Winnable Game Slips Away

A game that the Astros could've and should've won went by the wayside. Arias' poor defense lost it, pure and simple. There's not a whole lot more to say about it.

Not the Worst of Losses

As anemic as the Astros offense was against Clayton Kershaw, the result should come as no surprise. Kershaw is nasty and could be poised to be a pitcher in the same vain as a left handed Josh Becket. You know the Astros offense is going good when a 5-0 eighth inning deficit turns into a 5-2 loss where the final batter was retired as the potential go-ahead run.

Tomorrow is the day. Going up against Hiroki Kuroda (who hasn't had the best of seasons) is the perfect opportunity for series clinching win. Baseball is amazing: even though they play 162 games, the difference between a 2-2 split and and 3-1 is night and day, especially on the road. Win or lose this has been a successful road trip, and coming out of it at .500 is perfectly acceptable.

Following tomorrow's matchup (is it considered a rubber game if one team is playing for the tie?), the Astros will have 70 games left. As of today, 33 of those games are against teams they could possibly be competing with in the Central Division (I am considering every team within 6 games of the lead to still be alive). Of the 70, an astonishing 61 games are against teams within six games of the wild card; the lone 'cupcake series' left on the schedule are against Arizona and Pittsburgh. Not only is this a comment on the tough schedule the Astros have left, the point is to illustrate the mediocre majority that is the National League.

One game at a time has to be the motto, however. A win tomorrow would feel especially nice.

Game of the Year

Against one of the league's tougher pitchers, and with the team's best slugger out with a bad leg, the Astros got off to their best start of any game this season. Perhaps even more amazing, the entire 1st inning rally started after two extremely quick outs. The first two batters were retired in five pitches. Six hits and seven batters later, Chad Billingsley had thrown 33 pitches.

Tonight was the best played game of the season. The offense clicked like never before, Roy Oswalt was as nasty as ever, and everyone contributed to the firepower. Astros fans have to feel good about where this team is at this point in the season. With two games left in LA and series against contenders St. Louis and New York, now is the time for the Astros to exert their will.

Great Start

Do you think Wandy likes the role of staff ace? It sure seems so. The lefty was efficient, tough, and composed throughout facing the league's best team. It's very rare for a pitcher to make Manny Ramirez look bad, however Wandy dazzled the big hitter (as well as the rest of the Dodgers in his 6 innings). For the first time in Wandy's career, he can be trusted not to give up the big inning, even on the road.

Offensively, how about Q? His job as the backup catcher looks as though it could be in jeopardy, and the man responds. That 5th inning bomb wasn't just the difference maker, it was the game. It's rare for a team to carry three catchers, but with Coste's supposed versatility, it could just work. Quintero has hits in three straight games with a double and a bomb since Coste joined the club. Probably not a coincidence.

In the 14 games that are left in July, the Astros would definitely be happy with a 7-7 or 8-6 record. Tonight was a huge start in that direction, and with a little momentum the team could be at, or around first place once play begins in August.

As for that midseason report card, it's still being worked on. Keep your panties on, it'll be out soon. Be happy with what you get.

Squeaking Into .500 With a 5-0 Win

This one didn't feel much like the score. Just as an ugly 13-2 blowout is equal to a 3-2 barn-burner, a not-so-great 5-0 shutout is exactly the same as an extra-inning walk off win, when it comes to the record. What does matter? Your Houston Astros are even after 88 games, tied with the Cubs for 3rd place and just three-and-a-half games out of first place.

With half as many hits as the Nationals had today (11-yes, 11 hits and they still were shut out), the 'Stros somehow managed to win one that they probably didn't deserve. Moehler was as crafty as could be. Despite not having given up a run, it was a good move to pull him when Cooper did. Alberto Arias continues to be the 2009 version of Octavio Dotel (as a set-up man), and Jose Valverde was solid.

There's not a whole lot to say about the offense today. Aside from Matsui's three run bomb (if you can even call it that), the Astros offense was stagnant all day. Kaz's home run shows the value of a veteran presence; he knew to guess fastball, and was able to catch the rookie pitcher, Zimmerman, in a mistake. This website is by no means the Kaz Matsui fan club, but I will give the man credit for coming through with a huge knock. However, the other two runs that came across the plate came after mental mistakes by the Nationals. Had Michael Bourn not come across in the first, we might have seen a five-nothing game with the road team as the winners.

Ugly or not, as an Astros fan, you have to be happy with where the team is at this point. Multiple real tests from contending teams come immediately after the break, but this is as about as good of a situation as you can expect, with 74 games left in the season. Over the next four weeks of the season (12 at home and 11 on the road), the 'Stros have series against nothing but contending teams. We'll know by early August whether this team has a real shot at a playoff birth.

Since neither The Houston Chronicle nor Astros.com seem to want to do a full player-by-player first half analysis, look for that in the next day or so on the site. Be ready for that soon.

After Blowout-Back to Below .500

Being .500 was nice while it lasted, right? While tonight was an especially bad game, the Astros have to keep their eyes on the prize. We said from the beginning that winning a 3-2 series against the Nationals would be considered a successful outcome... happy the team would be at Even McStevenson going into the break. As rough as tonight was, an L is an L. Win tomorrow and everything is fine.

There may be just one single quality that gives this team a fighter's chance to make the post season: the ability to forget one night's result and start fresh tomorrow. It's what you saw in Roy Oswalt during Game Six of the 2005 NLCS. It's what you saw in Geoff Blum the night after being on the receiving end of the very rare (reserved for the likes of Jimy Williams) Houston hometown boos. It's the contributions of guys like Chris Burke, Orlando Palmeiro, Jeff Keppinger, and LaTroy Hawkins. Guys that other teams would have/actually did give up on, end up being the keys to the team's success. Somehow, despite regular turnover of the roster, the veteran attitude of 'one game at a time', remains year to year. Normally, losing leaders/organization heroes the likes of Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio would leave a vacuum in the clubhouse. Instead, the new leaders are picking up the slack. As shitty as diehard Astros fans felt after a game like we saw tonight, my guess the attitude in the locker room is just fine. I believe this team understands the big picture.

As much as I just talked up our favorite sports franchise, the fact remains, tomorrow is a very important game. Sure, if you lose tomorrow then sweep the Dodgers coming out of the break, everything is fine. That ain't happening though. A strong finish to the first half would feel really nice and go a long way towards the future of this season. Even and 2-under are two totally different situations.

Blum Hits Back at Boo-Birds

The story around Houston today and during the Astros broadcast was that Geoff Blum was booed last night for not hustling on a possible triple (full disclosure: I didn't see the play; I was drinking). Well Blummer (as everyone seems to call him) answered his critics tonight with a huge walk-off single that finally got the hometown team over the .500 hump. Had the Astros stranded the runners and not scored, I very much doubt they would have won the game. Odds are the game would have gone the way of last night's resumption of the suspended game-which was obviously not good.

Speaking of last night, it was huge to come back and win the 'night cap'. Losing on a flukey error by Tejada really hurt... as did getting behind 2-0 before coming to the plate. But, as seems to happen fairly often, the Astros head into the break as a hot team. It's getting to be a familiar feeling wishing the All-Star break could wait a few weeks while the team rides out the hot streak. The fact is, if you told any Astros fan that the team would be at .500 with two games left before the break, a half game of the Cubs in the division, all the while not hitting well as a team, that fan would take the deal, no questions asked.

As for the heat thats been out there looking to see Cecil Cooper out as manager, it's all a bunch of shit. These media guys aren't happy with the fact that they can't buddy up with the coach and get lots of great quotes. I'm not saying the guy is the second coming of Casey Stengel, but that's beside the point. I am sick and tired of the Astros firing managers in the middle of the season, giving the job to somebody on an interim basis, then eventually keeping that guy because he wasn't terrible. Cooper should probably lose his job, even if he gets this team to the post season, but if it happens, it should wait until after the season. Yes, either he needs to change, or the team needs to make a change. Just let it wait until this season plays out.

Should've Had a Sweep but They'll Take It

With five contests to be decided in the next 4 nights, the Astros have an amazing chance to make up some serious ground in the Central Division. A 4-1 series win leaves the team games over .500, however a 2-3 series leaves them two games under .500. When you get a chance to rack up as many as five wins against baseball's worst team, you have to capitalize. In previous years, whenthe Astros have made late season comebacks to make the playoffs, they've gone into the break as one of baseball's hottest teams. Do it again this year and my playoff prediction just may come true.

Big Homestand Starts Strong

It's always nice when the Pirates come to town. It's especially good when you're only 2 games below .500 and overall the team is playing well. Hampton took care of early first inning trouble, then cruised to his 10th consecutive win against the hapless Buccos. Miguel Tejada continues to play All-Star baseball (he needs a fan club, by the way. I'm thinking Miguel's Amigos.), and as good as things are, it's not to say things can't get even better. A 6-2 final homestand before the break, and the Astros would be in good shape for the second half of the season. Now's the time for this team to make a run.