Drayton McLane

For years and years, and it seems like decades that we've been playing a 6 inning game in a 9 inning battle (take out SS, C, & Pitcher --all batting below .230). First all, for those following the Astros, in between Miguel Tejada and Ricky Guiterrez, we've had a disaster at SS. Do you want a 300 +20hr guy at SS? No need to answer that.

As I write this, the Houston Astros are enduring yet another typical night.

Wandy Rodriguez, who's on-again, off-again pitching deserves its own theme song (Jerry Reid's When You're Hot, You're Hot, and When You're Not, You're Not ) left tonight's game against the Cincinnati Reds after getting shelled for eight runs and eight hits over three-and-a-third innings.

We like to think he mistakenly thought he was pitching batting practice.

Standing at a measly 15-27, which is good for last place in the National League, the lowly Houston Astros’ season has gone from bad, to potentially worse.

On Friday, Houston’s star pitcher, Roy Oswalt, who has looked very impressive so far this season in amassing a 2.66 ERA and starting his 2010 pitching campaign with nine consecutive quality starts, requested a trade from the Astros, hoping to play for a contender to conclude the season.

You know what? He deserves that chance.

Kaz Matsui's time with the Houston Astros is officially in the books. We are left to wonder his options. Perhaps he will join fellow Japanese export Ichiro Suzuki in Seattle, or maybe he'll head back to Japan and play for the Yomiyuri Giants, the Chunichi Dragons, Yakult Swallows or the Nagasaki Yakuza.

With that, we are left to wonder who will be next to be issued their walking papers with the Astros...

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Yes, it was wonderful to see Houston get within one game of being halfway to .500. They're 4-9 courtesy of a 7-5 win over the soon-to-be Miami Marlins (I'd call them the Florida Marlins, but I'm worried that noted Tampa Bay Rays fan Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea might send me an angry message, BROTHER!).

Today, in one of my two day jobs (I work about 30 hours weekly at a newspaper and about 24 hours at a gas station), I traveled around Birch Run and Clio, Mich., and asked folks this question: "Whom should the Detroit Lions take in the upcoming NFL draft?"

I might as well have asked the people what the Houston Astros should do to improve their team.

Many of the Lions fans said defensive players while others said offensive players. One man said they should draft new coaches while one man, not surprisingly, wondered if it's possible for them to draft new owners.

Someday soon a man wearing a suit should appear in the Houston Astros clubhouse. After confirming the players are indeed the 0-2 Astros, the man should then give them a stack of documents and say three ominous words:

"Consider yourselves served!"

The documents would then state that Roy Edward Oswalt and Wandy E. Rodriguez are suing Astros hitters for an unspecified amount of money for one simple reason:

Lack of run support.

...It's spring training .

No, I'm not trying to pull an Eeyore and lament in perpetual negativity, but this is the time of year other teams evaluate players, trim their rosters and work to get their starters into baseball shape.

"Duh, Zowie!" you're probably saying. "Who doesn't know that?"

Well, probably not many. But I feel the need to issue this reminder for those over-excited Houston Astros fans who look at the team's 11-9 spring training record and are already preparing to buy tickets in October for Minute Maid Park.

As I read the news, watch bits of ESPN ,and look at videos on the Internet, I see some parallels between Houston Astros pitching this spring training and one particular scene from the 1988 movie Tucker: the Man and His Dream .

February is almost coming to a close, which means America’s Pastime is beginning to dawn on the hearts and minds of fans, players and coaches alike.

For the Houston Astros, they enter 2010 Spring Training with many questions and a new-look squad; along with a new skipper by the name of Brad Mills.