Kaz Goes Back to Japan

I interrupted my perusal of grandbaby photos to do a quick check on the Astros hot stove. Not that much exciting news there, but I did notice a small news item that Kaz Matsui had given up on the MLB and returned to Japan. After being cut from the Astros, he ended up in the Rockies farm, never made it back to the bigs, and has now signed with the Rakuten Eagles.

No great loss there - I was never happy with him during his Astros tenure. He got off to a bad start after the Astros acquired him before the 2008 season, when he ended up on the DL following surgery that he would probably have preferred unmentioned. He hit .293 for the season, but only logged 96 games due to injuries.

If anything, the best thing about Kaz was the presence of his two aids (a trainer and a translator) who trotted around with him at Spring Training, dressed in matching red and black costumes. I know it's awful, but I couldn't help referring to them as Thing 1 and Thing 2.

So it's back to Japan for Kaz. I don't know what will happen to Thing 1 and Thing 2 - he won't need a translator back in the old country. As for me, I've moved on to my own version of Thing 1 and Thing 2.  

My New Favorite Team in Exile

I have a confession to make. The Astros have been surpassed in the competition for my affection. There's a new team that I've become a huge fan of. Like the Astros, they're an out of town team, so I'll be following them from Exile. You might call them the "Twins," but they're not in Minnesota. Like the Astros, the new team features cute young men who wear hats. But rRally, there's no competition. Astros? Astros who? I've moved on...

When you see a picture of the out-of-town team I've become a fanatical fan of, you'll understand. One glimpse of them sunbathing barechested will make you swoon. Forget about Hunter and Michael and CJ and JA and Wandy and Carlos and Brett... Welcome Oscar and Oren -- my precious twin grandsons.

You see my problem? It's pretty hard to get my mind off these young fellows! They are so seriously adorable that's it's hard to think about stuff like baseball -- in the off season! At 6 days of age Oren and Oscar have surpassed all those 20-somethings in Houston. Can you blame me for my switching teams?

Just to be clear, becoming a grandmother for the two most precious babies in the world isn't going to keep me from following the hot stove, or making plans for Spring Training. They just put things in perspective.  

CJ's a Winner in My Eyes

The MLB Rookie of the Year votes are in and no big surprise - Buster Posey added on to his team's World Series triumph by carrying home the NY ROTY award. The Braves' Jason Heyward came in second, with several other young players garnering fewer votes.

The Astros' team ROTY, of course, was Chris Johnson, who missed part of the season start due to injury and a detour through Round Rock, but came back in a big way in the second half.

Just in case anyone's wondering, how does CJ compare to the other position players who got ROTY votes this year, here's a comparison based on various hitting stats:

Pts  Name/Team    AB    BA  HR RBI SLG OBP  OPS
129 Posey/SF          406   .305  18    67  .505   .357   .862
107 Heyward/ATL 593   .277  18    72  .456   .393   .849
 18  Sanchez/FLA   572   .273  19    85  .448   .341   .788
  3   Walker/PIT      426   .296  12    66  .462   .349   .811
  3   Castro/CHC     463   .300    3    41  .408   .347   .755
  2   Davis/NYM     523   .264  19    71  .440   .351   .791
  1   Tabata/PITT    405   .299    4    35   .400  .346   .746  

  0   Johnson/HOU 341  .308   11   52   .481   .337  .818


Not at all shabby numbers for CJ -- one only wonders how he would have compared had he more at bats for the season, instead of doing time in Triple A. At any rate, it's certainly good enough to secure a spot a third base for next spring, saving the Astros the trouble of wasting their money chasing down another Pedro Feliz in the free agent market.  Just to keep you going until Spring Training starts, here are a few pictures of CJ from the 2010 season...

CJ batting at Spring Training:

CJ hits a 9th inning homer against the Nationals in September:

Making a play at third base in Spring Training:

Fielding third base against the Nats in September:

Back to back with Bogusevic against the Nats in September:

Three months till pitchers and catchers... and counting. Can't wait till Spring Training!

Bourn is Hot... but the Stove is Not

The World Series is over. Some team from the West Coast won, I hear. Meanwhile, there's supposed to be a lot of action going on in the free agent market, but the Astros don't seem to be in the running for any big names. All part of the rebuilding that started after the World Series - let's take a look at those kids, maybe fill a hole here and there. But don't hold your breath thinking that we're going to be signing away the big bucks this winter.

It's a new world for the Astros, a team which was one of the most geriatric in the league not long ago. Now our veterans are guys like Michael Bourn, who at 27 has just snagged his second Gold Glove. Given that there's not much news on Astros.com, I'll dedicate the rest of this blog to some of my pix of Bourn, taken at Spring Training and Astros @ Nats games here in Exile.

It's no wonder that Bourn has led the league in steals - he can really fly. Speaking of flying, this flying shortstop picture is one of my favorite Spring Training shots ever.

The stereotypical picture of Bourn on first base... don't blink - he'll be on second!

Bourn doesn't stop at second - here he is stealing third too.

Here's one that he didn't quite pull off - Bourn in a rundown...

Here's an early look at Bourn as an Astro - taken at Spring Training in 2008 after we got him in trade from the Phillies.

Speed accounts for lots of Bourn's singles on bunt and infield hits.

Unfortunately, I don't have much in the way of the leaping and rolling catches that won Bourn his Golden Glove.

To end, here are Bourn and Pence celebrating a win over the Nationals in July 2008. I was able to get this great field-level angle due to fantastic birthday-present tickets from my son Josh, who came down from NY just for the day to take me to see the Astros.

Sadly, Bourn was injured when the Astros played the Nats here in Washington in September. I'm looking forward to seeing Bourn, Pence, and Wandy (our veterans!) and all the new guys in Spring Training - just a few months away!