In spite of saying he didn’t need it Doug Brocail is scheduled to make a rehab appearance for Triple-A Round Rock on Friday. The Express will play at home.
Brandon Backe may also be ready for a assignment by the weekend.
“That will be one more test before I go out in a real game situation in the Minor Leagues,” he said, referring to the simulated game on Wednesday.
“If I can get out from under the wing of the Astros babyness —
I’m not saying that in a bad way, but it’s time for me to go off and leave my mother, so to speak.” Link
Oh you might be going farther than you think Brandon.
Sampson may not be available either, Footer blogged, “I’m guessing Sampson is still not recovered from that hip problem he encountered while executing an out at first base the other night. ” Link
Somebody is positive at least
“Despite what their record may indicate, the Astros aren’t really playing that horribly and are ranked in or near the middle of the pack in nearly all respectable statistic categories. In the end, though, it matters more what your record says than whereabouts you’re ranked. Even though they are so close to the bottom, consider the Astros a victim of a slow start and expect them to make a somewhat respectable turnaround in the short future.”
That’s Josh Galligan, he writes for the fan site Sports Central
But Kenny Rosenthal isn’t so positive, but he does admits he was wrong regarding Cooper and Mclane, sorta,
(Regarding picking up Cooper’s option) Hey, it’s McLane’s team; he can do what he wants. Much as critics like myself might quibble, the Astros’ record is the fifth best in the majors since McLane became owner in 1993.
Still, McLane sure picked a funny time to pick up the option of a manager whose team started the season 1-7 and finished 1-16-3 in the spring.
of course he’s a “professional writer” and wouldn’t be caught dead writing anything positive about the Astros, like our friend Josh, he also can’t quite just admit he was wrong and has to stick these two quips,
“… (Mclane) might only have delayed the inevitable.”
and he thinks some owners do stuff just to prove reporters wrong, he compares Mclane to Angelos, “It was as if he wanted to defy certain reporters and columnists whom he perceived as boogeymen, even if his stubbornness hurt the team.” Link
Right Ken, Drayton has a 200+ million dollar toy just so he can thwart you. 2 wins in Pittsburgh gave the Astros the window, as Wade implied.
Berkman joins the early birds at bp
“Hitting is a feel and, like I was saying, just working trying to get a feel,” said Berkman. “There’s nothing in particular where you can say it’s this or that. I just want to try to just feel good about the swing.” Link
And then, they’ve got–the Brad. The last time we saw Ausmus, he was presiding at his own going away ceremony and on the receiving end of some nice parting gifts including a lifetime membership to the Temple YMCA. We long time fans appreciated Brad for his great defensive skills, his intellect, and the occasional glimpses into his wonderful sense of humor. Others liked a few of Brad’s other talents, so he arrives back in Houston with some heightened feelings of anticipation for the series with the Astros, along with a satchel of restraining orders for his legion of female admirers. Seriously, it will be nice to see Brad back, even if it’s in Dodger blue. The game needs guys like Ausmus who play it the right way, setting an example for the young players coming up and hopefully every once in a while impressing a fan or two not otherwise concentrating on doing the wave. Brad’s been playing well and is 3 for 7 in the two games he’s appeared.
