A Bunch of Losers? NOT!

The Astros' winning streak - now at 7 - may or may not be quieting the blog commenters who spent the first half of Spring Training ranting and raving. I've pretty much stopped reading the reader comments on Chron.com, and have taken RoundRock15's advice about responding to the bashers on Astros.com - only answer back if they say something that's factually incorrect.

The facts and figures, as much as the wins themselves, support the assertion that some of us have been making all along: This team is not just a bunch of losers. The pitching has been better than I expected, and the batting is coming around. Veteran players who started out kind of slow at the plate are starting to pick up, and several of the nonroster guys are making things interesting as they compete for the few remaining open positions. One other thing that has been shown in the past two wins: My presence in Kissimmee is irrelevant - except, of course, to me!

It's a bummer being here while other people get to be the fans of the day. I've been weaning myself off of the pleasure of seeing the games firsthand - Wednesday's game against the Cards was televised; I listened to a bit of today's game on the radio while I was eating lunch. There's one big difference between earlier in the spring and now: My week in Kissimmee has really given me a huge collection of mental images of the players, as well as a couple of thousand photographs of the team.

So let's talk about the games. The past two games were both close, with the Astros either eking out the win in the ninth inning, or holding on to a precarious lead. I watched Wednesday's televised game against the Cards when I got home from work. Russ Ortiz pitched another terrific start, adding more reasons for the Astros to pick him over Capellan for that fifth rotation slot. In 5 innings, he gave up only 1 run on 5 hits, 2 walks, and struck out 4. Even that run was pretty iffy - with a runner on and two outs, left fielder Jason Michaels lost track of a fly ball and was unable to catch it to end the inning. It wasn't really Michaels' fault - the day was windy and very sunny, and other players had similar issues with fly balls. Just one of those things. Ortiz, with the help of Maysonet pulled off a nice pickoff at second base. He also stymied Albert Pujols, who was 0 for 3 against him, including a rally-ending out with two runners in scoring position. Anyway, another very good appearance for Ortiz, who (according to Alyson Footer) was battling a case of tummy virus. Eeeew.

Pudge continued to make himself popular with Astros fans, hitting another homer, a solo in the third inning. Pence went 3 for 4, with a double and a pair of singles. Neither of these guys have anything to prove, since their positions on the roster are assured. That's not true of Jason Smith and Edwin Maysonet, who are duking it out for the Astro's utility infielder spot. Wednesday's game was a great duel for the two - Smith went 3 for 4, raising his BA to .422. Maysonet, following him in the lineup, went 2 for 4, with a double and 2 RBIs.

These guys helped put a few runs on the scoreboard on Ortiz' watch, but Geoff Geary gave up a pair of runs in his 2 innings of relief, allowing the Cards to tie the game. Wright and Fulcino each contributed a perfect inning to take the Astros to the ninth. Michael Bourn's RBI single in the ninth put the Astros ahead for the sixth consecutive win. Bourn's low batting average is frustrating, but he did manage to get on base 3 times in his 5 plate appearances - twice on walks and once with a hit. Given his speed, his OBP is of greater concern than just the BA.

Today was the Astros first home game since I left Kissimmee. I am picturing my new friends (Carole, Mitch, Kevin, "Jill" and "Pat," etc.) watching Oswalt pitch on a nice warm Florida afternoon, while I was at a business meeting. I'm not jealous, but I do wish I'd been able to see Roy O at Spring Training this year. Bummer.

Oswalt, who arrived in Kissimmee this morning, did not have a very clean game, giving up 3 runs (all in the second inning) on 10 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. He pitched his way out of trouble to keep the Astros in contention, with a little help from the offense.

Offensive breakthrough of the game: Matsui, who hasn't hit much of anything this spring, went 3 for 4, moving his batting average further from double digits. Tejada hit a solo homer in the 4th. But the hitter of the day honor goes to Pence, who got 3 hits (all singles) for the second game in a row. Pence's batting average has jumped from the puny low .200s to over .300 in just a few games - shows you the power of a small sample size. Pudge had his first hitless game as an Astro.

Hawkins threw a perfect seventh inning - good to have him back from the WBC! Sampson, who pitched the last two innings, entered the game with the Astros ahead 4-3. When the team scored 2 in the bottom of the eighth, things looked comfortable. But he gave up 2 in the ninth, just to make things interesting before ending the game with his first save of the spring.

I'd say more but it's almost sunset. Gotta run and light my Sabbath candles. Hope things keep going good while I'm "resting." I'll post some pictures on Sunday.