The race for the first overall pick in 2014

1. Astros 43-85
2. Marlins 49-79

The Astros have won two games in a row and they attempt a three-game sweep over the Blue Jays later this afternoon but I really hope we lose instead. This is exactly what I was worried about in my last post on this thread. We are very capable of winning a lot of these games coming up. While the Marlins thankfully won 3-0 against the Rockies today with all-star rookie Jose Fernandez (10-5, 2.30 ERA) dominating on the mound as usual.

The bottom line is we have a six-game lead with only 34 games left to play.

We just need to finish playing these winnable games against the Blue Jays, White Sox, Mariners, Angels and Twins coming up. I had figured it would be icing on the cake for every game we lost against those other bad teams that have a losing record. I'm just glad the Blue Jays are off the schedule after today. They don't even look like they're trying despite having all of that talent.

But we should be swept in that four-game series against the Athletics and Indians that we still have left, and we'll probably be swept by the Reds, Rangers and Yankees in those upcoming three-game series to end the season. We could very easily go 0-17 in those games and likely 4-13 at best.

I believe we can pull this out but it may creep to within three or four games over the next week. I'm already nervous with it being at six games right now.

The last game we lost. I don't even remember the last series we swept. Toronto better win today.

I'm glad the Blue Jays scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th to beat us 2-1 today. I was starting to think that Toronto had mailed it in for the season. They didn't even look like a team that cared for most of that series. We had to avoid the sweep because the Marlins lost 4-3 against the Rockies.

1. Astros 43-86
2. Marlins 49-80

33 games left now. Keep 'em coming please! Another day closer to where we want to be. Still six games ahead.

The Astros start a three-game series at Chicago against the White Sox tomorrow night, while the Miami Marlins have Monday off and start a three-game series at Washington on Tuesday Night. Let's keep the pressure on the Marlins and lose Monday Night so we can have seven more losses.

But it should be an interesting game tomorrow night: Brett Oberholtzer (3-1, 2.91 ERA) versus Andre Rienzo (1-0, 3.56 ERA).

Next year, I would love to have Robbie Grossman in left field and L.J. Hoes in right field every day. With George Springer in center field. That would instantly give us a young and talented outfield that is good on offense and defense.

Chris Carter at first base and Brett Wallace as a pinch-hitter. I think Carter and Wallace can split time at first base until Jonathan Singleton is ready to be called up. We can maybe try to sign a decent power hitter in free agency who can DH full time for us in 2014. That would instantly improve our lineup.



I think we'll be stacked at the top of the lineup with some sort of combination of Grossman, Altuve, Springer, or even Hoes is capable of hitting 1 or 2 like he's doing right now. All of those guys can hit for high average and get on base.

With Jason Castro (all-star catcher) and Matt Dominguez (good pop at third base) emerging as better hitters, maybe we'd have a lineup worth watching next year. The only thing is that Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez both have to improve with their batting average. Way too low for my liking.

We'll have some interesting options in terms of improving this winter. I would call up George Springer on September 1. The kid is ready for the big leagues. He could get a full month in the Majors just to get his feet wet. I don't see why that would be a bad idea. He had already dominated spring training last year and didn't even make the team -- which I never understood.

I mean jeez. George Springer can't really do much else at Triple-A. LOL. He's going to be named the minor league player of the year and MVP.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 26 2013 05:31am

This guy is such a beast when he's in a zone! Just needs to hit for better average. Once he does he'll turn into something special. His defense has been solid lately. He'll turn 24 years old in a couple of days. I still have a lot of high hopes for him at third base, long term.

We just need to try our best the rest of this year. 33 games of losing just enough ballgames to secure the top pick ahead of the Marlins. I want Carlos Rodon number one overall next June, because he's going to help solidify a young and promising starting rotation that the Astros will have for a long time. Mark Appel, Carlos Rodon, Jarred Cosart and Brett Oberholtzer are definitely four guys you can build a starting staff around.



I don't want to feel too excited and go on a big winning streak down the stretch. Let's save it for April. LOL
The only scary part to me is even the games we've been losing lately have been by one run (against Toronto and Texas).

We could very easily be on a four-game winning streak right now. That six-game lead could be a four-game lead over the Marlins.
And whichever young player or two we call up from the minors on September 1, can only help us the final month.

We'll see what happens... I don't think the Miami Marlins are bad enough to totally collapse (lose a ton of games) down the stretch.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 26 2013 05:57am

Chris Carter hits two home runs, 24th and 25th of the year, to lift the Astros past the White Sox, 10-8

The race for the first overall pick in 2014

1. Astros 44-86
2. Marlins 49-80

The Astros beat the White Sox 10-8 and are 3-1 in their last 4 games. Could very easily be on a five-game winning streak like I mentioned before. They hit five home runs in this game: Chris Carter hit two (24 & 25) with 4 RBIs, Matt Dominguez hit his 19th of the year, all-star Jason Castro hit his 18th and Brett Wallace smacked his 11th homer of the season. The back-to-back home runs by Carter and Dominguez in the top of the 9th is what sealed the win.

The Astros are now 4-1 against the White Sox this year. Slightly better than the 9-7 record they have against the Angels.

The 2013 Houston Astros are also on pace to become the most profitable team of all time, in large part to their small payroll. LOL

2013 Astros on pace to become most profitable MLB team ever


We still have six more losses than the Marlins. Only 32 games left to play. If we can just make it through the easiest part of our schedule during the next two weeks -- still in control of the first overall pick -- then I'll be happy with that. We do have some tough games coming up against the best teams in September at least. This is exactly why I wanted more of a cushion. We're playing teams like the Blue Jays, White Sox, Angels, Mariners and Twins. These are teams we can win games against.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 27 2013 12:58am

Marlins lost 2-1 against the Nationals (what a shock) and the Astros lead 2-1 over the White Sox in the top of the 7th. I kind of hope we find a way to lose this game. If we win again tonight we're going to be only 4.5 games (5 losses) worse than the Marlins. Too much winning is starting to worry me.

Please come back White Sox. They look as lifeless as the Blue Jays did in the last series. But Toronto was able to sneak out a one run win in the final game with two runs in the ninth. So maybe the White Sox will steal a win in the late innings tonight.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 27 2013 08:10pm

Sweet. White Sox fell behind 3-1 but just scored 3 runs in bottom of the 8th to take a 4-3 lead.
Looks like we'll still be 5.5 games worse than the Marlins and 6 games ahead in the loss column.

Brandon Barnes: A real shame he can't hit. Defensively, he's a good center fielder.
Good catch he made last night. I hope George Springer is called up soon.

It was the 25th blown save of the year for the Astros. Just by adding one or two good free agent relievers this winter will add about 10 or 15 wins to our record next year. Three in our last six games. We should be on a six-game winning streak right now.

Also, the Astros have 27 losses this season by one run. That's the most in the Major Leagues in 2013.
We gave up those three runs in the bottom of the 8th with two outs so it was a save situation.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 27 2013 09:27pm