houston astros

The Tri-City Valley Cats take the baseball world by storm with #1 draft pick Mark Appel making his pro debut on Friday vs. Lowell.  The Valley Cats also play Saturday against Lowell and Sunday-Tuesday against Aberdeen.

Hype, excitement and the next big thing all rolled into one rarely come through the town you live in.  Well, exactly that it is happening to The Capital Region.  Mark Appel will make his debut with the Tri-City Valley Cats on July 5 at 7 p.m against the Lowell Spinners at Bruno Stadium.

The Yanks enter a home series with Oakland having won four of the last five series, including recently Houston, where the pinstripes were crushed in game one but took the next two.  Moneyball-run Oakland, meanwhile, took two of three from the Angels.  These two teams will play three in the Bronx.  Here is a series preview.

The Yanks come fresh off a four-game home sweep of overrated Toronto.  Houston is the worst team in baseball and was overwhelmed at Fenway Park, losing four straight to the Red Sox.  The Yanks and Astros play three in the Bronx.  Here is a series preview:

Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish came within a whisker of executing the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. His reaction is priceless.

Over the last few weeks, 50-year-old Roger Clemens has made a couple of starts on the pitcher's mound for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League. During this small-scale comeback, the Houston Astros have sent scouts to his starts and are considering bringing in Clemens for a spot-start at one of their final home games of the 2012 season...

As this gets to be more and more looking like reality, the main stream sports press continues to lose their collective minds. For some reason too many pundits think or talk like this is so wonderful. I think it is a disgrace. Embracing steroid cheats, no matter the nostalgia is wrong...

Roger Clemens looked pretty decent throwing the ball in a recent bullpen session.  The 50-year old former Major League Baseball hurler is attempting to make a comeback with the Sugar Land Skeeters.

They seem to be coming fast and furious. Matt Cain of the San Francisco tossed a perfecto at the Houston Astros as the Giants blast the Stros 10-0.

The Houston Astros complete their draft on Wednesday afternoon and it included two players with local connections.

Former Siena College starter John Lannan was surprised before the season began, when he was sent down to Class-AAA Syracuse.

J.D. Martinez may not be from the Capital District, but the former Tri-City ValleyCats outfielder is off to a terrific start for the Houston Astros.