GAMES 102-104: The New Era: Baby Bees? Killer Brats?

GAME 102 - July 30: Astros 5, Brewers 0
GAME 103 - July 31: Astros 6, Brewers 0
GAME 104 - August 1: Astros 5, Brewers 2

Call them the Baby Bees. Or the Killer Brats. Whatever you call them, the new-era Astros are off to a fun start.

With Oswalt and Berkman gone, they went out and swept Milwaukee, outscoring the hard-hitting Brewers 16-2. The Astros starters for this weekend's games are a trio of lefties: J.A. Happ the new guy, Wandy the veteran, and Wesley the kid. Friday night Happ introduced himself to the Houston fans by throwing the first 6 innings of a 5-0 shutout, at the same time Roy O was getting shellacked by the Nats in his first start for the Phillies. Saturday Wandy continued his recent spate of first-class games, throwing 8 scoreless innings, fanning 9. And today, baby-faced Wesley Wright showed that he can be more than a long relievers, with a his first major league win as a starter. I'm not sure whether the Astros have ever before had a sweep in which all three starting/winning pitchers were southpaws. I can't remember when they ever even had a trio of lefty starters in a series. This is certainly a new look for the Astros.

The string of terrific starts actually predated the Oswalt and Berkman trades. Going back to last Sunday, we've got three shutouts (2 for Wandy, one for Happ), two games in which the Cubs were held to a single run (win for Norris and CG for Myers), and today's win in which the Brewers scored their only 2 runs of the series. The only loss in the past week was Tuesday, in which the Astros left 12 runners stranded failed to support Wright in his second try as a starter.

All this great baseball gets the Astros up to a ripping 14 games under .500 -- a net gain since the All Star break (9-6), but we're still not going to the playoffs this year. That means that wins and losses aren't necessarily the most interesting stats for the rest of the season. Kind of like Spring Training - there are lots of things besides the W/L record to be paying attention to. Here's some of the fun stuff that's going on with the Astros, since they signed away their long-time stars:

Brett Wallace got his Major League debut. After the 2008 first-pick for the Cards was traded twice, he might have wondered where his career was headed. But the third time was charmed, and he found himself in an Astros uni on first base a couple of days after he was swapped in Part II of the Oswalt trade. His debut last night showed some nice fielding, but he went 0 for 4 at the plate. He got his first ML hit in today's game, a bloop single. That should take the edge off a bit, and hopefully he'll go on to be a bit more of a slugger. I've seen a couple of commenters suggest that he needs a haircut. I don't think so -- he's wearing the same curly do that Jeff Bagwell's got, but without the chin coiffure to go with it.

Chris Johnson, another of the youth movement that has redefined our infield, finally ended his two-week long hitting streak in today's game. A hitting streak can be constructed of a bunch of 1 for 4 and 1 for 5 games, but not CJ's. Since the All Star break, he's raised his BA from .282 to .341.

When the Astros signed Brett Myers this year, I wasn't too happy, having heard about the less charming aspects of his off-the-field life. But on the field, he's been consistently terrific this year, and that's earned him a new 3-year contract from the Astros. With Roy O gone, the team is looking to Myers and Wandy to be the core of the rotation. The contract extension for Myers includes two year plus an option for 2013, with a total value of almost $30M. Myers, by the way, is still under 30 -- young enough to be part of the team's new brat pack.

It's not only the youngsters who have had some fun over the weekend. Jason Michaels, given a pair of starts and a pinch hitting opportunity, came through for the team big-time. JMike hit a solo homer on Friday night, for the Astros first run, then added on a pair of doubles Saturday. But his most notable contribution came in the final game of the series, when he came to bat with the bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning, Astros behind 2-0. Mills brought him in to pinch hit for Wallace, preferring his right handed vet over the left handed newbie against a lefty Brewers pitcher. JMike repaid Mills' confidence with a big blast, a grand slam to put the Astros ahead 4-2. It was good timing -- the last chance for the Astros to give Wright run support towards his first starting win.

Jeff Keppinger is another veteran who has found himself in a surprising situation. Since Berkman was traded, Mills has slotted Kepp in the #3 slot of the lineup. How did that work out? He went 2 for 2 with a homer and 2 walks on Friday night, 3 for 5 on Saturday, and 1 for 4 wih a triple today.

One might think that after trading two of their most popular long-time star players in a really terrible year, the Astros might have lost all their fan support. The constant ads for cheap tickets and all-you-can-eat junk food might indicate a certain desperation for butts in seats. But from out here in Exile, I have to say that the Astros have made themselves a lot more interesting since the All Star break. Like most Astros fans, I'll miss the Wiz and the Puma, but I'd rather lose the rest of the season with some fresh new players than lose the rest of the season with the same old vets. There's something to be said for loyalty -- but there's also something to be said for hope.

There's also something to be said for seeing Jeff Bagwell in an Astros uniform in the dugout!