Houston lost today’s contest to the Cincinnati Reds 8-2. Looks like Berkman taking the road trip wasn’t enough to give the team their second W of the season.

From astros.mlb.com

Stros at the plate: “Brian Bogusevic had two hits. … Lance Berkman was 1-for-3 with a first-inning double. … Hunter Pence was 1-for-3 with a sixth-inning single. … Geoff Blum was 1-for-3. Jason Smith tripled in the eighth and scored on a two-run homer by Drew Sutton. ”

Stros on the mound: “Starter Jeff Fulchino was hit around and gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits over two innings. … Gilbert De La Vera pitched two scoreless innings with one walk. … Fernando Nieve gave up two runs, one earned, with one hit and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.”

Sounds to me like Nieve and Paulino have eached pitched themselves right out of the picture.  Maybe Houston can trade Nieve?  Teams will probably just wait until he hits the waiver wire and then pick hiim up.

Today make a dozen losses in a row for Houston and fan blogger Chip Bailey from the Houston Chronicle is asking if a manager can lose their job in Spring Training. Really Chip? Gimme a break.

 De La Vara and Arias both pitched two scoreless innings which is good news.  We still have 3 weeks of Spring Training so everyone needs to chill out, especially you Chip.

Also, one thing I have taken from this Spring Training so far is that Houston has a nice core of talent coming up right now.  Not necessarily a large amount of players but a good group of quality players.  Two or three years from now these guys are going to be making impacts at the big league level.

The Houston Astros lost 7-4 to the Atlanta Braves today making today their tenth loss in a row putting their Grapefruit League record at 1-10-1.

Cecil Cooper isnt’t happy and who can blame him?

From Alyson’s Footnotes: “The lineup looked largely like the one projected for Opening day: Matsui, Bourn, Berkman, Lee, Pence, Boone…with one of the projected starting pitchers, Brian Moehler, on the mound. And still, the Astros just weren’t very good.

“This was veterans today,” Cooper said. “We didn’t hit, and we didn’t execute our pitches. I don’t have any answers about why this is happening, unless someone put the hex on us.”

Cooper concluded with, “this is bordering on ridiculous.”"

What can you be excited about if you are an Astros fan right now? Bullpen performance: Today Valverde, Brocail, and Byrdak all pitched a scoreless frame.  Woohoo…

Because of the clubs recent performance, Lance Berkman is going to be making a road trip for the next game tomorrow.  Maybe he’ll go 4-4 with 8 RBI and he’ll pitch 4 scoreless innings.

It’s only Spring Training and 10 wins in a row wouldn’t count either but you can understand the frustration of Cecil Cooper.

From astros.mlb.com:

Stros at the plate: “Brian Bogusevic hit an RBI single and Kazuo Matsui an RBI triple, providing all the early offense. Tommy Manzella then gave them a lead in the seventh inning, when he hit a sacrifice fly to center, driving in pinch-runner Michael Bourn. First baseman John Gall tied the game in the eighth with an RBI single.”

Today was Brian Bogusevic’s first start.  Ed Wade said we may not have a lot of quantity in our minor league system but we do have some quality prospects.  I am starting to agree with Wade after seeing Johnson, Sutton, Bogusevic, and Castro.

Stros on the mound: “A non-roster invitee with only a slight chance to make the team, Jose Capellan nonetheless impressed, firing three shutout innings against a strong Venezuelan lineup. Capellan walked one, allowed one hit and struck out none. But Felipe Paulino, a product of the Astros’ Venezuelan Academy, allowed two runs in his two innings”

More on the Stros on the mound from Brian McTaggart from Chron.com:

On Paulino and De La Vara: “The good news for Felipe Paulino is the fact he says his arm and body felt good. But he didn’t pitch so well today against Venezuela, giving up five hits and two runs and one walk in two innings.

“My body and arm feel good, but I wasn’t feeling comfortable today and was pitching behind the count a lot,” he said. “I’m not happy. I just come here to do my job and that happened. I’m going to keep working and get ready for my next game.”

“Meanwhile, Rule 5 pick Gilbert De La Vara pitched excellent. He went two innings and gave up one hit and struck out one batter in two crisp innings. De La Vara, 24, has a 19-16 record and a 3.40 ERA in 145 career games in the minors, including 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA last year at Class AA Northwest Arkansas.”

“I try to take the same approach no matter what, whether it’s those guys, the veteran on the Venezuelan team, or the ‘B’ team,” he said. “My approach towards hitters is pound the ball down with quality pitches and throw strikes.”

De La Vara is a native of Arizona who was drafted in the 15th round of the 2004 draft. ”

On Capellan: “Astros starting pitcher Jose Capellan, a non-roster invitee to spring training, had an excellent outing today against a strong Venezuelan lineup. He pitched three innings and allowed a two-out single in the first and a two-out walk in the third, but no batters reached second base.

“I felt happy today. My fastball was working, but the curveballs weren’t working,” he said. “Some days you throw a good curveball, but today it was too high. I have to time to work on it.”

Capellan, 28, has a 5-7, 4.89 ERA in 99 career major league games with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies. He was signed to a one-year minor league contract on Jan. 14 of last year.

He’s probably a longshot to make the team, but he could put pressure on Russ Ortiz and Brandon Backe if he pitches like he did today in his next few outings.

“I’m competing to stay here on the team and working (on pitches), too,” he said. ”

Good news on Capellan and not so much for Paulino.  I really want Paulino to succeed in that I have been waiting for him to impact the club for the last three years.  However, I will gladly take a capable Capellan or Russ Ortiz over a mediocre Brandon Backe. Sorry Brandon.

Astros GFL Record: 1-5-2

Houston loses 12-2 to Tampa in today’s game at Port Charlotte, Fla.

From astros.mlb.com:

Stros at the plate: “Michael Bourn displayed the speed that enabled him to steal 41 bases in 2008 when he legged out an infield hit in the first inning. He then walked in his second at-bat and stole his third base of the spring before scoring Houston’s first run when Edwin Maysonet doubled to left in the third inning.”

Hopefully Bourn can get on base more this season.  If he can, he has a great chance to to lead the NL in steals.

Stros on the mound: “Right-hander Brandon Backe made his first start and second appearance of the spring and allowed four earned runs in two innings before leaving the game in the third with no outs and the bases loaded. Righty Samuel Gervacio took over for Backe and walked in three runs by issuing consecutive free passes to Pat Burrell, Gabe Kapler and Dioner Navarro. Polin Trinidad relieved Gervacio, and the wildness continued, as the left-hander walked Adam Kennedy to bring in the Rays’ fifth run.”

The pitching getting hit like this today isn’t as big of a deal as it seems.  The only real downer is Backe’s performance.  With Russ Ortiz pitching well in his last outing, Backe is going to pick it up to keep his spot on this rotation.

Astros Grapefruit League Record 1-5-1

Today’s game  against the Yankees ended with a 5-5 tie after the New York Yankees ran out of pitchers.

From astros.mlb.com

Astros at the plate: “Geoff Blum drove in Houston’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, plating Lance Berkman. Matt Kata knocked a solo homer off Anthony Clagett in the fifth, and Chris Johnson drove in two more runs with a hit in the eighth. Brian Bogusevic knocked in the game-tying run with an infield hit later in the inning. ”

Astros on the mound: “Hampton was slated to throw three innings, but a high pitch count limited him to just two. Hampton yielded four runs on six hits, including an RBI triple by Cabrera that contributed to a three-run first. Jose Valverde struck out two in one inning, and Ortiz allowed one run over three frames.”

Astros Grapefruit League Record : 1-4-1

I’ve had the chance to watch a little Houston Baseball over the weekend and last week thanks to ESPN and the MLB Network.  Chris Johnson is a good looking prospect.  I think the kid contributes to the club sometime this year. 

In other news, Miguel Tejada has decided to pitch for the Japanese squad in the World Baseball Classic and Wandy Rodriguez has a rib-cage injury.  He is expected to miss two starts.

The Astros fell to the Braves today 8-7 after their bullpen coughed up the lead.

From Astros.com

Stros at the plate: “Jason Michaels and Miguel Tejada recorded doubles off Jorge Campillo in a three-run first inning. Chris Johnson produced a third-inning sacrifice fly and then added an RBI double off Mike Gonzalez in the fifth inning”

Stros on the mound: Pretty much, Roy: “Oswalt made a successful exhibition season debut, allowing two runs and one hit in three innings. Two of the four strikeouts he recorded came at the expense of reigning National League batting champion Chipper Jones. ”

I caught some of this game in between classes at school today.  When I tuned in, the bottom of the 7th or top of the 8th, Houston was up 7-2 and Arias was on the mound.  He pitched really well and had a 1-2-3 inning.  Apparently after that Atlanta scored four off of Sergio Perez and two off of Gilbert De La Vara.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz has some nice insight to Roy and Brandon Backe’s performance: ”

“Oswaltstruck out the side in the first inning and gave up two runs over three innings with four strikeouts Thursday against the Braves. At a time in camp when starters are limited to one or maybe two innings, the veteran righthander tossed three innings and 53 pitches.

“I’m ahead of last year by a lot,” he said. “Everything feels pretty good. The ball was a little slick today. But everything felt pretty well. I’m way ahead of schedule from last year, for sure. I think I started earlier and it helped out a lot.

“To go out and throw 50 pitches your first outing is pretty good, especially getting up and down. That’s the biggest thing. You can throw 50 pitches before you come, but if you do it consistently it’s a little different than getting up and down, getting up and down, getting up and down. Today was good. You get to go out there three different times and get loose. I felt pretty well.”

In his only start before heading to the World Baseball Classic, Oswalt held the Braves to one hit, a two-run home run by David Ross in the second inning.

He walked one batter, hit another and threw 34 of his 53 pitches for strikes, finishing with a 94-mph fastball for a called third strike on Chipper Jones. He also struck out Jones in the first inning on a changeup, a pitch he has worked on this spring.

“It’s feeling better,” he said. “I’m getting a little more confidence in it.”

Jones was impressed with the changeup, saying, “The bottom fell out of it.”

That is exciting stuff about Roy.

Coop on Roy, Backe, and Arias: “Roy and Brandon both looked very, very sharp,” Cecil Cooper said. “Roy in particular was crisp. I saw a lot of life on his fastball. He actually threw some very good breaking balls too. He had some pretty good motion. And he looked like he was pretty close to midseason form.

“I thought Brandon pitched pretty well. He kept the ball down and he used his changeup. He was just going to throw fastball, changeups today. I thought Brandon threw the ball pretty well too. I was impressed with Arias too.”"

From astros.mlb.com

Stros at the plate : “Jason Smith put the Astros on the board first, driving in Darin Erstad with an RBI triple in the fifth frame. Michael Bourn knocked a double in the sixth to drive in Drew Sutton. Mark Saccomanno tripled to lead off the seventh and scored when center fielder Roger Bernadina overthrew home plate after fielding Humberto Quintero’s fly ball. Reggie Abercrombie drove in two with a double later in that inning, and Chris Johnson knocked a solo homer in the eighth”

Stros on the mound : “Mike Hampton turned a rough beginning into a solid outing, allowing no runs over two scoreless frames. He hit the first batter he faced and walked the next two to load the bases, but he struck out Austin Kearns and coaxed a double play from Jesus Flores to end the inning. Russ Ortiz, a fifth-starter hopeful, allowed one hit over two innings”

Sounds like Hampton got off to a shaky start but settled down.  From JJO of the Houston Chronicle, Hampton on his own performance and Cooper on Hampton:

“My arm felt good,” Hampton said after throwing two hitless innings. “My body felt good. Obviously location wasn’t where it needs to be, but all in all I felt good out there. Pitches and location will come. I got through with no hits, no runs. It wasn’t pretty at times, but I got there.”

“Mike seemed to be just a little bit tentative early, missing the zone a little bit,” Cooper said. “But then after … the first three (guys) he started to pitch a little bit and was real sharp. Russ, I thought, threw the ball really well.”

Apparently Hampton’s start was delayed due to the governor of Florida running late.

Houston’s Spring Training Record 1-0-0

So far so good.

Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence all sat out of today’s game.  Berkman, Tejada, and Lee will all play tomorrow.

Here is the lineup Cooper used for the game today:

Matsui 2b
Bourn cf
Pence rf
Blum 3b
Michaels lf
Erstad dh
Boone 1b
Smith ss
Towles c

Houston will play the Atlanta Braves tomorrow at Disney starting at 1:05 ET.  Roy Oswalt will make the start.

The Houston Astros were blown out by the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night by the score of 14-2. This is a game that the Astros just need to forget about and start thinking about Thursday’s game. The Astros have now lost three games in a row as they are having trouble staying in the wild card race.

Brandon Backe was terrible on the mound as he only lasted 1 2/3 innings. Backe gave up six hits and five runs including two home runs in the game. Backe took the loss after getting shelled and is now 9-13. The bullpen wasn’t very good either as Jack Cassel gave up one run, Fernando Nieve three runs, and Dave Borkowski five runs. It was a bad night to be a Astros pitcher.

The only offense for the Astros on the night came from Hunter Pence. Pence hit two solo home runs in the game. I can’t really fault the offense to much however as the pitching staff put the offense in a huge hole.

Thursday’s game is pretty much a must win in my opinion. If the Astros lose Thursday’s game, I think you can pretty much pack things in.

Astros Blog

Blah, so much for a even two game series against the Cubs up in Milwaukee. First off the crowd is 99% cubs fans, so the Astros were already at a disadvantage, and then add in the fact that the team is so tired, it is no wonder why they struggled in both of the games.

In the two games, the Astros only had one hit. Yeah, they were no hit my Carlos Zambrano on Sunday night, but I figured they would have a good shot on Monday. However, Ted Lilly gave up one hit in seven innings of action as the Astros struggled once again at the plate. One hit simply won’t get it done against the Cubs.

Brian Moehler took the loss as he was charged with six hits and five runs. Moehler gave up two home runs as well in the game. Chris Sampson also gave up a home run in the game and was charged with one run. Just another bad day for the Astros pitchers.

Now the Astros find themselves 2.5 games behind the Brewers and Phillies in the wild card race. The Astros need to have a good series against the Florida Marlins before they play a weekend series against the Pirates.

Stay positive Astros fans, the teams needs some confidence and we have to give them some help.

Astros Blog

The Houston Astros got the best of the Pittsburgh Pirates once again as they beat them on Wednesday night. This time it was by the score of 7-4 as the Astros won for the third straight time in the four game series. The Astros continue to play some aswesome baseball as they try everything they can do to get into the playoffs.

Brian Moehler picked up the win for the Astros after tossing the first six innings of the game. Moehler gave up five hits and two runs as he improved his record to 11-6. Wesley Wright had some trouble in the game as he allowed two runs to score as well. Jose Valverde notched the save which was hit 42nd of the year.

Miguel Tejada had the big hit for the Astros when he hit a grand slam in the sixth inning. Tejada led the Cubs with four rbi. Hunter Pence finished with a two-run home run and two rbi in the game while Darin Erstad also added one rbi.

Astros will try to go for the sweep on Thursday. I think they will get it! Astros Blog