How bad are the Astros?

I kinda forgot about this blog, but we're almost at the halfway point of the MLB season so I thought I'd give an update. The Astros are bad. Horrendously bad. Worse than I was expecting and I wasn't expecting much. At 27-48, they are 13.5 games behind the Cardinals and Brewers who are ties for the lead in the NL Central. Pitching is inconsistent, defense has been very weak, and offense hasn't been much better than pitching or defense. Hunter Pence has played well, as have Brett Wallace and Keppinger (although he's only been back from the DL for a month). Realistically, the Astros are looking at a 100-loss season. I know they've been a second half team in the past but this seems to be beyond fixing.

So far this summer I've been to San Francisco and DC (and actually caught games at both...loved AT&T, Nationals Park was nice too) so I've been busy and only been to a few games in Houston. I went to the game last Wednesday expecting us to get slaughtered aaaaaand we did...losing 3-7 in what would eventually become a sweep at the hands of the pirates. After the game, I decided I was not attending anymore games until Ed Wade is fired. And with the impending sale of the team from Drayton McClane to Jim Crane, I'm hoping it comes soon. Ed has done nothing but hurt this team since he got here in 2007.

Off the Astros, I signed up to run the Rock n Roll San Antonio marathon with a couple buddies of mine, Jimmy and Cameron so I'll update as we really get into training. Jimmy and I have run a couple of half-marathons so we kind of know what to expect. For the first half, then we have no idea. Our eventual goal is to qualify for and run the Boston Marathon, but that's assuming we live through this first one.

On a closing note, I bought all of the ESPN "30 for 30" films (Amazon was running a  $50 special so I jumped all over it...even got upgraded to 2-day shipping for free) so I'll periodically review those as I get the chance. Now I'm gonna go watch the Astros lose to the Rangers in Arlington.

SB XLV...and other stuff

My volleyball class got cancelled tomorrow so let's make this Monday night a party! The Super Bowl was yesterday...Packers beat the Steelers 31-25. I broke even on the game because I parlayed the Steelers to cover (+3) and total points over 45.5, but I also threw in a money-line bet and took the Packers at -135 so it's all good. Not that anybody but me cared about that. Halftime was weak. The Black Eyed Peas performed...visually it was cool, music wise not so much. But Slash made a surprise appearance and it was awesome! Also Usher can dance, well, like pretty much all black guys, but it was still cool to see. Commercials were pretty weak too. It was a good Super Bowl overall I guess, but nothing spectacular. Oh, and Christina Aguilera (?) messed up the words to the National Anthem, or "remixed" it if you're a glass-half-full type of person.

Oh hey, I had to make a website for my Info class...it took me forever so I'm posting the link everywhere I can...http://people.tamu.edu/~wmartin6/

Have ya'll heard Kanye's new album? Well, it's been out a few months now I guess so it's not really new, but it's freaking amazing. It's called "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." Get on it. Also, Weezy dropped a new single last week called "Green and Yellow" about the Packers. It's awesome. And who knew he was a Packers fan? I'm just glad he's not an annoying, "who dat" Saints fan. I cannot stand them.

I just saw a Tyler Perry commercial and it reminded me of something very important...I strongly dislike Tyler Perry. And no, it's not because he's black, it's because he makes terrible, unfunny movies. Do I hate him more than Ed Wade? No. Ed still owns the #1 spot.

Oh! The Rockets beat the Nuggets in Denver tonight! And Melo dropped 50! So say goodbye to any chance of him staying in Denver, Nuggets fans. Boy basketball is boring.

Also, I read this quote today..."One day when we stand before God, facebook and twitter will be proof that we did have time to pray." - Damon Thompson. Wow. This hit me hard and reminded me I need to set my sights on bigger things. And on that note, I'm done for tonight.

Astros Preview

Well this is my first attempt at a blog. I'm just a college kid at Texas A&M living the dream and sleeping when possible (which is more than you'd think). I'm not expecting anybody to actually read this, I just got bored in my English Literature class (like England-english...it's miserable) and thought I'd give this a go. Feel free to comment (can you? I don't know) and call me mean names. It's all good. Anyway, I thought I'd talk about the upcoming Astros baseball season today and give ya'll a little preview of what might come. So here we go...I'll start with who I think will lead the team in some various categories.

• Average: Pence - .294. Not great but I think he'll improve a little from last year. And I don't think there's anyone that'll do any better.
• Home Runs: Pence - 26. You'll soon realize I really like Hunter, although I don't think he has what it takes to be a franchise player. And who else is gonna contend for this? Carlos? Not unless eating burritos and announcing plans to retire two years early count as home runs this season.
• RBIs: Pence - 112. Again, I just don't see who else could contend. If Chris Johnson gets hot again then maybe. If Carlos gets younger and skinnier, then maybe. But don't hold your breath.
• Stolen Bases: Bourn - 62. I think he'll continue to develop as a hitter and get on base a little more. Also, he's really fast.
• OPB: Pence - .352. Let's be honest, he's the best player on the team. I'm hoping Keppinger will produce like he did last year and if he does, he could very well lead the team here but I think Pence's batting average will increase a little from last year and discipline will be a little better.
• Lowest Average: Barmes - .241. I'm reserving this for position players only because obviously pitchers will have lower averages. I think best case scenario, Barmes tops out at .260 this season. Another example of a great pick-up by the ever-knowledgeable Ed Wade. 
• Slowest Outfiender: Carlos Lee. The only race he'd win is who will announce their plans to retire two years in advance first. Or who could eat their own body weight in funnel cakes first. He'd win those.
• Fattest Player : Carlos Lee. His bio says he's 265 lbs. Hah. Yeah, and Ed Wade is a good GM. With a little more effort and drive, I think Carlos could hit 320 lbs. this season.
• Most GIDPs: Carlos Lee. You can probably tell I don't really think Mr. Lee is gonna help us out very much this year. Anyway, I'm putting this at 63. You know, that's assuming he makes contact 63 times this season and doesn't just whiff everytime.
• Wins: Wandy - 14. I think he'll have a solid season but very little run production isn't gonna help. Still, I'd be happy if Wandy gets to 14+.
• ERA: Wandy - 3.61. Myers had a great year last year with his quality start streak, and I think he'll be solid again this year, but I like Wandy being a southpaw and signing a new contract to have a really good year. He's a #2 pitcher on other teams, but he'll be the most reliable guy we have this year barring injury, so we'll have to make due.
• Losses (Most): Rowland - Smith - 11. He went 1-10 last year with Seattle so I don't know why moving to Houston would help other than he gets to face NL teams. It's not like our potent offense is gonna keep him in games. 
• Most overvalued: Carlos Lee. Because he is making money this year.
• Most undervalued: Keppinger. I like him. I like his style of play. He's a contact guy. Solid player. He'll get in scoring position for Pence to drive in or for Lee to strike out looking and leave him stranded. Fun Fact! Kepp made just over $1.1M last season compared to Carlos, who made a little over $19M.
• Worst GM: Ed Wade. I'll hit on this more next time. Just know I despise this man and was disappointed when he finished the Houston Marathon without collapsing and clutching his heart. 

Alright I'm done for today. I'll probably check back in in a few days. Or if nobody reads this I may not. Eh, we'll see. Also, if you want to see me in person to call me more mean names because doing it electronically didn't do it for you, or you think my self esteem is too high, I'm the scrawney, white guy holding up the "FIRE ED WADE" sign at games. See ya'll next time.