Houston Astros - KTE

[metirish]

The Astros are having a terrible season and are fighting to stay out of the basement of the NL Central,as of today 09/05 they are 62 - 77 the same record as the Reds and only a few games better than Pittsburgh.


There 2008 seaon promises change for the franchise,Biggio is retiring,Bagwell is gone and they need a manager,right now Cecil Cooper is the interim manager.Tal Smith is the interim General Manager.

Smith has a long and interesting history with the Astros.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tal_Smith


Pitching Match Ups

Wandy Rodriguez, LHP (8-12, 4.49)- Mike Pelfrey, RHP (1-7, 5.43)



Rodriguez is brutal on the road this season, 2-9 with a 7.11 ERA ,still he recored his first career shutout against the Mets at home on July 6th.

Pelfrey finally won a game this season which he credits in part to just going out and doing his thing,before he was to worried about throwing the perfect pitch.

Saturday

Woody Williams, RHP (8-13, 4.95) - Tom Glavine, LHP (12-6, 4.06)


Williams pitched good against the Mets at home in July,took a no decision ,pitched 7 2/3 in a game the Astros lost 5 - 3 - oh this game went 17 innings.


Last time out Glavine beat Smoltz for the first time ever and in four starts this season against him.

Sunday

Roy Oswalt, RHP (14-6, 3.35) - Pedro Martinez, RHP (1-0, 3.60)

Oswalt was brilliant in August sporting a 4-0 record with a 1014 ERA in five starts.

Pedro is back at home in front of the fans that adore him,could be a great match up.


Last time these teams played was in Houston in a pretty good four game series,Mets won two.


Houston had had some funky logos over the years.








Team motto: The Return of the Good Guys

All My Ex's Live In Texas .

Ty Wigginton
Dave Wallace
Astro Annie



Tal's Hill is named for Tal Smith.

Trivia -

Who are the original "Killer B's"?

Fan Forums.

http://astros.brokersys.com/forum/index.php/board,2.0.html

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/

Extra Trivia.

What six Astros players have hit for the cycle,one player did it twice.

Edited September 5, 2007 by Guest

[Elster88]

]All My Ex's Live In Texas . Ty Wigginton Dave Wallace Astro Annie

lol

Nice job Irish

[Gwreck]

The original "Killer Bs" were Bagwell, Biggio....and Derek Bell. '97 Astros were their first playoff team since '86.

Amazingly, on that '97 team, I count 15 players with Metly connections, including nearly half their pitching staff.

I also had completely forgotten that Bobby Abreu came up with the Astros as a rookie.

---

Current Mets iwth Ex-Astro connections:
Billy Wagner
Moises Alou
Carlos Beltran

[Benjamin Grimm]

My guess for "original killer bees" was Bonds and Bonilla in Pittsburgh.

[metirish]

My information has one more Killer B to go along with Gwrecks three....

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bill Barnett, Bob Baumhower, Doug Betters, Glenn Blackwood, Lyle Blackwood, Kim Bokamper, and Bob Brudzinski.

[metirish]

All B's but not Killer B's

[Guest Edgy DC]

[Frayed Knot]

Gwreck wrote: I also had completely forgotten that Bobby Abreu came up with the Astros as a rookie.

They lost him in the expansion draft to Tampa Bay, choosing to protect their other young Venezuelan instead, one Richard Hidalgo. Tampa then immediately dealt Abreu to Philly for the one and only Kevin Stocker.

Most teams could compile an impressive list of ones they let get away too soon, but Houston's list always struck me as particularly painful:
Abreu, Johan Santana (Rule 5), Freddie Garcia, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, Kenny Lofton, and even going way back to Joe Morgan.

[Guest Edgy DC]

They kept nutty Joaquin Andujar bouncing between the bullpen and the rotatoin before he signed with St. Louis and fully realized his poitential.

Jeff Bagwell is always their trump card, though.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Frayed Knot wrote: ="Gwreck"]I also had completely forgotten that Bobby Abreu came up with the Astros as a rookie. They lost him in the expansion draft to Tampa Bay, choosing to protect their other young Venezuelan instead, one Richard Hidalgo. Tampa then immediately dealt Abreu to Philly for the one and only Kevin Stocker. Most teams could compile an impressive list of ones they let get away too soon, but Houston's list always struck me as particularly painful: Abreu, Johan Santana (Rule 5), Freddie Garcia, Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, Kenny Lofton, and even going way back to Joe Morgan.

Don't forget Rusty! I think he even dates back to the Colt .45 days.

Colt .45s = worst name ever for a baseball team.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Yeah, it's weird to see a decimal point in the name of a sports team.

[Vic Sage]

well, now the 'Stros are 99.44% of suck.

[seawolf17]

I believe the Killer B's you're missing are Jumpin' Jim Bronzell and B. Brian Blair.

[Willets Point]

Holy Homoertocism Beeman!

[Frayed Knot]

]Don't forget Rusty! I think he even dates back to the Colt .45 days

Well sure, but at least with Rusty, as with Andujar, they at least got a couple of good years out of them before moving on.
But that whole Lofton/Abreu/Finley/etc, crowd was dealt before they ever really had a chance to contribution to Houston baseball.
That group is akin to our Ryan - Otis - Kazmir.






* Holy prospects Batman, I'm Lee Mazzilli !!

[metirish]

Apparently people are not taking my Killer Bees question seriously ,that's some funny stuff though.....Sean Berry is the fourth Killer Bee,currently the Astros hitting coach.

Now back to my other trivia question.

What six Astros players have hit for the cycle,one player did it twice.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Cycle guesses:

Biggio (twice)
Jose Cruz
Enos Cabell
Jimmy Wynn
Craig F. Reynolds
Art F. Howe

[Gwreck]

Gotta think Bagwell did it once. He usedta have some speed back in the day. Was 30-30 once or twice, I think.

[metirish]

Biggio did hit for the cycle once.....

Craig Biggio - April 8, 2002 - Houston at Colorado

1st inning: 0 outs, nobody on. Biggio singles to center and is later doubled up on a grounder Jeff Bagwell.

3rd inning: 1 out, nobody on. Biggio triples to left and scores on a single by Brad Ausmus.

4th inning: 1 out, Brian Hunter on second. Biggio homers to left, scoring Hunter.

6th inning: 2 outs, Brian Hunter on second. Biggio is walked intentionally and is stranded after advancing to second.

8th inning: 1 out, Morgan Ensberg on second, Brian Hunter on first. Biggio doubles to left, scoring Ensberg and Hunter. Biggio is stranded at third.

For the day, Biggio went 4-for-4 with a walk and 4 RBI.

[metirish]

Bagwell hit for the cycle.

Jeff Bagwell - July 18, 2001 - St. Louis at Houston

1st inning: 1 out, Craig Biggio on second. On a 1-1 pitch, Bagwell drives in the team's first run with a single to center. Bagwell would later score on a three-run home run by Moises Alou.

2nd inning: 2 outs, 2 runs in, nobody on. Bagwell flies out to center on a 2-2 pitch, ending the inning.

5th inning: 0 outs, nobody on, Luther Hackman pitching. Bagwell leads off the inning by driving a 3-2 pitch to deep left center for a double. Lance Berkman immediately follows with a double of his own, scoring Bagwell for the team's 7th run.

5th inning: 2 outs, 5 runs in, runners on first and second. In his second at-bat of the inning, Bagwell caps an 8-run outburst by homering to left field on a 1-0 pitch, scoring Craig Biggio and Julio Lugo.

7th inning: 1 out, Craig Biggio on third. Bagwell completes the cycle by tripling to right center on a 2-0 pitch. Bagwell then scored on a single by Lance Berkman.

8th inning: 2 outs, Julio Lugo on first. Bagwell walks on a full count and is forced out on a grounder to second by Lance Berkman.

For the night, Bagwell went 4-for-5 with 5 RBI.

[metirish]

One player on the list became the first player to hit for the cycle in both leagues after being traded by Houston to an AL team.

[DocTee]

Lance Berkman, cyclist.

Carlos Beltran, cyclist.

Jeff Kent, cyclist.

Joe Morgan, cyclist.

[metirish]

None of the above hit for the cycle in a Houston uniform,great guesses though.

[DocTee]

Terry Puhl (this).

[Guest Edgy DC]

Dickie Thon.

[metirish]

No to Phul and Thon.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Derek Bell. Why not.

Derek Bell and Richard Hidalgo.

Derek Bell, Richard Hidalgo and Milt May.

Yeah, that's right. Milt May.

[metirish]

No to Dickshot,we really don't know the Astros.

Edited September 6, 2007 by Guest

[metirish]

No to Dickshot,we really don't know the Astros.

Time to reflect.

Craig Biggio - April 8, 2002 - Houston at Colorado

Jeff Bagwell - July 18, 2001 - St. Louis at Houston


I need four more players but only three more last names.....get it?

One was the only rookie to do it for Houston.