On Tuesday, the Astros won a slugfest against the Detroit Tigers. JR Towles, who some project to be the Astros’ opening day starting catcher, had a big day as Houston won 11-10. Towles went 3- 3 with three runs, four RBIs, two doubles and a homerun.

Today, Houston won 8-4 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Jose Cruz, Jr. was the offensive hero for the Astros. The playing DH, Cruz went 3-5 with one run and two RBIs.

Hunter Pence didn’t play against the Tigers as he had a day off. Against the Rays, Pence went 0-3 but he did have an RBI on a sacrifice.

The Astros play the Indians on Thursday.

Post from: EveryJoe

Houston Astros Win Two Straight

The top two catchers for the Astros in 2008 are expected to be J.R. Towles and Brad Ausmus. Towles joined the Astros at the end of the 2007 campaign and hit .375 in 14 games for Houston. The 38-year-old Ausmus is entering his tenth season as a member of the Astros.

Roy Oswalt headlines the pitchers this season for the Astros. Oswalt has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since he entered the big leagues in 2001. Wandy Rodriguez, Woody Williams and Brandon Backe are expected to join Oswalt in the starting rotation.

The bullpen is led by the newly-acquired Jose Valverde. Valverde, who led all of baseball in saves last season while with the Arizona Diamondbacks, will be the closer in 2008.

The Astros are holding their spring training in Kissimmee, Florida and will play their first spring training games on Feb. 28 against the Cleveland Indians.

Post from: EveryJoe

Houston Astros Spring Training Begins Thursday

Another week closer to spring training.

This week was Astros caravan week for me. I went on the Temple caravan with Chris Sampson and J.R. Towles where we talked to high school and college athletes throughout that area about what it is like to be a big leaguer. We also had a stop at Fort Hood where we had the chance to meet and greet some brave soldiers who had been in Iraq. It takes a great deal of courage to do what they do … I have a ton of respect for every one of them.

BUT, I must say the stop that had the biggest impact on me was the childrens hopsital. It puts the world in perspective, and I was just glad to have the opportunity to put smiles on some of their faces.

One of the girls we went to see, it happened to be her 7th birthday. She wasn’t awake to meet us, but we were able to take pictures and visit with her mother and grandmother. This story really stuck out to me because it’s something I could never imagine happening and something I’ve never even paid attention to.

The young girl was in a small car accident where the air bag deployed and struck her under the chin. The air bag was so powerful that she was paralyzed from the neck down. The mother, when she was telling the story, said that even if they meet the weight requirements, don’t sit your children in the front seat.

I thought that I would at least mention that because hopefully somebody will read this and prevent this tragedy from recurring.

The caravan made me realize that there are more important things in life than baseball, but at the same time we can use baseball to make a difference. It was good seeing my teammates and all the Astros fans. Its starting to feel like baseball is upon us!

Now its time to get back to training and prepare myself for the upcoming year.

Until next time …

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

More to life than baseball

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.

Post from: EveryJoe

Astros Catcher J.R. Towles