Houston lost the 4 game series against the Reds 3-1. I went to the ballpark for Sundays game after the 7-0 win Saturday, but was disappointed by a late innings bullpen collapse and a 4-2 loss. Tejada had two hits that went to the wall, but they were both just singles. Not sure what’s the deal there, he seemed to admire one of them and the other one he just didn’t run hard. Maybe his age is finally catching up with him, he is 2 years older this year…One of those long singles scored Bourn from first, but Geary blew the lead on a bad throw to first in the 7th inning, allowing 2 runs to score. The Reds tacked on 2 more, and Houston was only able to get 1 back in the bottom of the 9th. It was a shame that the error caused Paulion to get a no decision in a very well pitched game. He think he struck out 6 in 6 innings.

Yesterday, the Reds rallied again off Geary, when Votto hit a 2 run single in late innings. They won that game 4-3, spoiling a good outing by Mike Hampton. Hampton has looked pretty good so far this season and is pitching better than I had expected.

The injury to Brian Moehler may be a blessing in disguise if Paulino continues to pitch as well as he did Sunday. I was never high on Moehler to begin with, but everytime a starter goes down you have to be concerned. It looks like Paulino will take over his spot and if he continues to pitch well, Moehler will not be missed, at least by this fan.

One positive over the 4 game series is that Berkman and Lee hit back to back long balls. The offense needs to come alive quickly or Houston is going to fall further and further out of the pitcher. I know the season is still young, but Houston has too many pitching questions to answer and needs the offense to produced while it sorts that out.

Tonight’s game doesn’t look very promising, as Manny and the red hot Dodgers come into Minute Maid. We are throwing Russ Ortiz against Clayton Kershaw too, so all signs point to a win by the Dodgers.

For those interested in fantasy baseball, I just posted updates on the progress of my teams on my blog http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com/ through the first 2 weeks of the season.

Well, I am pleasantly shocked, but I did get half my prediction correct. Wandy Rodriguez pitched an absolute gem, striking out 10 in 7 scoreless innings of 2 hit ball. The Astros offense finally came alive and lit up Aaron Harang to the tune of 5 runs on 10 hits through 6 innings. The Astros picked up two runs early, with RBI singles by Pence and Blum in the first inning, then tacked on 1 more on a Carlos Lee double in the 5th. Lee went 3-3 and seems to be heating up from his rather cold start. Blum delivered again in the 7th, smacking a two run double. Pudge also joined the slug fest with a 2 run double of his own in the same inning.

The bullpen of Chris Sampson and Jeff Fulchino finished the game strong, with the only baserunner in the last 2 innings coming off a Sampson walk.

Berkman went hitless, but the offense still put up gaudy numbers, which is both a good and bad sign. It’s nice that they can win when the Puma has an off day, but we can’t afford for him to have too many of those…

Wandy Rodriguez looks incredible. He pitched amazing at home last year and was really lit up at times on the road, but if he can manage to get everything firing on all cylinders at Oswalt snaps out of his early season funk, the Astros are going to be better off than I, and probably most people,. imagined.

This team never ceases to amaze.

I’m going to the game this afternoon, where Paulino squares off against Edinson Volquez, so I will have a fun and personal report to share later.

Valverde blew the save and the Astros lost a pitching duel 2-1 yesterday against the Reds. Ramon Hernandez hit a 2 run shot in the 9th, and then Cordero shut the door on the Astros. Berkman had the Astros only RBI on a bases loaded walk. We can’t squander opportunities like that! The Astros offense needs to be more productive with runners on if we are going to win games.

Tonight, Wandy Rodriguez squares up against Aaron Harang. Harang has looked brilliant so far, but Way-Rod is no slouch either and has had a good start to the 2009 season. I predict another tight game, a good one to watch if you are a fan of good pitching. Sadly, I don’t see the Astros winning it, as Harang has better stuff and the Reds offense is clicking better than Houston’s.

Tomorrow, Houston sends Felipe Paulino to the mound against Edinson Volqquez. Bit of a wild card here, as Paulino did not pitch at all last year, and has only started 3 games, all in 2007. Edinson had a breakout year last year, so this is going to be another tough one for the Astros.

Paulino is pitching because Moehler has a sprained knee. Reliever Dough Brocail also has an injury. The Astros are also in trouble in their infield. Newly aquired Jeff Keppinger left with a sore back, and Kaz Matsui was already out with an injury. Today we are starting Jason Smith at 2B. Smith started 22 games for the Royals last year and hit .214….not a good sign for an already struggling Astros offense.

Monday we throw Mike Hampton out against Bronson Aroyo. Hampton has pitched surprisingly well so far, so this should also be a close game, but I think we ultimately are going to get swept by Cinn. this series.

Mike Hampton pitched a dandy of a game tonight, going 6 innings and striking out 8. He allowed just 4 hits and issued one free pass. Maybe not quite vintage Hampton, but if we get more starts like that the Astros are going to be in better shape than I, and probably most of baseball, initially thought. The Pirates’ lone run came from an Adam LaRoche home run blast off Valverde in a non save situation.

Carlos Lee provided the offense, going 1-3 with 3 RBI, Berkman hit .500 and Tejada went 3/4. HUnter Pence knocked in the other Astro run.

The bullpen of Geary and Hawkins kept up Hampton’s performance, combining for two scoreless innings, but 0 strikeouts.

It’s good to see the team start to hit, and any good pitching performance that is rewarded with a win is an absolute positive!

Wow, what a terrible start! The Astros are 1-6 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. Doug Brocail has the only team win. I knew coming into the season that the starting pitching was a huge question mark, but I’m not sure even I was prepared for a 1-6 start right out the gate. Houston is historically a second half team, but with a start like this it won’t matter how good we are down the stretch.

Oswalt, our ace, is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA. Berkman is batting .167, and Michael Bourn is surprisingly hitting over .300. There is still plenty of time for the Astros to even out, but they are looking terrible. Thank goodness the Nationals are in the National League, or else worst team in the Worst NL Team award would have to be given to Houston at this point. Still, it’s only been a week and I am confident that the Stros can right the ship. It is depressing to get shut out by the Pirates though, sheesh!

One bright spot in the first week is the success of newly aquired Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger singled in the winning run, who happened to be Pudge, in extra innings in the only game won so far.

Tomorrow night Hampton pitches against Ohlendorf

What a bad time to get super busy at work! Lots to blog about, especially Lance Berkman.

Berkman has a biceps injury that has kept him out of Spring Training all week. He hit off a tee a few days ago, and took some batting practice yesterday, so that is a good sign. Lance was also able to do some light throwing. Berkman is done for the spring, and I don’t think he will start the first few games of the season. The Astros need to be very careful with this injury, if we lose Berkman our season is done before it even began. I’d rather see a patient appraochand not risk anything.

In other news, Astros traded a player to be named later for the Reds Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger can play 2B, SS, and 3B, so he is another utility infield player for the Astros. This move makes sense since Aaron Boone is out for the season following successful open heart surgery, but I can’t help but note that Ty Wigginton would have been the perfect solution and if we kept him we wouldn’t be in such a dire position power wise.

Finally, with the start of the season so close, check out my fantasy baseball blog. I’m going through final rosters of my teams before the big day!

Sorry Astro fans, it’s been a hectic week. Life and work seems to have caught up to me and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk about my Stros! And boy, do I have a lot to cover!

The biggest headline out of the Astro camp is Miguel Tejada’s probation. He was sentenced to a year of probation for lying about his involvement with steroids. He was in position of HGH as an Oakland Atheletic, but claims he never used it and threw it away. Prosecutors have no evidence to contradict this, so that is why he is just receiving probation. He’ll still be the Astros starting SS, and in the Spring Training game after the hearing, he belted a home run!

Another important headline: Aaron Boone went under the knife for open heart surgery. There have been no complications reported, which is always fantastic news. Boone will miss this season and his career might be done.

Pudge Rodriguez fits into the lineup nicely and is having a great Spring, batting .333 for 2 home runs. Just the addition the Astros needed!

The Astros have rattled off 7 ST wins in a row. I knew they were a second half team, but I didn’t know that translated to Spring Training too! Their current Grapefruit League record is 8-16.

That’s it for important news snipets I think. Astros are coming together offensively well, but still need pitching help. For anyone interested in fantasy baseball, I run http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com/. It’s a look at the 8 drafts I’ve participated in and how those teams have been adjusted as Opening Day approaches. I just finished posting results for an NL Only draft I did last night, so check that out if you are curious to see how it shakes down!

The Astros pitching staff 2 hit the Nationals in a 1-0 Grapefruit League win. The lack of offense is still frightening, but new addition Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez picked up his first Spring Training hit in his first at bat, finishing 1-3. The Astros are certainly a better team with the veteran catcher behind home plate.

Not much to report besides boring Spring Training games, I can’t wait for Opening Day!

Aaron Boone will undergo open heart surgery and will miss the entire season.  Doctors think he will be able to play baseball again, but Boone isn’t sure if he wants to in the future.

This leaves the Astros pretty much with Geoff Blum at 3B, unless they promote a rookie from triple A. This is another situation where having Ty Wigginton in the organization would be a huge plus, but I’ve already blogged about that.

Obviously, Astro fans wish him a safe and compplication free surgery, but it is odd that he knew he had a heart problem from college and has taken this long to fix it, and certainly puts the team in a bind at the hot corner.

In other news, Hunter Pence left a Spring Training game with a bruised knee, but thinks the injury isn’t serious. It is nice to see him hustle and try to slide at the plate, but it is only Spring Training and we can’t afford to lose anymore of the team!

Well, after Puerto Rico is done with the WBC, Ivan Rodriguez  will be headed to Houston, and after passing his physical, he will be the starting catcher for the Astros!

This is great news, Pudge is a good defensive catcher, which makes our pitching staff better, and he has some power in his bat, contrary to last year’s drop off with the Yankees.

He has hit 9 for 15 in the WBC with 2 homeruns and was named most valuable player out of the pool Puerto Rico was in.

This is great news for the Astros and is certainly a boost to the team. Pudge will make 1.5 million bucks, with another 1.5 million in incentives for 1 year.

Let’s hope USA knocks Puerto Rico out of the tournament tonight so Pudge can get the ball rolling on becoming an Astro.