Round Rock ain't hurting for attendance

In fact, the Express rank 6th in all of Triple-A, drawing 589,612 through 68 home dates in 2009. That's 2nd in the PCL, behind Sacramento.

One of the most bizarre emails I've ever received

Not just for Astros County. I mean, ever. I have to reprint it in its entirety. Even union guys are getting all Sabermetric:

Friday September 4, 2009

Contacts: Eric Sharfstein, Workers United / Jason Oringer, Workers United,

Superstitious Fans Wonder: Is Ballpark Concessionaire Aramark bad for Baseball teams?

Baseball teams in stadiums that use concessionaire Aramark fall short of expected performance, get caught stealing more, and have fewer home runs than teams that don’t use Aramark

New York - As playoff races heat up across Major League Baseball, superstitious fans and statisticians may want to include one more factor when trying to guess which team will come out on top: What concessionaire is selling hot dogs at the ballpark? According to a look at the numbers by Workers United, baseball teams with home stadiums that use Aramark to sell beer, hotdogs and other ballpark snacks, get caught stealing bases more, hit fewer home runs and have worse “luck”.

“I’ve always heard that Wade Boggs used to eat chicken before each game for good luck,” said Brian Callaci, researcher with Workers United. “Perhaps luck-obsessed players today should look into which company is selling chicken to fans at their ballpark.”

The experts at www.baseball-reference.com track a statistic called Pythagorean Win-Loss, the expected win-loss record based on the number of runs scored and allowed by the team. They also track Pythagorean Luck, the difference between the actual win-loss and the Pythagorean win-loss. A lucky team is a team with a Pythagorean Luck score higher than 0. That means the team wins more games than it should based the number of runs it scores and gives up. An unlucky team is a team with a Pythagorean Luck score lower than 0. That, of course, means that the team wins fewer games than it should based on the number of runs it scores and gives up.

In a comparison between teams with home stadiums that use Aramark and teams with home stadiums that do not, Workers United found that non-Aramark teams’ average luck is .40 and Aramark teams’ average luck is -1.93.

The teams whose ballparks use Aramark are: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics,Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins.

Although several of these teams have a good shot at getting to the playoffs, their luck has been down.

To check out the data, go to: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2009-standings.shtml

No Luck at Work

“We don’t know that Aramark causes bad luck,” said Callaci. “But we do think that Aramark workers are unlucky to have an employer that is so cavalier about violating workers’ rights.”

At baseball stadiums and other job sites across the country, Aramark is violating the law and disregarding workers’ rights. For example, food service employees at Fenway Park in Boston won a $1.5 million dollar settlement of a class action lawsuit this July that accused Aramark of pocketing their tips and service charges. Elsewhere, Aramark is unlawfully withholding workers’ union dues at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, and Coors Field in Colorado.

"I am a loyal fan of the Rockies,” said Michael Johnson, who is a food service worker at Coors Field in Colorado and a Workers United member. “I sure hope the bad luck we've had with Aramark keeping our dues and not recognizing our officers and staff doesn't rub off. I want the Rockies to make it to the playoffs again AND I want to be able to see my union rep in the building again."

Eddie's Farm: September 3

Last weekend of the season for everyone in the minor-league system, and then they'll all go home, and having learned a lesson from Ed Wade about "rewards."

Round Rock
Albuquerque got a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th for a 5-4 win over Round Rock. Reggie Abercrombie and Lou Santangelo had three hits each - Santangelo connecting on his 4th homer of the year. Chris Johnson was 2x4, and the other three RBI came from Johnson, Saccomanno, and Yordany. Billy Sadler threw 2.2IP, 4H/2ER, 3K:1BB as he continues to tune-up for his call-up after Monday. Capellan threw 5.1IP, 5H/1ER, 2K:1BB, and Daigle took his 3rd loss of the season, giving up the game-winner in 0.2IP.

Corpus
Frisco got two runs in the 6th, providing the margin for a 3-2 win over Corpus. Collin DeLome and Mark Ori were both 2x4, with DeLome and Moresi getting the RBIs. Doug Arguello threw 3IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB, while Weatherby took the loss, allowing the two runs on 4H, 4K:3BB in 4IP.

Lancaster
A 6-run first certainly helps, and the JetHawks used it to pace their way to a 14-8 win over High Desert. Steve Brown was 3x5 with 2HR/3RBI, 3 runs scored. The JetHawks also got multi-hit games from Shuck (2x4), Rosario (2x5), Gaston (2x4, 3-run homer), Weston (2x5, 1HR/3RBI), and Cabral (2x5, RBI). Tom Fairchild threw 5.2IP, 8H/7ER, 4K:2BB, and four homers allowed - but still got the win. Jose Duran and Pat Urckfitz threw 3.1IP, 2H/1ER, 6K:0BB to shut the High Desert offense down.

Lexington
The Legends gave up three in the 6th and two in the 7th in a 6-4 loss to Asheville. Albert Cartwright, Jay Austin, and Chris Jackson had two hits each. David Duncan threw 5.2IP, 6H/4R (2ER), 5K:0BB, and Michael Hacker threw 0.2IP, 1H/2R (0ER), 0K:2BB. Yep, a two-run loss, and three unearned runs on two errors (Duncan, Pellegrini).

Tri-City
And that's a 4-2 win over Vermont. Erik Castro and Rene Garcia had two hits each, J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer, and Barry Butera and Nick Stanley provided the other RBI. Four pitchers were used - Robby Donovan threw 5IP, 7H/1ER, 1K:2BB, and it only got hairy for Mike Schurz, who threw 1IP, 4H/1ER, 1K. Dan Sarisky had 3Ks in his 2IP, and MacDonald got his 7th save of the season.

J.B. MacDonald likes playing baseball

Profile on J.B. MacDonald, Tri-City closer and NYPL All-Star:

"It was a great honor, and the [New York-Penn] league had a lot for us to do over the two-day event. I was one of 10 pitchers selected as an all-star, and I was able to pitch two-thirds of an inning retiring both batters that I faced on just three pitches — one on a liner and one on a grounder to shortstop. I feel pretty good and pretty confident right now."

So what will happen this off-season?
Macdonald should be back in town sometime after the Sept. 6 finale. He has no plans to play fall or winter ball; he just wants to relax for a while and rest up, so that he’ll be fresh for spring training next February.

“I’m certainly happy with the way things have been going so far,” he said.

JVO off to Europe

Hooks standout Jimmy Van Ostrand is off to Europe, as he'll be playing with Team Canada at the IBAF Baseball World Cup, which begins next Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden.

We'll be taking a gander at the World Cup every day, because of JVO and Jason Castro's involvement.

Bourn produces, Lidge falters, and Ed Wade fervently thanks The Sweet Lord

In the off-day profile, JJO sets his sights on the Bourn/Lidge trade.

Wade:
“Both clubs clearly helped themselves in a significant manner. Philadelphia, all they need to do is rerun the tape of the parade down Broad Street to see the impact Brad Lidge made. And for us, to be able to add a top-of-the-order bat and a Gold Glove center fielder met our expectations as well.”

Coop, on Bourn:
“Michael's been playing great. I think I said this a couple months ago, he's probably the MVP of our team. He's been great. Defensively he's been great. Stealing bases, he leads the league. He's just been outstanding. This last streak, this one he (was) on has been particularly good for him.”

And Bourn drops some perspective on Philadelphia:
“They're way ahead of where we're at now. They're almost in the playoffs and we're on the back side of it and hoping for a miracle. That's not a big deal to me. It's good to have a good season going to play against them, but there are bigger things I'd rather be accomplishing than that...

...I'm happy with the way things have gone, but I want to do it when we're competing for a top spot in the division, a top spot in the wild card. That makes it more special. It's good to accomplish the things I've accomplished. It's an individual game, but it's also a team game. You want to win. And it makes everything more fun when you're winning and things are going good. It will be exciting, but I wish we were competing with them. That's what would make it even more exciting. We're going to try to give them a battle."

Astros decide to go ahead and call somebody up

And that somebody, the first actual September Call-Up (as opposed to a Well-timed DL Activation), is J.R. Towles
-
We also read in that link that The Troof (Bud Norris) is scheduled to start Sunday vs. Philadelphia.

Justice: Run-DMc out of ideas?

Column from Justice today saying that it would have made perfect sense for Run-DMc to fire Coop yesterday, what with nothing to play for, but still needing fans to come to the park.

If the 2005 National League pennant stands as McLane's finest hour, his inability to understand Hunsicker's value to the franchise is his biggest mistake.

What should he do now? We might agree Cooper hasn't done a good job, that he's not a good major league manager and that he's probably never going to be a good major league manager.

He doesn't have the trust or respect of his players, and his strategic decisions can be baffling. So when McLane finally fires Cooper, it'll be impossible to argue it was a bad decision.

On the other hand, how fair would it be to fire Cooper while the architects of this team — McLane, Wade and Tal Smith — remain in charge?

Does firing Cooper and some of his coaches fix what's wrong with this franchise? Of course not. Cooper isn't the guy who put this team together. He's not the guy who invested too much money in position players and too little in pitching.

Wade threw so much money at Miguel Tejada and Kaz Matsui that he had nothing left for the starting rotation. By the time he got around to doing something about the pitching last winter, the economy was in free fall and McLane was in no mood to spend...

...McLane has said and done all the right things about realizing the importance of rebuilding the minor league system. Whether he has the patience to stay the course remains to be seen.

I don't think there's any way Tal Smith gets fired, nor Ed Wade, who has taken steps to rebuild the franchise. He did this in Philadelphia, rebuilt through drafts and risky trades. Problem for Ed - and it may be his problem here - is that his long-term decisions tend to pan out better than his short-term ones, and he isn't around long enough to see it through.

But Coop...I don't know how you can justify keeping him. He may be the scapegoat, but he hasn't made a case for returning in 2010.

Interesting development on the managerial front

Scott Miller is saying "the name to watch" is Bobby Valentine, who is leaving Chiba Lotte after seven seasons. (Miller also refers to Coop as "a goner.")

He's linked to Washington here, but:
"Whichever teams have an opening, they'd be silly not to seriously consider Valentine, who has a history of turning around poor teams and winning."

Astros County's Employees of the Year: Greeneville Branch

And as the Appalachian League drew to a close this week, it's time for Astros County to hand out some hardware of its own.

Position Player of the Year
Hard to give it to anyone but 2B Jose Altuve. He only played 45 games before going up to Tri-City, but he made them count. He had the highest average of anyone playing more than 20 games - by 40 points, and the next infielder (Our Boy Aaron Bray) by 46 points. Also led the team in hits, doubles, stolen bases, OBP, and slugging.

Honorable Mention
Jiovanni Mier. 1st round pick signed quick enough to get 51 games - and that's after missing some time after an HBP - under his belt. Hit .276/.380/484 and was second to Altuve with an .864 OPS, and led the team in RBI, total bases, homers, and triples. His 30 walks were 3rd highest on the team, and he stole ten bases.

Pitcher of the Year
Of pitchers who made 10+ starts, the only one with an ERA lower than 5.60 was Jose Cisnero. He was also one of three pitchers (not just starters) with a winning record, coming in at 4-2 in 13 starts, 3.56 ERA/1.11 WHIP, and had the most strikeouts and fewest hits allowed (among starters).

Honorable Mention
Reliever Nathan Pettus. In 15 games, posted six saves - a team-high - a 2.60 ERA/1.10 WHIP (lowest among pitchers with 10+ appearances). 18:5 K:BB ratio, as well.

Astros County's Employees of the Year: GCL Branch

As the Gulf Coast League drew to a close this week, it's time for Astros County to hand out some hardware of its own.

Position Player of the Year
Free-swinging shortstop Luis Bryan gets the nod here. Among players with more than 100ABs, Bryan led the team with a .340/.345/.491 line. Of course, it's troubling that a player can not draw a walk in 106 ABs (20:0 K:BB ratio - Inf...), but...whatever.

Honorable Mention
Second baseman Enrique Hernandez. You could make the case that these two should be flip-flopped, and you may be right. Hernandez racked up 207 ABs and a .295/.336/.396 line (28K:10BB), and led the team in doubles, triples, and RBI. Problem is, he needed about 60 ABs more than anyone else on the team to do it, and he committed a team-high 16 errors. But never mind that.

Pitcher of the Year
Rafael Pio. In 17 games, went 1-4, but with a 3.12 ERA/0.99 WHIP. Struck out 41 batters, only walking 10 in 43.1IP (2nd highest on the team).

Honorable Mention
Mike Schurz. In 15 games, got a team-high six saves, a 2.25 ERA/1.00 WHIP. 22K:6BB.

Tough Luck Player of the Year
The Netherlands' own, shortstop Jan Baldee. In 18 games for the GCL Astros, went 1x41, but drew two walks (hey, that's two more than Bryan), for a final season line of .024/.070/.024.

Smiley Rosenthal wouldn't put money on Coop's returning

So who does he put as the front-runners for Coop's replacement?

Never mind that the Astros exercised manager Cecil Cooper's option for 2010 in April. Cooper is almost certain to be fired, major-league sources say, and several of his coaches also are in jeopardy.

Third base coach Dave Clark would be the leading internal candidate to replace Cooper, but the team likely would consider a wide range of outside options.

On that list of outside options:
-Jim Fregosi, Atlanta's assistant (to the) General Manager, Frank Wren

Fregosi managed the Phillies from 1991 to '96, when Ed Wade, the Astros' current GM, was in the Phillies' front office. He also met Astros owner Drayton McLane when he interviewed for the managerial opening that went to Jimy Williams after the 2001 season.

-Phillies' bench coach Pete Mackanin
-Giants bench coach Ron Wotus

Yesterday in Zach Levine's live blog of the G133, commentors were throwing out names like Manny Acta, Bobby Valentine, Buck Showalter. That may very well happen. Allow me to throw out another name that has not yet been discussed as a possibility: Bo Porter.

Who is this Bo Porter? Bo Porter has been the Marlins' third-base and base-running coach for three years, and has spent five years total as a coach. He lives in Houston, and is on Fox Sports Houston all the time when the Marlins are in town. He also, according to his bio, has a degree in communication. Which would be an, uh, upgrade.

Hey, That Guy's an Astros Fan! Volume 2

Click the link for Volume 1 of "Hey, That Guy's An Astros Fan!" with SportsCenter anchor Robert Flores.

Today we bring you an off-day treat while we wait for someone to get canned for this season - a second volume of "Hey, That Guy's an Astros Fan!" That Guy in question is Brad Horn, Senior Director of Communications and Education at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. They're not all Yankees/Mets/Red Sox fans up there.

Brad, prior to his position at the Hall of Fame, spent six years with the Texas Rangers, including the 1999-2000 seasons as assistant director of public relations. A native of Houston and a TCU graduate, Brad Horn - most importantly - is an Astros fan.

AC: What's your favorite Astros memory as a fan?

BH: Billy Hatcher's home run in the 14th inning of Game Six of the 1986 NLCS to tie the game at 4-4. I remember coming home from school to catch the game, starting in about the 7th inning. I thought for sure we were going to win it at that point, and with Mike Scott set to go in Game 7, I was ready for the World Series. Jesse Orosco had other ideas.

AC: Tell us your coolest Hall-of-Fame-related Astro story.

BH: Meeting Shaun Dean in 2005. Fan who caught two home run baseballs in the Astros' 18th inning playoff game, including Chris Burke's game-winner. Then, he is gracious enough to donate them to the Hall of Fame. Meeting him in Houston and then being able to share his excitement when he came to Cooperstown later that off-season.

AC: What's the best aspect of working at the HOF?

BH: The people and the stories. Baseball captures us and ignites the emotions unlike anything else in our society. To see people of all walks of life beam at experiencing part of baseball history, or being a part of the game, from Hall of Famers to major leaguers to regular fans, makes all of the efforts worthwhile.

AC: Which Astro would bring the biggest crowd for an Induction - Biggio or Bagwell?

BH: That's like asking a parent which is his favorite child. You can't separate Biggio and Bagwell. They go together like Hall and Oates, Captain and Tenille, Mexican food and Margaritas. Let's just hope that the voters feel as passionately about their Hall of Fame chances as Astros fans do.

AC: Who is the nicest Hall of Famer you have encountered?

BH: We are fortunate to have so many "good" people who are involved with the Hall of Fame and are who Hall of Famers. I have many, many favorites among our 65 living Hall of Famers, but they don't come any nicer than Harmon Killebrew, Ozzie Smith, Hank Aaron, Monte Irvin, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage. The list goes on and on.

AC: Who is your favorite all-time Astro?

BH: Alan Ashby. In a landslide. I don't personally collect any baseball memories or autographs, but I have one prized possession, and it is in my office in the Hall of Fame. An Alan Ashby bat lamp, circa 1983, made from a Alan Ashby Big Stick personal model bat barrel, with an orange plastic "lamp shade" shaped like an Astros helmet. I turn it on the mornings after an Astros win in my office, it stays dark after an Astros loss.

Captip to Brad for answering some questions about his citizenship in Astros County, and I bet Brad is working in the dark a lot lately...

Know someone who's an Astros fan for Volume Three? Email astroscounty@hotmail.com

Eddie's Farm: September 2

Round Rock
Round Rock beat Albuquerque again, this time 4-2, as more Express players jockey for a call-up, even if it's just sitting on the bench. Which makes me wonder, would the Astros prefer the prospects go home and play Halo all day, waiting for Spring Training, or learn some aspects of the Major-League lifestyle? Anyhow, Tommy Manzella hit a two-run shot in the 6th, while Jason Smith added a solo homer. Polin Trinidad threw 7.2IP, 10H/2ER, 9K:0BB, and Armando Benitez got his first save for The Rock.

Corpus
Brutal loss for the Hooks, losing on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th, 1-0. Corpus only managed three hits (Sutil, DeLome, and Moresi), while DeLome and Florentino struck out four times each. Francisco Abad threw 6IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:1BB while Erick Abrew threw 4IP, 4H/0ER, 7K:1BB. Ryan McKeller took the loss, giving up the homer.

Lancaster
Got shut down again at the hands of High Desert, 7-0. Only three hits again for the JetHawks (Simunic, Weston, Cabral). Clemens was held hitless for just the second time in his last ten games. Leandro Cespedes threw 5IP, 6H/4ER, 5K:2BB and Jordan Powell gave up 5H/3ER, 2K:2BB in 3IP.

Lexington
Asheville scored four times in the bottom of the 8th to provide the margin in a 6-2 win over Lexington. Jay Austin was 2x4 with two doubles and an RBI. Ross Seaton threw 6IP, 4H/2ER, 5K:3BB while Brian Wabick got the loss with 2IP, 6H/4ER, 2K:1BB.

Tri-City
Double-header with the Vermont Lake Monsters, and it was a tale of two games.
Game 1: Vermont whooped up, 10-5. Renzo Tello got the only multi-hit game (2x3), while Brian Kemp (1x4) and Jorge De Leon (1x2) had two RBI each. Robby Donovan took the loss with 2.1IP, 3H/4R (2ER), 1K:1BB. Brendan Stines threw 2.1IP, 3H/2ER, 2K:5BB. Kirk Clark had a scoreless 1.1IP, and David Berner came in for 1IP, 4H/4R (1ER). Yep. Two errors (De Leon, Martinez) led to five unearned runs.

Game 2: And then Tri-City scored 15 runs in a 15-5 win, scoring seven in the first alone. Jhonny Medrano was 3x4 with 5RBI, Erik Castro was 3x4 with a two-run homer and 3RBI total. J.D. Martinez was 2x2 with an RBI. Wander Alvino got the win with 5IP, 8H/5ER, 1K:5BB (hard to lose a game when you're spotted seven runs). Mike Modica and J.B. MacDonald threw a scoreless inning each.

Follow Roy on Twitter

If you tweet, and you know Astros County does, then now you can follow Roy's tweets.

Actually, it's Roy's website's tweets. A sampling, so far:

-Hey guys the site has finally launched! Check it out!

-Hunt at Roy's Ranch! Here at the Double 4 Ranch, we strive to maintain the finest whitetail deer herd in the...

-The new site is almost up. Should be be any day now!

Roy is much more exclamatory than I imagined he would be. I guess when you only have 140 characters, you need to shout more.

Coste: The catcher who catches

The .203-hitting catcher is getting some notice for his defense, which apparently is rare:

"One of the most underrated things in catching is a guy having good hands. It's always been amazing to me that when they judge defensive catchers, they always talk about a guy's arm strength, which rarely ever comes into play in the game. When you catch a ball 100 times a game, the actual catching of the ball should be the most important thing, and no one ever says that. If a pitch is outside and the catcher is stabbing at the ball, it makes the pitcher look like he's wild and the umpire is less likely to give him future pitches...

...For my whole career, it's for the most part gone unnoticed. I've always had decent hands. The pitchers in Philly noticed, but it never got brought up to the media and the coaching staff. As many times as I've had pitchers talk to me about it the last 10 years, since I've come here it's the first organization they've talked about it. Hopefully that means something...

...This is a much better opportunity than I could have ever foreseen, coming over here and getting to catch two out of three games and three out of five games. I get to catch Roy, Moehler, and Bud. I just need to take better advantage of it."

Justice: Someone should get axed today

New post from Justice on the off-day:

The Astros have Thursday off, and if Drayton is going to fire someone, it's probably going to happen today. I keep thinking he'll do something to put a little juice in these final 16 home games.

This guy has fired more managers, general managers and coaches the last five years than any other owner in baseball, so it's not like he's philosophically opposed to finding someone to hold accountable.

Memo to staff: If Drayton calls a staff meeting Thursday morning, don't anyone raise their hand...

...Drayton would be justified in firing anyone. When a team has a real high payroll and a real bad record, everyone should be vulnerable...

...This is four straight years out of the playoffs, and while the Astros may not have bottomed out, they have to be close. It just can't get much worse than this.

Now that's actually true. I don't know if anyone is getting the can today, but should someone get fired? I've been flip-flopping all year on this, and as of now I say yes. The Brewers fired Ned Yost in the 6th inning of G162 (that's not true, but you know what I mean.)

Levine offers a theory for the minor-league system

As many of you read the Eddie's Farm reports every morning, you know it hasn't been pretty. Zach Levine has a theory on why every team in the farm system finished with a losing record, and notes the Astros' three lowest levels of the farm system had a cumulative .354 winning percentage, dead last in the Majors (the Reds were 29th, with a cumulative .400 WP).

What is his theory, you ask?

The Astros expanded to three teams at these levels, spreading the talent too thin.

I would put some stock in this, though not nearly the whole thing, because some teams do fine with three clubs.

The brief history is that the Astros expanded to seven affiliates in the United States for the first time since 1992 when they gained an entry in the Gulf Coast League. It's allowed them to bring more players on board and force players to sit on the bench less, so if they can afford it, it's definitely good for development.

But does it show in the record?

The top 11 teams in that organizational rank that I briefed above have only two affiliates.

Seven teams have three domestic affiliates at or below short-season A. The seven teams rank 12th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 26th and 30th in overall short-season winning percentage, an average winning percentage of .464...

...And ultimately producing a few top prospects and turning them into big leaguers is the goal of the system, not wins and losses.

But wins and losses are a reflection of organizational depth — the pool that has a chance to improve down the road. And right now, the short-season Class of 2009 appears, actual sight unseen but with numbers that are damaging to the eye, to be lacking in the depth department.

I'll go along with this. The Astros don't need a new crop of 50 players fighting for a Major-League roster spot each spring (though it would be nice). They only need a few, so you go into the draft knowing that if you can get four major leaguers out of each class, you've got a pretty successful system.

That said, I would like the Astros to keep the seven minor-league teams, and push their players to succeed faster and more aggressively.

Norris feels good, and Bourn's streak ends

Notes this morning:

Norris threw a 35-pitch bullpen yesterday:
“It was just to get back on the mound. I'll throw another regular one (today) and hopefully get out there Sunday. Any time you get an extra couple days to let your arm catch up, it's needed. I feel good, and I want to get back out there.”

And about that PCL Top Pitcher award?
“That's a great honor. Obviously, I worked very hard down there. To come away with that award is quite an honor. Obviously, I had a good time in Round Rock with my teammates. The Triple-A All-Star game is something that I won't forget, but obviously all the hard work I had down there I want to transfer here.”
-
Coop ended Bourn's 25-game on-base streak by throwing him in to pinch-hit in the 9th against the Cubs:
“Well, I didn't really want to (sit Bourn). I know he's been swinging good and he's on a nice streak and all that. I'm going to do my best to not put him in a difficult situation unless it's just game-winning and I got to have it. Then I got to have it. I explained that to Michael. I got to do it if I got to do it. I'm going to try my best to not put him in that situation, but if I have to, I have to.”

The real reason the Astros wanted Boone back? For something good to talk about.

Congratulations to Aaron Boone, who returned to Major-League action yesterday.

Boone:
“It’s great to get back out there and be a part of a real game. It didn’t go our way, but it’s good to get out there and get the competitive juices flowing and deal with your nerves.”

Coop:
“Well, I’m just tickled that the guy’s back and healthy, first of all. That’s important because health comes first. It looks like he’s got all the clean bills of health and all the things and he’s good to go. This is all secondary, but I know he’s excited, and I’m excited for him. He’s a good person. You know he’s worked hard to get to this point.”

Berkman:
“He’s a great character guy. That’s one of the reasons we signed him in the first place. I don’t know too many guys who make the effort to come back from open-heart surgery, and it’s really incredible that he can, considering the procedure he had done. I thought he was done permanently, not just this year. It’s a testament to him wanting to come back. It’s great that he’s going to get an opportunity to play. And everybody across baseball is happy to see him out there.”