Feels like 2000 again

I know spring training is a horrible indicator of how a team will perform in the regular season but I just don't have a good vibe at all about the Astros this season. For the past 10 or so seasons I have had some optimism going into the regular season that they were capable of contending. Not this season. Usually I'm fired up about the opening game and getting to watch them in action for the first time. Again, not this season. That being said, I will still of course watch them nearly every chance I get. I may be down on them right now, but I will still cheer hard.

I could see this season being a lot like the 2000 season where we were consistently all hit and no pitch. 2000 was the season where our supposed ace Jose Lima got freaked out by the short fences in the newly opened Enron Field and suddenly found himself in Detroit by mid-season. The only difference between now and then is that everyone still thought we had a chance to contend after winning the division in 1999 for the third straight season. This season you'd be hard-pressed to find a publication that has the Astros picked higher than fourth place.

I heard Lima is still pitching somewhere in the Mexican pro leagues. Maybe he's ready to redeem himself. The Astros are so desperate for pitching, you never know...

Chandler and Clancy's first ABs in 2008

Video highlights of Chandler and Clancy's at-bats from their first couple of games in 2008.

A busy Easter Weekend

After flying back from London on Friday and basically not sleeping for about 22 hours (I can't sleep on planes to save my life) thanks to delays as we connected in Chicago. A word of advice to anyone ever traveling internationally and you have to connect through Chicago, avoid checking your bags at all costs. It took a freaking hour and a half for me to get through customs, pick up my bag and then re-check it. I've done this going through Dallas before and it was a much smoother experience. Anyhow, I managed to get about five hours of sleep in on Friday night before getting up for 8 a.m. t-ball early Saturday morning.

Clancy's Red Sox scored their first win of the season thanks to his buddy Graylan who made 3 unassisted outs at second base in one inning. The key to winning in LCP 5 and 6 year old league is to have at least one inning where you get 3 outs. If you can do this and the other team cannot, you're golden.

After that it was swim team for Chandler, a quick lunch at Texadelphia then back at the ballpark for Chandler's game at 1. Chandler's Red Raiders picked up their first win of the season and are now 1-2. We're quickly realizing how stacked and well-coached Chandler's fall team was. However, the 11-10 win over the Cougars was huge and the team seems to be getting better each game. I will have some video highlights of their first games in another post.

After a futile attempt to nap after the game, it was soon time to eat, play some lego Star Wars with the boy and then dye some Easter eggs.

After a morning Easter egg hunt in the backyard on Sunday, it was time for church. At the last minute we decided to shake things up a bit and go to lunch first and hopefully avoid the C&E enhanced church crowds by going to the 12:30 service. Good thing we still ended up getting there about 30 minutes early because the place filled up quickly. I'll spare you any rants I have on C's and E's because at the end of the day, it's all about spreading the gospel, no matter how many times a year people come to church.

Below is a picture I took on my one morning of downtime in Europe last week when I wasn't in a conference room. It's from the Cathedral de Barcelona, He is risen!

Now it's off to go mow the lawn. Happy Easter everyone.

Pics from Europe trip - Day 1

Greetings from Barcelona. I left Austin on Sunday at around 3:30 central and after stops in DFW and London Gatwick, I arrived in Barcelona around 12:20 p.m. local time. Here are some pics which are basically from my hotel. Hope to have more up of some of the local architecture tomorrow if work schedule permits.

This is the view from one side of the hotel of the city

This is the view of the Meditterranean Sea from my hotel room

Kaz and Kevin's common bond

One of the newest Astros, second baseman Kaz Matsui will miss two weeks this spring as he undergoes a surgical procedure you can read about here.

As I was reading that story, I couldn't stop thinking about the episode from the first season of The Office (American version) entitled "Health Care," where Dwight was tasked with selecting the office's new health benefits plan. When reviewing a list of ailments that were to be covered under the new plan, Kevin the accountant confirmed that Kaz's condition is a truly a real one.

Dwight: Who wrote this, this hysterical one? Anal fissures.

Kevin: That's a real thing

Dwight: Yeah, but no one here has it

Kevin: (under his breath) Someone has it

Yes Kevin, someone surely does have it. Between this, a pending indictment for our new shortstop and the brilliant pitching we've had thus far in the spring, it's shaping up to be quite a battle for fourth place between us and the Reds.

Devils bubble about to burst?

The week leading up to the NCAA tourney selection is always an interesting one. So much speculation about who is in, debates about conferences, strength of schedules and of course the much scrutinized RPI.

I've been getting angry this week listening to some of the talking heads on ESPN and other outlets who are saying the Devils wont be dancing and that Tucson might be because of their high RPI and strength of schedule. Additionally, San Diego's win over a very overrated Gonzaga team in the WCC tourney, gives them an automatic bid which means three WCC teams are likely in, thus further hurting the Pac-10's chances for six or seven teams.

Where am I going with this? Basically if Tucson gets in and ASU doesn't, the NCAA is sending a message - schedule the best teams you can, lose to them, beat no one currently ranked in the RPI top 25 (non-conference) and finish below .500 in your conference and you're in.

Play a questionable non-conference schedule but beat the one top 10 opponent you played and finish at .500 in the second-best conference in the nation ... and sweep your fellow bubble team, you're out.

Yeah, that seems logical to me.

Devils SHOULD be dancing; Astros pitchers are happy

The Sun Devils hoops squad closed out the 2007-08 regular season tonight in Corvallis, OR against the Oregon State Beavers with a 77-64 victory. Congrats Beavers on being the first team to go 0-18 in Pac-10 history. I'm sure A.C. Green, Gary Payton and all of your alums are beaming with pride over your season. That will teach you to hire one of Lute's assistants as your head coach. Ok, I'll stop kicking now Beaver fans.

Back to the Devils. Frankly, last year's Devils looked pretty similar to this year's Beaver squad and only a couple of late-season wins kept the Devils out of the conference history books. The Devils made such an impression on everyone last season that the pundits really went out on a limb and picked the Devils to finish 9th in the conference before the season started. Well I hope those same pundits go ahead and eat their proverbial crow by casting their vote for Herb Sendek as Pac-10 2008 Coach of the Year.

All indications say that the Devils should get into the NCAA Tournament. The Devils finished 9-9 in what many have labeled as the best conference in the nation. That ties them for 5th place with Oregon and puts them ahead of the 8-10 University of Tucson who will likely need to win the Pac-10 tourney outright to get into the NCAAs. Enjoy your first NIT appearance since the 1980s kitty fans.

On to the Astros. Really the only thing I have been able to observe this spring is that their pitchers seemed to be "happy" about getting shelled. Twice in the last week, I have seen stories by the Houston Chronicle's kiss-up beat reporters that characterize Astros' pitchers as being "pleased" or "happy" with their lackluster outings. Here are a couple of examples of what I'm referring to:

"Although he would have liked better results, Woody Williams was pleased with the way he felt after giving up five runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings today against the Cleveland Indians."

"Overall today was what I was looking for," Chacon said. He apparently was "looking" to give up two runs in three innings.

Really glad to see these guys setting the bar so high and having tremendous confidence that our offense can put up a 10-spot or more every game.

Speaking of the offense, Miggy Tejada is batting .200 with one RBI this spring. Nice. I guess that potential indictment isn't weighing heavily on him at all.

Stinky Ride

I just spent an hour in this cab coming from JFK airport into the city and if the combination of smoke and body odor really bother you, then stay away from cab number 7E88. I've been in stinky cabs before, but this one is by far the worst I've ever been in. I felt sick the entire time.

It seems like in most places in the U.S., people cannot smoke in their offices, why should cab drivers be any different?

Yes, I am one of those people who whine about the smell of smoke and not ashamed to admit it. I'm the guy who always supports those no smoking laws and will continue to do so. And while I'm glad that NYC is a smoke-free city as far as restaurants and other indoor public places go, the one thing I never look forward to in this city is walking the streets having to walk past all those smokers who can't smoke indoors. Yeah I know I can't have it both ways.