As most of us in the baseball world are, I am extremely shocked by today’s dramatic developments. Cory Lidle might not have been the best pitcher in baseball but was a guy who kept his place in the Show by working extremely hard, and was deeply loved by his teammates and everyone who knew him.

I am terribly saddened by these news and I believe I join all of the Astros and its fans in sending our thoughts and prayers to Cory, his wife and son, and everyone who has been affected by this tragedy. I have been glued to Headline News and CNN Pipeline for all of the afternoon, and I felt a terrible sour taste when I listened the terrible developments regarding the fact Lidle was the owner of the ill-fated plane. (We can’t avoid parallels to Thurman Munson)

BURKE UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

Full recovery expected in time for Spring Training

HOUSTON, TX ? The Houston Astros announced that infielder Chris Burke underwent successful surgery today to repair a dislocating left shoulder.  The announcement was made by General Manager Tim Purpura.

The surgery was performed today in Birmingham, Ala. by Dr. James Andrews.  Team Medical Director Dr. David Lintner assisted with the operation.  Burke is expected to be fully recovered in time for Spring Training.

The 26-year-old Burke hit .276 (101×366) with a career-high nine home runs and 40 RBI in 123 games for the Astros in 2006.  He also hit 23 doubles while stealing 11 bases and scoring 58 runs.  Burke appeared in games at five different positions, including 69 games at second base and 38 in center field.  He was the club?s first selection (10th overall) in the June 2001 draft.

Astros extend Garner’s contract

One-year extension has Houston skipper under contract through 2008

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros announced today that the club has extended the contract of manager Phil Garner by one year, through the 2008 season. The club also retained five members of the 2006 coaching staff: bullpen coach Mark Bailey, hitting coach Sean Berry, bench coach Cecil Cooper, first base coach Jose Cruz, and third base coach Doug Mansolino. Pitching coach Jim Hickey will not be retained for the 2007 season. The announcements were made by General Manager Tim Purpura.

Since taking over as interim manager on July 14, 2004, the 57-year-old Garner has led the Astros to a 219-179 (.550) record. The 2006 Astros were 82-80. The 14th manager in franchise history, Garner has a career managerial record of 927-981 (.486) in 14 big league seasons. He previously managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 1992-1999 and the Detroit Tigers in parts of three seasons from 2000-02.

"Phil’s leadership has contributed greatly to our recent success," said Astros Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Drayton McLane, Jr. "Our goal has always been to bring a World Series championship to Houston, and we have come closer to reaching that goal under Phil’s tenure as manager than at any other point in the history of the franchise."

The 2006 Astros won nine in a row in late September, making up eight games on first-place St. Louis in eight days. The Astros were 10-2 in their last 12 games, and Houston finished 1.5 games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central. Garner’s first two Astros clubs, in 2004 and 2005, reached heights not previously attained in franchise history. The 2005 club won the Houston franchise’s first National League championship, becoming the first Astros team to play in the World Series. The Astros defeated St. Louis in the 2005 National League Championship Series and the Atlanta Braves in the 2005 National League Division Series. That club was 89-73 during the regular season and overcame a 15-30 start to capture the NL Wild Card berth after a 74-43 (.632) finish. The 2004 Houston team went 36-10 (.783) in its final 46 games to make the playoffs, and also won the first postseason series in club history, defeating the Braves in the 2004 NLDS. In each of the last three seasons, Houston has finished second in the National League Central Division.

Garner is the fourth former Astros player to manage the club, joining Bob Lillis, Larry Dierker and Art Howe. Garner played for the Astros for seven seasons from 1981-87, driving in a career-high 83 runs in 1982. In 1,860 career big league games over 16 seasons from 1973-88, the three-time All-Star hit .260 (1594×6136) with 109 home runs and 738 RBI.

Bullpen coach Mark Bailey returns for his sixth season in 2006, while Cecil Cooper, a veteran of 17 Major League seasons as a player, returns for his third season as bench coach. First base coach Jose Cruz, who has been involved in all of the franchise’s postseason appearances as a player or coach, will begin his 11th season in his current role on the coaching staff. Hitting coach Sean Berry will begin his first full season and second overall as hitting coach. Berry served as the club’s interim hitting coach from the All-Star Break until the end of the 2006 season. Doug Mansolino returns as Houston’s third base coach for the third consecutive season.

Jim Hickey spent parts of three seasons as the club’s Major League pitching coach from 2004-06, assuming the post when Garner took over as interim manager on July 14, 2004.

Additionally, the 2007 season will be the 31st with the Astros organization for bullpen assistant Strech Suba, including one as a minor league player and 30 in his current role.

The Astros are playing with a remarkable force to keep fighting for a playoff spot. They fought a 15-inning battle last night, prevailing 7-6 over the Pirates; keeping themselves in short distance of the St. Louis Cardinals (who also won so no ground was gained).

No matter how it ends, We can’t deny this team is playing their heart out and it shows. I already thank them for one of the most inspiring runs in baseball history.

Several months ago, the Houston Astros set Roger Clemens free. Unavoidably, at least personally, that led us to reflect on the team’s present and near future. They had just reached a World Series for the first time, and it was so close to grabbing an MLB title. Yes, the White Sox swept the ‘Stros on that contest, but please take a look at the box scores and you’ll tell me if those weren’t close games or what.

That December night found us in a Winter League ballpark in Venezuela, and we had the opportunity of watching two prospects: Luke Scott, getting close to become a cult figure for fans down there; and Fernando Nieve. They have both made the grade since then.

It all comes back to us since today Clemens had what could be his final start at Minute Maid Park. The relevance of the moment has diluted because he has kept on threatening to call it quits only to come back a few months later. He always does, but you always wonder what if he really pulls the plug for good, and this is precisely the last hurrah for one of baseball’s greatest players. Ever.

Phil Garner once said Clemens still has a lot of an arm for a few years down the road; and that’s how we saw him today, consistent as he ever is. This is normal for him, and amazing for us, considering he’s past 40.

Scott went yard. And this little thought process we had last December keeps on hanging onto us. No answers have been provided this year. Figures such as Scott and Nieve might be a good foundation for a solid future, but there’s a piece (or two) that do not fit into the puzzle just yet. An unanswered question remains, if you will. Will there ever be someone picking up the offensive pace of this ballclub besides Lance Berkman? Will he be a free agent? How much would it cost?

If this is definitely Clemens’ farewell in Houston (and there isn’t anything that assures us it is), this wasn’t the way we would’ve wanted to see it. It sure would have been great to see him besides Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell (why not?) grabbing a World Series trophy while being bathed in champagne. This is not the year for that, it seems.

I hope I’m not the only one with an incessant loop of Elton John’s Rocket man in his head while asking himself what’s next for the Astros. There isn’t a lot of time in store for solving this riddle; and it’s better not to consider Clemens as part of the equation. If he comes back once again in an Astros uniform, it will be as a welcome bonus.

Four games away from a Wild Card berth; and it looks so far away from us.

The Astros haven’t made it any easier for us to see this run for a thing that, until recently, looked so distant. We have seen the best and the worst from the Astros highlighted in this series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The most persistent flaws were there: erratic pitching, most importantly in the final stages of a ballgame. And of course, the scarce hitting was also present.

Taylor Buchholz returned from the Minors, and was literally lit up. Brad Lidge had a new visit from the ghost of Albert Pujols. It looked like a sweep was about to be served.

Then again, the bright spots in this ball club went to the rescue: Roy Oswalt and a consistency that is still amazing us; and Lance Berkman’s power, belting his 40th homer of the season, being this the sixth occasion that an Astros player has reached this plateau (Jeff Bagwell has done it thrice back in 1997, 1999 and 2000; Richard Hidalgo also followed suit in 2000).

Berkman deserves all recognitions (at least locally), in our humble opinion. He has carried the heaviest burden in the roster gracefully. That is the stuff that makes him a leader.

Lance Berkman is a leader, nonetheless. And Roy Oswalt will not lag behind in that category, in the very near future.

The Astros know their chances of reaching the postseason are slim, but that’s not a reason to give up altogether. They know they have to keep looking until there’s no more chance to do it. That’s what we saw last night, when Aubrey Huff with a solo shot capped a comeback win 4-3 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

We also saw something we haven’t seen in quite a while: a Morgan Ensberg tater. As he told MLB.com, he must take advantage of each and every opportunity he has in order to prove us he’s not lost all of that great stuff we saw from him last season.

And we saw the usual order of business as well: seven solid innings by Roy Oswalt. What else can we say about him? I’m getting repetitive just by talking about him. He’s one of the best out there. Period. And also one of the most consistent ones, no doubt about it.

This latest series between the Mets and Astros was really intense down to the final out. No one can say attendants didn’t get their money’s worth. Three battles fought, and despite the fact the Astros didn’t win the first two contests; we were able to see in the rubber game that there’s no exaggerating in offering Roy Oswalt that contract extension.

While Oswalt flirted with perfection during seven innings, we saw him silence one of the most powerful offenses in baseball effortlessly. He struck out 9, and it wasn’t until a debatable single by Jose Reyes that the Roy-O spell wasn’t over.

Brad Lidge granted a solo homer to Carlos Delgado in the ninth, however, the Astros won by the minimal 2-1. We can’t focus our reporting other than Oswalt’s wizardry, inches away of getting one of the hardest feats in all of baseball.

Sometimes you get bad news such as Brandon Backe and his upcoming Tommy John surgery, and you start to wonder how it would have been if the Astros had him in good health throughout this very streaky season. Backe has been one of Houston’s highest hopes and I hope this doesn’t end now with him being sidelined for at least a whole year. We wish him the best.

And speaking of streaks, I don’t want to bring it, but I can’t help it. Well, I’ll rephrase it for a different take other than the obvious one: Two straight sweeps, this time against the Brewers. And this game was played how it was meant to be during the whole year: a solid outing by Pettitte, with 2 runs off 7 innings, doubles by Ausmus and Taveras, and a 2-run homer by Craig Biggio, his 18th of the year, for a  5-3 final.

It’s always nice to sweep, folks.. Now here comes a true test to see whether these "new and improved" Astros are for real. Yes, folks, we’re about to meet the Mets once again, and most probably we’ll see the return of Tom Glavine this Friday. We’ll watch, and I hope you do too. (Oh, I won’t mention him, don’t worry. Astros fans know who I’m talking about.)

BACKE TO UNDERGO TOMMY JOHN SURGERY

Right-hander to have ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on right elbow

HOUSTON, TX ? The Houston Astros announced today that right-handed pitcher Brandon Backe will undergo surgery on Thursday, September 7 to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.  The procedure, also referred to as ?Tommy John? surgery, will be performed in Birmingham, Ala., by Dr. James Andrews and assisted by Astros Team Medical Director Dr. David Lintner.  The announcement was made by General Manager Tim Purpura.

The expected recovery time from the surgery is 12-18 months.

Backe, 28, is 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA (18ER/43IP) in eight starts for the Astros in 2006.  He was originally placed on the 15-day Disabled List on April 14 with a sprained right elbow.  Backe was transferred to the 60-day DL on June 6 and activated on July 22.  He made six starts after rejoining the active roster before being placed on the 15-day DL again on August 19 with a sprained right elbow.

In 104 career big league games, including 42 starts, Backe is 19-14 with a 4.71 ERA (166ER/317IP), with one complete game.  In seven career playoff outings (six starts), he is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA (12ER/36.2IP).  Backe allowed one hit in eight shutout innings in the 2004 NLCS Game 5 win over St. Louis.  In Game 4 of the 2005 World Series, he pitched seven shutout innings against the Chicago White Sox.