Wednesday's Three Astros Things

Things to munch on while we wait for another road game...

1) Oswalt is a Ranger - Well, the Roy Oswalt race finally has a winner, with Old No. 44 signing with the Texas Rangers. Should we be annoyed by this?

Sort of. He's obviously enjoyed living in Texas, or just wanted to play for a winner, but there's a chance he'll be on the other side of the games next season when Houston moves to the American League West. That means he'll be teeing it up against Houston for a division rivalry, which cuts a little deeper than when he was just with Philadelphia, no?

What's more, can't you see him sticking around in Houston if the Astros had maintained their levels of goodness for the past few years? Wouldn't he have been an all-time Astro if they had kept winning?

I can't blame him for finding the situation that he wanted and getting paid a hefty sum for it. I hope things work out for him there and he moves on far, far away from the AL West by next season.

As for the other ramifications, it's intriguing for Wandy's trade value, just because it eliminates a variable. Will the other teams in on Oswalt turn to trade options quickly, or will they wait until after the draft and closer to July? How will Roy Halladay's injury affect the Phillies?

I guess what I'm saying is that Roy's decision to sign with Texas raises more questions than it does answers. Anyone who wants to take a shot at them, feel free to do so in the comments...

2) Your daily draft update - Looks like Keith Law thinks Houston is taking Mark Appel, but doesn't think its for money or as the player who will make the majors the fastest. It's because he's the most talented.

If that happens, I guess I'll be okay with it. Appel is going to take a pretty penny to sign, so the pick won't be about money. Houston will have to be sold on his talent. They could just as easily go with Carlos Correa or Byron Buxton, but we're no closer to an answer than we were two weeks ago. Which is awesome.

There was also a good interview with Kevin Gausman, who I still prefer to Appel among the college pitchers. There's some good stuff in there about him experimenting with pitches and trying to work on things. From what he's saying, I could easily see him with four good pitches in the pros, which means he'd stick in a rotation and have the potential to be very good.

3) How many Altuves? - Good job, Internet. Good job, Bryan from Astros County. That is all.