As most of you settle in for a long day of college pigskin with a desert of Astros baseball, here are some tasty treats to keep you satiated before Brian Moehler takes the mound:
- By far the most interesting of the links, Richard Justice's run down of Astros notes provides two juicy morsles to consider as we head into the hot stove season:
- For those of you still like me who were still waiting to hear the explanation for Roy Oswalt's poor performance on Thursday night, you can find two sides of the story here. Oswalt claims that it had nothing to do with is ailing back, whereas Cecil Cooper drops this bit of knowledge on us:
- Speaking of Coop, his blood pressure would really appreciate the Astros not waiting until the final three outs to win baseball games. The story is pretty generic, but this quote made me laugh until my stomach hurt. It's a true "back in my day" perspective:
- In where the hell did that guy end up news, Eric Munson just earned a call up from AAA by the A's. I saw Munson catch in the AAA All-Star game, but had been too lazy to figure out where he was doing his best Crash Davis impersonation.
- BtB's Daily Box Score column has quickly become one of my favorites to read just because I find myself thinking at the macro level of issues I usually take for granted. Yesterday's was about how we graphical represent data and it's worth the read and ponder.
- If the Astros finish this season below .500, does that mean Drayton should lower beer prices? Well, the WSJ has investigated winning percentage and beer prices. Read it here and decide for yourself whether MMP beer is over priced.
The Astros probably will ask Wesley Wright to compete for a spot in the rotation next spring...
...However, it seems like the club will attempt to re-sign both Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins.
While Oswalt dodged questions about his back, Astros manager Cecil Cooper said that his ace did mention a "burning sensation" in his back, which may have impacted his throwing.
I don't remember us doing that too much of that celebrating, but today they do it all the time. But I think it's great. ... It's fun. I know the players like to do it, and I like to see the players show that kind of emotion.