Houston Astros second baseman Kazuo Matsui, will start the 2008 campaign on the disabled list after having surgery on Monday to repair an anal fissure. Since it is spring training, the Astros will wait until the season opener, March 31 against the San Diego Padres, to put Matsui on the disabled list. His recovery time has been quoted by doctors to be two-to-three weeks. Mark Loretta and Geoff Blum will take over for Matsui......

Spring Training is the time for all things to be made new, for minor league farmhands to have their shot at the big league club, for mid-career players to reinvent themselves, and veterans to try to hang on for one more year. As the Astros assemble the position players who will come off the bench in 2008, there are some familiar faces, one very home town name, and a lot of unknowns. As we did......

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and naturally we'll be watching the game (and the commericals), but the real news around town is the up-and-down season the Rockets are having. They win with T-Mac, they win without T-mac, they definitely lose without Yao. If Rick Adelman can get everyone on the same page,they could still be formidable in the playoffs. Otherwise, we're looking at another five-and-out in the first round. On to the links: -......

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo......

It was a good weekend for football in Houston, whether that means the one with the pads or the one with the round ball. But there were things happening in the Houston sports scene outside of RFK and Reliant Stadiums. As we do every week, here's a recap of what the blogs are saying about your hometown teams: - The Dynamo are the big news today, so here's a fantastic live blog of the game......

Tomorrow is the trade deadline for Major League Baseball, which is pretty much like shopping on Christmas Eve, but with Eric Gagne playing the part of Tickle Me Elmo. The much-maligned Astros have already made one head-scratching trade leading up to the deadline, picking up exactly what they needed in 3B/2B/1B/OF Ty Wigginton: another clean-cut white guy who plays no position in particular. But what is next for GM Tim Purpura? Mark Loretta (who has......

The second half is underway and the Astros find themselves flat on their face. After a promising 7-4 home stand before the All-Star break, the Astros were hoping for some form of hope coming out of the gate. Instead, the lowly Washington Nationals sent the Astros to their fourth consecutive loss and 15 games under .500. Astros starter Woody Williams (4-11) was hanging onto a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning......

Native Texans Chris Sampson and Hunter Pence guided the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. With the game tied at one a piece in the fourth inning, rookie of the year candidate Hunter Pence demolished a Noah Lowry change up for a 400-foot home run onto the railroad tracks above left field to give the Houston team the lead for good. Chris Sampson, who 24 hours ago......

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......

Hey, hey! How about those Astros? With the game winding down with two outs in the eighth inning, the Houston team punched in five runs to give Chris Sampson (2-0) a much deserved victory. With Orlando Palmeiro on second with two outs, Lance Berkman single him in to knot the game up at 2-2. Carlos Lee then reached base on a walk which prompted the Reds to a pitching change and the Astros summoned Mark......

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......