Traveling up to St. Louis, the Astros are coming off an opening series loss to Chicago. Chew on these links, and maybe the taste of defeat can leave your mouth:
- Yesterday saw a matchup of studly young pitchers in Chicago. Zack Greinke out-dueled Gavin Floyd, as the Royals shut out the White Sox 2-0. Juan Cruz and Joakim Soria closed the door on the Sox, the day after Kyle Farnsworth coughed the game up for the Royals. Why even sign Cruz if you're not going to use him? High leverage situations call for using your best relievers. The Jim Thome at bat was one to be sure, and Farnsworth is not the guy you want in that situation.
- Fate wouldn't allow the Astros to come back last night because an even better come back occurred earlier in the day, with the Phils beating the Braves 12-11. Astros fans can take heart in the fact that even Bobby Cox is prone to misjudgment.
- Joba Chamberlain is sort of a non racist version of John Rocker. He recently apologized for making some not so nice comments about New York drivers and Yogi Berra. Can you really blame the guy for being frazzled when he said those things? Who isn't a little loopy after coming home after a late night of drinking and strip club hopping?
- Think you can do a better job than Ed Wade?? You probably can! I mean, this guy was recently elected mayor of a town in Wisconsin, and he's only 22! He has to run an entire town, all you would have to do is be in charge of personnel decisions for a major league franchise! Piece o' cake.
- The French are nipping at the heels of Lance Armstrong again. Apparently, he didn't stay under the direct observation of his drug tester, and instead asked to go shower, which he was given the ok to go do.
- George Will writes an article where he ties together the law and baseball. I usually like to keep these areas separate, like church and state, but it makes for an interesting read. Of course it does, Evan. It's George Will.
- Brandon Backe threw 40 pitches off a mound on Wednesday, and reported no pain. Despite this bit of good news, the team is taking a cautious approach to his recovery.
- Milo Hamilton was honored yesterday for being Milo Hamilton. As he should be. I mean, he could throw out the score every so often, but that's an insignificant detail..
DQ's findings:
- BtB's Harry Pavlidus breaks down the wonder's that are the new premium-Game Day.
- Tragedy for Angels fans.
- One of the most eloquently written eulogies for a ball player I've come across. The way RevHaloFan cuts to the core of what baseball players mean to us is profound. RIP Nick.
As a teaser: In the next few days, expect a book review about an Astros pictograph essay that will bring tears to your eyes. it did for me.