Houston Astros

The venerable Milo Hamilton used to describe close games and plays with one amusing line. Back when Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams had his brief stint in 1994 as the Houston Astros closer and (too often) threw gasoline on fires, Mr. Hamilton would declare, "Williams would make coffee nervous!"

Last night, the Astros certainly did make coffee nervous. I can imagine Astros' wives won't need fingernail polish for the next few months since they chewed off all their fingernails.

I believe it was the Beach Boys who sang the song "Wouldn't it Be Nice?" Perhaps the song could use a new stanza:

"Wouldn't it be nice if Mike Hampton,

Could pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates ever day?

Then the Houston Astros could get ready,

For a World Series ticker tape parade celebration day."

OK, sports fans, as you can plainly see, my songwriting will never, ever compare with the Beatles, Bob Marley, Billy Joe Shaver, or [fill in the name of the songwriter you love whom I neglected to mention].

Back to the ranch.

At this time last season, Astros' first baseman Lance Berkman left many wondering if he could continue at his torrid pace when he led the NL Triple Crown categories heading into the All-Star break.

In what has turned out to be a tale of two seasons for Berkman, 2009 has been a struggle.  Flirting with the dreaded "Mendoza Line" for the better part of the season, Berkman (a career .300 hitter) has ignited the last ten games improving his average to a respectable .268.

Rain delays are frequent in baseball:  it rains, the game is delayed, the rain eventually stops, and baseball resumes.

However, in the series finale between the Astros and Padres at PETCO Park, Thursday, there was a different sort of delay.

Bees were the result of the 52 minute delay.  Yes, bees...those pesky insects that sting you when they're mad.

The delay came in the top of the ninth, when bees got out of control in left field.

Play was halted, and a few sections of fans were cleared out.

Throughout the years Lance Berkman has proven time and time again that he was a great option for fantasy owners.  A career .299 hitter, he hasn’t hit below .278 since getting a full-time job in 2000.  He’s shown the ability to hit 45 HR, but has consistently been in the 25-35 range.  He’s a perennial threat to eclipse the 100 RBI/100 R plateaus.

The Astros' season thus far has been up and down to say the least. Injuries have been to blame for some of it, but not all of it.  They have seemingly been in every game, but have also let some winnable games get away.  That said, they are in a very solid position as we close in on the All-Star Break; only 5 1/2 games out of first in the always tight central division race.