GAMES 77 -79 - June 24:-26: Kick Up Those Silver Boots!

Tuesday, June 24: Houston 4, Texas 3
Wednesday, June 25: Texas 3, Houston 2
Thursday, June 26: Houston 7, Texas 2

Quote of the Day: "I told him that he needed to look at himself in the bleeping mirror. Up to that point, ... I did not raise my voice to the player, curse the player and had not made any defamatory remarks towards the player. Chacon responded with profane and threatening remarks and got up from his seat. He moved in front of me until we were chest to chest, and then he shoved me to the ground. When I attempted to get to my feet he shoved me a second time, at which point players and coaches intervened. After order was restored, I told him he was suspended..." (Ed Wade, on his confrontation with Shawn Chacon)

Finally, after suffering the indignity of back-to-back sweeps, the Astros have something to cheer about: They won a series from the Rangers. Not just a game - a series! And not just any series - it was the kicker series, the Silver Boot. Okay, the Astros didn't actual win the boot this year, but they did win this series when they really, really needed something good to happen.

Meanwhile, before I get to the games themselves, I have to note that the team has become a either a laughingstock or the source of righteous indignation, depending on whether you are more inclined to sympathize with players or management. Shawn Chacon, who was featured in my last blog posting's Quote of the Day ("expletive deleted") for expressing how pissed off he was at being taken out of the starting rotation, no longer has to be in the Astros bullpen. In fact, he no longer has to be an Astro at all. Evidently Chacon - with a history of problematic management relations - went too far in his squabble with the Astros team leadership. Refusing to meet with Cooper and Ed Wade, after telling some reporters that he wanted a trade, they came to talk to him in the player dining room. Voices were raised, words were said, and then Chacon crossed the line that moved him from "indefinitely suspended for insubordination" to worse - unconditional release waivers with no plans to pay him the rest of his salary for the season. He did something that everyone knows is a bad idea - he physically struck the boss. He knocked down Ed Wade, and then knocked him down again. (Many bloggers are jealous, as they've been wishing all year to punch out Wade for the mess he's made.) It's still unknown whether any team will pick up a guy that hit his boss. They probably would without a second thought if he were having a hot year, but with his mediocre record, he might be in the doghouse a while. The players union will no doubt argue that he should get his money, but I'm not sure that they have much of a case.

With all the attention that the Astros got from this sordid little event, the momentous nature of a series win to cap this totally crapolicious month may have flown below the radar. But it was big news to me. Here's what happened:

I watched Tuesday night's series opener with my sister Elizabeth from Denver, who was on a very short visit to Washington. She was here to see me, but unfortunately with this being the federal government proposal season, I couldn't take off work. We only had the evenings together, and she was kind enough to spend it sitting in my kitchen, watching an Astros ball game on my 12" laptop screen.

It got off to an ominous start: Moehler gave up a leadoff double, and two players later, a single knocked in the Ranger's first blood run. The first three Astros, in the bottom of the inning, went down like those three pins at the bowling alley that always fall if you miss your spot. But then things changed - the Astros took the lead in the bottom of the second. Berkman opened with a double, and scored on aggressive base running on Wiggy's single. Wiggington got to second while the Rangers were trying to throw out the Puma at the plate. Then Quintero doubled to score Wiggington. Astros lead, 2-1.

That's where things stood for a while, as Moehler was unhittable for the next few innings. He got into trouble in the sixth, loading up the bases, but wiggled out of it, leaving them all stranded. After Moehler gave up a leadoff double in the seventh, Coop replaced him with lefty Wright, who finished up the inning without any further damage. Brocail, pitching in the eighth, allowed runners to get into scoring position on a single, a walk, and a double steal, but he too wiggled out of it without giving up a run.

So it went to the bottom of the eighth, with the Astros up by one lousy run. Hey! That's definitely better than being behind 13-0, but it's still a bit nerve-rattling for a fan in exile. In the bottom of the eighth, things took a decidedly brighter turn. Tejada led off with a walk, and Berkman whacked a homer to right, giving the Astros a nice fat 4-1 lead.

Ninth inning, save situation. In comes the drama queen, who just doesn't seem to concentrate well with more than a one-run lead. Up by 3, he gave up a walk and a homer. Boom - back to a one run lead with only one away. Now, down to more serious business. Valverde whiffed the next two batters to save the game.

Wednesday night's game was equally nerve-wracking, but with a less happy ending. Oswalt pitched a quality start - 7 innings, 3 ERs on 7 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. He even hit two singles himself, in an effort to help his cause. But he got little run support. Berkman hit two doubles, and was stranded both times. Bourn turned out to be the offensive leader for the Astros - he hit a single and stole second, but was stranded; then he hit a 2-run homer in the second, scoring Oswalt. But that was it for Astros fire power. They ended the game with the bases loaded, down by one lousy run, 3-2. A mousy loss isn't worth more than a paragraph. On to Thursday's game...

It was a rare event - the odd case where Houston takes a substantive early lead, and holds on to it to the end. With the Astros racking up game after game decided by a single run, Thursday night's 7-2 win was a nice break. It was definitely Wandy's lucky night: The Astros scored all 7 runs in the first two innings. Although they didn't do much else offensively for the rest of the game, that early lead was a great confidence builder for Wandy. I've been thinking all season that, if he can stay healthy, this could finally be a great year for Wandy. Last year he was great at home, sucked on the road. This year, he's doing quite well at both. This may have been his best so far - 8 innings, one ER (scored in the eighth), on just 5 hits, no walks, fanning 9 (his season record for Ks).

But those 7 runs at the beginning of the game were just great. The Astros loaded the bases in the first inning on Bourn's single, and Berkman and Lee's walks. Pence came up with 2 outs, and hit the first pitch over the center fielders head, up the hill, to clear the bases. Astros lead after one inning, 3-0. The fun continued in the second inning. Quintero bunt-singled his way on, and Wandy got a hit to move him up. Bourn's sac bunt moved them into scoring position, and Newhan's double scored them both. Newhan scored on Berkman's single. Berkman moved to second on a balk, and scored on agressive running when Lee singled to shallow center.

After that, no more runs were plated. The Astros loaded the bases with one away in the fourth, but couldn't score. That was about it for scoring fun. Wandy gave up one run in the eighth inning. With a six-run lead, Coop brought in Villareal to pitch the ninth. He got off to a shaky start, with a single followed by a triple, making it 7-2, before getting the next three batters to end the game.

Berkman went 3 for 3 with 3 singles and a walk, scoring twice on gutsy running. Newhan was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI; he's batting .500 so far on his short visit from Round Rock, while Matsui's on the DL. Bourn and Q each got a pair of hits; Bourn also got his 30th steal of the season. Very nice work, everybody. But it was Wandy's night - 105 pitches, 72 for strikes, no walks. Coop went to bed happy for a change.