“If they could walk, they played”

Lance Berkman will undergo a precautionary MRI on his left calf on Tuesday in efforts to determine the severity of the injury sustained to his left calf during the series opener against the Dodgers last week.

“It feels terrible, but like I told Ed Wade, `If I don’t play when I’ve got bumps and bruises, I won’t play many games.’ They tried to take me out of the game in the first inning, but I wouldn’t come out.’’

Berkman is not expected to go on the DL, and plans to try to play through it.

“If I can go, I’m going to go. It’s the legacy Bagwell and Biggio left here. Those two guys played with all kinds of injuries, but if they could walk, they played. When I saw Bagwell in Los Angeles, I thought, `Hey, I have to be in there. I don’t want to let him down.’’’

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Here they go again

Buster Olney comments on the Astros surge into contention in the NL Central (excerpts from the non-Insider portion of the article only).

The Astros are 27-17 in their last 44 games, which is actually par for the course for Houston. Year after year, the Astros seem to start slowly and then just take off.

The reasons? Roy Oswalt shares some thoughts on the subject:

“I think it’s because we’ve got older players. Young guys don’t know how long the season is. They might figure there’s no way to catch up. But older guys know that all it takes is a good run, winning 10 out of 14, and you’re right back in it.”

Olney notes that “it also helps that Oswalt is throwing as well as he ever has, according to veteran scouts who’ve seen him recently.”

Over his last five starts, Oswalt has allowed seven earned runs in 38 innings, and Houston is 4-1. He attributes the improvement to the evolution of his relationship with new Astros catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

Oswalt attributes his improvement over the recent months on getting familiar with Pudge:

“We’re just learning each other. People don’t have a real understanding of how important the relationship is between a pitcher and a catcher. Every pitcher pitches different, and [Pudge] had to learn all that. A pitcher might throw four pitches, but he might have two go-to pitches, and [the catcher] has to learn that.”

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Round Rock, meet Redass

Doug Brocail began his rehab assignment Monday night with the Express. He retired all three batters he faced on 15 pitches (9 strikes), and notched one strikeout.

Brocail on where he’s at and why the rehab assignment is important:

“I feel like I need a lot of work. My fastball’s not where I want it to be. Control is not where I want it to be. You throw some fastballs that have a little bit of a giddy-up. Then you throw some that you’re trying to make the good hard fastball, and I’m actually cutting off a little bit. So as far as mechanics, I have a lot more mechanical things than I do worrying about the leg.”

“Even though I’ve been throwing bullpens, bullpens aren’t the same [as throwing to live batters]. You don’t have the same intensity level. You don’t have the same scope as far as being able to dot your ‘i’s’ and cross your ‘t’s’ as far as hitting your spots. I was glad to see [the rehab assignment] wasn’t one (game), and if you feel good, let’s come back. I wouldn’t be able to survive with not having my stuff.”

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Tunnel Vision

Richard Justice talks up El Caballo.

Lee on what makes him a professional hitter:

“I can’t explain it. I kind of get in a tunnel and concentrate and be real patient and try to get a pitch to hit. I do study the game. You search for what a pitcher does when he’s in trouble. If a guy goes to his slider when he’s in trouble, you have to be patient enough to know you’re going to get one to hit.”

Upping the ante at RBI time:

“To be honest, I concentrate a lot more when there are runners on base. I give up less at-bats. Sometimes I get away from my game with nobody on and try to drive the ball or hit a double instead of just concentrating on getting a good pitch to hit.”

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Read my lips, no new impact players

Ed Wade reiterates that the Astros won’t be making a big move prior to the trade deadline.

“We’ll have conversations with clubs. I just don’t want to raise undo expectations that we’re going to really be active at the trading deadline because that’s not going to be the case. We’re not going to be in a position to make a deal of significance. We’ve talked about where our payroll is at this point in time and we’re going to be very reluctant to give up a lot of young players. But we’ll continue to have conversations if there’s ways to improve.”

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He’s a material girl

Derrick Goold at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch conducts a ‘random’ Q&A session with Lance Berkman.

Q: What is the most embarrassing song on your iPod?

Berkman: “Material Girl”, by Madonna.

Q: I wish I knew how to …

Berkman: Sing really well. Because if I could I’d be a Country music singer. That would be a great job.

Q: What is a memorable Christmas or holiday gift you received?

Berkman: I got a .22 rifle one Christmas that was pretty nice. Bolt-action .22 to varmint hunt with.

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I’m going to let you in on a little secret

Adam Bernaccio at the Bleacher Report lets non-Astros fan in on a little secret, i.e. that “Wandy Rodriguez is having a month of July like Zack Greinke had in the month of April.”

While Zack Greinke made national headlines because of his month of April where he went 5-0 with a 0.50 ERA, Wandy Rodriguez’s month of July so far has virtually gone unknown. *** For the month of July, Rodriguez is now 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA, walked only five, given up 17 hits, and has struck out 22 batters in 22 innings. Those numbers are Greinke-esque.

The reasons for Wandys emergence this year?

I think the answer is pretty simple – maturity. *** I just think Rodriguez is a classic case of a pitcher taking a little longer than expected to figure out the league. He is 30-years old now and has been with the same team, the Astros for the last five years and has pitched in the NL Central for five years as well. I think that 100 percent helps. Rodriguez’s ERA has gone down each of the last four years (5.64, 4.58, 3.54. and 2.81). That tells me he is getting more comfortable in his surroundings and he is starting to get to know the hitters better year after year. Remember, it took Roy Halladay four year to figure out how to pitch in this league.

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Maybe they don’t suck as bad as folks said they would

Jeff Schull at the Bleacher Report thinks the Astros are far exceeding expectations.

He still thinks the Astros are lacking some key components to compete though:

If the Astros want any chance of competing in the second half, much less the playoffs, they will need to make a move before the July 31 trade deadline to bring in a solid starting pitcher… Ranked only 10th in the NL and 21st in the entire league, they should go out and get another strong bat for the lineup.

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It’s the end of the (sports) world as we know it?

Lester Munson (writing for ESPN.com) thinks that the case of American Needle vs. NFL could result in “Armegeddon” for professional sports players, coaches and fans.

Background:

American Needle, Inc. (ANI) had made caps and hats bearing NFL logos for decades. In 2000 the NFL entered into an agreement in which Reebok would be given exclusive rights to supply all NFL caps and hats, thus edging out ANI (and a number of other companies) from the business. ANI filed an antitrust action against the NFL in late 2004 “claiming that the league was using its monopoly powers illegally to deprive the company of its share of the market for caps and hats bearing logos of NFL teams.” After losses in the District Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, ANI filed for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. In what Munson describes as a “stunning development,” the NFL endorsed ANI’s request for review before the Court.

Arguments:

Gabe Feldman at the Sports-Law blog lays out the parties’ arguments as follows:

American Needle’s argument is simple—the Supreme Court should hear the case and reverse it because the Seventh Circuit’s holding conflicts with over 50 years of case law in other circuits. The NFL’s argument is more complex. Because it won the case before the Seventh Circuit, the NFL is seeking an expansion, not a reversal, of the decision. The NFL is thus arguing that professional sports leagues are single entities for all purposes, and thus should be completely exempt from Section 1 scrutiny. In the alternative, the NFL claims that professional sports leagues should be deemed single entities with respect to all of their “core venture functions.” Of course, the NFL will then claim that virtually every decision they make constitutes a “core venture function.”

‘Legal bombshell’:

It is the ‘single entity for all purposes’ component of the NFL’s argument that sounds off alarm bells for Munson.

The league’s action was a legal bombshell. Instead of standing on its lower-court wins over American Needle, the league told the Supreme Court that it wants the justices to consider an issue far beyond the caps-and-hats contract. It wants the court to grant the NFL total immunity from all forms of antitrust scrutiny, an immunity that would then apply to the NBA, the NHL and MLB, [and potentially the BCS] as well. *** If the NFL is a single unit, it cannot [violate the Sherman (Antitrust) Act]. It would be immune to the antitrust cases that have allowed player unions to establish and to protect free agency and other benefits.

Potential Ramifications:

Munson lays out some of the potential ramifications should the NFL prevail before the Court.

With their new powers and freedom from antitrust concerns, [the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and potentially the BCS] would enter a new reality. Owners could attack free agency, using their new bargaining power to restrict player movement from team to team and impose a salary schedule… Leagues could easily establish a similar salary schedule for coaches and managers, who are considered a part of management and cannot legally form a union. *** If the NFL can find five votes for its single-entity concept, it will transform the industry. Leagues will enjoy unfettered monopoly powers. Salaries for players and coaches will drop. Free agency will wither away. Sponsors will pay more. Fans will pay more for tickets, television and Internet broadcasts and for paraphernalia. And owners’ profits will soar.

While I agree that a ruling in favor of the NFL would have significant ramifications for not only the NFL, but also the NBA, NHL and MLB, I am inclined to agree with Feldman’s prediction (in his piece taking some exception to Munson’s article) as follows:

Prediction: If the Court holds that the NFL (and by logical extension, all other professional leagues and probably the BCS) is a single entity for Sherman Act purposes, given the dramatic consequences for players and fans described in the article, Congress will act to undo the decision very quickly and across party lines.

Whatever the decision, American Needle is sure to garner plenty of attention between now and Spring/Summer of 2010, when a decision would presumably be reached.

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Just because…

Blame it on Musial

Deadspin explains why the Feds going so hard after Barry Bonds (it’s because Stan Musial smoked, of course).

So there you are, folks: the intellectual underpinnings of the government’s pursuit of Barry Bonds. Stan Musial and his Chesterfields didn’t do anything to deter little Joey Russoniello from smoking. Sheesh. Between this guy and failed athlete Jeff Novitzky, our war on steroids is beginning to feel more and more like a very long, very expensive therapy session.

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Stat overload?

The Couch Slouch thinks so.

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Mr. Popularity

Carlos Lee makes some new friends in left field.

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Tweet of the Week

From Footer:

“I can assure you I will never care what La Russa thinks of my tweets…”

(You can follow Alyson Footer, Brian McTaggart, Fox Sports Houston (Greg Lucas), Zach Levine and Richard Justice on Twitter for ‘real time’ information on the Astros).

Injury news, along with updates from notes posted earlier today.

Lance Berkman is not in the starting lineup today, but Cooper says he is available to pinch hit if necessary.

Doug Brocail threw about 30 pitches in a simulated game today, and “proclaimed it a success. He will throw a bullpen on Monday and then will go to Round Rock on Monday for a rehab assignment.

Chris Sampson was put on the DL today with spasms in his right shoulder. Chad Paronto was called up and will be in LA on Thursday. Sampson had already left the team prior to being put on the DL to be with his wife, who is close to delivering their second son (a couple of weeks early).

Aaron Boone will join the Astros next Thursday to begin working towards a September comeback.

[H]e said he’d love to play again this year and mentioned a September return as a very real possibility. That would require him to spend at least a month rehabbing in the Minor Leagues, and it appears that the timetable is working in his favor. I love the idea of Booooone playing with the Astros in September, especially if they’re in a playoff race. Rosters will expand to 40, so no one would have to be sent out in order to make room for Boone, and he would be a tremendous presence in the clubhouse during the stretch run.

In other Aaron Boone news, he and his wife welcomed a new baby girl to their family on Wednesday.

“J.R. Towles broke his nose in a tractor mishap during the All-Star break, but he is still able to play.” Yet another reason to rethink the whole ‘rodeo clown thingie…

Dr. James Andrews recommended a few weeks of rest to Brandon Backe. No surgery pending. Could have it later.