Astros After Five

First things first, the Matsui era at second base should be happening around the middle of this month. Time to start looking for a game to get to.

Secondly, McTaggart looks at the first round of the new pitching lineup for the Astros:

Roy Oswalt: 5.1 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Brandon Backe: 5.0, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
W. Rodriguez: 5.0, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 B, 6 K
Shawn Chacon: 6.0, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Chris Sampson: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0, 1 K

I think it'd be asking way too much for guys to go 7-8 innings in the first week. So in light of that, the pitching should probably be viewed as slightly better than I feared. And for the bottom three guys, well above what's expected. Still, it's a long season. And in spite of that first round of pitching, the team is still 2-3 and our best hitter is batting .263. Ouch!