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......

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,......

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......

It's time again to look into the wilds of the internets and see what people are saying about Houston's sports teams. Without further ado, here we go. -Jacoby Jones is hands-down the most exciting player on the Texans right now, and probably their most anticipated rookie since David Carr. The national press is starting to take notice as well, as noted in this NFL.com article that compares Jones to last NFL season's IT GUY Devin......

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......

Every week or so, Houstonist provides a rundown of what the Blogs are saying about our city's sports teams. Here's what we found this week: -Jeff Bagwell's life isn't all San Diego sun and jersey retirements. He's still working as a special assistant to Tim Purpura. He was recently in Lexington, KY to check out the Astros A-ball affiliate. Obviously, this was big news in Lexington. -The Texans have shown some interest in A&M and......

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......

The Houston Astros have announced that Morgan Ensberg has been designated for assignment. The team has 10 days to release, trade or send Ensberg to the minors, but GM Tim Purpura stated the minors are not an option for Ensberg. With the recent addition of Ty Wigginton, the move made Ensberg expendable. After having a All-Star season in 2005, Ensberg's career has headed south as he's seen very little time on the field for......

After Friday night's 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Houston Astros have decided to purchase the contract of Triple A Round Rock star, Hunter Pence. Pence, who exploded onto the scene in Spring Training with a .571 batting average in 19 games, has continued his dominance at Round Rock and is currently batting .341 with three home runs with 19 RBI through 22 games. Pence will make his MLB debut Saturday night as......

The consistently inconsistent Brad Lidge signed with the Astros for the 2007 season for $5.35 million plus incentives yesterday. We imagine he looked much like he does in this picture at landing such a sweet deal with everyone's favorite team. By the numbers, the recently unpopular Lidge isn't all that bad. With 104 strikeouts, he was second in the Major Leagues last year and had 32 saves in 38 opportunities. His 5.28 ERA is less......

Your favorite home team and ours, the Astros, is finally making the most of the offseason. Reports yesterday say that GM Tim Purpura has made offers to outfielders (and power hitters, more importantly) Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano. Last year our 'Stros were last in the NL with a team batting average of .255, just one indicator of the trouble they've had offensively over the last several years. Lee played for the Brewers and the......

Big news from the Juice Box! Craig Biggio and Houston Astro's announced a deal today that will keep him an Astro for his 20th season. The single season deal is valued at just over $5 million dollars and will insure that Biggio is an Astro when he reaches 3,000 career hits. Biggio needs only 70 hits to reach the batting milestone. Houstonist is no mathematician, but we've done some spreadsheet wrangling with the last......

The Astros announced today that they won't pick up first baseman Jeff Bagwell for the 2007 season, ending a 15-year career with the team. "Jeff has had an outstanding career with the Astros," Astros General Manager Tim Purpura said. "We appreciate the way he has played the game, mentored his teammates and represents both our ballclub and the city of Houston. Jeff's legacy with the Astros is truly legendary." And ... over. Bagwell, 38, hit......

So it's happened: The Astros decided yesterday not to offer Roger Clemens salary arbitration, meaning Clemens cannot re-sign with the team before May 1. But it doesn't mean Clemens won't be back. And it doesn't mean he will, either. As Houstonist noted Tuesday, nobody knows exactly what Clemens is going to do. That's exactly why the Astros couldn't wait for Clemens to announce whether he plans to rejoin the team next season. If they had,......