Bittersweet...

It was a bittersweet moment last night, watching Brad Lidge walk off the mound with his head down after his tenth blown save of the year. I rejoiced when he dropped to his knees after throwing the final pitch of the World Series last season, finishing off his perfect year with the Phillies. But that success didn't have anything to do with the Astros. Lidge's meltdown last night, allowing Matsui to knock in the winning runs in the bottom of the ninth, gave the Astros a rare opportunity to rush the field in joy. There haven't been that many fun moments for them lately, and as we get closer and closer to the E-word, anything that keeps the rest of the season from just being a drudge is more than welcome!

But it's sad that it had to to come at Lidge's expense. I always liked Lidge and I'm sorry that he's having such a poor year. I'd be really happy if he doesn't have any more grief from the Astros in this homestand - providing that it's because Houston is so far ahead in the remaining two games that the Phillies don't need to use a closer.

My first live glimpse of Lidge came at Spring Training in 2005, when I was sitting in the second row of Section 103, right next to the Astros' bullpen (a bench with a cooler). Shortly into the game, Lidge came out and plopped onto the bench, right in front of me. You might remember that 2005 was kind of a special year for the Astros. For me it started out with my first trip to Spring Training, sitting so close to the pitchers that you could eavesdrop on their conversations during the game.

It's more than a bit ironic how things have played out with Lidge and with the player we got for him in the trade, Michael Bourn. Lidge had the season of his career in his first year for the Phillies, with a perfect save record, and a World Series championship. Meanwhile, Bourn

was reviled by fans and sportswriters for being a loser who couldn't manage to get on base, a player whose tenure as the Astros leadoff hitter can be summed up in one sentence: You can't steal first.

What a difference a season makes. Even as Lidge was humiliated again last night, in the latest of an ongoing string of failures this year, Bourn was celebrating a milestone in his own career: His 50th steal of the season. In a breakout year of his own, he leads the league in steals, triples (what would be doubles for anyone else!), infield hits (what would be ground outs for most), and bunt hits. He's batting .296 with an OBP of .369 (80 points over last year). His BA with RISP is .385, tied for second in the league with Hanley Ramirez - fairly exalted company! He's grounded into only one double play all season. He's also second among the league center fielders for outfield assists. (The photo illustrating Bourn's stealing prowess was taken at Spring Training - that's the Nats' Hernandez flying over Bourn's headfirst dive.)

At this point in the season, with the Astros 15 games behind the Cards in the NL Central, a game-by-game dissection of their performance is overkill. Their "E" number is down to 12. But none of this matters until they get their win-loss record back up - they are currently 5 games under .500. It's fun to see back-to-back wins against the Phillies, who are aiming for a second consecutive trip to this fall's Main Event. But the Astros are still 4-6 in their last 10, which is the wrong direction in their journey out of Loserville.

Good news/Bad news:

They came from behind! The Astros pulled off a wild, bottom-of-the-ninth win last night. Matsui's bases-loaded, 2-out single led the Houston home crowd into a joyous frenzy, and redeemed a game that took a worrisome turn in the seventh. Oswalt had been pitching a great start, when he was pulled for back pain in the seventh with the Astros ahead 3-2, and 2 Phillies on base. Byrdak and Fulchino promptly gave up hits to the next two batters, scoring both of Oswalt's runners, and leaving the Astros with only a one-run lead. Hawkins jumped on the bad news bandwagon in the eighth, allowing another pair of runs on 4 hits and a walk - and giving Oswalt the dubious honor of tying the team record for no-decisions in a season. (Hey, there's still plenty of time to break that record!) After Valverde's perfect ninth, the stage was set for the big come-from-behind win.

Wandy Rocks and Rolls -- and Hits! Wandy is making good progress towards meeting or exceeding the 15 wins I predicted for him back in the Spring. Another great start on Friday night: Wandy pitched seven scoreless innings, helping Houston to its 7-0 win over the Phillies both on the mound and at the plate. In the second inning, Wandy's bases-loaded double plated the first two runs of the game.

Not Quite a Full House. The Astros have added on a few newcomers, as well as several returning DLers, since the first of September. Most notable, of course, is Aaron Boone, whose amazing come-back from last spring's open-heart surgery will be one of the top feel-good stories of a not-so-wonderful season. His home-field debut on Friday night got Boooone an ovation - right before the Phillies pitcher hit him with a pitch. Minor leaguers in the dugout these days include Edwin Maysonet (again) and JR Towles. The Astros still have a bit of space for bringing up a few more players for a cup of coffee - or even a latte or cappuchino. Other than a mid-month series against the Cards and final week series against the Phillies, the Astros are playing non-contenders for the rest of the season, so why not give some kids a chance?

Not that I'm admitting that the playoffs are not possible, of course - we're still 12 games away from the Big E.