Results tagged “josevalverde”

Since last week, Miguel Tejada's age jumped to 33 from 31 when he admitted he lied about his age when he was 19 so he could improve his chances of playing big league baseball. But the age change doesn't seem to be affecting him; he's playing like he's a rookie with fire and something to prove. The newest Astro shortstop is punishing the National League with a .360 AVG and 19 RBI and his defense as been quite a pleasant surprise.

On this lazy, semi-holiday, it feels like the perfect opportunity to browse around the 'net and find out what's been going on with our local teams. Only the Rockets are actually playing games right now, though the Astros are gearing up for theirs in Florida right now. The Texans continue to be a topic of discussion even though the NFL draft is yet two months away. With that in mind, let's take a look at what's been happening:

Yesterday, we took at look at the Astros starting rotation as spring training starts. Today, we'll move on to the rest of the players who are currently in camp: the relief pitchers and the catchers. Last year, the Astros bullpen often had the look of Brad Pitt at the end of Seven, and reacted about as predictably, too. Despite some really talented arms, the overall effect was less than satisfactory. Fortunately, new Astros GM Ed Wade has traded and signed a lot this offseason, and one of the greatest areas of benefit has been in the back-inning pitching.

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and naturally we'll be watching the game (and the commericals), but the real news around town is the up-and-down season the Rockets are having. They win with T-Mac, they win without T-mac, they definitely lose without Yao. If Rick Adelman can get everyone on the same page,they could still be formidable in the playoffs. Otherwise, we're looking at another five-and-out in the first round. On to the links:

It was weird. Sunday rolled around, and there wasn't a Texans game to watch. So we just chilled and ignored the TV for a change; what else were we going to do? Watch the Cowboys' game? What are we, Jessica Simpson? Between the Astros trades, the Texans resurgence, and the Mitchell Report, there was a lot to blog about this week. Everyone grab your number 2 pencil for the review:

The Houston Astros have acquired Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star closer Jose Valverde. In exchange for Valverde, the Astros have shipped Chad Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez to the Diamondbacks.

The 2007 season for Hunter Pence couldn't be going any better. The Arlington, Texas native was named National League Co-Player of the week on Monday along with Arizona Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde.