- They lost 12 times in their first 18 games(6-12); they've lost just 11 times in their last 35 games(24-11).
- Hunter Pence was 5-5, for his first career 5 hit game. It was his 157th career game. Earlier this season, Lance Berkman also picked up his first career 5-hit game; It came in Berkman's 1244th career game.
- Q: Who are Carlos Zambrano, Brandon Webb Tim Hudson & Tim Lincecum?
A: They are the only four pitchers in the majors that have more quality starts then Shawn Chacon, who picked up #8 with his 7 dominant innings. Nice late spring pick-up by GM Ed Wade.
- Chacon has started 3 times already against the Cards, all 3 have been quality starts and he's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He has 4 starts against NL central foes when you include his win over the Cubs in his last start. For the season, his numbers inside the division are sparkling, 2-0, 3.00 ERA and each of his 4 starts have been quality starts.
- Houston is one of 12 teams that have allowed at least 243 runs - they're the only one with a winning record.
- I mentioned during tonight's show that it was very likely Dave Borkowski would be in an Astros uniform for the last time. Now I can't say that it's for certain he'll never pitch for the 'Stros again, but following the game the Astros designated him for assignment so they could activate Wandy Rodriguez to start Wednesday's game.
Borkowski, affectionately, known as "The Borker" on the NightShift, just became far too easy to hit this season. He posted a 6.86 ERA in 18 relief appearances this season, including the 6 runs he allowed in just 1 inning of work last Sunday in what turns out to be his final appearance. He first came to the Astros as a non-roster invitee to spring training prior to the 2006 season. He pitched his way onto the roster and thrived in the unenviable role as the last man in the bullpen. He did so for two years before this season and truly his time with the Astros was nothing but a success story considering from 2002-2005 he'd pitched in just 17 major league games, but amassed 122 appearances with the Astros over the last 2-plus seasons.
He could still remain in the organization if a better opportunity does not turn up for him and he's willing to accept an assignment to Round Rock. He was the senior member of the bullpen that now with his departure, has undergone 100% turnover from last season.
2007:Lidge, Wheeler, Qualls, Miller, Borkowski, Moehler, McLemore.
2008:Valverde, Brocail, Wright, Geary, Byrdak, Villarreal and now Chris Sampson.
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The Lakers take a 3-1 lead back to Staples Center, yet I still think there's a decent chance the Spurs can force a 7-game series. Of course I have not changed my tune and I do think the Lakers will win this series. The key stretch of the game for me came with 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, Lakers led 83-79. Tony Parker drives thru the lane and finds a wide open Bruce Bowen in his favorite spot in the corner.Bowen missed. Lamar Odom converted a 3-point play on the other end, then Oberto and Ginobilii fouled up a simple hand-off and that resulted in a Kobe Bryant slam at the other end. Boom, 88-79, just moments after it could've been 83-82, it was 88-79.
Sure the Lakers nearly gave the game away at the end and they left it up to the referees, including Joey Crawford, to swallow their whistles on the final play. The big question regarding the game's final possession - which went unasked at the postgame press conference as far as I could tell - was why were the Spurs playing for the win?
Why was the reigning NBA Finals MVP Tony Parker (23 points), sitting on the bench with his team down 2 with two seconds left??
Tim Duncan (29 pts) and Brent Barry (23 pts) were out there, but they were joined by Michael Finley (0 pts), Robert Horry (0 pts) and Manu Ginobili (7 pts on 2-8 shooting). I'm sorry but I'm not taking arguably my best player off the floor when my team is down only two points. That made no sense to me.
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Surfin' the Net
- Yet another foolish article that suggests Robert Horry is a Hall-of-Famer. Come on J.A.!! (While I'll never feel like he's a HOF'er, if you want to make a case for him, it'd probably be a good idea to mention his best and most important days came as a Rocket.)
Thx, The Dream Shake
- We talked about this on the show - the Big 12's best non-conference games in 2008. Yes, of course I'm talking about football!!!
Thx, Wizard of Odds
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