Three day weekends are a beast. You end the previous week by slacking in some fashion on Friday, since you're planning all the shennanigans you'll be committing over the weekend. Then you pick things up after the weekend with the realization that you've got to fit five days of work into four. Plus, it's cold and depressing (like a Packers fan on Monday) and that pretty much explains why a Monday feature is appearing on......

It appears that the Astros are set to sign Craig Biggio's heir apparent: Kaz Matusi. Matusi batted .288 for the NL Champion Colorado Rockies last year with 84 runs scored and 32 stolen bases. Along with Michael Bourn, the two speedsters should wreck havoc for opposing NL catchers. Though the Astros have yet to comment on this deal, the Daily Herald and the Houston Chronicle both report that sources close to the situation have......

Happy Monday from the Sports Doldrums! With the World Series over, the Texans being the Texans, and the Rockets not quite started, this has got to be the worst time of the sports year. But sports being what they are, people are still talking about them. Here's what the blog world has been saying about your hometown teams: - Sad, but unsurprising, end to the story of the life and death of Eddie Griffin.......

With the Astros 2007 campaign safely (thankfully) mothballed, it's time to sort through the wreckage and find the bright spots that give us hope for next year. The 'stros' apparently horrendous minor league system delivered a handful of September surprises in the form of several players who have a decent chance of making the Opening Day roster for 2008. So before their names become famous (or infamous), let's meet them and discuss where you'll......

While most of the baseball world was focused yesterday on the races for the final playoff spots, including the Mets historic collapse in the NL East, as usual, Craig Biggio was just doing his job, just like he's done for the past 20 years. But for the first time in 20 years, Biggio won't be going back to work today. For those of us who grew up in Houston, Biggio is just as much a......

Craig Biggio's final weekend as an Astros player will feature a particularly fun blast from the past. Biggio, who has played catcher, second base, and several outfield positions throughout his 20 year career in Houston, will catch the first two innings or so of Saturday's game against the Atlanta Braves. The original plan had called for Biggio to be matched with ace Roy Oswalt, but Oswalt is skipping his final start of the season so......

The Astros may have 99 problems, but the pitch ain't one. After stumbling out of the gate to start this week's series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros saddled up thoroughbred Roy Oswalt and rode to victory last night, securing Cecil Cooper's first major league win as the 'stros new manager. Oswalt worked with trademark efficiency, blazing through seven innings while throwing only ninety-nine pitches. Offensively, the team rode homers by Luke Scott and......

Houston's pro sports teams have spawned a number of great blogs that offer coverage and commentary with a degree of freedom that the mainstream media only wishes it had. (Sorry, Richard Justice). Each week, we'll give you a run-down on what these blogs are talking about. -Craig Biggio's quest for 3,000 hits is complete, but the drive to be hit by a pitch for the 288th time continues. The fantastically detailed Plunk Biggio has been......

The Houston Astros have announced that Morgan Ensberg has been designated for assignment. The team has 10 days to release, trade or send Ensberg to the minors, but GM Tim Purpura stated the minors are not an option for Ensberg. With the recent addition of Ty Wigginton, the move made Ensberg expendable. After having a All-Star season in 2005, Ensberg's career has headed south as he's seen very little time on the field for......

At a news conference at Minute Maid Park today, Craig Biggio has stated that the 2007 season will be his last. I love the game," Biggio said. "I'm going to miss putting my feet in the spikes every day. I'm going to miss the dads coming up to you and thanking you for the way you played the game, the little kids coming up to you and asking for your autograph, seeing them smile......

Good morning, Houston. Let's take a trip to the United Kingdom for a bit to learn how they celebrate Orangemen's Day. July 12 means "Orange marches" in this area to commemorate Prince William of Orange's victory over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 (remember your world history?). This day has sometimes been the cause of sectarian clashes between Protestants and Catholics, although most of the parades are very peaceful,......

After a historic Thursday night in which Craig Biggio collected his 3,000th hit, the newest member of the elite club garnered the Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week for June 25-July 1, 2007. Biggio batted .444 (8-18) for the week, which included two runs and RBI. His five hits on Thursday, which gave him a total of 3,002, were the most hits in a game for a player who......

The road to 3,000 continued at Minute Maid Park, Texas as Craig Biggio came into Thursday night's contest only three hits away. In the third inning while facing Aaron Cook with a 2-2 count, Biggio lined a single into center field for career hit 2,998. Biggio would return to the plate in the fifth inning and would smack an Aaron Cook curve ball to Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins, who then overthrew first baseman......

Good morning, Houston. We know you've heard already, but there's no bigger story out of Houston today than Craig Biggio's 3000th hit. It's times like these that remind you why you put up with the frustration of following your hometown team season after disappointing season, and we're proud of Biggio. To top things off, we even won the game. Astros, you're spoiling us. Houstonist will have a full story on hit number 3000 for......

The road to 3,000 hits the Bayou City starting today with a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. And Craig Biggio is salivating at the opportunity to make history at home. Against the Rockies, Biggio owns a .347 average, the best of any opponent. On Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Biggio recorded career hit 2,997 against Claudio Vargas in the third inning; a single to left field. Biggio Fact of the Day: In 1987,......

Good morning, Houston. Are you sick of hearing about the iPhone? So are we. Some people are wondering if the iPhone will be able to live up to all the hype its been getting, and we can't imagine that any phone could unless it also serves as, say, a teleporting device. Let's just get to the news: >> Missing Polka King: Friends and fans grew concerned when Bobby Jones, billed as Wharton County's "Polka......

In the first inning of Sunday night's game, Craig Biggio out ran an infield chopper to secure career hit 2,994 off Ranger's pitcher Robinson Tejeda. In the sixth inning while facing Ron Mahay, Biggio punched a single up the middle for his 2,995th hit. Thanks to the Astros bullpen, Sunday's night game went into extra innings and Biggio came up big in the tenth inning. With scored tied at 9-9 and a runner on......

The road to 3,000 continued Tuesday night in Los Angeles as Craig Biggio recorded two hits to move closer to baseball history. While facing Bartolo Colon in the top of the fourth inning, Biggio punched a single over the glove of Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick for career hit 2,991. In the top of the sixth inning while facing an 0-2 count from Colon, Biggio smacked an infield single to shortstop Orlando Cabrera for hit......

With 10 hits to go for the historic mark, Houstonist will be counting down as Craig Biggio marches towards his 3,000th hit. Last night vs. the Angels, Craig Biggio recorded hit 2,990 in the fifth inning off Angels pitcher and native Texan John Lackey. Biggio Fact of the Day: Biggio is the only player in MLB history to be elected to the All-Star game as a catcher (1991) and second baseman ('92, '94-'98). 3,000......

Good morning, Houston. If you need another reason to wish you were in Hawaii right now, today is a public holiday in the Aloha State. Specifically, it's Kamehameha Day and the Hawaiians are celebrating the monarch who first ruled over a unified Hawaii. Interestingly, this is the only American holiday that honors a monarch. Hawaiian officials have been hard at work planning events and floral parades on each of the islands, as well as an......

Wandy Rodriguez and the Houston Astros left Minute Maid Park victorious after a 5-2 win in front of 37,230 Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rodriguez (1-3) pitched five solid innings allowing only four hits with three strikeouts to record his first victory since July 2, 2006. Carlos Lee put the 'Stros on the board in the the first inning on a RBI single scoring Craig Biggio. The D-Backs would answer back in the......

The Astros woes continued last night after a dominant complete game outing by Pirates southpaw, Paul Maholm (1-2, 3.96 ERA) as the Bucs defeated the Astros 3-0. Playing in their third city in as many days, the Astros bats must have been left back in Philadelphia. Maholm surrendered only three hits, two to Craig Biggio, while striking out four. The game got to an ugly start in the bottom of the first inning when......

The Houston Astros won for the ninth time in 11 games as Craig Biggio crushed the hearts of Milwaukee Brewers fans with a grand slam in the ninth inning, which gave the Astros their third consecutive come from behind win. The stage was set as Chris Burke led off the ninth with a bunt that was seemingly caught for the first out, but pitcher Matt Wise couldn't hold on. Adam Everett then walked and......

Our bloggers were fairly single-minded this week. We saw a lot of posts on the same couple of topics, but each one had its own distinctive style. Let's take a look at what's hot in the Houston blogosphere this week: Playoffs, anyone? The Rockets are getting ready, and the bloggers are fired up. Globetrotter is getting ready with their "I Urban Houstonian took a more classic approach, with an analysis of each team's chances,......

You wont read game analysis here at Houstonist, but being Opening Day and all, we thought you needed to know what happened yesterday. If you missed the game, you can be thankful — it was probably the worst way to begin the year. It wasn't all bad, though, which is probably why the game felt like a punch in the stomach. Oswalt was brilliant, pitching 7 1/3 innings and allowing a run. Luke Scott......

Well hello, Houston! It's the greatest day in America: Opening Day 2007! Spring Training is over, the roster is set and now it's time to play ball. The Astros' main concern last year was hitting. Heck, it was pathetic, but Uncle Drayton broke out the checkbook, signed power hitter Carlos Lee for a cool $100 million and added utility player and 2006 All-Star Mark Loretta. Also new to the team are a pair of native......

Longtime San Diego Padres second baseman Mark Loretta, who spent last year hitting up a storm with the Boston Red Sox, will sign a deal with the Astros today, his agent told ESPN.com. The deal is a one year, 2.5 million dollar contract that could be worth an extra million in incentives if Loretta continues the kind of break-out hitting and defense he showed off last year as part of the league-leading defense of the......

Your favorite home team and ours, the Astros, is finally making the most of the offseason. Reports yesterday say that GM Tim Purpura has made offers to outfielders (and power hitters, more importantly) Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano. Last year our 'Stros were last in the NL with a team batting average of .255, just one indicator of the trouble they've had offensively over the last several years. Lee played for the Brewers and the......

Big news from the Juice Box! Craig Biggio and Houston Astro's announced a deal today that will keep him an Astro for his 20th season. The single season deal is valued at just over $5 million dollars and will insure that Biggio is an Astro when he reaches 3,000 career hits. Biggio needs only 70 hits to reach the batting milestone. Houstonist is no mathematician, but we've done some spreadsheet wrangling with the last......

He was in the starting lineup of our very first Astros game....in 1987. Still here today, beloved hometown hero Craig Biggio says next season will be his last, reports the Chronicle. He's still looking for his 3,000 hit, and is willing to do so either in another uniform or in hometown colors--but only for one more year. After that he'll hang up his hat (cap? helmet?), which he's been wearing for nineteern years as a......