3

Cable was out in the dorms (thanks, Ike!), so I didn't get to see Roy pitch. Had to settle for friends. Fuck that.

Cubs won against St. Louis; Phillies won against Milwaukee; Good Guys swept the Pirates. Milwaukee has now cut its lead down to three games. Philly and Houston are still tied.

Good News: Only 3 games back, the Astros are still in good shape. Completing a sweep against any club is an achievement, even against one as bad as the Pirates. Hopefully, the Astros can do it again in a week.

Bad News: Still tied with the Phillies. That's problematic because 1) They have a similarly weak schedule as us, and 2) We don't face them. It comes down to teams like the Braves getting the job down against them and failing against us.

More Bad News: The Astros might have to play the series against the Cubs elsewhere. Maybe St. Louis or Kansas City. Cubs fans are like flies, mosquitoes, or tribbles - they're fucking everywhere. A "home" game anywhere but South Texas is really an away game for the Stros.

More Good News: The games will probably be delayed. This will allow the Astros to rest Roy and Wolf an extra few days. It might hurt the hitting, but pitching has been getting it done for the Astros recently. It gives the bullpen a needed rest.

Plus, it might give Kazuo or Wiggy a chance to get the fuck going. If either of those two can come back, the Astros are much better, offensively. If both come back some time in the next week, we're fucking golden.

The best case for the Astros would be if the games are postponed until the end of the season. If the Astros are leading the WC then and the Cubs have clinched it, then the games won't be played. If the Stros are tied or only one or two back, the Cubs will still not place guys like Dempster and Zambrano on the mound, more likely starting a couple call-ups, instead. Plus, Carlos might be back by then, God willing.

A few comments on the game: I didn't see it, so I can't say anything really particular. However, Coop let Roy go the distance on this one, and I think I agree with that decision.

At this point in the season, games come down to "intangibles" like luck and momentum. Luck is the bigger factor, but letting the guy who's on fire pitch isn't so bad. Maybe letting Roy get the CG shows him that Coop has confidence in him, and sends a message to the whole team: we're all in at this point.

I think Coop has really matured as a manager over the season. You'll notice that he doesn't have Wigginton steal bases anymore, and he has cut down on the running game overall. He still uses it with Bourn and Reggie (and, unfortunately, with Erstad and Pence), but he's really only stealing with the right guys now. Good.

And he's loading the front end of the lineup with guys who can work pitchers. Yeah, I think he should probably switch Hunter and Miggy in the lineup, but he puts the right platoons on the field and uses what he's got. And that's what matters.

3 games back, and we've still got a shot at this. Go Stros.