Results tagged “baseball”

Like the scene at the end of any "raised it from a baby" animal movie, the time came for the Astros to put Pudge Rodriguez back where he belongs: in a Texas Rangers uniform. With the Rangers leading the AL Wild Card race, and the Astros floundering, plus the Rangers' loss of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the disabled list with an excess of letters, the stars were aligned for a trade sending Pudge back to the city where he made his name.

Let's face it: the Astros' late season mojo isn't probably isn't going to come through. The team has been flirting with .500 like a nervous guy at last call, and will probably watch either the Cards or Cubs go home with their date to the playoffs. But that doesn't mean that you should stop watching and wait for football season to start. Fortunately for the long-term future of the team, several talented minor league pitchers are ready for a shot at the big leagues. So read on, so that when your friends are just as confused as Milo Hamilton about who's pitching this week, you'll be in the know.

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman belted his13th home run of the season today in the second inning against Kansas City Royals pitcher Brian Bannister to give him 1,001 career RBI.

The Major League Baseball draft is easily the most anticlimactic of all the major sport drafts. The players drafted will take years to develop into major league talent, if they ever make the big club in the first place. You're not going to go out an buy the jersey of your team's draft pick the next day. However, for a club like the Astros, who are in the process of restocking their minor league system, the draft is the first step toward rebuilding a young, healthy team.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Randy Johnson added one more milestone to his future Hall of Fame career by becoming the 24th member of the elite 300 win club.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder and Jefferson Davis High alumnus Carl Crawford tied a MLB modern-day record by stealing six bases on Sunday.

Houston, today is the greatest day known to man. It's Opening Day!

Opening Day is Monday, and the Astros are almost done whittling down their roster as Spring Training winds down. Following the loss of Aaron Boone to season-ending heart surgery, the 'stros acquired Reds infielder Jeff Keppinger to fill out the right-handed side of their third base platoon (with Geoff Blum). The Geoff-Jeff show isn't going to replace the stellar production that the team got from Ty Wigginton last year, but it won't be a black hole in the lineup, either.

The Houston Astros have signed 14-time All-Star catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to a one-year, $1.5 million contract.

The boys from Kissimmee-by-way-of-Houston have won a grand spanking total of one game in Spring Training so far, to go along with fourteen losses and two ties. (Yes, there are ties in baseball, apparently) The pitchers are getting lit up, and the bats are odiously silent. Is this what the regular season will be like? Should fans ready the torches and pitchforks?

Texas A & M came back from a 3-0 fourth inning deficit to defeat UH 5-3 in the final game of the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park Sunday night.

Craig Biggio will be signing copies of his book, The Final Game, tomorrow from 2-4 p.m.at Events (1966 W. Gray) which is located in the River Oaks Shopping Center

It's day two for Houstonist's Mt. Rushmore of Sports and today, Mr. Astro, Craig Biggio joins Earl Campbell.

ESPN did their take last week on the four best athlete's from each state. For Texas, Lance Armstrong, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan and Tom Landry were selected as Texas' Mt. Rushmore.

According to Chicago Tribune writer Phil Rogers, the Houston team is looking "to plan a sneak attack on the Cubs" by trying to sign New Caney, TX native Adam Dunn to a one-year deal.

Mr. T would be proud: now he won't have to save the community center by himself. Drayton McLane and Major League Baseball have put their money where their mouth is, and they're bringing first-class baseball facilities to one of Houston's most neglected neighborhoods.

With one year under his belt, Astros manager Cecil Cooper is ready for the 2009 season to begin. After a rough first half which saw the Astros at 6-12 to start the season, Cooper and his team got hot after the All-Star break to go an best 42-24 while just missing a Wild Card birth by 3.5 games. We can all thank Hurricane Ike and Bud Seling for that. Houstonist caught up with the Astros skipper at Thursday's Baseball Writers Association of America Awards Dinner to talk baseball. Coach, with spring training just right around the corner, how exciting is it for you this time of the year? Well, it's extremely exciting. We want to make a stronger showing than we did a year ago and we think we have a chance to do that. It's pretty exciting to get there (spring training) knowing that I'll pretty much have the same team that I had a year ago and we'll be familiar with each other knowing we can just go out and play baseball. What was the difference between the first half and second half of last year? It was a rough start, but the team rebounded for a strong second half finish. Well, I think number one, they got used to our style of doing things. Then I think everybody's role was really determined a little bit better and then I thought the biggest key was that Carlos Lee got hot and Roy Oswalt became the Roy Oswalt that we all know and love. The interview continues after the jump.

Like a furry rodent prognosticating the weather, a sign of the impending return of spring is upon us. The Astros 2009 schedule kicks off with their Winter Caravan, a goodwill tour that annually precedes Spring Training, with players, coaches and alumni signing autographs for the unwashed masses. The Caravan starts this weekend in the Houston area, and will travel to Austin, San Antonio and (gasp!) Louisiana before everyone heads off to sleepaway camp in Kissimmee.

Like many other businesses around the country, your hometown baseball team is feeling the financial crunch. Two big sponsors (AIG and Bill Heard Dealerships) won't be contributing to the coffers in 2009, leaving owner Drayton McLane unable to raise his payroll going into next season. How to improve the team in these circumstances? That's General Manager Ed Wade's task at the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas this week.

This afternoon Houstonist was parked on at a patio enjoying a tasty burger when we spied Craig Biggio rolling through the drive through. As he pulled forward, we noticed what looked to be a Texas Rangers "T" stuck on the back window of his SUV.

On Saturday, the Astros offense took a major blow. Carlos Lee suffered a broken pinkie finger which will require season ending surgery. Today, the Astros pulled off a four game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds which puts them one game under .500 as they return to Texas for a seven game series against the San Francisco Giants (49-66) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (60-58).

It's that time of the year again, Houston. This year's mid-summer classic will take place in historic Yankee Stadium as two Astros and two Houston-area products will be showcasing their talent at the 79th All-Star game in The Bronx.

One day after Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon went Latrell Sprewell on GM Ed Wade, the team announced today that they are parting ways with the disgruntled pitcher by placing him on waivers.

All of the sports world is in envy of Boston fans today. Since October, the New England area has had the Red Sox (MLB), Patriots (NFL), Revolution (MLS) and Celtics (NBA) make their respective league championship game and two (Red Sox and Celtics) have won the title. It's rare and quite an impressive feat. Houstonist takes a look at Houston's sports teams and sizes up their chances at bringing home some hardware.

On June 5, the Houston Astros selected Stanford's Jason Castro, a catcher, 10th overall in the first round of the MLB Amateur Draft.

The Rice Owls won their Super Regional game against Texas A&M (6-5) at a sold-out game on campus last night. That's right, baby, we're headed to Omaha!

He's fast. He's agile like a cat. And he's the National League Player of Month. Lance Berkman's torrid May garnered the Texan the award for only the second time in his career.

The Rice Owls took care of business on Sunday night by bouncing the Texas Longhorns back to Austin with a 7-4 win at Reckling Park. The Rice Owls now advance to the Super Regionals next weekend in which they will host as they await for the winner between Houston and Texas A & M tonight at Olsen Field in College Station.

It's official. Your great city of Houston is the baseball capitol of America. How many other cities can say they have three colleges in the NCAA Regionals? None! The action gets started Friday as Texas Southern, the University of Houston and Rice, all prepare for their journey to Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series.

You name it, Brad Lincoln won it. 2006 was a very special year for the University of Houston All-American. He became the first UH and C-USA player to win a national player of the year award. He led the Cougars in wins (12) with a 1.69 ERA and 152 strike outs. He also belted 14 home runs and led UH with 53 RBI. He was the fourth overall pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Brad was on cloud nine until he felt discomfort in his pitching elbow while in the minor leagues. He was checked out by team doctors and it was discovered he had torn elbow ligaments that would require Tommy John surgery. Houstonist had the chance to talk to this UH legend to discuss his road back to recovery.