At 70-80, the Houston Astros haven’t lived up to expectation. As a result, the team has decided to fire manager Cecil Cooper. Dave Clark, the team’s third-base coach, will be the Astros interim manager.
Prior to the firing, the Astros had lost seven straight games. Following the firing, the Astros lost again under Clark — extending their losing streak to eight games. On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals handed the Astros a 7-3 loss.
Ed Wade, Houston’s general manager, decided to make the move even though the 2009 baseball regular season is almost over.
Said Wade: “The issue we had to address here, …read more

Ivan Rodriguez, the future Hall of Fame catcher who is now with the Houston Astros, set the all-time record for most games caught in a career. Fittingly, he set the record on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers — the team he played on for the fist dozen seasons of his career.
With his outing on Wednesday, Rodriguez has now caught 2,227 games. The former record holder was Carlton Fisk. Bob Boone is third on the list with 2,225 games, while Gary Carter is fourth with 2,056 games.
The now 37-year-old native of Puerto Rico originally broke into Major League Baseball when he …read more

Coming into this season, many baseball experts expected Miguel Tejada to continue his slide from stardom. However, the 35-year-old is making his skeptics look foolish.
On Tuesday, he added another chapter. With the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies tied at 2 in the bottom of the 11th inning, Tejada hit a solo homer to give the Astros a 3-2 victory.
And that wasn’t Tejada’s only big hit of the night. The native of the Dominican Republic tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a single.
Tejada finished the game 4-6 and is now hitting .362 on the season, which …read more

At some points during the offseason, it appeared as if Pudge Rodriguez’s career could be over. He was coming off of a disappointing season and few teams showed interest. However, after playing well in the World Baseball Classic, the Houston Astros came calling.
Rodriguez has played well as the starting catcher for the Astros. On Sunday, Rodriguez hit the 300th home run of his career to help the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs by a final count of 6-5.
The 300th blast for Rodriguez came in the top of the fourth inning. His two-run shot was off of Rich Harden and gave …read more

Aaron Boone, who signed with the Houston Astros in the offseason, underwent open heart surgery on Thursday. The surgery was performed after tests indicated that he needed a bicuspid aortic valve replacement.
The now 36-year-old Boone has said that he long knew of his condition but didn’t expect to require open heart surgery so soon. Despite not showing any symptoms, a physical before the start of the season alerted doctors that he needed the procedure.
The third baseman originally broke into the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997. After playing with the Reds until 2003, Boone went on to play …read more

The Houston Astros have a new starting catcher. On Monday, the team reached an agreement with Ivan Rodriguez on a one-year deal worth as much as $3 million.
Last season, Rodriguez had an underwhelming campaign as he split time between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. Although interest in his was lukewarm in recent months, the Florida Marlins were said to be interested. However, after playing well for the Puerto Rico in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the Astros came calling.
The contract reportedly guarantees Rodriguez at least $1.5 million. He could earn another $1.5 million through performance bonuses.
The Astros …read more

Mike Hampton is back with the Houston Astros after agreeing to a one-year deal. The contract the 36-year-old pitcher is set to sign calls for him to make a base salary of $2 million. It’s also believed that there are a number of incentives in the contract that could make it ultimately be worth much more.
Earlier in his career, Hampton spent six seasons with the Astros — from 1994 to 1999. During that run, Hampton posted an ERA of 3.83 or better in each season. His best season with Houston was his last season. In 1999, he went 22-4 with …read more

Craig Biggio was one of the most popular players in baseball over the last decade. The Houston Astros legend accomplish much in the game of baseball, including more than 3000 hits and being able to reinvent himself defensively multiple times.
Biggio’s offensive stats were very impressive for his career. He finished his career, which spanned from 1988 to 2007, with 3060 hits, 1844 runs, 1175 RBIs, 414 stolen bases and a .281 batting average. Biggio also set the modern-era record of most times hit by a pitch with 285.
Defensively, Biggio entered baseball as a catcher. …read more

Carlos Lee of the Houston Astros might get an early jump on his offseason vacation. The native of Panama got hit by a pitch and broke his left pinky. In all likelihood, Lee will be forced to miss the rest of the season.
Lee, who was leading the National League with 100 RBIs, got hit by a pitch from Cincinnati Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. After immediately leaving the game, Lee had an X-Ray that revealed his left pinky is broken and that the injury will require surgery.
At 58-59, the Astros are a long shot to see postseason play. …read more

AL MVP – Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley are playing very well for the Rangers. However, I believe that it is Hamilton who is the backbone of that team’s lineup. Take him away and the Rangers wouldn’t be nearly as deadly.
NL MVP – Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
Sure, the Astros are a bad team and chances are slim that they will make the playoffs. That said, Berkman is having a career year and is the best hitter in the NL to date this season.
AL Cy Young – Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Mariano Rivera might be having …read more