Pittsburgh 7 Houston 0

Moehler left the game early with a knee injury adding injury to insult in his 2 outings this season.

Houston’s bats are completely dormant right now. The Astros haven’t scored a run in 18 innings and only had four hits today. Two of their hits were doubles by Tejada and Keppinger.

Thank the lord Houston has a day off tomorrow. Hopefully it will give them a chance to regroup and literally come out swinging against Ohlendorf on Wednesday in support of Mike Hampton.

Btw, why give your hottest hitter in Michael Bourn a day off? Maybe Coop is going slot him higher in the line up on Wednesday?

Who knows, but lets hope that between now and then Houston finds their bats.

The Chubs…err Cubs, won the series with Houston 2 games to 1.

Runs Scored:
Chicago 17
Houston 11

This is how Houston ended up in playoff contention last year while being outscored by their opponents. They win the close low scoring games and lose big on occasion, ala’ when they face the Texas Rangers or when Brian Moehler gives up 8 runs in two innings.

Hits:
Chicago 31
Houston 18

Chicago definitely out hit Houston but if you take away Moehler’s 10 hits in two innings the margin of difference is a little closer, but alas, those hits count.

Quality Starts:
Chicago 2
Houston 2

The difference was in the third game when Houston lost the slug fest.

Bullpen Runs Allowed:
Chicago 2
Houston 4

Defense:
Chicago 1 Error, E6.
Houston 2 Errors, both E6. Tejada did have some nice defensive plays however.

Chicago nearly out performed Houston in all areas deservedly giving them the series win.

Series MVP: This is tough. Hunter Pence hit two home runs, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada and Michael Bourn were all consistent as well. Our bullpen also pitched well and you can not forget Wandy Rodriguez.

However, my pick goes to Jeff Keppinger. He won game two in his first at bat and singled and homered in his 2nd and 3rd at bat as an Astro. Welcome to the team J-Kepp.

Series let down: Carlos Lee. 1 for 12 with two GIDP. I don’t expect Carlos to be the series let down too often.

Series Record: (0-1)
Team Record: (1-2)

Place in the division: Tied for last with Cinci. 1 game back of 1st.

Cubs 4
Astros 2

Carlos Zambrano pitched just over 6 innings giving up only earned run and striking out 6.  Roy Oswalt went 7 innings and gave up 3 earned runs including a leadoff home run by Alfonso Soriano, his 50th lead off dinger, and another home run by Aramis Ramirez to lead off the 2nd inning.

Houston struggled at the plate logging 8 hits but none for extra bases.  Michael Bourn hit an infield single in 7th to score Miguel Tejada.  Hunter Pence hit a sac fly in the 9th that also scored Tejada, who scored both of the Astros runs.

Matsui 1-3, BB
Rodriguez 0-4, 2K
Berkman 1-2, 2BB
Lee 0-4, GIDP
Tejada 3-4, K, CS, 2 R
Blum 1-3, BB
Pence 0-3, RBI, GIDP, K
Bourn 2-4, K

Good news: Roy pitched pretty well and hopefully will probably settle down on the home run tip.  I doubt Roy is ever going to pitch a no-hitter in his career because he is such a strikeout/pitch to contact type power pitcher. Also, Bourn was 2-4.

Bad news: Pence, Lee, and Rodriguez did not look real good at the plate. I was surprised by how free swinging Pudge is.

Pitching Lines:
Roy Oswalt 7IP, 3 ER, 2 SO, 1BB (0-1)
Geoff Geary 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB

Houston takes on the Cubs again tomorrow at 7:05 with Wandy Rodriguez taking on Ryan Dempster.

Houston 0-1

Roy tossed 4 innings in his last start before the season opener, woohoo!, and Chris Johnson isn’t going out without a fight…even though, in reality, he doesn’t have a chance.

Stros at the plate: “Michael Bourn led off the third with a double, stole third and scored on a base hit by Kazuo Matsui. Darin Erstad knocked a solo homer in the sixth. Chris Johnson drove in a run with a triple in the seventh and scored on a Reggie Abercrombie sacrifice fly. ”

After looking at the box score for today’s game, it looks like Bourn was3-3 with a walk. If you are counting that is an OBP of awesomeness.  Keep it up Michael! J-Kepp was 0-2.

Stros on the bump: “Roy Oswalt pitched four innings in his final spring tuneup before Opening Day. He allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Tim Byrdak followed with two innings, during which he allowed one run on three hits. ”

Jose Valverde, Doug Brocail, and Geoff Geary all tossed scoreless frames.

Houston Astros Grapefruit Leage record: 11-17-3

From more on the game visit astros.com

The scoop from stros.com:

Carlos Lee…er the Stros at the plate: “Michael Bourn opened the game with a triple and scored on Pudge Rodriguez’s base hit. Carlos Lee lifted a sacrifice fly to score Rodriguez, who had advanced to third on Darin Erstad’s double. Lee drove in another run in the third with a double. Jason Smith led off the fifth with a double and scored on a Rodriguez base hit. Lee knocked a two-run homer in the seventh.”

More of this please. Thank you. Carlos could have won the game on his own with his four steaks.

Stros on the bump: “Russ Ortiz, the projected fifth starter, allowed three runs — two earned — on five hits over six innings. ”

Alyson Footer gives the 5th spot to Ortiz and I don’t think anyone else disagrees.

And the Houston Astros Grapefruit league record is: *drum roll please*

10-18-3

Double digit wins!

This is easily the best prediction for the NL Central I have encountered so far.  Here is what he has for Houston and where each team will finish:

“Houston Astros

• Position player WAR: 20.5
• Starters WAR: 7.3
• Closer WAR: 0.8
• Total WAR: 28.6

Lance Berkman carries the big bat for the Astros. Photo: Icon SMI

The Astros tie up a good chunk of their core value wins in two players, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt. Together they combine for 10.6 of the 28.6 value wins from 2008. Berkman is more than twice as good as the next nearest position player, beating Carlos Lee 6.9 to 3.4 in value wins. Oswalt isn’t quite that far ahead of Wandy Rodriguez, 3.7 to 2.7, but Wandy hasn’t been consistent through this career. If anything major happens to Lance or Roy, the Astros are in big trouble.

There is some upside in two of the younger hitters, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn. Both posted very strong on-base averages in the minors, which neither of them have come close to in the majors. Pence adds power to that equation. If the two can get on base at around a .360 rate, they should bring this offense a bit closer to the Cubs. I just don’t believe there’s enough at the back of the rotation, however, to catch Chicago.”

Pretty much nails it.  Hopefully this Berkman shoulder injury is a short term deal and Roy can stay healthy.  I have a feeling Bourn is going to get on base more this season and Hunter Pence is going to be more productive offensively so maybe, just maybe, Houston can compete with Chi-town.  I’m banking on the Wild Card if anything though.

Baseball Musings’ Predictions for the end of the year:

“Prediction

Here’s how I see the six teams finishing, with my chance of their winning the division:

1. Cubs, 55%
2. Cardinals, 15%
3. Astros, 12%
4. Brewers, 10%
5. Reds, 7%
6. Pirates, 1%

The Cubs should win this division easily provided they stay healthy. Even with a couple of injuries they have enough depth to put together a very good season. The Cardinals should challenge for the wild card, but for the Astros, Brewers and Reds, they need unexpected players to post career years or some youngsters to really improve. It seems to me the excitement in the central this season will once again come from the wild card race rather than a close battle with the Chicago.”

I agree with his slotting the Astros 3rd.  I think that it is definately going to be between them and St. Louis for the 2nd spot in the division and the possible wild card in the NL.

You can read the rest of David’s post here.

I’m out of town this weekend so my updates will be at weird times most likely.  Nothing like being home though.

Roy O on the WBC.

Enough of that, here are a few media tid bits/links for you to chew on:

Richard Justice takes time away from bashing Miguel Tejada to praise Michael Bourn.

David Pinto over at one of my favorite blogs Baseball Musings has an article re-enforcing his theory that Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas are twins.  I know they were born on the same day but there is a slight discrepancy that might debunk that theory.

Finally, this pitcher actually throws like a girl. Also from Baseball Musings.

Houston won todays contest against St. Louis 4-3.

Pudge Rodriguez went yard again today.  Hunter Pence and Jason Smith each went 3 for 4.  Michael Bourn walked twice, K’d once, and had the game winning RBI.

Russ Ortiz pitched well today going 5 innings and giving up 1 earned run while walking 2 ans striking out 4. Wesley Wright pitched a scoreless frame.

Make it six in a row for houston, pushing their Grapefruit wins to 7.

Houston blanked the Mets today while their offense produced 8 runs.  Here are the details from astros.mlb.com:

Stros at the plate: “Ivan Rodriguez hit his first spring homer, a solo shot in the fifth inning. The Astros scored six in that frame, with a timely contribution from Geoff Blum, who drove in three with a double. Michael Bourn singled and came all the way around to score on an error by Bobby Kielty.”

I-Rod goes yard and Blum is starting to show signs of life.  I could get used to this whole winning thing.  Hopefully come April it won’t be out of the ordinary.

Stros on the bump: “Wandy Rodriguez allowed two hits over four innings, walking two and striking out two. LaTroy Hawkins pitched one scoreless inning, as did Doug Brocail. ”

Glad to see Wandy, the rumored SP2, pitching and feeling well.

Houston’s Grapefruit League Record currently stands at 6-16-3.  Keep shooting for the double digits in the win column H-town!

Houston scored 10 runs today to out slug the Florida Fish 10-8.

From astros.mlb.com:

Stros at the plate: “Lance Berkman homered in the third and the fifth, driving in three runs. Michael Bourn drove in a run in the fifth with an RBI double. Miguel Tejada drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the seventh. ”

Good games today from both Berkman and Bourn.  Killer B’s anyone?

Stros on the mound: “Mike Hampton allowed three runs on seven hits over five innings, striking out four. Chad Paronto left the game after one-third of an inning with a right shoulder muscle strain, and Gilbert De La Vara yielded two runs over two-thirds of an inning. ”

Hampton got hit a little but looked good on the mound as he kept the ball down for the most part.  Sampson pitched a scoreless inning, keep up the good work Samp.

From chron.com:

Cooper on the bats: “Lance put some good swings up,” Cecil Cooper said. “Lance had some great swings today. Every at-bat was good swings. It was good to see that. Kaz had some good swings today. Tejada had some good swings. They all did. There were quite a few. It was nice to see J.R. swing the bat like that. Today was probably our best day swinging the bats.”

Cooper on the arms: “Hampton was very good, got his pitch count up to the high 80s, so that’s good,” Cooper said. “He pitched down. I liked the way he pitched today. Bud (Norris) I thought was very good. His fastball was exploding out of his hand today.”