Tim Byrdak News

The Nationals acquired Sean Burnett from the Pittsburgh Pirates during midseason 2009 and were rewarded with a 3.20 ERA down the stretch.

Cole Hamels went 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA in 2008. He ended the year a World Series hero.

If you're a regular reader of "Here's a Thought," you probably know that I don't like to use ERA very much.

Astros general manager Ed Wade said Friday his club has already made decisions on whether to offer contracts to its eight arbitration-eligible players, but he won't reveal those decisions until some point Saturday.

Considering the Astros had the oldest Opening Day roster in the Major Leagues and didn't add any impact players via free agency in the offseason, general manager Ed Wade knew a lot of things would have to go right for his team in 2009.

I ascribe a good deal of significance to the last time Cecil Cooper stepped onto the field as Astros manager.

The course of Saturday night's game changed when Milwaukee pinch-hitter Jason Bourgeois got a bunt attempt airborne.

A pair of losing streaks came to an end for the Pirates on Sunday, as left-hander Paul Maholm shut down the Astros despite limited run support.

Houston Bottom 7th - Geoff Blum walked. Runners on first and second with none out and Humberto Quintero due up.

The Phillies' offense supplied plenty of punch on Saturday night against the Astros, but closer Brad Lidge just couldn't deliver the necessary outs.

Houston Top 8th - Pinch-Hitter Lance Berkman struck out swinging. Runner on second with two outs and Kazuo Matsui due up.

Left-hander Tim Byrdak is the only member of the Astros' bullpen that began the season on the roster and didn't wind up on the disabled list at some point during the year.

Astros manager Cecil Cooper is never shy about turning the ball over to his bullpen in the middle innings, even in tight games when a case could be made for the starting pitcher to work deeper into the game.

After his team's latest loss, Arizona manager A.J. Hinch figured it was time to talk.

Help from you, the reader, always is appreciated. While I was covering the Men's Recreational championship game last Saturday in the Joliet Park District City Softball Tournament at Inwood, a longtime acquaintance mentioned the series of updates on our area pro baseball players that I have attempted to compose this summer.

Help from you, the reader, always is appreciated. While I was covering the Men's Recreational championship game last Saturday in the Joliet Park District City Softball Tournament at Inwood, a longtime acquaintance mentioned the series of updates on our area pro baseball players that I have attempted to compose this summer.

Humberto Quintero hit a home run Thursday and Houston pitchers worked out of frequent trouble in bringing the Astros a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers .

This night was supposed to belong to Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez, who played his first home game Thursday after serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Despite finishing the day exactly where they started it, a win away from .500, Thursday featured an eventful five hours or so in the world of the Astros.

Before the Astros can start their four-game series against the Nationals on Thursday, they have to finish their last series against Washington, which has been on hold for more than two months.