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Jim Crane took over as owner of the Houston Astros on Nov. 17.

He didn’t wait very long to begin changing things in the executive offices. According to the team’s website, team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade were fired Sunday:

In a statement released by the club, team president and CEO George Postolos said assistant general manager [...]

The Houston Astros suck a lot right now, but Hunter Pence is on fire.

The 28-year-old outfielder extended his hitting streak to 23 games after going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in his team’s 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

Pence, who missed his first game of the season on Sunday with tightness in his back, went yard off Derek[...]

In his first game back with the Philadelphia Phillies in front of the 138th consecutive sellout at Citizen’s Bank Park, it was apparent how much Cliff Lee was missed.

The lefty fanned 11 batters in his team’s 9-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits behind a 14-hit Philadelphia barrage. He struck out three of the first[..]

Baseball, like all sports, is in the age of specialization. In football, teams have a guy on the roster who just is a long-snapper and who just handle kickoffs. In Basketball, teams have guys on their roster who are defensive specialists or three-point specialists.
In baseball as we all know…

If I were seconds away from being nailed by a foul ball… I would gracefully catch it, obviously. But that is neither here nor there.

If your special ladyfriend was about to get beaned while enjoying a ballgame with you, you’d protect her, right? Right. You’re a good boyfriend. You’d throw yourself in front of her beautiful arm and either catch the ball or take one for the team.[...]

UPDATE: Jayson Stark tweets that Oswalt is expected to give the green light on a deal that would send him to the Phillies. However, nothing is official just yet.
UPDATE(2): According to ESPN’s Amy K. Nelson, the Phils will add $1 million onto Oswalt’s 2012 buyout, making it likely that’s the option they’d take. The two [...]

The Cincinnati Reds need a big bat in their lineup. Just a few weeks ago, they had four starters batting over .300. Out of those four, only Joey Votto remains above the high water mark.

Brandon Phillips, Scott Rolen and Jonnny Gomes have all cooled considerably since then. [...]

There’s something about a grown man who calls himself Billy…

But a closer who records 400 career saves can call himself whatever he wants in our book. Billy Wagner earned that right Friday evening after saving the Atlanta Braves’ 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. This marks his 15th save of the season, highlighted by a 5-0 record and an impressive 1.19 ERA.

Wagner, who saved his first big league game back in 1996 with the Houston Astros

The Cincinnati Reds extended their win streak to four games last night at Minute Maid Park and swept their first series of the young season, courtesy of the Houston Astros.
Bronson Arroyo turned in a “quality” start, giving up just six hits and two runs in 6.2 innings. He also struck out seven while surrendering three [...]

Week Three has drawn to a close. Here’s my take on surprises, disappointments, and/or notable events.

1. The San Diego Padres lost yesterday (Sunday), but they went 6-1 for the week and 8 of their last 10 to stay on top of the NL West. Are we seeing the breakout for Chase Headley? And how about the week former Giant outfielder Will Venable had (.450 OBP, .750 SLG)?