Not any closer to .500

Posted on September 23, 2010 by BudGirl in Game Recaps

Astros 3, Nationals 4W: Tyler Clippard, L: Jeff Fulchino, S: Sean Burnett

I cannot understand why more Nationals fans don’t go see games when the Astros are in town. Do they not understand the opportunity they have to see future greatness? Have they no appreciation of Brett Wallace, Chris Johnson or Jason Castro? Silly me, there are not that many Nationals fans to attend games.

It seemed liked the Astros would score and tie the game or even take the lead, then in the bottom of the inning give the run back. Not good for a pitcher, Wandy Rodriguez, who needs one win to be at .500.

Hopefully the Astros do better Thursday, but with all the political crap in D.C. one never knows what to expect.

Hopefully das will get to see the Astros win a game he is attending again. (He has seen one, right?)

The season is almost over. There is someone in the TZ that seems to be jinxing the Astros (and Lurch). I just want the boys to win. Whether they reach .500 may not happen, but they are ending the season way different than I thought they would.

Also, in case anyone is interested, there will be a Houston Game Watch at Griff’s on Tuesday. Hope to see you there.

Nats are quite the gracious hosts

Posted on September 21, 2010 by MusicMan in Game Recaps, News

Astros at Nationals, 9/20/2010
Astros 8, gNats 2
W: Norris (9-8), L: Livan (10-12)
HR: Quintero(!) (4), Blum(!!) (2)

Things didn’t start well, as Bud gave up two in the first; just a one out walk-single-double combo that had you saying “uh oh”. Fortunately, Bud settled down from there, going 6 2/3 innings with only those two runs allowed. (Note to “Norris to the bullpen” faction: this is what good starters do – they push through and get you quality innings even after struggles.)

Even more fortunately, the Astros went on to win for the 10th time in Bud’s last 11 starts.

CJ started the rally in the 5th, down 2-1, with a leadoff double. Then the Nationals did what bad teams do, falling apart with multiple errors and home runs. The end result was a 7 run frame that effectively ended the game, including Q fishing one into the left field seats, and Blum turning on one for a bomb over the RF bully.

Byrdak cleaned up a bases loaded jam in the 7th by striking out Dunn, and that was that.

Hurry, Astros! There are only 12 games left to reach .500!

Astros at Nationals – Washington’s House is not in Order

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Craig in Series Previews

The Astros have won five of their last six series, and the one they didn’t win was a four-game split with the Dojers. Now they go on the road for the rest of the month before returning home to end the season against the dipshit Cubs.

The road trip starts in Washington, where the Astros face a four-game series with the Nationals and a meaningless feel-good vote in the Senate that will be filibustered by the Republicans. The Astros are still in third place in the Central, 5.5 games behind the stumbling Jakes. The Astros will probably just get the Washington hotel rooms occupied this weekend by the Texans, except for Gary Kubiak’s room because he still hasn’t decided whether to punt, kick a field goal, or go home.

The Nationals are at the bottom of the East, even behind the stupid fucking Mets. They just got swept by the Phillies including a loss to Roy Oswalt. Adam Dunn is leading the team with 35 homers, 93 RBI, and 179 freaking strikeouts.

Nationals Park

Monday, September 20, 6:05 p.m. CDT
Tuesday, September 21, 6:05 p.m. CDT
Wednesday, September 22, 6:05 p.m. CDT
Thursday, September 23, 3:35 p.m. CDT

Notable giveaways

Nothing. Not one single freebie in a four-game series. Well, Thursday is Business Professionals Day, which in Washington means every lobbyist gets a free blowjob from your congressman, instead of the other way around.

Projected Matchups from Astros.com

Monday
Bud Norris (8-8, 4.95) v. Livan Hernandez (10-11, 3.66)

The Astros are 9-1 in Norris’s last 10 starts. He’s never faced the Nationals, nor any of the rejects who play for them.

Hernandez is 10-5 in his career against the Astros, though some of those games were probably before many of the Houston players was born. Geoff Blum and Carlos Lee each bat .333 with one homer against Hernandez. Hunter Pence is 5-for-10 against him with two doubles.

Tuesday
J.A. Happ (6-2, 3.24) v. John Lannan (8-7, 4.61)

Happ is 3-0 against the Nats. Current Nationals are a combined 5-for-23 against him, and no one has more than one hit.

Lannan is 3-2 against the Astros and 0-1 this season. Carlos Lee has scorched him in the past, going 7-for-14 with two doubles and two homers. Kepp, Pence, and Blum have also hit him well.

Wednesday
Wandy Rodriguez (11-12, 3.65) v. Jason Marquis (2-9, 7.71)

Wandy is 4-1 in seven appearances against the Gnats. Everyone in Washington has batted against him at some point in the past, including President Obama. Obama hit a homer off Wandy, though he called a meeting with the umpires, compromised on a double, and got stranded at second. Adam Dunn is a blistering 9-for-21 against Wandy with three doubles and two homers. Ryan Zimmerman, Willie Harris, and Pudge Rodriguez also have homers off him.

Marquis is 9-8 against the Astros in 23 freaking appearances. Carlos Lee is 15-for-38 against him with two doubles and four homers, while Pence is 11-for-22 with one homer. Blum and Michaels also have homers off Marquis Mark.

Thursday
Nelson Figueroa (3-2, 3.54) v. Jordan Zimmerman (0-2, 6.75)

Figueroa is 2-4 in seven appearances against Washington. Michael Morse, who I’ve never heard of, is 3-for-3 with a homer off Figueroa. Dunn is 0-for-7 against him.

Zimmerman is 0-1 against Houston but hasn’t faced this year’s team. Pence and Lee are both 1-for-3 against him, and no one else has a hit.

Injury Report

Houston – Moehler and Arias are out for the season, in case you hadn’t heard. UPDATE — Also, Michael Bourn has a strained oblique and is day-to-day.

Washington – Catchers Chris Coste and Jesus Flores are out for the season; centerfielder Justin Maxwell is day-to-day; Josh Willingham is out for the season; and pitchers J.D. Martin, Stephen Strasburg, Tyler Walker, and Chien-Ming Wang are out for the season. Also, Nyjer Morgan is suspended until after this series.

Wrapping it up

Well, that’s it for me this season. See you next April, assuming the SnS owners renew my contract without an ugly arbitration battle.

Discuss today’s game in the Gamezone.

Even though it was a loss…

Posted on September 16, 2010 by BudGirl in Game Recaps

Brewers 8, Astros 6
W: John Axford, L: Matt Lindstrom

Astros Recap
Game Zone

I was not afforded the opportunity to see this game. I had to work. I did read the Game Zone and was pleased that the team didn’t give up after the first inning. They were able to play their way back into the game but lost it in the 10th.

This team really does seem kind of special. They do not give up. It is nice to see a bunch of players that try on every play. It seems like they feel as though they let their team down when they give up a run or make an out. I did not feel that way about the team at the beginning of the season. This team has pride and a winning attitude with it. They probably aren’t the best team in the league, but you wouldn’t know it by watching them on the field.

I’d also like Mr. Happy to disparage a couple players on a regular basis, they seem to respond well to his “criticisms” at least Bourn and Bydrak have.

Astros win 4-2

Posted on September 14, 2010 by MusicMan in Game Recaps, News

Brewers at Astros, 9/13/2010
Astros 4, Brewers 2
W: Myers (12-7) L: Kintzler (0-1) S:Lindstrom (23)
HR: Hart (28, Crawford Boxes special)

A great disturbance was felt in the force… of gravity. Prince Fielder was on the bench for Monday’s game due to the infamous “fly-like symptoms”. This forced the remaining Brewers to completely recalibrate their approach in the field due to the lack of pull towards the first-base line.

Brett Myers was his usual self: 7 innings, 10 strikeouts, six hits, and the only run coming on a Hart Foundation solo shot into the boxes. The Astros put together a lot of hits, but were unable to string together more than an opening frame run. This was due in no small part to Face of the Franchise Hunter Pence, who managed to leave 6 runners on base in addition to the one he erased on a GIDP. Fortunately, his teammates picked him up in the 7th, as Lee, Johnson, and Manzella strung together 2-out RBI singles for the three runs that would make the difference.

The win moves the Astros to six games under .500. Hurry, Astros! There are only 18 games left to reach .500!

noclevertitle

Beer Season: Brewers @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on September 13, 2010 by GreatBagwellsBeard in News, Series Previews

The minute particulars of what qualifies for seasonal changes in Houston are subtle. It’s skin deep, quite literally: fall means mosquito bites aren’t part of your complexion any more. Further north and east, hidebound traditions about white clothing and Labor Day still hang on, despite the fact that seersucker cotton would be damned comfortable in Houston in November most years.

For me, the best way to acknowledge the seasonal cycle is by watching the beer calendar. It seems silly that I’ve already been drinking Oktoberfest beers for almost a month, but I’m still sweating through my undershirt by just walking from my office to my parking spot. But as the humidity finally breaks and the patios of our watering holes become habitable again, the malty goodness of a strong Marzen sets the tone just as surely as the first cold snap.

The onset of fall also brings my transition from tequila, bourbon and rye to scotch. It never seemed quite right to drink an Islay when the only thing that’s peat-like is the bartender’s taint. I tried a scotch-fortified cocktail at Anvil last week, and while it was as exquisite you’d expect from them, it was like drinking a Tom Waits song. And that just doesn’t fly when it’s still in the mid-nineties. But if it’s below 90 this weekend, expect to find me standing outside with a highball of Laphroaig, toasting the coming fall.

Also, baseball is still being played, by a team that’s far more fun to watch than the one that played in April.

Probable Pitchers

Monday, September 13th

7:05 CT, MMPUS

Chris Narveson (11-7, 5.20) v. Brett Myers (11-7, 2.91)

Narveson and Myers have identical records, but the pasty and chipper-looking Narveson has had a messier road to his eleven. The local nine hit him quite well; Sweet Baby Bourn sports a 1.267 OPS, and even Tommy Mazella hits .500 off of him.

The Ace With The Pubes On His Chin (hereafter, TAWTPOHC) slaps the Brewers around like a…sorry, still can’t make that joke. Only Casey McGehee, Prince “Here, Brett Wallace. That’s the phone number for my pants tailor. You’re gonna love ’em.” Fielder and Ricky Weeks hit him well at all.

Tuesday, September 14th

7:05 CT, MMPUS

Chris Capuano (3-3, 4.09) v. Bud Norris (7-8, 5.16)

The parade of Chrises continues on Tuesday. Capuano has split time between the rotation and bully this year after being an exclusive starter in past years. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. Whatever the hell that means. Bourn and Michaels both hit him pretty well, but everyone else is shi-tay.

Budly is coming off a blisteringly hot outing and is looking to get some success against a Brewer team that’s hit him quite well in the past. Mr. Nighttime Sunglasses and McGehee have had particular good luck against him, but Prince (as so rarely happens) goes hungry against him.

Wednesday, September 15th

1:05 CT, MMPUS

Dave Bush (7-12, 4.59) v. J.A. Happ (5-2, 3.08)

Haha…his name is a slang term for vagina and the same as a disliked president! Hur hur hur. Johnson and Blum both beat around the Bush, so a modified lineup with two third basemen sounds like a good plan.

Happ’s continued to show that the Wade/Smith Mothership probably knows what it’s doing with all these ex-Phils. Other than Geary, who was perfectly serviceable for a couple years, there haven’t been any out and out busts from the City of Brotherly Love. He dominates the Brewers, with one infuriating exception: Dave Bush. Really. Motherfucker is hitting 1.000 off him. What’s that? It’s only one at-bat? Oh. Well who fucking cares then?

Injuries

Astros:

Alberto Arias: I truly cannot think of anything else amusing to say here. Get well for 2011, Al.

Chris Johnson: a sore Johnson is a horrible thing.

Brian Moheler: Brad Mills nods silently. It is time to release him to an ice floe. A single tear trickles down his bald cheek.

“Don’t look.” says Arnsberg, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Brewers:

Doug Davis: Threw a successful bullpen session, despite having a Brazilian chin waxing.

LaTroy Hawkins: Struggling with being the only skinny black guy in Wisconsin.

Gregg Zaun: Seriously? Isn’t he like the Jamie Moyer of catchers? I think he caught Vida Blue.

What To Watch For:

Wallace in the 8 Hole: the batting spot that’s also his body shape!

The 2011 rotation, in 2010!

Late-arriving deadlines!

Discuss the games in the appropriately-named Game Zone!

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