Results tagged “theastros”

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and on a day like today, a young person's heart turns, naturally, to baseball. The baseball season is almost upon us, with the evaluation period known as spring training beginning in earnest today. The Astros major league camp starts today, with just the pitchers and catchers in camp. The position players will arrive later, but for today we'll take a look at everyone who's currently at the Astros' facility in Kissimmee, Florida, who has a chance of making the team this year, and what role they'll play on the 2008 Astros roster. more ›

Nolan Ryan, Astros franchise icon and co-owner of two of the team's minor league franchises, today exited his personal services contract a year early to assume the team president position offered by the Texas Rangers. Ryan will oversee the daily operations of the floundering Arlington-based team, working with mercurial owner Tom Hicks.
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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:
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Three day weekends are a beast. You end the previous week by slacking in some fashion on Friday, since you're planning all the shennanigans you'll be committing over the weekend. Then you pick things up after the weekend with the realization that you've got to fit five days of work into four. Plus, it's cold and depressing (like a Packers fan on Monday) and that pretty much explains why a Monday feature is appearing on Wednesday. Here's what the blogs are saying about Houston sports this week. more ›

beating the Texans received at the hands of the Colts. We saw beleaguered soccer moms parking their Suburbans at the mall with better timing and depth perception than some of Sage Rosenfels' passes on Sunday. Anyway, on to the links: more ›

Meanwhile, Curt Schilling thinks Clemens should give back his Cy Young(s), Congress probably wants to talk to him, and reporters are blasting him for not defending his reputation convincingly enough, though he did make a blanket denial statement in the past 48 hours. The Astros, though, say they'll honor Clemens' personal services contract. more ›

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. more ›

The revamping of the Astros roster is starting to look more and more like an episode of Extreme Makeover. Today, the Astros announced that they've reached an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles for former MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada in exchange for (deep breath): Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate, and Lou Costanzo. Patton, Sarfate, and Albers are all young pitchers with some major league experience; Patton was the Astros' most experienced and highest-rated... more ›

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo... more ›

It was a good weekend for football in Houston, whether that means the one with the pads or the one with the round ball. But there were things happening in the Houston sports scene outside of RFK and Reliant Stadiums. As we do every week, here's a recap of what the blogs are saying about your hometown teams: - The Dynamo are the big news today, so here's a fantastic live blog of the game... more ›

In October of 2005, there were many voices to be heard in Houston calling Brad Lidge to be shipped out of town or worse; two years later, those voices were heard. Tonight, the Astros finalized a trade to send Lidge and utility infielder Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for center fielder and University of Houston grad Michael Bourn, relief pitcher Geoff Geary, and third base prospect Mike Costanzo. This marks the Astros' first serious move... more ›

Well, the Astros article hiatus sure didn't last long, but this was too good to pass up. As you're no doubt familiar, Major League Baseball has a player development in Europe, grooming the European baseball stars of tomorrow, today. (No, real grooming, not metaphorical. Like position-specific haircuts and the finer points of growing a playoff beard.) Anyway, the Astros signed a Dutch shortstop yesterday from the MLB European Academy. His name is Jan Baldee,... more ›

"Biggio" is the word on many bloggers minds this week, so this'll be a pretty Astros-heavy week here at the blog roundup. - Orange Whoopass is putting together some of the most poignant tributes to number 7. Here are a couple of them. - Biggio didn't break the all-time hit-by-pitch record (he came two short, but still holds the modern-era record). Plunk Biggio breaks it down with a great tribute, and some finger pointing. -... more ›

While most of the baseball world was focused yesterday on the races for the final playoff spots, including the Mets historic collapse in the NL East, as usual, Craig Biggio was just doing his job, just like he's done for the past 20 years. But for the first time in 20 years, Biggio won't be going back to work today. For those of us who grew up in Houston, Biggio is just as much a... more ›

The Astros traded albatross-esque outfielder Jason Lane to the San Diego Padres yesterday for a player to be named later or cash. This was the first transaction by Ed Wade since he took over as the Astros general manager last week. Given the struggles that Lane has had over the past couple of seasons, and the fact that his trade value was estimated at somewhere similar to that of Cubs World Series tickets, that... more ›

Baseball's most self-pitying franchise is at it again. The Chicago Cubs are pissed at the Astros for the players that the Astros sent out to play against the Brewers this week. The Cubs and Brewers are locked in a struggle for the NL Central title, with the Brewers currently on top; baseball courtesy dictates that the Astros field their best team against the Brewers, so as not to hand them "cheap" wins. It's a supposed... more ›

The Astros search for a replacement for Tim Purpura may be coming to an end. The baseball world is atwitter with reports that the new GM will be selected as soon as today. After interviewing eleven different candidates, owner Drayton McLane and team president/acting GM Tal Smith (pictured, on left) have narrowed the field and will be making an announcement some time this week. The leading candidate right now is Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro,... more ›

In the wake of last week's firing of Tim Purpura, the Astros have a hole to fill in the General Manager's office. Team President Tal Smith (pictured, on left) is running the show for the time being, but a long-term replacement is required. Yesterday, owner Drayton McLane, Smith, and former vp Bob McClaren interviewed three candidates, and more interviews will take place before the end of the week. Let's take a look at the candidates... more ›

The Astros may have 99 problems, but the pitch ain't one. After stumbling out of the gate to start this week's series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros saddled up thoroughbred Roy Oswalt and rode to victory last night, securing Cecil Cooper's first major league win as the 'stros new manager. Oswalt worked with trademark efficiency, blazing through seven innings while throwing only ninety-nine pitches. Offensively, the team rode homers by Luke Scott and... more ›

The Astros made a decisive move today, firing manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim Purpura. Mired near the bottom of the NL Central all season, changes of some sort were necessary. Owner Drayton McLane stated that "a fresh start" was needed, and it's hard to argue with him. Bench coach Cecil Cooper will cover Garner's duties as manager, and Astros president Tal Smith will take over for Purpura. Cooper has been mentioned for the... more ›

Good morning, Houston. We've always wondered about our lady friends' uncanny ability to find food — particularly food they claim they shouldn't be eating — and now there's scientific evidence that women may actually have a built-in talent for locating grub. The news comes from The Daily Telegraph in the UK, which reports that women at a farmers' market were much better at finding a stall where they had bought a certain food than... more ›

Is it possible for one of the worst trades in Astros franchise history to get any worse? Well, it did. The Astros announced that Jason Jennings will be out for the remainder of the year with a torn elbow tendon. Jennings finishes the year at 2-9 with a 6.45 ERA in 19 games. For the month of August, he is winless with a 8.06 ERA. Jennings was brought over from the Colorado Rockies to... more ›

Ever wanted to be that lucky schlub who gets to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game? Are you good at whoring yourself out for attention? Great! The Astros and AT&T are standing by to scratch both of those itches for you. The 'stros are partnering with AT&T to allow a fan to throw out a first pitch at an Astros game this season, and all you have to do... more ›

The Astros defeated the Dodgers in LA last night, but the big story was in how the game ended. The Dodgers were rallying in the 9th against the Astros bullpen (imagine that), and Dodger pinch hitter Mark Sweeney had just driven in a run to bring the score to 7-4, Astros. Brad Lidge is summoned from the bullpen and strikes out Rafael Furcal, and that's when things got weird. MLB.com doesn't allow us to imbed... more ›

The Chicago Cubs (and their inexplicable legion of local fans) arrived Monday at Minute Maid Park on top of the NL Central division, ready to put some distance between themselves and the Brewers in the standings. The Astros had other plans. Led by strong pitching performances by Wandy Rodriguez, Woody Williams, and Roy Oswalt, the Astros swept the series and bumped the Cubs below Milwaukee in the NL Central race. The offense was on for... more ›

Tomorrow is the trade deadline for Major League Baseball, which is pretty much like shopping on Christmas Eve, but with Eric Gagne playing the part of Tickle Me Elmo. The much-maligned Astros have already made one head-scratching trade leading up to the deadline, picking up exactly what they needed in 3B/2B/1B/OF Ty Wigginton: another clean-cut white guy who plays no position in particular. But what is next for GM Tim Purpura? Mark Loretta (who has... more ›

Houston native Woody Williams (5-11) dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates today pitching eight shutout innings while only allowing five hits for the 1-0 Astros win. Williams showed great control with all his pitches and didn't allow a walk in today's outing. With Hunter Pence injured on a head first slide, Luke Scott stepped in the sixth inning and delivered what would be the game winning RBI single. Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning for his... more ›

The second half is underway and the Astros find themselves flat on their face. After a promising 7-4 home stand before the All-Star break, the Astros were hoping for some form of hope coming out of the gate. Instead, the lowly Washington Nationals sent the Astros to their fourth consecutive loss and 15 games under .500. Astros starter Woody Williams (4-11) was hanging onto a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning... more ›

Arriving into Los Angeles with their first three-game sweep, the Astros came into Angel Stadium to make a statement and to turn a mediocre season around. With the game on the line, Angels manager Mike Scioscia went to his closer in the ninth inning to preserve a 9-9 game. He knew the importance of this game and managed like it and it paid off. Francisco Rodriguez got out of a bases loaded jam to... more ›

Astros trying fail to stand on rockie ground There is no denying that the Astro’s have hit (what we hope is) their low this season. On Tuesday, both Lance Berkman and manager Phil Garner were ejected from the game after Carlos Lee was intentionally appeared to be hit by a pitch from the Colorado Rockies Manuel Corpas. Luckily the Astros managed a 2 run ninth inning rally to win that game and end a... more ›