Don’t Sleep on the Astros

The Astros lost yet another game they should have won against the lowly Chicago Cubs. Fans can point to the lack of run support, to the horrible hitting with runners in scoring position or you can point to Roy-O giving up a three-run homer to Phil Levin but none of it matters. Yes, the loss put the Astros four games under .500 but it also marks the game where the Astros start to turn it around. The Astros will face the Cubs for two more games with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte on the mound against a Maddux and Zambrano. With the way Pettitte pitching in his last two outings, the Astros should take both of these games. The biggest series comes on Friday when the Astros take on the New York Mets for three games.

If the Astros can take one or two games, they will be solid. One of those games will be Roy-O, make that game a lock. After that series, the Astros will take on the wild card leaders Cincinnati Reds at home for three games with Clemens and Pettitte on the mound for two. These are the games the Astros need to win and can win because of their pitching. With Brandon Backe set to return and Wandy Rodriguez in the bullpen, I think the Astros are ready to make a push for the central. After the Reds series, the Astros play 15 games against Arizona, San Diego and Pittsburgh, of those three, only one is above .500 right now.

Stop with the Crap

John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil became the oldest baseball player last night by batting twice in a minor league all-star game at the age of 94. (http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=2523029)

Are the minor leagues so desperate for attention that they have to get Buck to bat in an all-star game? Everybody knew that the pitchers were going to walk him before he took his at bats. Stop the crap! This is not amazing or inspirational. This is a cheap gimmick by morons in some minor league to get attention for one night. This would be a good story if Buck was on a comeback trail, played some regular season games, and put up the stats to be an all-star, but he didn’t! You wont hear about Buck again until he turns 95 or passes away. What a joke. This minor league should be ashamed to exploit a legend like that.

If you don’t believe me that this was just a cheap media stunt, just look at another headline: Jose Conseco to pitch for minor league all-star game.

Zidane to get punishment Thursday

Why is this still in the news? Why is Zidane going to face punishment for his head-butt? The guy is not playing anymore FIFA regulated games and for crying out loud, he faced the biggest punishment when his team lost the World Cup. FIFA needs to stop pursuing this. Zidane lost his cool in the biggest game of his life and lost it for his team. Nothing else will hurt or punish this guy more than a loss. If FIFA strips Zidane of the Golden Ball, the best player in the World Cup, I will never watch soccer again without thinking it is setup. Zidane was the best player in the World Cup even with a bonehead play. One play does not take away his whole tournament. FIFA is to soccer as Vince McMahon is to the WWE. Seriously FIFA, if you want to force results and set-up games, just get into the sports entertainment business and not the sports business.