with a buddy that after two consecutive games with grand slams, the chances were pretty good that we'd give up another one yesterday.  i nearly lost it when Iguchi hit that one.  you can talk about the resiliency of continuing to fight into extra innings and grabbing the win, but that one felt as much like a loss as a win can possibly feel.

earlier in the game, when we were up 9-1, i was feeling glad that even after dropping the two previous games in stomach turning fashion, we were on national TV with Mitchell and Morgan as witnesses, shutting down the big bad White Sox and smacking around their vaunted pitching staff.  maybe they were carving out a little respect for themselves, only to see Springer and Lidge validate every 'stros bashers opinion of them.  even with a win, we're laughably the team that blew an 8-run lead after the 7th.

last year when we were suffering, i was so confident that we really weren't as bad as we looked.  this year we're still in better shape than we were this time last year, but i'm just not sure we're any better than we look.  very frustrating.  hopefully these guys can prove me wrong.

That is now his 6th "quality start" in which he has either gotten a no decision or a loss.  11 of his 15 starts have been of the quality variety, but only 5 of those have yielded him a win.

He hasn't been his dominant self this year, but he should be on his way to his 3rd consecutive 20-win season, but for games like this when the rest of his team isn't holding up their end of the deal.