1st, the Mets are 2nd, the White Sox are 7th, the Marlins are 8th and the Reds are 9th.

Over that same 30-day stretch, the Cardinals will face the following schedule:
3 at Tigers, 3 v. Indians, 3 v. Royals, 3 at Atlanta, 4 at Houston, 3 v. Dodgers and 3 v. Atlanta

The Reds will face the following schedule:
3 at Indians, 3 v. Royals, 3 v. Indians, 3 at Milwaukee, 4 at Atlanta, 4 v. Rockies and 3 v. Mets

The Astros do have the benefit of the Rocket's return to the rotation, but their offense continues to struggle (14th in NL in OPS) and their road record is again abysmal (12-18). When this stretch ends, there will only be 57 games remaining in the season, which is not a whole lot of time to make up a significant distance in the standings. The Astros are now about as full-strength as they can hope to be, with Clemens back from "retirement" and Oswalt off of the DL. We are going to learn a lot about this team over the next thirty days, beginning tonight in Chicago against undefeated Jose Contreras.

Ron Gardenhire's a Longhorn?

WTF? I had no idea. From ESPN.com's story on tonight's glorious rebirth:

"Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, a former Texas Longhorn player like Clemens, said it will be 'fun' to see him back on the mound and said his work ethic has allowed him to continue to excel at 43.

But don't think Gardenhire will be rooting for the fellow Longhorn.

'Hopefully he'll have the ends of his horns chopped up a little bit down here,' he said."

No wonder I didn't know Gardenhire was a 'Horn. He's not. No self-respecting Longhorn would ever make a "saw 'em off" joke.

Anyone think there's any way Clemens could bean the manager for this transgression? Go to hell, Ron Gardenhire.

Mock Draft Mania - Who will the Rockets Take at #8?

Before I start, does anyone else think that Chuck Hayes can become to the Rockets what Udonis Haslem has become to the Heat?

NBADraft.net - Randy Foye
Real GM - Brandon Roy
Chad Ford (ESPN - subscription required) - J. J. Redick
Draft Express - Randy Foye
Fanball - J. J. Redick
SI.com - Adam Morrison
About.com - J. J. Redick
Collegehoops.net - J. J. Redick
Inside Hoops - Marcus Williams
Hoops Hype - Randy Foye

We'll revisit these mock drafts just prior to the draft and see how/if they change.

Several comments about the potential for the Rockets to trade their #8 pick to New Orleans in return for the #12 and #15 picks. I'm not sure I'd do that if I'm Houston. Randy Foye, Marcus Williams, Rudy Gay, Ronnie Brewer, Rodney Carney, Adam Morrison, J. J. Redick...without question, one of these guys will be available to the Rockets at #8, but there is a decent chance that none of these guys would be available at #12. I don't think that the Rockets would be smart to take a chance on missing all of these guys, even if you add another first round pick in the process. I do like Michigan State's Maurice Ager, who would be more appropriately picked in the #12 - #15 range than at #8, so if you could somehow get Shelden Williams and Maurice Ager at #12 and #15, respectively, that would potentially go a long way towards filling two big voids on the Rockets roster. I just do not think Shelden Williams will slip that far.

I certainly have no idea where the Rockets will go in the first-round. However, in watching D-Wade, Josh Howard, Boris Diaw and Tayshaun Prince in this year's playoffs, I know that the Rockets are desperate need of some athleticism and length. As such, I do not see the Rockets taking Redick, despite the obvious help that his shooting could bring (if he was left wide open on a routine basis). Also, from hearing JVG on the radio a couple of times this week, it sounds like he has the same concerns with respect to the size of his current guards. JVG made a couple of comments about the lack of height present in David Wesley, Rafer Alston and Luther Head, which makes me think that Randy Foye, a 6'2" 2-guard, is not a possibility. My guess is that the Rockets will take one of Brewer, Carney or Gay, depending on who is available, and I think that all three will turn out to be better NBA players than J. J. Redick. Use the Mid-Level Exception to sign some shooting help (Tony Delk, Eddie House, DeShawn Stevenson, Richie Frahm) and maybe a backup PG (Speedy Claxton).

Preview: The Rocket's Return

Just call me Bob Swerski. In his glorious return to Minute Maid Park, watch for the following line in tomorrow's Chronicle:

Clemens (W, 1-0)--6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Don't say I didn't warn you. As excited as I am about seeing the Rocket's first game back (and yes, I will be there, with trusty Coors Light by my side), tonight's game has been rendered infinitely more awesome by the fact that the Twins are rolling Francisco Liriano out there. If you haven't seen this kid pitch, you're in for a treat tonight. He's arguably the best young pitcher in the game, and it will be beyond cool to see the best pitcher of our generation (and possibly any generation) take on someone with stuff that's every bit as electric. The Juicebox will be rocking tonight.

Some good reads regarding the Return of the Rocket:

Richard Justice - Houston Chronicle - column describing his take on the Return
David Barron - Houston Chronicle - great piece about the Rocket's day with a 15 year-old leukemia patient
Jason Williams - St. Paul Pioneer Press - previews the changing of the guard featured tonight
Mel Antonen - USA Today - previews the Rocket's return and the Astros' plight
Dave Sheinen - Washington Post - the Rocket doesn't even have to wait in traffic anymore?

This Just In: Trever Miller Is The New Gallo

In a positively eerie moment of deja vu last night, Astros lefty "specialist" Trever Miller entered a tie game in the top of the 10th inning. Sure, Qualls, Borkowski, Nieve, and Wheeler were all available, but the situation CLEARLY called for a lefty who can't get people out. Miller warms up and digs in to face Twins 1B Justin Morneau. He winds up and deals a "fastball" right down the middle of the plate. Morneau predictably tees off and launches Miller's feta into the stratosphere. Twins 6, Good Guys 5. Although Preston Wilson showcased his first bit of clutch hitting this season with a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game (after the 'Stros had blown a 4-1 lead), you just knew that there wasn't going to be a bounce back from this.

After I picked myself off the floor and quieted my screaming, I paused to wonder what the point of having lefthanders in the bullpen is when they don't ever actually get anyone out. Exhibit A, as has been discussed in this space many times, is The Rooster. But Trever Miller is really not much better. He's pitched 20.0 innings, but surrendered 22 hits, walked 7, and coughed up 10 runs (all earned). This seems to just be another pathetic case of someone keeping a job on a major league roster simply because he wipes his arse with his left hand. It's beyond ludicrous. I refuse to believe that there aren't better options elsewhere. Like, for example, in the stands of Minute Maid Park. The 'Stros should start a promotion that randomly selects fans to pitch in relief. Odds are, one of them will be a lefty and get signed to a three year deal.

Notes from the Farm

AAA: Round Rock clings to a one-game lead in the PCL American South. Luke Scott continues to mash (18 HR, 49 RBI in 242 ABs, .310/.414/.587 including a 41/48 K/BB ratio), making him the prime target for a call-up in the outfield. Charlton Jimerson continues to play well, but his astonishing 97 K in 259 ABs renders him nothing more than a 5-tool project for the forseeable future.

On the mound, Jason Hirsh has run his record to 7-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.02, allowing only 69 hits and 4 home runs in 83.1 IP. Control is a bit of an issue, but if I'm Wandy, Buchholz, Nieve or Backe, I'm looking over my shoulder at this kid because he is clearly not too far off. Of course, this is the Astros, so he's likely at least four years away per the terms of the "Daryl Ward Rule". Ask Jason Lane and Chris Burke for further details.

I almost forgot - The Rooster has allowed two runs in seven innings of work for the Express. See you in September, Mikey-boy.

AA: The Hooks have already clinched the Texas League's first-half title. Hunter Pence continues to destroy the ball (.556 SLG), and SS Ben Zobrist (.320/.418/.447) and C J. R. House (.345/.389/.496) have also posted solid first half numbers, though Zobrist's 14 errors are a cause for concern. All three of these guys better be in Round Rock sometime this season.

The pitching is stellar as well, led by Matt Albers (7-2, 2.23 ERA), Juan Guiterrez (7-3, 3.20 ERA) and closer Jailen Peguero (0.78 ERA, 14 saves and 40 K in 34+ IP).

High A: Salem has struggled so far this season, currently seven games below .500. The offense has been awful, with only SS Drew Sutton and OF Beau Torbert posting respectable numbers. OF Frankie Caraballo tore up Lexington but has had difficulty handling High-A pitching. On the mound, Chad Reineke has been the Avalanche's most consistent starter (5-5, 2.89 ERA) with Troy Patton (1-7, 3.92 ERA) and Felipe P. Del Guice (3-3, 3.75 ERA) not far behind. The SAL's Pitcher of the Year, Jimmy Barthmeier, has struggled to start the season. One positive from Salem's slow start is that these pitchers will be quite adapted to losing 1-0 games when they get to the bigs after a full season like this one.

Low A: Lexington has also clinched their first-half divisional title at EIGHTEEN games over .500 thus far in 2006. A three-headed offensive monster of Ole Sheldon, J. R. Towles and Mark Ori have led the way, which is surprising since these guys are all considerably lesser prospects than Josh Flores, Eli Iorg and Koby Clemens, who have all three struggled thus far this season. Keep an eye on Tom Fairchild, a 12th round pick in 2005 who is 8-3 with a 1.85 ERA and 79 Ks in 87 innings pitched.

Happy Birthday, H-Town Sports

A belated 1st Birthday to H-Town Sports, which turned a year old on June 10, 2006. Nearly 7500 visitors in the first year certainly exceeded our expectations. Now if only we could make money off this deal so we could quit our real jobs like the guys at Deadspin.

Old News

Anyone who watched the Duke-LSU game in this year's NCAA Tournament was already aware that J. J. Redick lacked the ability to drive, so I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Seriously though, whatever it takes to keep this pot-smoking, drunk-driving, poetry-writing crybaby out of a Rockets' uniform is fine with me. Play the character card, Les, if you think it will help persuade the fans. Just don't waste a top-10 pick on a sissified Jim Les. Redick's a one-dimensional prima donna with a substance abuse problem. If you think that describes your first-round pick, then look at Patrick Kennedy or Whitney Houston. At least it would be original.

Colt McCoy is a Lifesaver

Thanks to the always informative Deadspin for publicizing this noble tale.

Maybe now the rest of the world will understand why Longhorns occasionally come across as somewhat arrogant. We're saving lives here, people!

Richie Justice Predicts the Future

Let me start by saying that Dick Justice should be required to place a disclaimer on all of his writing that establishes the fact that he has likely already passionately argued the opposite of whatever his current column's theme is or that he most certainly will do so in the future when it becomes trendy or convenient. So publishing his recent blog entry entitled "10 Things I think today, but could change my mind about tomorrow" was actually one of his better ideas of late. Of course, he had to steal that idea too, apparently, from Peter King, which does not surprise anyone associated with this blog.

Surprisingly, most of his "10 things" did not cause spontaneous vomiting, mostly because they are dumb generalizations without any detailed foundation (a/k/a typical sportswriter 'research'). I will certainly give him credit for the zinger that Kazmir would still be in Double-A were he an Astro. The item, however, that I took immediate notice to was #7, which indicates that Michael Bennett will be the Texans' starting RB in Week One and that Jason Babin and Travis Johnson "will need solid training camps just to make the team". Of course, Justice provides no additional detail to this, probably because he overheard someone else say it in passing and decided to run with it as his own original thought though he has no football reasons or knowledge to back it up, but I find both of these suggestions extremely difficult to digest, much like Tim finds the chicken fried steak at El Patio.

Michael Bennett has never rushed for 500 yards in an NFL season, and he failed to lock up the starting job in Minnesota, a RB-starved organization, despite several opportunities. The Texans already have significant depth at the RB position, making the acquisition alone of Bennett somewhat odd (should it ever happen), much less the notion that he would be starting for the team in a mere handful of months. Secondly, Jason Babin and Travis Johnson both were talented, successful college football players and 1st-round draft picks who have struggled early in their Texans' careers, Babin often as the result of injury problems. Neither Babin nor Johnson was inserted by the Texans in the position, however, that he achieved his college successes, instead being forced to learn a new scheme and a new position on the fly. This season both appear headed back to the comforts of a 4-3 and to their original college positions, where I for one have great hope that they will flourish. I will be quite stunned if either of these two guys does not play a significant role along the Texans' defensive front in 2006, much less if one struggles to make the team. I assume Dickie posted this item as a predecessor for his future blog entry, "1000 things I threw against the wall without backup or explanation, hoping that one would stick so I could beat my chest in the papers and on the radio at some point in the future".

(One final note, DJ: Garner didn't get stupid overnight...he's been stupid. There are potential solutions involving talented players that have apparently never crossed Scrap's mind. Hopefully he'll stumble into them somewhere).

Texans Hire Rick Smith

Rick Smith was hired yesterday as the Texans' new general manager, replacing Charley Casserly, who served in that role since the franchise's inception. As the Chronicle reports, at 36, Smith is the youngest GM in the NFL and is also, as I am sure Jose de Jesus Ortiz, LULAC and Quanell X will be thrilled find out, the second black GM in the NFL after Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore. In a refreshing response to a question about Smith's race, Texans' owner Bob McNair responded that the Texans were concerned abou Smith's merits, not his skin color. Smith comes from a successful organization in Denver, the same organization, of course, as the new Texans' head coach Gary Kubiak. Speculation is abound that Smith will have a much more limited scope of power than his predecessor did and that Gary Kubiak will assume more power in personnel-related decision making, something that Dom Capers did not have during his tenure.

Tom Kirkendall thinks that McNair tired of Casserly's "blathering to the media" and therefore is redesigning the GM position in Houston.

ESPN reports that Smith and Kubiak admit to having butted heads in the past, which is a positive sign, in my opinion. One concern in hiring Smith was that Kubiak was bringing in a "yes man" who would allow him to maintain unchecked power in the personnel department.

The Denver Post's Thomas George writes a rather glowing critique of the Texans' hiring of Rick Smith. George's conversations with Bob McNair around the time of the NFL Draft led him to believe that "character" was the number one priority in search to replace Casserly, and George even opines that McNair's emphasis on character combined with Reggie Bush's recent run-in with the NCAA may have played a larger role in the Texans' decision to draft Mario Williams than many believe. The most refreshing implication from George's column, to me, is the idea that Smith did not want to draft Maurice Clarett. Judging from the 'character' theme of this column, one would guess that McNair asked Smith several times about his role in the selection of Clarett by the Broncos.

One More Reason to Appreciate Roger Clemens...

I know he certainly won't be feeling this act of charity in his wallet, but it's pretty cool the Katy Rocket did this anyway:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3941273.html

Granted, the fact that his son plays for the Legends may have played a role in this act of generosity, but I still applaud the effort. Now if he can just turn around the entire freaking major league roster, we'll be all set.

Drunken Drafting, H-Town Sports Style - Part Two of Three

Just after the NBA draft was completed, but prior to anyone involuntarily returning their pollo to the city infrastructure, the four gurus took an ill-fated swing at baseball GM-ship. Starting from scratch, each participant was ordered to create a major-league winner. The draft order: Tim, ET, Scott and Vandenberg. Vandenberg was distracted several times throughout these proceedings and was substituted for by the well-qualified L-Train, who served quite notably in his absence.

Round One:

Tim - Albert Pujols
ET - Derek Jeter
Scott - Johan Santana
Vandenberg - Roger Clemens

Analysis: If not according to form, the first round was certainly exciting. Conventional wisdom held through the...first pick, after which ET decided that character outweighed production by selecting Mariah Carey's ex-beau second overall. Scott took Santana third, possibly just to maintain a sense of consistency with his 2006 fantasy baseball draft, in which he stunned his competitors by drafting the lefty ex-Astro farmhand second overall. As for Vandenberg's first round pick, there's no doubt that the blue-tinted margaritas played a role in this emotional choice. Tears certainly rolled down the faces of many an owner after witnessing this epic disaster.

Round Two:
Tim - A-Rod
ET - Lance Berkman
Scott - Vladimir Guerrero
Vandenberg - Craig Biggio

Analysis: Once again, Tim showed the ability to sell his own soul to the antichrist by selecting a universally-hated player. ET chose local favorite The Big Puma, mostly because she thinks he's "cute", but also because he hits lots of home runs. I admittedly was in the middle of ordering another margarita and was rushed to judgment, though it is hard to argue with Vlad. As for Vandenberg, he clearly continued to suffer the impact of excessive chemical distraction, selecting a 40 year-old second baseman as a cornerstone of his brand new franchise. Vandenberg was certainly correct, however, in noting that he would likely have the first two inductees in the hall of fame to be associated with this make-believe league, a factor which the rest of the table had clearly overlooked in making its own selections.

Round Three:
Tim - Chase Utley
ET - Randy Johnson
Scott - Miguel Cabrera
Vandenberg - Nomar

Analysis: In a move similar to Scott's selection of Santana in the first round, Tim went for shameless back-slapping in the third round, selecting Chase Utley, mostly with the intent of rubbing in Scott's face the fact that Tim owned the rights to Chase in fantasy baseball this season and would not trade him to Scott even if it meant certain victory. ET followed with a Vandenberg-like pick, trying to catch nostalgia in a bottle by taking the Big Unit. Scott made a strangely sound baseball move, drafting a young'un who oozes talent in Miggy Cabrera. As Vandenberg was incapacitated for the third round pick, his apt assistant L-Train made her selection three times, not because her competitors could not hear her but moreso because they could not believe what they were hearing.

Round Four:
Tim - Roy Halladay
ET - Adam Dunn
Scott - Ken Griffey
Vandenberg - Mike Sweeney

Analysis: This round is evidence that the drinks had begun to take serious and irreversible effects. Tim had obviously been sent to a near-comatose state in which he was only able to recite names of players on his current fantasy team, although Roy is certainly no slouch. Elizabeth's pick of Adam Dunn was understandable, but Scott's pick of KGJ was somewhat shaky. It is possible that Scott's mancrush on all things Red played a significant role in this selection. Finally, L-Train made her final pick of the evening. Like the selection of Nomar in the round previous, the selection of Mike Sweeney led to considerable debate among the participants, such as, "Is he still in the league" and "Are you sure you wouldn't rather take Mike LaValliere"?

Round Five:
Tim - Scott Kazmir
ET - Aaron Boone
Scott - Ryan Howard
Vandenberg - Chris Carpenter

Analysis: Lock of the night: Tim's now incoherent. For the third consecutive round, he drafts a player off of his fantasy team simply because he was working with a severely short-stacked deck at this point. ET has completely discarded on-field production by now and is looking solely at centerfold potential. Scott seems to be maintaining his balance quite well, rebounding from his previous reeeeeaach of Junior with a solid pick in Ryan Howard. Vandenberg surprised everyone upon his return to the table, selecting a player who could potentially improve his team's chances of winning. Hopefully he's also a lumbar specialist, as his previous selection is likely in need of an adjustment.

Round Six:
Tim - Jonathan Papelbon
ET - Sean Casey
Scott - Jake Peavy
Vandenberg - Morgan Ensberg

Analysis: Led by the infinite wisdom of John Kruk and motivated by the theme illustrated in his previous three picks, Tim wrapped up his draft by picking a pitcher whose thrown exactly 62 major-league innings, but who admittedly does have a bright future. ET's selection of Sean Casey led one manager to allege that she had already wrapped up the stat category "GIDP" in the standings. Jake Peavy was a vengeful pick for Scott, taken stubbornly in the hopes of reversing the karma of a potentially devestating fantasy trade involving JP the previous week. Vandenberg continued his trend of stockpiling local talent, taking Morgan Ensberg, who may be called on to play some first base in the event that Vandenberg's fourth-round pick is not freed from his body cast prior to Opening Day.

All in all, it is quite safe to say that the combatants in this baseball free-for-all should continue to pursue their day jobs quite feverishly. Tim seems to have come out on top in this second event, though one is not sure if it is because he intentionally took good players or that his mind was incapable of venturing "beyond the beyond".

Final stop: The NFL Draft

Potential Roster Moves for the Astros?

After this weekend's debilitating three-game sweep at the hands of the resurgent Cincinnati Reds, the Astros seem to be in the need of a roster shakeup. The offense is punchless, the pitching is ineffective and the defense is lackadasical. Chris Burke's clutch hitting on Sunday was the sole sign of life on this veteran team. Something must be done to send a message to the fan base that there is something to look forward to for the remainder of the season other than photo ops with The Rocket.

1. DFA Orlando Palmeiro, call up Luke Scott.
Luke Scott hit his 14th and 15th home runs for the Express on Sunday, and he's currently posting numbers of .279/.395/.547. It is sink-or-swim time for Luke Scott. Palmeiro is a nice luxury to have on your bench if you have a solid starting outfield, but the Astros no longer have this luxury. Palmeiro has historically been a decent pinch-hitter and spot starter, but the Astros need firepower, and O-Palm is as explosive as a jar of apple butter. Preston Wilson and Jason Lane have both been terrible with runners in scoring position. Get Scott some starts against RH pitching pronto. Both Lane and Wilson could use days off aplenty.

2. Try Chris Burke at SS.
Finally Adam Everett appears to have been supplanted as the default plug-in everyday at SS. His defense was immediately missed, as Eric Bruntlett made two pathetic errors over the weekend, but it was nice to feel as if there was at least minimal potential for offensive production from the SS position. However, Bruntlett is not the everyday answer. He is a very valuable bench player, but he has never been projected as an everyday starter for a winning major league team. But let's not run back to our ugly ex just yet. If Eric Bruntlett is deserving of an audition at SS, then certainly Chris Burke should get his shot. David Eckstein has never been confused with Omar Vizquel in the field, but he certainly has proven to be a solid everyday SS in Anaheim and St. Louis. Give Burke two weeks' worth of starts to prove his worth at SS. It's not like he's never played there before, and there is no risk at all at this point. You've finally admitted as an organzation that a change needs to be made, and your best positional prospect has played that position for years and is sitting on the bench in need of a spot on the field.

3. DL Roy Oswalt, Call up Jason Hirsh
I'm certainly not advocating moving Oswalt to the DL without cause, but the symptoms do not seem promising. A hamstring tweak that is morphing into a back problem seems to be something that needs attention. The Astros cannot win the division in the next two weeks, but losing Oswalt for a month or more would certainly guarantee their losing the division. Give Roy O a couple of weeks to heal, and bring up your next-best starting pitching prospect, Jason Hirsh. Hirsh has made 12 starts at Round Rock and has posted a 2.94 ERA, allowing only 59 hits in 70 innings. In a perfect world, Hirsh would be given the remainder of the season to marinate at AAA, but the 2006 Astros season is far from perfect. Hirsh is young at 24 years old, but he's by no means an infant. He was outstanding all season long in 2005 at AA and has been great thus far at AAA, and if he implodes in a short stint in the bigs this season and never recovers, then he likely is not big-league material anyway. Bring him up and give him the chance to succeed.

4. Start stretching out Chad Qualls
Am I the only one who sees an Aaron Cook-type starter in Qualls? Chad was a starter for several years in the minor leagues, and he posted solid numbers up through the chain. In his career, his BAA and WHIP are both lower in the 16-30 and 31-45 pitch counts than in the initial 15. He's a big, strong kid with great stuff, and in my unqualified opinion, it seems as though his struggles come when he's overthrowing on the hill. I cannot help but think that he could be a quite nasty starting pitcher if he paced himself and just relentlessly pounded the strike zone with his excellent movement, rather than attempting to strike each batter out in short stints.

The Astros have never been labeled as 'creative' in their roster management, and they cannot be blamed for their past conversatism, as their roster had been stocked with consistent, talented veterans. Now that is no longer the case, and as such, some outside-of-the-box thinking is needed. Since we've established that the brass reads our blog, I felt that it was my duty to get the proverbial ball rolling. Take it away, Timmy P!

Drunken Drafting, H-Town Sports Style - Part One of Three

It's quite clear that alcohol and boating do not mix. Neither do alcohol and driving, or alcohol and math homework. The co-founders of H-Town Sports did stumble into something Saturday night that does mix quite nicely with an excess of ballpark beers, and that's fantasy sports drafts.

After watching Ryan Freel make a cold-blooded catch to rip the hearts out of 35,000 Astros fans, a foursome of well-lubricated sports fans left Minute Maid Park in search of some Tex-Mex and a margarita machine. Both were located in due course, but little did we know that the sizzling fajitas would be a secondary course behind a two-hour, multi-sport draft session. Here is a recap, starting with the NBA:

Understand that there were no rules to this intense drill. The mission was simply to begin an organization from scratch as of today with the goal of winning an immediate championship. The draft order was determined in very imprecise fashion by yours truly, who crushed a tortilla chip up into four non-equally sized pieces and drew them at random out of his grimy paw. H-Town Sports' own Tim kicked off the proceedings, to be followed by The Mayor of Nashville, the wife of Kentucky Scott (who will be lovingly referred to herein as "ET") and lastly, yours truly. The results are as follows:

Team Tim:
Round One: LeBron - clear #1 overall pick
Round Two: Yao - imagine this 1-2 punch...it's like T-Mac with an all-round floor game
Round Three: Steve Nash
Round Four: Kobe - this pick came with a disclaimer that team chemistry was not an issue
Round Five: KG - a clear sign of insobriety that The Big Ticket was still available in Round Five

Analysis: Steve Nash could average 30 assists a game with this lineup, conditioned upon the opponent scoring at will because this starting five would get massacred on the boards. Kobe would most assuredly refuse to shoot in protest of being surrounded by an excess of talent, and Yao would be hospitalized with fatigue after two scrimmages of trying to keep up with Nash, LeBron and KG on their perpetual fastbreak. Overall Grade: B-plus.

Team Vandenberg:
Round One: Dwyane Wade - someone's been watching SportsCenter
Round Two: Chauncey Billups - someone's ONLY been watching SportsCenter
Round Three: Ben Wallace - I sense a theme here
Round Four: Tim Duncan
Round Five: Jason Kidd

Analysis: Where to begin. The press is going to have a field day with this assortment of wild and crazy personalities. There are more laughs in an episode of the George Lopez show than there would be in an entire season of post-game interviews from this troupe. But of course, it's on-the-court performance that counts most. Interior defense: outstanding. Ballhandling and passing: outstanding. Every other facet of the game: completely lacking. With Kidd and Wallace, you've got two complete zeros shooting the ball. D-Wade would apparently play the three, causing some serious issues on defense. This roster is clearly the result of ESPN's hypnosis of the Average NBA Fan. Overall grade: C-minus.

Team ET:
Round One: Shaq Diesel - hard to argue with taking the most dominant player of this generation
Round Two: Carmelo - leading the league in street cred
Round Three: The Guy Dating Eva Longoria - unsure of the position he plays, but certain of his red-carpet status, ET makes the first pick based on her chief scout, Ted Casablanca
Round Four: T-Mac - hometown hero
Round Five: Chuck Hayes - this pick drew the ire of some GMs, but I found it brilliant

Analysis: Quinn Buckner could coach this team to an NBA title. Superstars are slotted at every position but PF, which is occupied by The Most Efficient Player in the NBA, Chuck Hayes. This team clearly would play its home games in Hollywood, and Stuart Scott would buy season tickets. T-Mac and Carmelo would be free to shoot at will, and Chuck would set them screens about which the average NBA gunner only dreams. Overall Grade: A

Team Scott:
Round One: Dirk - trendy pick at the moment
Round Two: Amare Stoudamire - not sure that this one has been cleared by the team doctors
Round Three: Tayshaun Prince - Tayshaun is special, but a top-12 NBA player...?
Round Four: Chris Paul - sneaky good pick here
Round Five: Ray Allen

Analysis: This team is intriguing. Length is certainly a strength here, but interior defense could be a bit of an issue. Kelvin Cato could likely go for 20 and 10 against this crew. However, imagine a fastbreak with Paul leading the team down the floor, Prince and Amare filling the wings and Dirk and Allen trailing for a spot-up three. High on creativity, low on practicality. Overall Grade: B-minus.

That does it for Saturday night's NBA festivities. Considering the fact that this event was first in the chronological sequence of events, it went rather by-the-book. Stay tuned for the MLB and NFL versions, which came subsequent to several additional rounds of Cuervo and Coors Light, whicih will be self-evident upon display.

ROOSTER TO ROUND ROCK! I repeat, ROOSTER TO ROUND ROCK!

Pardon the delay in posting this, but the greatest news possible for all Astros fans broke around 6 p.m. on Friday evening. Mike Gallo is no longer on a major league roster. There are so many hilarious quotes from The Rooster in this Chronicle report that I can't possibly do them justice. Suffice to say that he thinks he is markedly better than what the statistics have shown him to be. Apparently, he somehow believes that righties posting a .509 average against him, while his principal "fodder" (a/k/a left-handed hitters) hit "only" .370 against him is a misleading statistic. I haven't seen that sort of self-aggrandizing delusion since Heaven's Gate.

Regardless, I cannot put into words the joy I felt when Scott sent the text message that made me tune into AM radio immediately on Friday evening: "Gallo Gone." Once I received confirmation that he had indeed been optioned down (granted, I was hoping that he'd been traded to the Cards for a slightly used set of Franklin batting gloves), I finally felt like I hadn't been screaming to a brick wall lo these many seasons. Kudos, Tim Purpura. You should win Executive of the Year for this move.

Of course, the 'Stros proceeded to get swept by the hapless Reds, but even that cannot dim my excitement over knowing that Gallo won't be around to ruin any more games for Astros fans. Excelsior!

Hello Again

Rocket coming back won't makes us better than a .500 team, Backe is the pitcher I want back. I was at his parade in Galveston, I'll never forget it.

Straight From The Mouth of the Worst Pitcher in the History of All Baseball...

After posting another impressive line (2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, O K) in yet another meltdown that cost the Astros a game in extra innings, The Rooster had this to say:

"Unfortunately, we had some close games that we just had get away. The game in Pittsburgh, I was at the end of that one, too {Editor's Note: No way! I had completely forgotten about that one! But now I remember...I screamed like a seven year old girl and broke a window when you gave up that game-tying HR and then followed it up by THROWING A WILD PITCH ON AN INTENTIONAL WALK! Wow! I don't know how I could have forgotten that! Thanks for reminding me of that awful experience.}. I accepted this challenge today, but I just had a couple of bad pitches."

There are a couple of other gems in the recap at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3919102.html (namely, that he's "disappointed with the way [his] season is going" and that he "takes it personally"), but that's by far my favorite. You accepted the challenge, Mike? Really? How would you go about not accepting the challenge? "Gee, Scrap, I'm not really feeling it today. Think I'll just sit here and throw the rosin bag around in the bullpen." Actually, that sounds tremendous. From now on, new rule: Do not accept the challenge under any circumstance. And you "just" threw "a couple" bad pitches? Are you freaking kidding me? That implies that you are capable of throwing a good pitch. If we all assume that 86 mph cheese does not a constitute a good pitch (a dangerous assumption, to be sure), when was the last time you actually threw a good pitch? I'm shaking just thinking about the self-delusion you must maintain to even think such a ridiculous lie.

In all seriousness, I almost jumped out of my window yesterday when Garner put Gallo in the game. The guy is the antithesis of a lockdown closer. As in, he enters the game and you know the opposition is going to come up with a run or two. Why in the world you'd EVER put him in a game when there is ANYONE available to pitch, I have no clue. If yesterday's performance isn't the death knell in his "career" in an Astros uniform, I am officially convinced that Gallo can not do anything to get demoted. He'd better be sent to Round Rock today. And by "sent to Round Rock," I mean "drawn and quartered like William Wallace."