Astros To American League?

Seems as though the powers that be in Major League Baseball are talking realignment once again since the National League has 16 teams and the American League has only 14 teams. 

That has been the case since the Milwaukee Brewers were moved from the AL to the NL Central in 1995 when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays expansion teams were added and both leagues went to a three division setup..

Because of that 16-14 setup, the NL Central is a six team division as a result of that Brewers move and the AL West is made up of only four teams.  

There's been talk recently of creating two 15 team leagues by shifting the Astros from the NL Central to the AL West.  While it's a logical move on paper, Astros fans, players and ownership are opposed to it since it take us out of a league we've been a member of since the club was founded in 1962.

The Astros are in the process of being sold to Jim Crane, and he's been quiet about the matter.  

The other proposals involve multiple teams moving.    One scenario has the Arizona Diamondbacks or Colorado Rockies moving since they are the closest teams to the three AL West coast members, Seattle, the LA.Angels and Oakland.   The Astros would stay in the National League but move  to their old NL West digs to replace the Diamondbacks.or Rockies.

The peeps in Phoenix and Denver hate that idea just as much as we hate it in Houston.  

There's also been a radical realignment proposed based on geography that would mix all the teams up into two 15-team three division leagues.

Stay turned, this definitely promises to get more interesting.

Close But No Cougar Championships

I spent the day pulling for my UH women's softballers and men's baseballers hoping they would emerge victorious today, but it was not to be for either team. 

The Cougar women were up in Stillwater, OK in a super regional against Oklahoma State.   They were playing  for the opportunity to advance to our school's first Women's College World Series.  

Despite banging out 10 hits in the first game of the series, they couldn't get the key hit they needed to score some runs and were shut out 3-0.  It also didn't help that UH's ace pitcher Amanda Crabtree had to leave Game 1 with a reinjured wrist after only two innings..

That put the Cougars in the position where they had to win Game 2 or go home, and they did so with a 1-0 shutout win courtesy of Donna Bourgeois.to force the decisive third game.

Donna Bourgeois got the start in Game 3 because Amanda Crabtree still wasn't able to go    She got pulled after the Cowgirls loaded the bases in favor of freshman Diedre Outon.

The Cowgirls built a 3-0 first inning lead but the Cougars clawed their way back into it with two runs in the bottom of the first and took a 4-3 lead courtesy of a Jennifer Klinkert two run homer in the third inning.

The Cowgirls struck back in the fifth with three runs to retake the lead 6-4.  UH made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh when Baillie Lott blasted a solo shot to narrow the margin to 6-5.    Unfortunately Houston native and Cowgirl ace Kat Espinosa retired the next three Cougar batters to preserve the victory and clinch the trip to Oklahoma City and the WCWS.

A few hours later the UH baseball team was in Pearl, MS trying to snap a 14 game losing streak against the top seeded Rice Owls in the C-USA tournament championship game.  

Rice has had to overcome slow starts in their tournament games and repeated the pattern against a determined Cougar squad by falling into a 3-0 hole thanks to UH starter Jared Ray pitching a masterful game.  He only allowed one earned run and three total over eight innings. 

After the Cougars stranded a runner on second base in the top of the 10th, the Owls got the game winning hit in the bottom of the 10th to secure their 4-3 win and another C-USA tournament title.

It was close but no championships for both Cougar squads.   The women softballers finished with a 44-18 record, were C-USA regular season co-champs, and considering they were playing without their ace pitcher, came within a few outs of making it to the school's first women's CWS.  

The baseball team was 27-32, has battled injuries all season, but fought and scrapped their way to the C-USA championship game and made the Owls earn it..   

Proud of both teams and hope y'all have better results next season.

This Time It's For The C-USA Title

The UH and Rice campuses are several miles apart and when we're not trash talking each other about our respective campuses, we have heated rivalries in whatever sport we're competing against each other in.

While UH has dominated the sporting rivalry on the football, and basketball side, when it comes to baseball, the Owls are the team to beat.

The Owls captured the 2003 CWS title, have dominated baseball since joining Conference USA in 2005, and won a share of the 2011 C-USA regular season title.   They are a regular fixture in the C-USA tournament championship game, having played in it four times in the last five years.   

And to the consternation of Cougar fans the Silver Glove Trophy, which has been since 1998 awarded to the school that wins the season baseball series between Rice and UH has been owned by them for 11 straight years.   Rice has beaten UH 14 straight times, including five times this season and 19 of the last 20 since 2008.

We've also had to endure the ribbing from Rice fans that for the first time in two decades swept the mens  major sports in the regular season of an academic year.

Case Keenum coming back for a medical redshirt year will take care of that football issue and the Bayou Bucket will reside on Cullen Blvd.where it belongs once again.

2008 was the last time UH won the C-USA tournament title and they struggled through injuries this year in finishing 12-12 in conference play.   True to their season, they did it the hard way once they arrived in Pearl, MS, the C-USA tournament venue.   It took a five run ninth inning rally to beat third seeded  East Carolina in their tournament opener, then beat second seeded Southern Mississippi in a 14 inning marathon that ended at 2 AM.    They dropped a 7-1 decision to Tulane but their 2-1 pool play record was enough to get them to the title game.

And who will be the Cougars 2011 C-USA title game opponent?     None other than the top seeded Owls, who have now made it to five C-USA title games in the last six years..

This all Houston C-USA title affair features one more UH versus Rice matchup at 7 PM CDT.   This time the winner gets the C-USA title and an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs to determine who goes to Omaha for the NCAA 2011 College World Series.

Sooner or later we're going to beat them in a baseball game this season.   Sure would be nice if it were today.