Hi Everyone –
I am looking forward to another week closer to spring training. This week my schedule has finally resumed back to normal. I have my regular workouts in the morning and baseball in the afternoon. Now that my schedule is back to normal, I feel like it is a good week for me to respond to a few of your questions.
One of the questions asks, what I am working on and what am I being taught about hitting? Firstly, I’d like to start by sharing my philosophy on hitting – no one should try to hit …read more

In about one month, the Houston Astros will start playing spring training games. Here is a look at the complete spring training schedule for the team.
ss=split squad
28-Feb 1:05 p.m. Cleveland Indians
29-Feb 1:05 p.m. Cleveland Indians
1-Mar 1:05 p.m. Atlanta Braves
2-Mar 1:05 p.m. Atlanta Braves
3-Mar 1:05 p.m. New York Yankees
4-Mar 1:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers
5-Mar 1:05 p.m Tampa Bay Rays
6-Mar 1:05 p.m. Cleveland Indians
7-Mar 1:15 p.m. New York Yankees
8-Mar 1:05 p.m. Washington Nationals (ss)
8-Mar 1:05 p.m. Atlanta Braves (ss)
9-Mar 1:10 p.m. New York Mets
10-Mar 1:05 p.m. Toronto Blue Jays
11-Mar 1:05 p.m. Cincinnati Reds
12-Mar 1:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers
13-Mar 1:05 p.m. Los Angeles Dodgers
14-Mar 7:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers
15-Mar 1:05 p.m. Atlanta Braves (ss)
15-Mar 1:05 p.m. Cleveland Indians (ss)
16-Mar 1:05 p.m. New York Mets
17-Mar 1:05 p.m. Los …read more

Avoiding arbitration, the Houston Astros signed relief pitcher Dave Borkowski to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The right-handed Borkowski will give the Astros more quality depth in their bullpen.
The 30-year-old from Detroit, Michigan will enter his third season with the Astros in 2008. During the 2007 campaign, Borkowski had five wins, three losses and a save while posting a 5.15 ERA. In 2006, he had three wins, two losses and a 4.69 ERA.
The Astros still have two arbitration-eligible players in pitcher Jose Valverde and infielder Mark Loretta.

Leading up to Spring Training, we want to take a closer look at Hunter’s Astros teammates.
Starting in left field for the Houston Astros in 2008 will be Carlos Lee. Lee, a native of Panama, is a 31-year-old who is coming into the peak of his career.
In 2007, Lee hit .303 and had 32 homeruns and 119 RBIs in his first year with the Astros. Playing in all 162 games, Lee was a dependable presence for Houston on a daily basis.
Lee’s career began with the Chicago White Sox in 1999. In his first career at bat, Lee hit a homerun. …read more

Hello again,
This week I would like to first thank Jeremy Wright and b5 media for the opportunity to do this. It’s been a good week for me, but a rather busy one. My days are so full now!
I figured I would take all of you through a typical day for me, since I know that some of you are curious. I wake up at around 7:30am to fix a small breakfast and start getting my body moving and warmed up so that I am ready for my 11:00am REPS workout. It is critical that I get a proper …read more

Baseball season is getting closer and closer! The Houston Astros announced that pitchers are to report to spring training on Feb. 14, while position players are to report on Feb. 19. Spring training will be held in Kissimmee, Florida for the 24th consecutive season.
The first games are scheduled to be Feb. 28 in Winter Haven and Feb. 29 in Kissimmee. Both games will be against the Cleveland Indians and start at 12:05PM CST.
The Astros also announced that the team has extended spring training invites to Mike De Jean (pitcher), Victor Diaz (outfielder), Carlos Hines (pitcher), J.R. House (catcher), Tommy …read more

On the Houston Astros official website, you can find an interesting article about J.R. Towles.
Towles has a chance be opening day starting catcher for the Astros in 2008. While Towles doesn’t have much big league experience, he did impress last season in the 14 games he played for Houston. During that time, he hit .375 and had one homerun and 12 RBIs.
The 6-foot-2 Towles will be 24-years-old on opening day. Brad Ausmus, who has spent nine of his 16 seasons as a catcher for the Astros, will also return to the team for a tenth season.