Houston Astros

With June officially underway in what seems to be a very entertaining baseball season, we have seen a lot of surprises in baseball, in terms of teams as well as players.

Amazingly, the Houston Astros have turned pitiful late game plays into incredible ninth inning heroics.

Those same Astros were at it again on Thursday afternoon at Minute Maid Park, battling the bewildered Washington Nationals and walking off the field with a come-from-behind 6-4 victory.

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.

There are moments in time where sports takes a backburner—and life takes center-stage.

Unfortunately, Major League Baseball has had their share of losses in terms of players dying way too young.

Especially in the past decade.

Today, we’re going to quickly take a look at a trio of former Houston Astros stars—as well as leaders, teammates, and fan-favorites—whose legends will live on forever.

Regardless of their final bows here on Earth...

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Former All-Star pitcher Jose Lima died of a heart attack Sunday morning, according to a news report by ESPN.

Wife Dorca reportedly told ESPNdeportes.com that the 37-year-old star from the Dominican Republic was complaining during his sleep, but that she thought he was just having a bad dream.

Lima was signed by the Detroit Tigers as a free agent in 1989 as a 17-year-old and he made his debut in 1994.

As of late, Houston Astros' ace pitcher, Roy Oswalt, has publicly made it clear that he wants out. It seems clear that Houston and Oswalt have no future of succeeding in the 2010 campaign. 

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, via twitter, that "Roy Oswalt wants to be traded to a contender, a la Roy Halladay"

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.

Roy Oswalt has asked the Houston Astros to trade him. He is owed quite a bit of dough so he won't be easy to deal. He will get $15 million for 2010 and 2011. In 2012, there's a club option for another $16 million, or a $2 million buyout. Good luck taking that salary on. He also has had groin and back troubles. Given the salary and injuries, the Astros may not get a lot back. He is off to a good start with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.

The word on the street says that that Oswalt wants to go to a contender. His short list includes the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves.

Does everyone remember the EA Sports video game MVP Baseball 2004 ? The reason why I ask, is because when I think back to that game and all the players on opposing teams that used to burn me whenever I played it, the name Morgan Ensberg came to mind.

The Houston Astros are just five years removed from their lone World Series berth.

From their inception in 1962 as the Houston Colt .45’s, the Astros have achieved little in terms of establishing an identity as a storied franchise. Whether to due with lack of superstar power or rare postseason success, the Astros have at times been a team on the cusp of success only to falter the following year.