AnotherHotCornerHasBeen

The way Woody Williams and Shawn Chacon have pitched in their spring training games should make it easier for Chris Sampson to make it into the starting rotation. Chris has not exactly lit it up, but Chacon and Woody have been getting lit up. It is unnerving to think of a rotation with either or both of the vets in it.

The Houston Astros are having the kind of Spring training I was hoping not to see. They are scoring some runs, but they are giving up tons of runs. The starting pitchers behind Roy Oswalt are all struggling with command, walking  lots of batters and allowing many earned runs. Do you think they will suddenly get things going in the right direction in April?

A virtual friend of mine and I made a little blogging bet on the upcoming baseball season. She is a big Cubs fan and I am a huge fan of the Houston Astros. They compete in the Central Division of the National League. Last year we had a writing wager on which team would finish higher in the standings. I ended up having to write an ode praising the Cubbies. This year’s wager is on which team will have the pitcher with the most wins. I am taking Roy Oswalt. She is going with Carlos Zambrano. It should be an iteresting race.

Tomorrow will be a day that rings out loud for me. The Houston Astros will begin play in the Grape Fruit League, the major league spring training exhibition games. They do not count in the standing, they are meant only to prepare the players for the regular season. But for fans like me, tomorrow we can turn on the radio and tune in a baseball game for the first time in five months. Can you hear the crack of the bat?

That my be the new name for the Major League Baseball team that plays at Minute Maid Park. It was bad enough that all the talk was centered around Home Town boys Andy Pettitte and Roget Clemens. But today the news came out that Miguel Tejada has become the target of the Congressional hearings as to whether he lied to a federal investigator. Now we in Houston are wondering who will play shortstop on Opening Day.

The Houston Astros just traded for the All Star shortstop, Miguel Tejada, fromthe Baltimore Orioles. They will likely score lots of runs. But Who will be in the starting pitching rotation? My guess is Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Brandon Backe, Woody Williams and Chris Sampson. Four out of five games will last four hours and each team will have ten runs!

Just a couple of days ago I was posting the Astros Lineup and thinking it would be pretty potent on offense. Now they have added Miguel Tejada. So here is a possible new lineup: Michael Bourne, Kaz Matsui, Hunter Pence, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada, Ty Wigginton, J. R. Towels, and the pitcher. Sounds Strong!

I saw in the Houston Chronicle sports page today that the Astros’ manager Cecil Cooper has been toying with a starting line up for the 2008 season of Micheal Bourne in center field, Kaz Matsui at second, Hunter Pence in right field, Lance Berkman at first, Carlos Lee in left field, Ty Wigginton at third, J.R. Towles catching, Adam Everrett at short stop, with the pitcher hitting ninth. It sounds like a very workable plan to me, with lots of speed at the top and some serious run producers in the middle.

Now let’s get some starting pitching.

I had been hoping that Luis Castillo would be interested in signing with the Houston Astors to play second base for them for the foreseeable future. But last night the all star decided to return to the New York Mets to continue his career there. Now if the Astros do not sign one of the Japanese second basemen who are free agents, I am afraid we will be stuck with watching Chris Burke at second in Houston.

Brad Ausmus is a lucky man. He hits .235 and is rewarded with a $2 million contract. He is going to be back with the Houston Astros in 2008. I am not particularly surprised, because the pitchers love to throw to him. I think his grasp of the game and knowledge of the hitters makes their job easier. I think Brad’s playing time may be less next year if the young man, J. R. Towles, can live up to expectations offensively.