The Astros need pitching. I know its the first week, but having seen them three times in four days, and only seeing them get two outs in a row I feel safe to say, they need pitching badly.  It occurred to me while watching them that perhaps Drayton McLane has a point about not overspending when it would take a ridiculous amount of money to make the team improve to the point where they could compete for the division. Wait until the Cubs burn out and then load up the roster.  But, unless some of these guys get significantly better, the Astros might only have the Pirates in their rear view mirror in the Central division this year. The one thing I will bet, though, is the Astros will steal a lot of bases.  They are working on their base stealing a lot this spring, and with their speed look like they will be an aggressive team. Maybe they can create a lot of runs that way, who knows.

But don’t let the score tell the whole story because the wind helped make some of the the Mets look like superstars. Both Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro’s home runs  went out because of the wind, without doubt.  That coupled with some weak pitching, and you get a 13-1 score.  The good news is that John Maine looked good, both on the mound an with a bat.  JJ Putz made his spring debut, and seemed to have a little trouble getting on the same page– working extremely slow.  He gave up a double to Miguel Tejada in the third, but was able to eventually retire the next two hitters and then head off to the WBC. Luis Castillo looked patient, which is good to see from a guy they are hoping to lead off.  The other piece of great news is that Jose Valentin, who had an ivite to spring training for the Mets looked great in the field.  That knee looked quite healthy.  The Mets definitely have a back-up plan at 2nd, and that is something that should give all Mets fans hope.

Tejada had a good day at the plate. Besides the double off of Putz, he hit a home run in the first off of Maine accounting for the only Astros run.  As Tejada rounded the bases, a fan began to boo him– not clear if it was over the steroids thing or because he hit a home run to put the Astros on the board first– but other fans joined in by the time he rounded third.  When he came up to bat in the third inning, many fans were booing him.  If Miguel Tejada is getting that, can’t wait to see what Alex Rodriguez will get.

With the resignation yesterday of Jim Bowden, and many who have dealings with the Domincan Republic under a cloud of suspicion in this bonus skimming scandal, one has to wonder how anyone can think baseball –or for that matter anyone– is pure anymore.  Combine that with the Rodriguez story about how easy it is to procure steroids and, well, the DR sounds like a wild place to be a baseball player.  Kat O’Brien writes a terrific piece about the world of baseball in the Dominican Republic.  Its a must read, in my opinion.

Quick programming note: over the next couple of days the site will be undergoing some upgrades.  Hopefully, there will be no interruption and the blog will keep on rolling without you even noticing.  But, perhaps, there might be an issue, so I need to ask that you stay patient.  Now, off to see the Orioles host the Red Sox.