With 45 games in the past, I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the way the season is going... especially after seeing how badly the season started off. The Astros currently sit in 3rd place in the NL Central with a 25 and 20 record, just 2.5 games behind the 1st place Cubs. Guess who's coming into town for 3 games starting on Monday? The Cubs!!! Unfortunately the Cubs are on a little hot streak and enter Monday's game with the Astros with a 8-2 record over their last 10 games. No worries though; I have faith that we can take a 3 game series from them.
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Monday, May 19, 2008, 6:05 PM CDT Clear. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game Time temperature: Near 95. |
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| Tue 05/20 | 7:05 PM CDT | |
| Wed 05/21 | 7:05 PM CDT | |
I can't remember exactly how the saying goes, but someone smarter than me once said that the key to having a productive season is to win most of your games at home and to play .500 ball on the road... Well that's exactly what the Astros have done so far over the season, winning 11 of 17 games at home and 14 of 28 on the road.
What's the deal with Michael Bourn all of a sudden... after stealing 18 bases in a row without being caught, he has now been caught 3 times in a row!!! If he can't hit, can't get on base, and can't steal bases... WHY IS HE PLAYING!!!! I know I'm being over the top and actually just echoing the sentiments of some of the people on the blog... but Bourn really needs to show some improvement.. but then again, maybe he has started showing a little... He is 4-12 in his last 3 games which is pretty good... then again, he went 0-17 in the 4 games before that. Cooper just moved him back to the lead off spot for today's game because he said that Bourn swung the bat well over the last couple of games.... well maybe that's because he's more comfortable batting 8th!! Bourn's OBP is .297 on the season which is at least .50 lower than any decent lead off hitter is... meanwhile, Erstad is sitting on the bench with a .313 avg. I understand that the Astros need to see what Bourn can do... but I also understand that he has done little to nothing to help the team offensively this season... and that bothers me.
Lance Berkman... It's nice to end any conversation about the Astros with Lance Berkman... it just makes me happy. Lance Berkman is having a "decent" May... Decent as in a .625 OBP, 1.065 SLG and .565 AVG to go along with 8 home runs, 19 RBI's and 4 stolen bases! Heck, Bourn only has 5 stolen bases this month! I filtered all major league players to just show the month of May, and this is how Berkman stands.
**note, these stats are through 5/17/08, so you may see some differences with the numbers above. Also, these only include players with 50 plate appearances**
0 recs | 16 comments
The Astros could go 63-100 for the year
and the most disappointing thing at the of the year for me would be.. that basebll season is over!!
So despite all my bitching about whoever, I’m just glad it’s baseball season. :)
entropic soul - May 19, 2008
Oh by the way...
The first Cubs v. Astros game is on ESPN Monday night so we better kick ass. :)
entropic soul - May 19, 2008
Let's go for 2 out of 3
But I am ok with StrosBro homer faith that we can sweep.
A couple years ago we would be getting excited about Clemens v Maddux and Oswalt v Zambrano. Now we get Moehler v Lilliy. Doesn’t have quite the same cache.
Berkman v Soriano does hold some possibilities. What is the over/under on runs scores scored tonight? 12.5?
TBurford - May 19, 2008
I go into every series
expecting a sweep :)
Stros Bro - May 19, 2008
Gerald Laird led the MLB in CS% last year
Its not a huge suprise that he caugh Bourne, but 3 times in 2 days?
laxtonto - May 19, 2008
Well, it was really two in two
Because he didn’t get the second one, even if the Angels thinki he did. But I chalk that up to catchers keeping an extra heads up when Bourn gets on base because they know he’s gonna try to steal. If it’s not a good catcher, it’s gonna work every time. But if it’s a good one like Laird, he’s gonna get caught every time. Bourn has no element of surprise.
saylinara - May 19, 2008
Wasn't Bourn trying to steal on a lefthander too?
The odds diminish quite a bit with a lefthander on mound, because you aren’t likely to take as big a lead. If you combine a LHP with a good throwing catcher, you probably shouldn’t be running, even if the runner is super-fast.
clack - May 19, 2008
Concerning the whole Bourn situation.
The team is winning with him leading off. Do I think him and his horrible batting average has anything to do with it? Absolutely not. Coop should just stick with the “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it mentality”.
Jordan Sams - May 19, 2008
If your cars breaks squeak
but it still stops… would you get it fixed?
Stros Bro - May 19, 2008
I would be happy just to win the series.
I am somewhat pessimistic about the series with the Cubs, but hope I’m wrong. We’ve got the two worst starters, Moehler and Sampson, on the mound. And we’ve got a red hot group of Cubs’ hitters coming to town.
clack - May 19, 2008
Yea
but we have the Puma :)
Stros Bro - May 19, 2008
Puma can't do it all.
entropic soul - May 19, 2008
Who would have given us a chance
To sweep the streaking Dodgers in LA?
Xan - May 19, 2008
good point.
clack - May 19, 2008
I hope for an Astros sweep
and worry about a Cubs sweep.
On the Bourn issue, for now I prefer him in the line-up over Darin Erstad and definitely over Jose Cruz, JR. I am very glad Erstad is on this team, however.
I’d also leave Bourn leading off. Somehow moving him causes the rest of the line-up to shift enough to lose effectiveness. I don’t understand the dynamics.
Of course, when Lance Berkman cools down, Bourn may be frozen out of the line-up. We’ll see.
Joe in Birmingham - May 19, 2008
Game is on ESPN....
0-0 after 1.5 innings.
clack - May 19, 2008
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