Here is your Houston Astros Media Round Up for today:

Alyson Footertalks to Houston Astros Pitching Coach Dewie Robinson about what he sees in this years pitching core. “Robinson likes the quality of this group more than the pitchers the Astros had in camp during Spring Training last year.”

There is a nice article on veteran infielder Jason Smith over at Chron.com

Brian McTaggartmakes his projection for Houston’s opening day roster and I gotta say, I think he is pretty much right. I might swap Capellan for Otiz but neither is Brandon Backe which is probably the way it is going to work out. Sorry Brandon.

Astros first round draft pick and catching prospect Max Sapp has suffered two Seizures.  For more info, check out the article at Chron.com.

Finally, Jose de Jesus Ortiz has a few columns you need to check out; De La Vara Impresses, Berkman Hits Road for Game in Sarasota, and Keep Astros Sapp in your Thoughts.

In non Astros related media, there is a good video on spring training autographs that I came across at Big League Stew that will remind you why you love baseball, just in case you forgot.

Apparently Backe and Wandy have been taking fungo bats to each others rib cages for fun.

From chron.com:

“Backe could miss at least one start after suffering a strain of the left posterior intercostal muscle, commonly referred to as a strained rib cage muscle.

“The injury occurred during the first inning of Backe’s third spring training outing (second start) Sunday against Pittsburgh when his left foot slipped while he was delivering his final pitch of the inning.

“The last pitch of the first inning, my front foot, my landing foot, slipped on me a little bit and caused me to basically collapse on that side,” Backe said. “I guess what caused it was the ribs pushed together or whatever.”

Backe stayed in the game but was pulled after two innings, one shy of his target goal of three. He allowed two hits and one walk.”

This is a real bummer for Brandon as he isn’t in the position where he can afford to miss a lot of time.  Sounds like he was actually pitching well before he got injured.

“Russ Ortiz, Jose Capellan and Felipe Paulino are among his competition, and they could get a leg up if Backe is on the shelf for a long period of time.

“I don’t need to miss any time,” he said. “Missing time is only hurting my situation.

“But I’m going to work as hard as I can to get back and get this thing ready for me to get back on the mound.””

Are you listening Russ Ortiz?  This injury is definitely not going to help Backe’s bid for the 5th spot.

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

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.”"

Pitchers and catchers officially report tomorrow, February the 14th.  It’s safe to say the off-season is over and Spring Training has begun.  Excitement is in the air.  Before taking a look at the Houston Astros going into Spring Training, let’s take a look at how they fared this off-season.

Ed Wade said on more than one occasion that the teams main objective for the off-season was to retain Randy Wolf, Doug Brocail, and LaTroy Hawkins. 

It was reported that the Astros made Randy Wolf an offer of $28.5 million and three years.  Before Wolf had time to make a decision Houston was forced to pull their offer from the table due to economic reasons.  Wolf has since been pursued by many MLB teams and landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $5 million. 

However, Wade was successful in retaining both Hawkins and Brocail who will both play a pivotal roles in the Astros bullpen, which is probably the strongest aspect of their team.

Once Drayton McLane put away his wallet the Astros priorities shifted.  The team was still looking to add a starting pitcher, especially with Wolf no longer an option.  But, for that to happen Wade was going to have to move some payroll through trades.  Ed Wade went into the winter meetings shopping Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada.  Wigginton garnered significant interest while teams showed virtually no interest in Tejada. 

Wade came away from the Winter Meetings with a catcher, Lou Palmisano, via the rule 5 draft, and both Wigginton and Tejada still in a Houston uniform.  Shortly after the Winter Meetings the Astros non-tendered Ty Wigginton, again for financial reasons and much to the dismay of Houston fans.  Wigginton has since signed a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, also known as Houston Astros American League team.  (see former Astros on Baltimore Orioles)

The biggest signing the club made this off-season was when they picked up Mike Hampton.  Hampton, a former Astro and Cy-Young winner, signed with the club for 1 year and $2 million dollars plus incentives. 

The rest of the off-season was peppered with minor league contracts, (including David Newhan and Russ Ortiz) and veteran signings (Aaron Boone and Jason Michaels).

Houston managed to avoid arbitration with all eligible candidates:

Jose Valverde signed for $8 million, Brandon Backe $1.55 million, Tim Byrdak $1 million, and Humberto Quintero for $610,000.  All for 1 year contracts.  The club also signed Wandy Rodriguez to a $2.6 Million dollar contract with incentives, as well as Geoff Geary for $1.7 million, both one year contracts.

After the dust settled the Astros are a very similar team to the team that hit the field last season.  Going into Spring Training they are without Wolf and Wigginton but they have added Mike Hampton whowill be key in Houston’s success this season if he can stay healthy.  Houston is also counting on a Geoff Blum/Aaron Boone platoon (or Georran Blooney as a few people have started to refer to the duo) to fill in for Wigginton.

The starting rotation is the most glaring issue for the club in that there are a lot of questions to be answered.  Can Hampton stay healthy?  Will Backe pitch better or will he give up the most dingers in MLB again?  Wandy Rodriguez had a pretty good season last year but he has to stay healthy and develop more consistency. (see Wandy’s home-road ERA the past two seasons.)  One thing the team and Houston’s fans can count on is Roy Oswalt.  Oswalt started off a little rough last season but finished strong.

The Houston Bullpen is possibly the best in the NL Central.  With Jose Valverde, or Papa Grande, anchoring and with Doug Brocail/LatroyHawkins as set-up men, the Houston Pen should fare well this season if they can stay healthy.  Chris Sampson is coming off of elbow surgery and is said to be pitching without pain for the first time since his original stint with the team.  Sampson came to life after being moved to the Houston pen last season.  Geoff Geary and the two left handed relievers Wesley Wright and Tim Byrdak give Cecil Cooper plenty of options coming out of the pen.

The Houston line-up will feature much of the same players as last season, except for Ty Wigginton.  Aside from Blum/Boone filling Wiggy’s spot, I would also look for Michael Bourn to hit lower in the line-up.  If Bourn does well and is moved up to the lead-off or two spot look for Miguel Tejada to drop a spot and Hunter Pence to drop in his spot, probably the 5-hole.

This is all before Spring Training even begins so who knows what will happen.  Houston didn’t have the most successful off-season but they managed to keep a team together and add a few pieces that will give them the chance to contend in a division that has somewhat weakened since last year. 

Spring Training ‘officialy’ begins for Houston tomorrow although Jose Valverde and Felipe Paulino threw bullpen sessions today and Brian Moehler, Doug Brocail, Humberto Quintero, Lou Palmisano, LaTroy Hawkins, Brandon Backe, Geoff Geary, and Chris Sampson all worked out.

I will be celebrating tomorrows holday (No, not Valentine’s Day) with a chili dog and a beer.  Thanks to baseball, all things are right again in the universe.

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

Brandon Backe pitched an extremely strong game, going into the 8th inning without giving up any runs. The Astros won it in the end by the score of 5-0. Backe was the man of the day, not just because his pitching, but he also went 2-3 with a double and is now batting .345 on the year. He made a strong case to stay in the rotation today.

Ty Wigginton got the scoring going with a solo homerun in second inning. Carlos Lee had two hits again today to go with 3 RBI’s. He is now batting .302 on the year.

J.R. Towles finally got a start today, but could not get a hit. This bothers me because I don’t understand why he was brought up to sit and watch Ausmus play. This could be killing his development. He came back up and had hit safely 3 times in the 4 previous games. Why would Cooper sit him for 4 games after that? It’s not like Ausmus is tearing the cover off the ball. I would much rather try and see if Towles can pull it together, since he was supposed to be our catcher of the future. Ausmus knows he was brought back to mentor Towles, not start. I hope Cooper wasn’t surprised or dissapointed when Towles went 0-4, because I sure wasn’t.

Now we head into the All-Star break in last place with a 44-51 record. Not exactly what we had hoped for. At least we will get to watch Berkman in the Homerun Derby tomorrow night, and him and Tejada in the All-Star Game. Hopefully the rest will rejuvinate our team into a second half run. No one said I couldn’t dream…

The Astros lost 4-3 tonight in a 6 hour game, which over 3 hours of it was waiting out the rain.

Brandon Backe had a strong start, allowing no runs over 4 innings before the rain started. In the top of the fourth Hunter Pence smashed a homer over the center field fence to go up 1-0. After coming back from a two and a half hour rain delay, Carlos Lee hit a 2-run homerun in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, since the long delay, Backe was unable to continue pitching. As far as offense, that is all the Astros would muster.

The Pirates got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Nate McLouth hit a homer off of Dave Borkowski. Then in the 8th inning Doug Brocail came in to try and get the hold, but could not finish the inning. He gave up a solo homerun to Adam LaRoche, and then lost the lead by giving up a bases loaded single to Nate McLouth. Jose Valverde had to come in the finish the inning. In the ninth inning the Astros couldn’t do anything to save the game when Miguel Tejada grounded out to the pitcher with Michael Bourn on second base.

It was tough loss to swallow for the Astros, as they had a lead the whole game and through all the rain delays. This team needs some sort of shakeup, because these kind of losses add up and take a toll on a team. I know winning makes a lot of people happy, but what happened to the happy-go-lucky Astros of May? They used to look like they enjoyed every minute of their job, but not anymore. Let’s hope Ed Wade can do something in the next couple of weeks to get this team going in the right direction.

On a day when the Astros needed a big start from Runelvys Hernandez , because of the 17 inning game on Sunday night, they got just the opposite. In only 4 innings Hernandez gave up 10 runs on 13 hits and 4 walks.

In the top of the first Carlos Lee hit a 2-run homerun, followed by an RBI single by Ty Wigginton that put the Astros up 3-0 early. That lead did not last long as Hernandez gave up 4 runs in the bottom half of the first on four straight singles. After giving up two more runs in the second inning it looked like the Astros were done. In the top of the fourth the Astros came roaring back with four runs to take a 7-6 lead. Hernandez helped himself out with an RBI bunt single and Lance Berkman came through with an RBI double to headline the inning. What little hope that inning brought was crushed mintues later in the bottom of the fourth when Hernandez gave up another 4 runs to end his night.

Neither offenses did much after the first four innings. Recently called up Chad Paronto came in and threw four shutout innings in relief, giving up one hit and issuing one walk. If there is any positives to take away from this game it would be the strong showing of Paronto.

Kazuo Matsui should be coming off the disable list today, and my best guess would be that Runelvys Hernandez will be sent back down to AAA. He has shown some good stuff, but he needs to work on being consistent. His fastball has reached 96 mph on the radar, so I hope he can get it together and be a solid back-end rotation guy for us sometime.

Here’s to hoping Brandon Backe can come through tonight with a good start, because if he doesn’t, his future doesn’t look to bright either…