Astros drop 10th in a row

Congrats fellas, you've sunk to levels of futility for this franchise not seen in more than a decade and they are one loss away from tying the franchise record for losses in a row. This team is just plain bad, I dont know how else to explain it. Sure there are a couple of underachievers in the lineup right now, Berkman being the primary culprit of course with his .250 average and seven extra base hits.

The last time the Astros lost this many games in a row was late in 1995. Oh and go figure, two of the games during that streak happened to be the first Astros games I had seen in-person in nine years at the time when I was moving back to Phoenix from Mobile. The Astros were actually still in contention for the wildcard at that time when Bagwell suffered one of his infamous hand injuries and the offense went in the tank.

The Astros actually did work their way back into the NL Wildcard race and ultimately lost out by a game to the Colorado Rockies.

Given how the Astros have performed against Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, or any mediocre NL pitcher of late, I fully expect the streak to hit 11 on Thursday.

Congrats ASU baseball, Pac-10 champs

With Wanda Rodriguez and the Astros getting shelled by the D-backs tonight (it's 8-1 as I write this), I'm shifting most of my baseball good feelings toward the ASU baseball team. The Sun Devils clinched the Pac-10 regular season title last night with an 8-5 win over the University of Tucson, which made it even more sweeter. They still have two more games against the kitties tonight and tomorrow, go rub salt in the wound boys. The Devils should plan on staying in Tempe for the pre-Omaha post-season.

On the Astros' front, the H-town hacks are already starting to speculate on whether Garner or Pupura or both will last the season.

Oh well, at least we have Bidge's 3000th hit to look forward to. Only 28 more to go.

24 season finale

What has arguably been the worst of the six seasons came to an end last night. Question now becomes what's next for Bauer. Does he try and start a normal life with his dead brother's wife and his nephew (who I thought for sure would end up being his kid) absent of the whole CTU scene? Is his dad still alive and will he be the new Nina Myers for Jack where it actually takes a couple of seasons before he is officially killed off? Also, what becomes of Trenchcoat Cheng? Seemed like the one given for the finale was that Jack would exact his revenge on Cheng for the many months of torture he endured in China.

However, as disappointing as this season was, next season cant come soon enough.

Astros regress: Sun Devils play Tucson for Pac-10 title

Caught the Astros game at AT&T Park last night. Even though I was in one of the most scenic ballparks in America, it didn't ease the pain of watching the Astros fail to capitalize over and over again in potential scoring situations. Wake up Berkman, you're killing us right now. Admit to yourself that you're in a slump and then do something about it, quit trying to pretend that nothing is wrong.

On a more positive baseball note, the Sun Devils swept defending national champions Oregon State last weekend and take on the University of Tucson for three games at Packard starting Wednesday. ASU just needs to win one of those games to secure the Pac-10 title for the first time since 2000.

4 in a row and above .500

The Hunter Pence love-fest is officially underway in Houston. The kid went 4-4 tonight with what would ultimately be the GW HR in the 4th. A towering shot that nearly went out of the park. This coming on the heels of his game-tying shot in the 8th last night off Armando Benitez. Anyone who thought his spring training was a fluke can now confess their misguided thoughts and 'repence.' Sorry.

Astros won 2-1 and are now a game over .500 and are now 4.5 games behind the Brew crew in the NL Central. Funny how good things happen when a manager plays his best offensive players.

Devils sweep Bruins in Tempe

The Sun Devil baseball squad took a two game lead in the Pac-10 with a sweep of UCLA at Packard Stadium this weekend.

The Devils look like the real deal this year. In every game they rallied from a deficit to win. Today they were down 9-3 and rallied to win 11-10. Friday they were down 14-7 and won 16-14 and Saturday they scored two in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4.

They keep playing like this and they are certain to host a regional (a given if they win the conference) and ultimately a super-regional should they get to that point. I continue to be extremely impressed with Ike Davis, son of former Cy Young winner Mark Davis. Ike is all-world for the Devils whether its hitting, defense or pitching, he is flat-out a difference maker for them right now. The kid went 2-4, scored 2 runs and pitched a scoreless 2/3rd of an inning late in the game.

Astros win series from D-backs; Wanda gets first win since last July

Two days in a row Garner has Loretta or Lamb and the line-up and glory be, the Astros win two in a row. Hopefully Garner will get over his Ensberg infatuation now and start playing the 'L' boys on a regular basis.

Wanda labored through five innings to get his first win in nearly a year. Pence had some big hits and made things happen on the basepaths ... again.

Also, farewell to Chris Burke who was sent down to Round Rock on Friday. Wherever your future in baseball takes you, be it with the Astros or another team, you will always have a special place in Astros' folklore (along with Jeff Kent and Billy Hatcher) for your game-winning HR in the 18 inning marathon that was game 4 of the 2005 NLDS against Atlanta.

Good luck to you Chris, I'm confident you'll be a gamer wherever you go, hopefully it will be with the Astros.