Washington Nationals

Johnny Manziel Hits Batting Practice Home Run At Petco Park (w/ VIDEO)

In the game of "Bucket List," Johnny Manziel is officially running up the score on all of us. Over the weekend, the Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winning quarterback capped off a round at Pebble Beach with his parents by knocking in a birdie on 18 to break 80. About the only surprising thing about that ... More >>

Johnny Manziel Officially Concocts The Most Creative First Pitch Ever At Padres Game

Cabo spring breaks, courtside NBA seats, luxury boxes at concerts, appearances on Letterman, rounds of golf at Pebble Beach, batting practice in Major League Baseball stadiums... I'm pretty sure that soon it will make more sense to just create a Johnny Manziel specific blog on HoustonPress.com to c ... More >>

One Man's (Idiotic?) 2013 Baseball Predictions

The major league baseball season opened up on Sunday night with the Rangers traveling to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington South to face the Astros. Most of the teams started up yesterday, and the rest of the league will get underway today. With the season getting underway, it's time once again to make ... More >>

20 Reasons To Buy 2013 Astros Season Tickets (No, Really)

You've probably forgotten about baseball by now. The Astros season ended a long time ago, and unless you live in St. Louis or New York, the odds are that nobody really gives a damn about the Cardinals and Yankees. It might be nice if the Detroit Tigers make the World Series if Kate Upton shows up to ... More >>

We Dared To Go: The Astros Last Home Game Of A Godawful 2012, And the End Of Several Eras

Check out our slideshow of Milo Hamilton saying goodbye and more during the Astros' final 2012 home game. Astros fans probably knew back in April that they would have a hard row to hoe this year, but even still, every April brings out a sense of optimism in fans, and the unspoken concept that maybe ... More >>

Caption This Hilarious Picture Of The Astros Impersonating The Bad News Bears, Win A Prize

Monday night, I was sitting around watching television, and I decided to change channels over to the Astros game. Don't ask me why, I don't even know if I have an answer. At this point, with the team on pace for even fewer wins than last season's 56-106 debacle, I think I check on them now the sam ... More >>

In Which John Royal Predicts the Winner of the 2012 World Series

The major league baseball season officially started last week when the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners played two games in Tokyo. Most of the other teams open on Thursday, and the Astros get started on Friday when they host the Colorado Rockies. Thus, here are my predictions for this season. NATI ... More >>

The Astros Lead the "Crazy Sounding Job Title" Standings; Six More to Consider

Most of you have probably been paying attention to the Houston Texans, what with them actually making the playoffs for the first time in team history. But there are other professional sports teams in this city, and one of those teams made some front-office moves last week, moves that will hopefully ... More >>

The Top Moments In 2011 Rice Owls Sports

John RoyalRice's Anthony Rendon became a very rich baseball player this summer​It's that time of year. The time for end-of-year lists and bests of, etc. And I'm not immune to tossing off an easy post. So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here are the Top 25 Events in Rice Ow ... More >>

Three More Penn State Stories to Cap Off the Worst Week Ever

An unbelievable week is not over yet.​I haven't gone back through history to see if this really was the worst week ever in sports, but I'm willing to take this week and, sight unseen, put it up against any other week in a contest for "worst sports week ever" and I'll bet I win. Death? Joe Fra ... More >>

The Astros Beg You to Come See Their Games

This man has not been seen outside Minute Maid.​Remember those good ol' days when a baseball ticket used to cost two bucks? And you'd get change back from your quarter for a Hershey bar and Coke? Well, you can forget about the chocolate-and-soda thing, but the Houston Astros have become so de ... More >>

December 9, 2013 Headline: Hunter Pence Signs With Pirates For 7 Years, $168M

Rich people making baseball decisions​Most major league baseball owners are billionaires or, at the very least, incredibly wealthy leaders of investor groups. And I'm pretty sure you have to be smart to become a billionaire (although I am admittedly very smart, and I regularly get excited whe ... More >>

Minute Maid Park's Veggie Menu Gets PETA Love -- With A Side Order Of Carlos Lee Smack

Put an Astros cap on this dude​The Astros have been dismally unexciting this year -- except when they're playing the equally inept Washington Nationals, it seems -- but they've got PETA on their side.The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a group whose Venn diagram intersection wit ... More >>

Game Time: Sex For World Series Tickets

​There are people who like to go to sporting events, there are people who would pay anything to go to sporting events, and then there are people who would pleasure a complete stranger for World Series tickets.Meet Susan Finkelstein. If you haven't heard her story, she is a diehard Phillies fan in ... More >>

With Drayton, Astros' Manager Search Is Sure To Suck

​For some reason, Astros fans appear to be more concerned about the transfer of Jose Cruz from one useless job to another useless job than they care about whether the team actually gets a decent manager. Believe it or not, the manager of a team is far more important to the team's success than Jose ... More >>

10 Candidates For The Job Of Astros Manager

Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher​Drayton McLane and his so-called brain trust are supposed to start meeting this week to discuss names for the next manager of the Houston Astros.Brian McTaggart over at Astros.com throws out some of the usual names we would expect to hear -- Jim Fregosi (friend of Ed Wa ... More >>

The Rockets Go Communist In Their Search For Ticket Sales

You've lost your best player to injury, you've lost the guy who thinks he's the best player to Advanced Wussiness Syndrome, you haven't got a decent big name to take the court for you next year: What are you gonna do if you're the Rockets?Pitch yourselves as "Red Nation," apparently.That's the new a ... More >>

Hey Astros: Call Frank Robinson, For Crying Out Loud

​Richard Justice is back on the Fire Cecil Cooper bandwagon, but this time, instead of Jeff Bagwell, he's back to urging Drayton McLane to hire third base coach Dave Clark. Clark has no major league managing experience, and he sucks as a third base coach. Yet this is the guy that Justice wants to ... More >>

Astros Second-Half Preview: Now Comes The Hard Part

So the second half of the season gets underway for the Astros tonight, and the team has 74 games left to secure a playoff spot. Of course, the Astros are a surprising 44-44, and they're only three-and-a-half games behind the NL Central leading St. Louis Cardinals, and they're only five games behind ... More >>

The Chronicle's Ortiz: Chief Of The Morality Police

I stumbled upon this Jose de Jesus Ortiz blog post on Sunday morning while I was in the process of trying to digest Saturday night's 13-2 Astros loss to the Washington Nationals. I puzzled over it during the day, but could never really make much sense of it. But then Deadspin got a hold of the thing ... More >>

Randy Johnson's Astro Days -- Short But Electrifyingly Sweet

Randy Johnson got his 300th career victory yesterday as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Washington Nationals 5-1. Johnson pitched six innings, giving up only two hits and one unearned run (he had a no-hitter through four innings) as he got the 300th win in his first try.Johnson got the victory ... More >>

Out of the Park

The Houston Press discusses our national pastime with Lance Berkman.

When You're Old Like The Astros, Even Home Runs Can Hurt

Photo by I'mClaudeHow does somebody get hurt hitting a home run? I'm serious. Carlos Lee hit a home run in the fourth inning on Friday night and strained his right Achilles tendon. And I don't understand how the injury could happen.Sure, I can see him pulling a muscle on a strikeout. And if he were ... More >>

The Astros: Even Worse Than We Thought?

Photo by William HoltkampSure it's just one week. Just seven games. But damn. The Astros are bad. Historically bad.  How bad?  The Astros record of 1-6 is the team's worst start to a season in 25 years. But it doesn't stop there. The Astros have failed to score in 27 of their last 28 innin ... More >>

This Season's MLB Predictions: The National League

With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I'm going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I'll take an in-depth look at the Astros as they prepare to open ... More >>

This Season's MLB Predictions: The National League

With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I'm going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I'll take an in-depth look at the Astros as they prepare to open ... More >>

Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonzalez, Say Hello to Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo. Oh, You've Already Met?

Since he has been traded to the Houston Astros, Miguel Tejada has been fingered as a steroids user. It was discovered that he lied about his age - he's two years older than he told everyone - and the name on his birth certificate doesn't quite match the name he plays under. And now there's that wh ... More >>

Don’t Blame Me. I Voted for the Duck.

Will Hurricane Ike End Up Being a Houston Astros Killer?

Cue Chewbacca: Instant Replay in Baseball Begins Tomorrow (or Maybe the Next Day)

Astros-Nationals: Back from Vacation and Ready for the All-Star Break

On Deck: A Look at the Astros' Schedule for July

Astros-Dodgers: All Hail Big Puma

Astros-Nationals: Lance Berkman Is on Fire

Astros-Nationals: One Game Over Five Hundred

Astros-Cardinals: ‘Stros Lose Again, But It’s Not the Starting Pitching’s Fault

Astros-Padres: Shawn Chacon, Not So Bad?

Washington Nationals Get a New Stadium That Could Be as Bad as Minute Maid Park. Maybe.

Astros Giveaways: Biggio Bobbleheads, Dollar Beer, Miguel Tejada Syringes and Mini Tractors

A-Rod Would Be Good for the Astros. Not as Good as Starting Over, But Good.

John Royal’s MLB Awards: Why Wait for the World Series?

What's Albert Einstein Got to Do with Ashley Judd? More Than You Might Think.

Why Should We Trust Richard Justice?

Astros Win on the Road. Hell Drops Another Few Degrees.

How Much Worse Can the Astros Get?

Sounds Like Drayton's Gonna Fire Someone. Or Not.

It's Going to Be an Ugly Month for the Astros

Minute Maid Park Is Not Wrigley Field South. Oh, and the Astros Still Suck.

An Accountability Moment

Living in Harmony

Global Groove's Wednesday-night jam puts the hump back in hump day