Welcome to the Wednesday Boil!
I get the feeling Houston is going to hover within five games of .500 all season.
A lot of teams would be happy to hover near .500. The White Sox and Colorado, for example. Houstonians, conversely, have in the past decade become accustomed to a certain level of excellence from their MLB team. Will the generation of fans who only know postseason play for every season have the patience to stick around for some truly middling baseball?
I read in one of the GT’s somewhere (a lot of somewhere’s, actually), that 2025 Houston Astros baseball is just…borjng. Score and snooze. Houston’s pitching has afforded them the luxury of some very substandard offense. Even a league-average offensive output would see the Astros easily around a .600 winning percentage. Maybe not engaging King Tuck and/or the arrogant one will prove to be costly.
To borrow a phrase from Lynyrd Skynrd, All I can do is write about it.
Houston Astros News
At age 35, how close is Altuve to Biggio in Astros all-time rankings?
Houston Astros’ Brendan Rodgers gets a glimpse of results from swing work amid slow start (MSN)
Astros can’t overcome a bad first inning as offense sputters in loss to Brewers (HC)
Brewers get all the offense they need in first inning of a 4-3 victory over Astros (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
ESPN’s Jeff Passan Says Astros’ Pitcher Is the AL’s Best (Heavy Sports)
AL West News
Angels, Hunter Strickland Agree To Minor League Deal (MLBTR)
Rangers’ offense erupts for 16 hits in first game under new hitting coach
Rangers Sign Robert Dugger To Minor League Deal (MLBTR)
If GM Billy Beane bolts, blame Oakland A’s ownership (SF Examiner)
Mariners Claim Leody Taveras (MLBTR)
MLB News
Wells’ slam caps 10-run 7th, Yanks’ biggest inning since 2015
Nationals Sign Adrian Sampson To Minor League Deal (MLBTR)
‘I needed to do my part’: Witt the walk-off hero in bizarre 9th inning
8 slow-starting teams that shouldn’t give up on October dreams
White Sox Outright Penn Murfee; Bobby Dalbec Elects Free Agency (MLBTR)
Sale (10 K’s) shows Cy Young form before Braves walk off Reds in 10th
Dominant Kershaw throws 6 no-hit innings in rehab start
Houston Astros Birthdays
RHP Manny Hernández (64) was 2-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 49 1⁄3 innings for the 1986 and 1987 Astros.
RHP Claude Raymond (88) earned 3.4 bWAR over a 12-season MLB career. During his 3+ seasons in Houston, he racked up 5.5. So yeah, he was a below replacement level player other than his time in Houston, including an All Star appearance in 1966 (7-5, 3.13). Overall, he was 19-18 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.127 WHIP over 299 innings, mostly in relief.
RHP Isaac Palacio (19) is rostered with the DSL Astros Blue, waiting for his professional debut in just over a month.
RHP Anderson Bido (26) is currently with the Corpus Christi Hooks, holding opponents to a .170 BA and a 1.76 ERA in 15 1⁄3 innings.