It’s random thoughts day!

It sucks to lose to the Astros--again. The youthful Astros appear to have something to prove, however, and haven’t mailed in the second half. Since Houston dealt Lance Berkman to the Yankees on August 1 and Roy Oswalt to the Phillies on July 29, the Astros have gone 28-16, and are now 70-75 overall. They could finish at .500.

The face of the 'Stros

Hunter Pence's face. Rock and BA declared Hunter Pence to be the “new face of the Astros.” I strongly urge Houston to re-think this. 

F@ck Hunter Pence! watch. If you don’t follow Hunter Pence on Twitter, you should. I know that I just made fun of him above, but this guy puts himself out there. If you want an inside look into the life of an MLB player, this is your ticket. From a recent interview with The Crawfish Boxes, the Astros SB Nation site, about his Facebook and Twitter accounts:

“I mainly set it up so I can interact with fans and get out there more.  I also wanted to give away some stuff.  It’s all about connecting with the fan base.  I didn’t realize how much fun it would be until after I got started.  The fans are a big help, like when I need recommendations for a restaurant in a city.  It’s also encouraging to get the support from the fans.  It’s a real confidence-booster.  I read everything I get.  Also, when I see the fans at the game, it makes me feel closer to them. The Astros have also been great at supporting it.  They have their own Twitter and Facebook pages, but they are obviously excited to have a player on there talking to fans as well,” Pence said.

I am pointing this out because I believe that the Brewers still have a strict rule forbidding players from speaking with blogs AND because I find his attitude sort of refreshing. I don’t think this is disingenuous, either. I think this is really how he is. [This rule is the only thing keeping Ryan Braun from sitting down with me. Really.]

Who is this Carlos Gonzalez guy and why haven’t I cared about him before? In just his third year in the bigs, Gonzalez is leading the NL in batting average, hits and total bases. He is fourth in home runs and third in RBI. He has a .983 OPS and a WAR of 4.7. I’m impressed, but this guy doesn't think I should be. Something to do with offensive stats in Colorado being skewed. 

Ryan Braun’s quest for 200 hits marches on (even if I’m the only person who cares). Braun collected two more hits tonight, including a home run, for a total of 171. With 18 games to play, he needs 29 hits or just over 1.6 hits per game. ESPN projects him to finish with 193 hits. I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet but J.A. Happ and some tough Giants pitchers loom on the horizon.  

Astros 3, Brewers 2

Game played 9-14-10