Jarred Cosart (1.59 ERA) on a good team is probably 8-0 or 7-1 right now. On the Astros he's 1-1

White Sox win the rubber game 6-1. After Jarred Cosart came out in a 1-0 game, our bullpen gives up five runs and the game turned into a blowout.

Jarred Cosart continues to pitch well enough to help the team win even when he's not dominating and he picked up another quality start tonight. 6 innings pitched: 1 earned run allowed on 7 hits. A bad 5-4 walk-to-strikeout ratio - which I hated to say after the progress he made in previous games. You can make a case that this was probably his worst start of the season.

His random control issues and inability to rack up a lot of strikeouts is the reason I see him as a future third starter in our rotation, behind Mark Appel and Carlos Rodon. But there is no doubt in my mind he can improve into something special. His cutter is really tough to hit when he has command of it. As I always say, he needs to trust his changeup more. He pretty much throws a cutter, four-seam fastball and curveball. You can't just rely on three pitches. He needs a good fourth option badly.

ERA wise, Jarred Cosart couldn't be much better as a rookie. He doesn't give up a lot of home runs (1 in 51 innings) which off-sets the walks to some degree. I really feel the Astros should just shut him down the rest of this season. There is no point in him blowing out his young arm in the final month of the season. Especially when the team is going to reward him with a no-decision yet again.

The race for the first overall pick in 2014

1. Astros 44-88
2. Marlins 49-82

The Astros have lost 2 games in a row while the Marlins have lost 3 games in a row. We still have six more losses with only 30 games left. We ended up going 4-3 against the White Sox this year and are done with them for the season.

Houston starts a four-game series at home against the Mariners tomorrow night.
It's a seven-game homestand. 4 against the Mariners and 3 against the Twins.

There is no way we're going to miss out on Carlos Rodon with the first overall pick next June. I don't see us blowing the top pick. We should be the first team to 90 losses, also the first team to 100 losses, and the Marlins are going to win some games sooner or later. They've been barely losing games by one run against some decent teams. Jose Fernandez is going to start again soon as well.

Our remaining schedule, 17 of the 30 games left are against strong teams with a winning record. Only 13 games left are against losing teams and we're about to finish 7 of those games on this upcoming homestand. So it will be 17-6 in terms of good versus bad teams left to play next week. So things are about to look even better for us.

I feel that Robbie Grossman has won the left field job for next year. He's been playing well for a while but went 0-for-4 last night. Still he's hitting over .270 for the season with a decent on-base percentage. He's actually hitting around .330 since being called up from the minors during his second stint. Another off-season and entire spring to work on his game will do him some good. He has to cut down on his strikeouts but that's about the only flaw in his game right now.



Our starting outfield next year should be Robbie Grossman in left field, George Springer in center field and L.J. Hoes in right field. That's a young and talented outfield. All three guys are 23 years old. It would be fun to watch moving forward for future years. They can continue to grow together.

Brandon Barnes can be a reserve and fourth outfielder for us next season. All he really offers is great defense in center field. Long term, Barnes is 27 years old and not sure how much he'll improve offensively. He's too weak of a hitter to be starting games. I don't see him around the next time the Astros become a playoff team. Especially with a new wave of young players on the rise.

I hope we call up George Springer on Sunday when the MLB rosters expand on September the 1st.
Time for him to get a taste of some real big league action the final month of the season.

He's already done everything he possibly can in the minor leagues. 37 home runs and 43 stolen bases this year (close to a 40-40 season). Hitting over .300 with an OPS at 1.070. The Astros' Triple-A team, Oklahoma City Redhawks, just clinched a playoff berth and finished in first place with George Springer leading the way. I'd much rather see the big league club improve instead of winning a Triple-A championship.

Franklin Gutierrez's two-run homer in the top of the 4th was the difference in Seattle's 3-2 win on Thursday Night

The Marlins (4 losses in a row) lost 9-0 against the Nationals and the Astros (3 losses in a row) lost 3-2 against the Mariners.

1. Astros 44-89
2. Marlins 49-83

Just another game down. Only 29 games left for the Astros and they still have a comfortable six more losses.

Marlins ace Jose Fernandez (10-5, 2.30 ERA) is pitching on Friday Night against the Braves so I hope the Marlins can end their losing streak. Hopefully we'll keep losing against the Mariners in this four-game series over the weekend. A four-game Seattle sweep would help us out. I'm expecting a 2-2 series split though.

We're likely going to hit 90 losses tonight. And then the first team to 100 losses this year is the sad goal after that. LOL

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 29 2013 09:38pm

Jose Fernandez is about to take the mound in Atlanta. I feel good about the Marlins' chances to win tonight.
We have Brad Peacock pitching tonight and he's horrible so I expect an easy blowout win for Seattle.

Chris Carter leads the team with 26 home runs but he's only hitting .216 and leads the Majors with 180 strikeouts. He also has a poor on-base percentage. I'm on the fence about him long term. I love his power but I feel like we can find a better player with more productive at-bats. Going back to that moneyball theory he's just not a good baseball player to have on a winning team. Of course on our dismal team, talking about this season, he's a breath of fresh air I guess.

Dustin Ackley has a 4-for-5 night with 4 RBIs on Friday Night

Dustin Ackley beat us by himself tonight. RBI single in the top of the 4th, two-run single in top of the 5th and an RBI single in the top of the 9th.

Marlins lost to the Braves 2-1. Jose Fernandez gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the 1st and that's the ballgame. But the Astros are about lose to the Mariners, down 7-1 in the middle of the 9th, so another game played and getting closer to the end of the season.

EDIT: Game is now a final. Mariners win 7-1. Of course we strand a runner on second base in the bottom of the 9th.

1. Astros 44-90
2. Marlins 49-84

That's now 4 losses in a row for the Astros and 5 losses in a row for the Marlins. We're the first team to 90 losses on the season. And we only have 28 games left. Still six games ahead in the loss column for that first overall pick next June. As long as we keep on losing then it really doesn't matter what the Miami Marlins do.

The Astros will announce on Monday, not on Sunday, who they're calling up from the minor leagues as their September 1 call ups. I'm ready to see George Springer begin his Major League Career. He should have been our everyday center fielder back on opening day. But a month of MLB experience can only benefit him going into next year.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Aug 30 2013 09:26pm

One of the few bright spots in this series and during the past month or so. Robbie Grossman's nice play.



That was on Thursday Night. Even when Dustin Ackley is out he's hitting the ball hard.

Also Brandon Barnes made a nice catch as always. He's been making some great defensive plays all year long. He just doesn't hit good enough to justify starting in center field any longer. It's George Springer's time to shine in the big leagues.



It's time to start replacing the weak hitters we have in the lineup. It's the only way we're going to improve our crappy offense. And yes, I categorize Chris Carter as a weak hitter. We need to replace him also despite his power. I suppose Chris Carter can continue to DH or split time at first base with Brett Wallace in 2014. But at the very least we have to call up George Springer already.

The best part of the game - the fans. And sometimes it's worth it just to see Julia Morales. She's the best field reporter in the game.



1. Astros 44-91
2. Marlins 49-85

27 games left baby. We got this!

Mariners beat us 3-1 tonight and the Mariners attempt the four-game sweep tomorrow afternoon. The Miami Marlins lost 5-4 in 11 innings to the Braves. We have lost 5 games in a row and the Marlins have lost 6 games in a row. Neither team is giving up an inch but we're still so far ahead it may not even matter. Only four weeks of baseball left to play.

Unbelievable. I just want this nightmare season to end. It better be worth it. Carlos Rodon has to become one of the best left-handed pitchers of all-time.

Rookie lefty Brett Oberholtzer (4-1, 2.79 ERA) tosses a complete game 4-hit shutout in a 2 -0 win over Seattle

The race for the first overall pick in 2014

1. Astros 45-91
2. Marlins 50-85

The Marlins ended their 6-game losing streak by beating the Braves 7-0.
The Astros ended their 5-game losing streak by beating the Mariners 2-0.
LOL, it figures both teams win on the same day. In shutout fashion no less.

But the Astros still have six more losses and now there are only 26 games left to play.
We start a three-game series at home against the Twins on Monday Night.

24-year-old Brett Oberholtzer, who we acquired from the Braves in 2011 from the Michael Bourn trade, has been "lights out" since being called up from the minor leagues. This may be our future number four starter for a long time, behind Mark Appel, Carlos Rodon and Jarred Cosart, who is also pitching well for us in the Majors already. That's going to be a righty, lefty, righty, lefty combo for us. It's always nice to mix up sides to keep lineups off balance.

The only difference is Brett Oberholtzer is actually picking up wins as a rookie. Jarred Cosart should be 8-0 but is 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 6 no-decisions. But anyways, our future starting rotation is going to be really good. What we need to do is improve our offense and bullpen.

Just by improving our horrible bullpen, which leads all of baseball this year in blown saves and one run losses, we should see an increase of anywhere from 15 to 20 more wins next season. And that's not counting how many more wins we may have just by having a better lineup that can score more runs per game.

I'm so excited now. Only 26 games left and Carlos Rodon, the real gem in the upcoming draft, is going to be all ours.
And the Astros made a nearly $100 million dollar profit as a team in 2013. LOL, another good blessing in disguise.



That financial expert ruins the segment talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs. Some good moneyball information nonetheless.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Sep 1 2013 11:23pm