Forgive me if this has already been noted on this site, but it was news to me and I check here pretty regularly.

http://www.universitycoop.com/ePOS?f...

Now all us Houstonians have a local store devoted entirely to UT.  Will the book be available there?

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070708&content_id=271940&vkey=news _milb&fext=.jsp

thought i read some discussion on this guy, but i couldn't find it (maybe it was on another board).  is he a legit prospect?  i guess his first year in the org was last year and he didn't do so hot in a short season in Tri-City.  he's a mid-season all-star in the South Atlantic League this year (.300/.356/.464) and got a jack in the Futures game.  the article says he plays 4 positions in Lexington, but he's listed as an OF.  he's 22 and is probably at least 2 years from any consideration for an MLB roster spot.  checked to see if he attended the elite hitters camp, and he didn't, but teammates Max Sapp, Koby Clemens, and Ralph Henriquez did (none of which seem to be impressing this year).

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In case you hadn't seen it yet...

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070705&content_id=2068603&vkey=allstar2007&fex t=.jsp

Guess he won't need our help in the final vote after all.

Barrett shipped to Padres with money for a back-up catcher and a minor league outfielder.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070620&content_id=2038291&vkey=news_mlb&fext=. jsp&c_id=mlb

Probably an inevitable move by the Flubbies, with all the dugout drama connected to Barrett.  I don't have enough information to rate it as good or bad for either team, but it certainly seems to make sense for both.  The Padres have the second lowest BA in all of baseball (man the White Sox are sucking these days), while having the best ERA in all of baseball.  Barrett is performing well below his career numbers, but is still (at a lower level of production) better than the guy starting in SD. It should be noted that Barrett is a FA after this year.

It's official:

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070608&content_id=2013 531&vkey=pr_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

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Okay, we're getting close to halfway through the Spring Training games.  The fat is starting to get cut a bit and the candidates for starting positions are starting to stretch out their appearances.  We still have single digit innings from everybody in the hunt, but does anybody have any feelings about who's beginning to establish themselves on the inside track for those last two starting spots?

Wandy seems to be doing nothing to eliminate Garner's lean towards him, although we'll find a little more out today.  Sampson and Nieve have both been solid.  If anybody's going any direction, I'd say maybe Albers is inching towards the rear of the pack.  Do we really think Moehler is a serious candidate?

Astacio* 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1.00 WHIP, 5.40 BB/9, 7.20 K/9
Sampson 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 1.41 WHIP, 4.76 BB/9 7.94 K/9
Moehler 3.38 ERA, 8.0 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 3.38 BB/9 6.75 K/9
Nieve 4.50 ERA, 8.0 IP, 1.50 WHIP, 4.50 BB/9, 7.88 K/9
Albers 5.14 ERA, 7.0 IP, 2.00 WHIP, 6.43 BB/9 11.57 K/9
Wandy 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 1.85 WHIP, 8.31 BB/9 6.23 K/9

If the numbers improve or even stay the same, it looks like we'll be able to feel alright about what we've got for options.  All the walk rates are a bit high, but you'd hope that's something that would improve as ST progresses (hopefully bringing the WHIP down with it).  Albers' K-rate shows that he's got the stuff.  If he can do a better job of keeping guys off, he might return to the pack.

To early?  I dunno.  I'm looking for things to talk about.

Lastly, what's with Woody?  Has he been pitching in minor league games that aren't showing up on the stat page?  Why does he only have two innings so far?

*added in Astacio, as per comments. also updated Nieve and Wandy's numbers. i guess if we're gonna credit Moehler for his small sample size numbers, we need to do likewise for Zeke. i've always been a fan of Zeke's stuff. if he can improve his control, his ceiling is heigher than Wandy or Moehler for sure.

Referring to Luke and his bid for the starting spot in right field, "Every manager who's had him has liked him," Garner said. "He can win ballgames for you, and HE'S THE BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER." (emphasis mine)

I wonder where he gets that from.  I've never been particularly impressed with Scott's defense, although he's never seemed to me like he's TOTALLY clueless out there.  Meanwhile, I think it's clear that both Hidalgo and Lane have better arms (although maybe all that time in the gym for Scott has improved his throw) and I've always fancied Lane as a pretty solid fielder.  He's got a lot more diving catches and blue star plays in my memory than Scott, but maybe that's just cause I've seen him play the position more often.

Anybody else surprised by that comment?  If Garner really DOES think of Scott as the best defender, doesn't that give him a HUGE edge in the race since he's coming off such a monster second half of the season last year?

I don't have a link.  I've just heard various folks on 790 talking about it, but it sounds like there's a rumor (coming from Denver's side I assume) about a potential trade that would bring Tatum Bell, Jake Plummer, and Denver's first round pick (21st if I'm not mistaken) for our 8th pick.

To me, this is just Tatum Bell for a swap of first round picks.  I don't value Jake Plummer much over David Carr, and he may be available if the Broncos cut him loose anyway.  I don't like it.  Hopefully it's just a crazy rumor.

I've been pointed to this site from the Astros and Longhorn SBNation blogs and I'm looking forward to following along with the discussions.  I haven't been a huge Texans fan since moving to Houston, but the last couple years I've been following them a little closer.  This site might sucker me into becoming a real "fan".  Cheers.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070112&content_id=1778091&vk ey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

is this just regarded as a non-story?  is nobody interested in him competing for a spot in the OF?  he certainly looked like a classic case of "traded at the time", but he's only 31.  can he really be washed up already?

can't see how he fits in, but it can't hurt to have him in Round Rock (if he'd actually take that gig) in case something unexpected happened with our OF.  we'll see what happens in ST, i guess.

So much to the dismay of Brewers fans, Carlos Lee is now a Ranger.  Apparently it was another case of a small market club with a player that got just too good to hang on to, they couldn't get him signed to an extension, and sent him packing before the deadline to a team with deeper pockets.

Haven't read all the reactions from Brew Crew Ball, but it seems like it's uncertain in their fandom as to whether this was a win now move, a shore up for the future move, or merely an act of desparation.  

http://www.brewcrewball.com/story/2006/7/28/135055/984

Whatever it is, it's done.