vivalaultra

First Justin Timberlake does an interview talking about how does drugs...lots and lots of drugs...like...lots and lots of drugs...so he says, and now this. Goodbye world view. Yeah, so...yesterday the lead singer of Savage Garden came out and announced he's gay...and he "fake-married" his gay lover. He said he knew he loved him before he met him.

I won't say the magic has 'ran out' until we're mathematically eliminated. However, if we don't go 4-2 on this homestand, things will be getting tough all over.

It looks like Berkman might be injured. After straining his groin on Sunday, it was said that he would probably be ok to play 1st base tonite, but he's not in the lineup. If he's injured and the rumors about the Astros nixing the proposed Tejada deal, the Astros might only win the Wildcard by two games...

You've probably mentioned it before, but, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell-1st Ballot HOF'ers, right? I'm trying to win a bet. As far as elite hitters in baseball go, how does Lance Berkman rate? Why is the Astros' offense so terrible despite having guys that should be good offensive players? Is it something to do with the general hitting philosophy, or lack thereof, of the club or is it just some bizzarre aberration? What's the deal with Lidge? Is he whacked in the head or is he just too predictable? Does he still rank as an elite closer or does his hot/cold season so far make him washed up?

They're the type of team stupid enough to tack value to the guy because he brings speed to the table. He gets on base more consistently than Neifi Perez or Juan Pierre...and he could probably learn to play 2nd base...

There's more talk about the Astros making moves in the next week than at any point I can remember in the last few seasons. There's the Miguel Tejada thing, which I really could see happening-except for Fernando Nieve, Adam Everett, and Hunter Pence. According to the Houston Chronicle, Jason Hirsh is off the table. If it were only for those three, I'd go for it, presuming Tejada signs some type of an extension, otherwise that's just pillaging the farm system needlessly. The Astros also have interest in strengthening the bullpen. Names being looked at include Damaso Marte and Scott Linebrink. I'm not sure who the Pirates would want for Marte, but the assumed deal with the Padres would include Ensberg. However, there's no set time for Ensberg to return from the DL, so that deal might not happen. The Florida Marlins and the Chicago Cubs have interest in Willy Taveras. I assume the Astros would be looking for bullpen help in exchange. Scott Eyre for Willy would be serviceable. However, I'm hesitant to give up on Willy just yet, as he's our best option in CF and will be when Biggio retires and Burke moves to 2B next season. Also, the Nationals and the White Sox apparently have interest in Chris Burke, but that ain't happening. Chris Burke's gonna be an Astro for life; at least he should be. In the wackiest Astros trade news I've read yet, the Astros apparently were trying to shop Preston Wilson to the Yankees. I have no idea who they were trying to trade him for, but if it was an E-Rod for Preston deal with both the Rangers and the Yankees eating most of 'Rod's salary, that would be sweet.

"Houston as the fattest city" jokes are soooo two years ago. I think the current fattest city in America is Chicago, with San Antonio, TX being second. I think Houston's third or fourth, but yeah...there's lots of eatatoriums in Houston...with sizable portions. Sugarland, eh? That's like...45 minutes or so outside of Houston. Nice area. If you're into baseball, you could go catch an Astros' game. They should be in the playoff race by that time and tickets are relatively cheap, but parking and refreshments can get pricey. At the Houston Museum of Science they have a really neat exhibit. It's the Bodyworks thing, with the preserved dead bodies in different poses with all their muscle tissue and innards exposed. Uh...I'd imagine they'll have some concerts or something going on that week, depending on what you're into. I don't drink or anything, but I've heard the club/bar scene in Houston is really good. About the only bar/club I go to is this place called the Red Kat Jazz Cafe in downtown Houston, but that's more of a Louisiana jazz club than a bar. Astroworld shut down, so that's out. Uh...if you're feeling adventurous, you could drive about 2 hours down to Galveston beach. They usually have neat stuff happening there. Pretty much everyday in downtown Houston there's something going on, it just depends on what you're in to.

You could come over to my house and play video games. That would be extremely awkward. What part of Houston are you staying in?

I can't get excited about that trade, either. Adam Everett is a career .250 hitter that could probably boost his average to about .270 or so if he wouldn't try to "Craig Biggio" every ball and pull it to left field. However, there's no questioning his defense. He's made 4 errors all year and, in my opinion, the only reason he doesn't get on WebGems more and probably won't win a Gold Glove this year is because he has such amazing range and grace that he makes 90% of the plays that other shortstops wouldn't even get to look routine. He catches some shit from Astros' fans due to his lack of ability at the plate, but if the Astros were able to score consistent runs, his defense would more than make up for that. And, he's Corey Patterson's best friend! Fernando Nieve has plus stuff and can be used either as a starter, where he had rookie struggles but looked downright filthy at times, or as a reliever, where he was starting to come into his own before he got sent down to AAA on Saturday. Right now, he's going to be used as Round Rock's closer. Personally, I think that's the role he'd succeed in best, since he can throw a 95+ mph fastball and a hard breaking slider with consistancy for an inning or so, but his lack of a third pitch makes him have difficulties going through a lineup more than twice. The last few times he worked out of the pen in Houston, he did show a good changeup. If he can work on that a little bit, he could probably be a very good 3rd starter. Jason Hirsh is the crown jewel of the Astros' farm system and they'd be ridiculous to trade him. Right now, he's riding a 41 inning scoreless streak in AAA. He's 11-2 with 106 K's in 121 innings. He's given up 86 hits and walked 49. He's given up 4 HRs. He projects as an ace starter and is the closest thing to a 'sure bet' that the Astros have in their farm. If he's not traded, he'll probably be in the rotation in 2007. Hunter Pence started off this season hitting .330 or so at AA Corpus Christi. He went into a minor slump that saw his average dip to about .270, but has surged in recent weeks to get his average up to .301 with 22 HRS and 74 RBI in 95 games. He has great speed, too, with 13 SBs and 7 triples. I think he's currently playing as a RF, but projects to make it to the majors as a CF. He's got good range in the outfield and a plus throwing arm. Realistically, he could be major league ready as soon as next season, but the Astros probably would make him toil in the minors for several more years. Seriously, if this is the deal in place, I hope like Hell it doesn't go down. If Houston gives up that much and get just Tejada, that would be a trade totally lopsided towards Baltimore. The trade that I see going down, if one were to go down, would be something like Everett/Qualls or Lidge/either Hirsh or Pence or Matt Albers (our best AA pitcher...haven't heard much about him, but he's our #2 pitching prospect). The reason for this is that Nieve got sent down to work as a closer in AAA, which means he could be being groomed to take over the role on the big club, and Matt Albers was called up from AA and was not sent down when Brandon Backe came back from the DL despite being the candidate that made the most sense to be sent down. Perhaps, the Astros are looking to "show him off" for the O's, to prove that he is major league ready. I just really think the Hirsh/Pence/Everett/Nieve for Tejada trade is waaaaaaaaay ridiculous, especially if Tejada doesn't first sign an extension of some sort. It'll be a trade that haunts Houston for years to come.

I think the board was flooded because Booker T won the title or something. Ah, I remember Booker T. I saw him at an Astros game a couple years back and then the next day I saw him at Discount Tire wearing a bucket hat and a Bob Marley shirt.

Hey...if Neifi Perez is pitching on Tuesday for the Cubs, which is entirely possible, who's gonna play 2nd? They'll have to call up a 2nd baseman or something. Big series for the Astros coming up with the Reds and then after with the D-Backs. They can get right back into the Wildcard race...and maybe the division race...if they do well. Despite Ken Rosenthal's comments, I suspect at least one more semi-major move will be made, probably not for Tejada, but certainly for somebody.

So, is it official that the Cubs are out of the race now? In other news, the Cubs are supposedly very interested in Willy Taveras. He'd fit in well with their "fast guys who can't get on base" thing they got going on.

I didn't feel comfortable saying it with a 3 run lead, but now...Kiss my grits, naiwf. Hopefully this can be a turnaround game for the Astros, with good contributions from everybody in the lineup. It seems like the offense might be waking up a little bit. With a series against WC leading Cincinnati coming up, this would be a great time to start turning things around.

I'm pretty sure that most 4-year schools accept transfer credits from Community Colleges. However, sometimes the classes that you take at Community College don't transfer over to the University as the class that you wanted them to transfer as. For example, I took a Psychological Statistics class my last semester at Community College, but it only transfered over as a "miscellaneous Psychology elective". I'm not sure about every other University, but at mine, what you have to do when your transfer credits don't transfer over right is file a petition for transfer credit, which will get approved or disapproved depending on what you want your transfer class to transfer as. Also, there's a limit to the number of transfer hours that you can transfer, so you can't take like...100 hours of classes at Community College and just transfer them all over. I think it's like...40-something hours that transfer over. Something like that. However, you should probably check with your advisor and make sure, and check with the school you're planning on attending after you get your basic classes.

That's what I hated about Community College. I felt I wasn't being challenged enough. I swear...I had more open book or take-home tests than I care to remember. Once I got to real school and got to write four or five 10-page papers each semester I was happy. The only term papers I got to write in CC were in my English classes. I remember I wrote one in a British Literature class that was vaguely about Beowulf, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare, Harry Potter, and various Romantic poets. I wrote the entire thing as a segment on the Johnny Carson show with Jack Hanna as a guest. It was entirely in dialogue and terrificly weird. It was called "Johnny Get Your Grendel". I got an A. My girlfriend's sister is going to Community College and in her Freshman English class, the teacher gave them a list of books that had been turned into movies and told them to go watch the movie and do a report on it and under no circumstances to read the books. I almost filed a formal complaint.

Didn't see anybody mention it, but the Padres traded two minor league pitchers to the Cubs for Scott Williamson. Good for him. He's a nice guy. Deserves to be on a contender. He went to high school at the front of my neighborhood. Go Friendswood Mustangs~! In other news, sources are now saying that the Astros aren't likely to trade Morgan Ensberg (although I still could see a trade go down with the Padres for Linebrink), but it's a mystery as to when Ensberg will actually play again. He's eligible to come off the DL in a couple days, but probably won't. In still other news, Jason Hirsch, the crown jewel of the Astros' farm system and one of two guys that should be considered "off-limits" in any trade, even for, dare I say...A-Rod, has extended his scoreless inning streak to 41.1 innings.

The world's rarest truffle, and then while they're looking for the world's rarest truffle, I'd escape, but then...I'd miss out on eating the world's rarest truffle.

I don't have beef with you. I just enjoy seeing them struggle despite re-signing "The Messiah". You'd think that a horrendous offensive team would have tried to get a bat instead of a 40+ year old pitcher who can only give them at most 17 starts down the stretch. I'm an ardent anti-Clemens guy since he tried to kill Piazza twice. The joke was that Texans hate the gays, not that they are gay. Ah, gotcha. The team resigned Clemens presuming that our offense would be better this year than last year. He's held up to his end of the bargain, so all in all, it was a good signing. It's not like Drayton McClane was holding back money to either resign Clemens or sign a bat. Clemens was gonna get resigned despite any other moves. Getting Roger Clemens does not restrict getting any other player, at least that's my understanding based on what I've heard. And Clemens trying to kill Piazza was great.

I get that you're trying to make some vague, weird, nebulous "Texans=homosexuals" joke here, but damned if I can figure it out. I can't remember ever having type of message board contact with you, but now that our hometown sports teams are opposing each other you start trying to create some weird beef by insinuating that I'm weeping and then telling me to "choke" on something. You're a strange, strange fellow.

Again, I'm not choking on anything. Good for the Mets. Tomorrow, if the Mets win, could you tell me to kiss your grits? That would be hilarious.

A-Rod for third base coach Doug Mansolino! Straight up! 3-0 'Stros!!! The Empire Strikes Back-e!

O.k. I'll get my GM to send the paperwork up to Steinbrenner tomorrow. We'll give you Wandy Rodriguez and a foot long Texas hot dog. Chili and cheese will cost you Melky. According to a new article by Phil Rogers at the much respected Chicago Tribune, the Astros' offer for Miguel Tejada is Adam Everett, Fernando Nieve, Jason Hirsch, and Hunter Pence. That's entirely, entirely too much to give up considering Tejada probably wouldn't stick around for more than half the season.

But what percentage of those 450 HRs came in the 7th inning or later or in game changing moments? A-Rod would probably be a superstart on most any other team, but, since he's on the Yankees he gets booed. And apparently, he likes to sunbathe in Central Park.

After the bad, bad Astros' loss last nite, I'm hoping today we can turn things around, but it'll be tough with El Duque and his 12 mph looping breaking ball. Preston Wilson's getting his first start in CF and finally Berkman's batting 3rd, which is the right spot for him. I hope Backe throws well. He had pretty atrocious walk numbers in his rehab starts.

Nah, I wasn't weeping. The 'Stros are in a funk right now, but I fully expect them to do some type of deal before the deadline...and if not, at least we'll have a good draft pick next year. And I mean, good for the Mets. It's about time they had a competitive team. Is Mo Vaughn still on the payroll?