Right after Sunday afternoon’s game, the Astros general manager Tim Purpura addressed the media to announce infielder/outfielder Chris Burke had been recalled and outfielder Jason Lane had been optioned to Class AAA Round Rock.

Burke had been hitting .308 for Round Rock in the last 10 days.  Jason Lane who was the final out in today’s 10th inning loss against the Cardinals was batting a miserable .165 which led to his demotion. 

This move, coupled with Eric Munson’s callup after Friday night’s loss is a start to righting the Astros ship.  There are still holes that need to be filled though and dead weight that needs to be thrown overboard.

Orlando Palmeiro, Morgan Ensberg, Brian Moehler and Humberto Quintero are still occupying roster spots on the big league club.  Quintero may not have been placed on waivers this past week for fear of the Cardinals picking him up, but, now that they’ve got themselves a backup catcher in Kelly Stinnett, the Astros can relax and send Quintero down to AAA.

Earlier today, Purpura also told Astros radio announcer Milo Hamilton on the weekly chat with the GM that the team is in transition and he’s looking at trades although he doesn’t expect to have any major news until late June or early July on that front.  He had alluded to internal moves and we’ve seen the first one made.

The Astros placed RHP Rick White on the 15 day DL again after tonight’s game and called up Catcher Eric Munson.   Munson currently has .285 batting average with some pop in his bat.  Let’s see if Munson can get any playing time on the big league club.  If they just leave him to warm the bench and keep trotting out Mr. No hit and Mr. No more hits in Ausmus and Quintero, they just wasted a roster spot. 

The Astros really need to address some problem areas they seem to be turning a blind eye to right now.  The "see no evil, hear no evil, read no evil" attitude is really starting to wear thin.  Palmeiro, Lane, Ensberg, Everett, Moehler, and Quintero really need to be OFF the club.  Bringing in Munson is a start, but only a small one.  Burke is apparently injured, but there’s nothing stopping the Astros from bringing up Bruntlett, Saccomanno, Conrad, or Jonathan Ash.  None of those guys could do any worse than Lane, Ensberg, Quintero, Palmeiro and Everett have done so far.  Let’s see if Conrad or Ash can adapt to playing short.  They can’t hit any worse than the WORST offensive player in the MLB today can they?  I bet not.  As for Saccomanno, I know nobody could be a worse hitting 3rd baseman than Ensberg is right now, so give the kid a chance and save the team nearly $5 mil in dead weight and head case salary.

Trade Lidge while you can in a package to obtain the guy with the longest last name in MLB history from the Braves.  The Braves would trade Saltalamacchia for Lidge and Patton or Lidge, Gutierrez and Estrada.  Do the deal.  Although it would really hurt to lose Patton, gaining Salty would more than make up for it.  Once you get Salty, play him 4 days a week and relegate Ausmus to catching Oswalt only if you want this team to have even half a chance at getting to the playoffs again.

Drayton, under your ownership, since 1997, this club has missed the playoffs 2 years in a row ONLY ONCE.  Let’s not make it TWICE.

It’s time to light a fire under this team.  Ten losses in a row is just one shy of the team’s all time record set in 1995. 

In 2005, the Houston Chronicle ran an article on the 1st of June featuring a tombstone and calling the team dead and buried.  The team responded with a winning June and going on to duplicate a feat not seen in over 90 years.  Before the Astros came back from 15 below .500 to go to the World Series, ONLY the 1914 Boston Braves had accomplished that feat.

It’s time for a similar wake up call for the 2007 Astros, a team having an eerily similar year to the 2005 team.  The 2005 Astros went 9-13 in April and 10-19 in May.  The 2007 team has gone 10-14 in April and 11-18 so far in May. 

More similarities:  During Spring Training 2005, a rookie named Luke Scott captured everyone’s attention by having a spectacular spring and made the opening day roster straight from AA.  Fast forward to Spring 2007–Hunter Pence dazzled everyone in spring training and spent only one month in AAA before being called up to the major league club.  Pence, right now, is leading all rookies in many of the categories and is a strong contender for the Rookie of the Year. 

In 2005, Jeff Bagwell went on the DL in early May and Lance Berkman, coming off the DL in May, didn’t start hitting well until June.  In 2005, it was Morgan Ensberg who carried the club on his back through those dismal 2 months.  In 2007, it seems to be Carlos Lee.  Ensberg got help from Jason Lane and Craig Biggio.  Lee is getting help from Hunter Pence and Mark Loretta. 

2005 also saw missed starts from Andy Pettitte, just as 2007 has seen Jason Jennings go on the DL. 

Now, I’m not predicting the Astros are going to go to the World Series again this year, but, it is rather interesting how similar the two teams are.  Maybe, maybe, they can be similar in some more ways.  Maybe this 2007 Astros team can go to the World Series too.  Once there, who knows?  Maybe this time they get to bring home the ultimate prize.

If the Astros have any hopes of salvaging the 2007 season they have to make some really tough decisions for the franchise, easy ones for the fans.  They need to trade or cut Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Humberto Quintero, Orlando Palmeiro, and Brian Moehler at the very least.  Ausmus gets a pass for right now because he actually has a higher batting average than the rest of the rabble hogging Astros roster spots. 

None of the position players listed above except for Ausmus has a batting average of over .216.  These guys are scrubs and they need to go if Drayton McLane really wants a winner in 2007.  Time to say to **** with loyalty, to **** with giving people a chance for the 5th time.  "If you don’t perform, you don’t have a job" should be the message to the likes of Ensberg, Lane and Palmeiro especially.

The Astros have over $10 million tied up in these losers.  Get rid of them and you can replace them with AAA guys who can’t perform any worse and will play for a pittance.  That would leave the Astros over $8 million to spend for a player they can trade for before July 31st–Troy Glaus anyone?

Were really all the Astros needed to win their first game at Minute Maid Park against the Giants in many years.  The last few years, Barry Bonds and his Giants have owned the Astros at home sweeping them last year.  Not only did Barry not get a homerun in the "Juice Box", his team lost the game in the late innings courtesy of two clutch homeruns by the two newest Astros–Hunter Pence’s 2 run shot to the famed Crawford Boxes tied the game in the 8th inning and El Caballo, Carlos Lee’s towering shot ended it in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Those in the media and around Houston who doubted Carlos Lee’s signing for a huge contract and ability to deliver clutch hits should be silenced by now.  The Astros have quietly snuck back to a .500 record and are now only 5.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers—yes those same Brewers who just the other day led the Astros by 8 games. 

The Brewers played more home games than any other NL team and they played teams they were supposed to walk all over.  This week started a long road trip for them against the better teams in the league and they are showing the ****** in their armor.  There was no way the Brew Crew could sustain the success of the past 6 weeks. 

Ann Wilson of the rock band Heart had a great line in the early ’80s–Even It Up.  Well, this road trip for the Brew Crew and concurrent homestand for the Astros should even things up quite nicely.  At the end of this month, the real leader of the NL Central will be revealed.  May it be the Houston Astros.

The dust from the Clemens decision to pitch for the Yankees hadn’t even settled before another controversy bubbled over in Houston.  Rick White was activated on Friday, May 11th and Chris Burke was demoted to AAA Round Rock.  Burke was understandably upset, publicly asking to be traded. 

Burke, who had been given the opening day starting center fielder job had struggled offensively and defensively while Hunter Pence was tearing it up a mere 90 miles north.  Burke of course wasn’t the only guy to struggle though.  Ensberg, Lane and Everett have struggled too. 

So why was Burke demoted while Ensberg, Everett and Lane got a pass?  Simple.  Guess who doesn’t have to pass through waivers.  Yep, you get a cookie if you guessed one each Chris Burke.  The guy who has the most upside ends up in AAA Round Rock because the Astros are too scared to try to sneak Mr. Mendoza Line (Jason Lane) through waivers.  Can’t say I blame Chris for being upset and demanding a trade.  But trading Burke is the worst thing the Stros can do.  The guy has too much upside.  Problem is, the management thinks Ensberg and Lane do too although both have proven to be more streaky than Burke has.

My suggestion would be to trade Lane and Ensberg for whatever they can get in AAA pitching or 3rd base prospects.  For this year, Ensberg’s spot is easily filled with a platoon of Lamb and Loretta.  Next year can be dealt with via trade or in the off season. 

So much for the people who proclaimed 2007 as a year Ensberg would be fantastic in because it was an "odd" year.  Yeah, right.  Mo was messed up in 2006 and has carried it  to 2007.  There goes that theory.

One guy that I and many other Astros watchers worried about was Brad Lidge.   Even though I had resisted vehemently trying to label his failure last year as the "Albert Pujols Syndrome" I had finally given up and admitted it might have played a big part in his miserable 2006 season.  I also believed that his biggest problem was pitching in the 9th inning.  Apparently I got the 2nd part right.  Lidge since being demoted, has lowered his ERA from 10.13 to 3.57 in 3 weeks and he has pitched in the 9th inning of any game just once.  He was horrible in that outing. 

Given the ball in any inning besides the 9th, Lidge has performed to his 2004/2005 levels.  He has indeed been "Lights Out".  Maybe in a few more months or maybe next year, "Lights Out Lidge" can again close games for the Astros.  Until then though, he’s a fine bullpen guy for the Astros. 

This weekend, Sunday, 6 May 2007, during the 7th inning of the Yankees home game to be exact, King Clemens held court and chose his bride–The New York Yankees. 

In true drama queen fashion, or to use the words of John Lopez of the Houston Chronicle and 790 The Sports Animal, "Pope Roger The 22nd" pronounced his choice of team for 2007 from the owner’s box at Yankee Stadium in front of a crowd of over 55,000 people.  Good for him! 

He’s got his buddy Andy already there and other friends in Jeter, Rivera and Giambi. 

So, what does this return to the Yankees mean for Astros fans?  Not counting the lies Roger and his agents told, not much.  The Astros starting rotation isn’t in shambles like the Yankees rotation is.  Oswalt is Oswalt and the kids Wandy, Albers and Sampson are doing just fine.  Even the bullpen isn’t an issue.  Lidge is doing great in his new 6th inning role and Wheeler hasn’t blown a save yet, which is more than one can say about Mariano Rivera.

What do you mean by lies you ask?  Try this on for size:  The Hendricks brothers told both the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros that Roger wouldn’t be ready to even start real negotiations with anyone until 15 May 2007.  Yet, on 6 May 2007, Roger announced from Steinbrenner’s box that he would be a Yankee because he loved New York, the Yankees and their committment to getting a World Series Ring.  Umm, reality check Roger–The Red Sox are leading your precious Yankees by SIX FULL GAMES right now…THEY don’t have M.A.S.H. rejects for THEIR starting rotation and they don’t have a closer that has an ERA of over 8 either! 

The Hendricks Brothers told the media that the Astros and the Red Sox didn’t want Roger to pitch until late June or early July and that was the reason for Clemens choosing the Yankees, who said he could play in May.  RIGHT…Anyone who believes that bunch of cockamany can buy that ocean front property I have for sale in Arizona!  I know Randy Johnson’s realtor–he’ll give you a great price I promise! 

Both the Astros and Red Sox management report that Randy Hendricks told them Roger wouldn’t even THINK about making a decision before 15 May 2007.  The last time the Astros spoke to Randy Hendricks was 2 weeks ago and those were very preliminary discussions.  No real contract details were exchanged because the Astros thought Clemens wasn’t even ready to talk to them yet.  Rumors were bandied about by the Hendricks Brothers that Houston refused to give Roger his "Freedom Clause".  Drayton McLane, the Astros owner said on Tuesday, 8 May that they never got to that stage of discussions.  There were no "negotiations" with Roger’s agents at all. 

The Red Sox organization talked to the Hendricks Brothers last week.  They reportedly offered $18 million per year, pro-rated for Roger’s services.  They never heard from the Hendricks Brothers again until the deal with the Yankees was already done.  Then, to add insult to injury, the Hendricks Brothers and Roger Clemens publicly stated that Roger wanted to get another World Series Ring and that is why he signed with the Yankees. 

Any fan of baseball knows that the Red Sox have the best shot at getting a ring this year from the three teams competing for his services.  The Astros have not been scoring runs–a problem that’s plagued them for the last 3 years and no one can blame Clemens for being hesitant to sign because of lack of run support by the Astros.  But, whoever thinks that the Yankees have a better chance at winning the World Series than the Boston Red Sox, who currently lead ROGER AND ANDY’S YANKEES BY A FULL 6 GAMES is either a Clemens/Pettitte/Hendricks family member or "a mo.ron" to quote Lance Berkman. 

The Yankees have gone through 10 different starters because of injuries to the entire rotation save Pettitte.  Their $46 MILLION man, Kei Igawa has been sent disgracefully to AAA.  Their bullpen consists of rejects from other teams like Mike Myers of the Red Sox, Kyle Farnsworth (Farnsworth=Game Tying HR to Brad Ausmus, NLDS 2005) and the 2007 version of Brad Lidge 2006 in Mariano Rivera (ERA of 8.44). 

Sure, Roger, that bullpen is going to hold and save games for you when you leave after 5 innings…who are you trying to fool?  We all know that last year you couldn’t go more than 5 or 6 innings and you couldn’t even get through 3 1/2 months without falling apart in September–remember you had a delayed and a missed start in Sept 06?  What makes you think you’ll be able to pitch an extra month being a year older than you were last year?   

And don’t even talk about the playoffs.  We know how your body didn’t hold up in Game 7 against the Cardinals in 2004 or Game 1 against the White Sox in 2005.  The cold gets to you and time gets to you…what makes you think this year with the Yankees will be any different than previous Octobers with the Astros?

So the King has chosen his Bride.  What will the King do when his Beautiful Princess turns out to be an ugly toad?

I was at the game tonight…what a gorgeous night for a ballgame in Houston…roof open and excitement in the air as hometown boy Chris Sampson took the mound.  Of course, the excitement wasn’t all due to Sampson’s first start at home this season, but it sure helped the atmosphere.  Most folks were dying to see what the kid from the Dallas area could do.  The kid, who found out a mere 24 hours earlier that he’d be making his MLB debut, didn’t disappoint.  After taking Bush to 12 pitches before striking out for his first major league at bat, he got hit by a pitch and singled in the 6th inning for his first major league hit. 

Hunter Pence arrived in Houston tonight and I believe he’s here to stay.  What does that mean for Chris Burke who lost his job to the rookie or to Morgan Ensberg who was benched in favor of Mark Loretta remains to be seen.  For right now, Astros fans are basking in the glory of a 10-1 victory against the Brewers. 

I said back in March that Hunter Pence needed to start the season at AAA to show he could continue his spring training tear…he certainly did that.  I am truly excited that I will be at Minute Maid Park for his debut tonight.  I also said in "Shades of 2005" that the Astros pitching would be better than expected just like 2005 and that the pundits would say they were dead and buried because the offense was struggling…so far that seems to hold true…the Astros are tied for last place in the NL Central with the Cubs as they go into game 2 of the current homestand with the division leading Brewers…remember though, that last year at this time, the Brewers were leading the NL Central also and they faded quite nicely down the stretch…I predict the same thing this year for the Brew Crew and the Buccos and the Reds….make no mistake, the Cards will make a push for the division title at some point in the season…let’s all hope that bringing up Pence now vs waiting until the All Star Break to bring up Scott last year is the difference between the Stros taking the Division title this year vs missing the playoffs last year.

After wasting another quality start by Roy Oswalt and losing the 7th straight game, the Astros summoned Hunter Pence from AAA Round Rock last night.  Pence played in 22 games at Round Rock and had 29 hits, 10 doubles, 3 home runs and 19 runs batted in.  He is batting .341 with an on base percentage of .398.  Pence will make his major league debut tonight at Minute Maid Park as the starting centerfielder.  Chris Burke, for now, will be an utility player.  Lefty reliever Stephen Randolph was designated for assignment to make room for Pence on the roster. 

Just bringing up Pence isn’t going to solve the Astros offensive woes.  Phil Garner also hinted at another move–giving Mark Loretta more playing time.  He didn’t elaborate on where Loretta would play most, but, with Biggio entrenched at 2nd base until he gets his 3000 hits and Everett’s glove being deemed more valuable at short stop, realistically, the only place Loretta will see more playing time would be at 3rd base.  Does that mean Ensberg would be on the bench and Lane demoted to Round Rock?  Or are they trying to trade Ensberg who seems to have started 2007 where he left off in 2006. 

One thing is certain, by bringing up Pence at the end of April, the Astros are definitely trying to win and win now.  It will be interesting to see if a trade or two are made in the next few weeks or if we see more youngsters called up from AAA to replace underperforming millionaires.