The Houston Astros signed outfielder Darin Erstad to a one-year, $1.75-million contract extension and right-handed pitcher Brian Moehler to a one-year, $2.3-million contract extension on Friday. The one-year extensions for both players are for the 2009 season, and both have additional bonuses. Moehler's deal includes an option for the 2010 season.

I like both of these signings. I know some who post here believe that Moehler's been lucky and has produced better due to good defense and things like that... but I'm a results guy... and Moehler has given us a chance to win in most of his outings... therefore I think he deserved a contract extension(or a new contract, however you want to word it) and I'm glad the Astros got him on the cheap and give him a chance to earn some bonuses.

I like the Erstad signing as well.  Erstad has been everything we expected him to be this season and more.  He's been a very good defensive player and a good offensive player as well.  Yea so he probably can't be a 150+ game starter for us... well, we need good bench players and players who can fill in and produce if a starter gets hurt.  That is exactly what Erstad is and has been for the Astros all season.  A very good pick up.

I REALLY like contracts that have a low base salary and then give bonuses based on performance.  I think EVERY contract should be that way.  No way should any player have a base salary of 15-20 million.  They should have a lower salary and then the chance to make much more based on results.  Unfortunately that will never happen.  If you are a good player and can produce, sign a contract with good incentives.  Teams should be happy to let a player have a chance to make more based on incentives then they would if they just signed a flat rate contract.

---

---

---

---

Poll

Do you like the signings?

• Erstad Yes, Moehler No
• Moehler Yes, Erstad No
• Both Yes
• Both No

  4 votes | Results

---

---

---

---

---

---

If pitching match ups mean anything, then this game should be a pretty high scoring game.  You're putting together 2 pitchers with 5+ ERA's, high WHIP and allow quite a few home runs... but, both pitchers pitched pretty well in their last outings.

Aaron Harang pitched 6 innings of shut out ball against the Rockies on 8/22/08 earning his 4th win of the season.  Backe pitched 7 innings on 8/23/08 allowing 3 runs against the Mets, earning his 8th win of the season.

Another similarity between the two is that they were both totally destroyed in their outings before that.  In Harang's 2nd to last outing, he last just 3 1/3 innings while allowing 8 earned runs.  Backe in his 2nd to last outing went 5 2/3 innings while giving up 11 earned runs. 

Which pitchers will we see?

This is the final game in a 3 game series between the Reds and the Astros and will determine the winner of the series as the Reds won the 1st game 2-1 and the Astros took the 2nd 4-1. 

The Astros sit 16 games back in the NL Central and 10 games back in the Wild Card.  If the Wild Card leading Brewers play just .517(29 games, therefore impossible to play .500) ball for the rest of the season, they will end up with 92 wins on the season.  The Astros will have to go 25-4 to match that record.

---

---

 

Major League Baseball will institute the use of instant replay on Thursday to determine disputed home run calls -- fair or foul, in or out of the ballpark, fan interference -- Commissioner Bud Selig announced on Tuesday.

The system, which has been under study since this past November when the general managers voted 25-5 to explore its use, will launch on Thursday when Minnesota opens a four-game series at Oakland, Texas is in Anaheim to play the Angels, and the Phillies are at Wrigley Field to play the Cubs.

Since it was determined that the use of replay should start when a series opens, it will be in use for all games beginning with Friday's action. Musing that implementing replay was really not like dealing with "Einstein's 'Theory of Relativity,'" the Commissioner said the apropos time to move ahead with it was now.

I think it's about time and I think the amount they are going to start using it is a good place to start... I just hope it doesn't go much more than this.  How far do you think instant replay should go?

So I was browsing around MLB.com and found this list of the longest standing records in baseball.

Single Season Records
1. Batting Average: .426 - Nap Lajoie (1901)
2. Wins: 41 - Jack Chesbro (1904)
3. Triples: 36 - Chief Wilson (1912)
4. Extra-Base Hits: 119 - Babe Ruth (1921)
5. Runs: 177 - Babe Ruth (1921)
6. Total Bases: 457 - Babe Ruth (1921)
7. RBIs: 191 - Hack Wilson (1930)
8. Doubles: 67 - Earl Webb (1931)
9. Hitting Streak: 56 gms - Joe DiMaggio (1941)

Career Records
1. Wins: 511 - Cy Young (retired 1911)
2. ERA: 1.82 - Ed Walsh (retired 1917)
3. Triples: 309 - Sam Crawford (retired 1917)
4. Doubles: 792 - Tris Speaker (retired 1928)
5. Batting Average: .366 - Ty Cobb (retired 1928)

Pete Rose's 4,256 isn't on the list, but I'll add it as #6
6. Career Hits: 4256 - Pete Rose (retired 1986)

So my question to you is... do you think any of these records will EVER be broken? Is there a current player in baseball right now that you think has a chance to break it?

---

---

The Astros have averaged 4 runs per game against the Mets this series while allowing the Mets to score just 3 runs per game...  seems we should have won both games... but unfortunately, all 8 runs we've scored this series came in yesterday's 8-3 winner.  One thing that has been constant in this series is the Astros pitching... starting with the complete game, 3 run outing by Roy Oswalt on Friday and then the 7 inning 3 run outing by Brandon Backe yesterday, the pitching has been good.  Unfortunately, the offense has been less predictable.  Hopefully we didn't use up all of the offense yesterday.

Today we send Randy Wolf to the hill against Oliver Perez.  Wolf has been... okay since joining the Astros.  His Astros career would look much better had he not given up 6 runs over 4 innings the last time he went out.  One thing Wolf has managed to do is keep the ball in the park, allowing just 2 home runs over 26 1/3 innings pitched as an Astro.

Perez has faced the Astros just once this season and earned a loss by pitching 6 innings and allowing 4 earned runs.  Last time out, Perez went 6 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs and earned a no decision.

---

---

---

---

---

---

Here's a review of our minor league prospects from MinorLeagueBall.com(our SBNation site about the Minor leagues).  Note, the list isn't up to date, but the reviews about the list are. Here is the top 5... if you want to see the entire top 20, you can do so here.

1) Troy Patton, LHP, Grade B+
     Traded to Baltimore. Torn labrum, out for year.
2) J.R. Towles, C, Grade B 
     Lost job after .143/.255/.264 performance for Houston. Hitting .287/.361/.575 for Triple-A Round Rock. Will get more chances.
3) Felipe Paulino, RHP, Grade B
     Out with a pinched nerve in his throwing arm.
4) Bud Norris, RHP, Grade B-
     3.48 ERA with 60/17 K/BB in 54 innings for Double-A Corpus Cristi, 55 hits allowed. Fine command with a good K/IP, interesting prospect.
5) Mike Costanzo, 3B, Grade B-
     Traded to Baltimore. .258/.330/.393 with 10 homers, 128 strikeouts in 103 games in Triple-A. Not enough power to get away with that strikeout rate.

---

---

Here's your useless stat of the day.  Brandon Backe is 2-0 on the season with a 2.57 ERA in games started after giving up 11 runs in the game before... Backe needs to pitch well for the rest of the season if he wants to be in the rotation next season.  Actually... if the Astros do what they need to do during the off season, Brandon Backe probably shouldn't get a chance to be in the rotation.  I like Backe a lot... I like the fire he brings to the game and I like my pitcher being able to swing the bat... but the stats don't lie, and Backe's career ERA is just below 5...  no way he should be expected to be a top of the rotation pitcher.  Maybe a #5... but that's not ideal. 

But that doesn't take away form the nice game he pitched tonight... 7 innings(started the 8th but was pulled after giving up a 2 run home run in the 8th without getting an out) pitched with 5 hits, 1 walk and 4 strike outs earning his 8th win of the season.

Berkman and Tejada both had pretty good nights... Tejada was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI's and Berkman went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI's(including a 3 run jack in the 3rd). 

Overall just a well played game.  Newhan contributed with a very slick double play in which he fielded the ball just behind 2nd base and tossed the ball from his glove to Tejada who fired to 1st.  Newhan also hit a home run in the 6th inning to help put the game out of reach.

---

---

I hope this poll confuses at least 1 of you ;)

Poll

Astros Wins - Over/Under at the end of the season.. 80.5

• >
• <

  12 votes | Results

---

---

---

---

---

---

Astros 9.5 games back in the Wild Card... in case you were still wondering.  We're also back to mediocrity at 64-64 after losing to the Mets last night.  We'll see how Backe bounces back after giving up 11 runs in 2 of his last 3 starts... his last start after giving up 11 runs was a 7 inning, 1 run outing...  Maybe we'll see that Backe tonight. 

---

---

 

---

---

---

---

---

---

Pretty good pitching match up tonight... especially if we see the same Roy Oswalt that threw 8 innings of shut out ball while striking out 10 against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

 

---

---

---

I think this is about the best lineup we can field with the current situation of the team...   We'll see how well it produces.

 

 

Okay, not really....  I just thought this was kind of interesting(for the guys that read the blog)...

Ever wonder why when you get hit in your private area that your stomach hurts??

Well, I turned the TV to FSN(forgetting that the Astros were not on tonight) and they had that sport science show and they were doing a some research on low blows in boxing... well here is the answer to your question.

The reason your stomach hurts is because your private area takes shape in your abdomen and that all of your super sensitive nerve endings ares till attached there...  That's why your stomach hurts when you get hit there..

They also mentioned that you have a much higher quantity of nerves in your private area than you do in other parts of your body and that the time it takes for the reaction from being hit to go to your brain is MUCH faster than the reaction from your brain back to your private area.... that's why you have a slow reaction to being hit there. 

 

I know this isn't of the normal status quo of the blog... but I thought it was interesting and figured you guys/gals were mature enough to handle it. :)

 

They also showed the impact of a baseball on a batting helmet... Pretty crazy when in slow motion watching the helmet cave in...  It basically showed that the helmet takes away about 30% of the impact from a 95MPH fastball and reduced the amount of damage by about half... pretty crazy stuff.