There are thousands of users at astros.com; each one of them uses it to his or her convenience. Plenty of people share their feelings about he team; that’s what message boards are for. Some of them go beyond that, and join in groups, attending games together.

Shannon LaFon is a Houston resident and Astros lover, since the day her boyfriend took her to Minute Maid Park, without her being convinced of the sport and its entertainment value. She liked  the experience so much that she became a fanatic. "I believe it was the excitement and the fact that everything might change in a second", LaFon says about what interested her the most about baseball. "You’re watching a ballgame and in a fraction of a second the outlook changes. That took my heart and didn’t let me go".

She got herself so interested on the Astros and her favorite player, Lance Berkman, that she started to know about baseball to the point "my boyfriend brags about me knowing more about baseball than he does". In one of her many visits to astros.com, she started joking with other female users about the team’s need for cheerleaders.

And that was how an idea came up: a group of girls goes to Astros game together at least once per home stand; and the interesting thing is to see not just women talking about baseball and rooting for a particular team; but the fact they come from so many different backgrounds and professions;
from office clerks to law enforcement personnel.

 "I watch the baseball soap opera unfolding in every game", says Katie Glade, Account representative for a financial services company. She’s a Brad Lidge fan, that’s how she took the nickname of Lidgebabe. Each one of them is identified with the last name of her favorite player. They wear t-shirts that identify them as group members.

"My parents are from Waco", tells Lydia Moreno, "But when I was 6, my grandfather moved the whole family to Monterrey, Mexico. Mom came back to Texas as soon as she could. (…) My mother is the reason why I’m such a huge sports fan; she’s always been a big Astros fan; but I got hooked when my sister’s boyfriend got me an extra ticket and took me with them to the Astrodome in 1966".

Lydia even got out of work early one day in 1986 so she could see Mike Scott pitch a no-hitter in that year’s NLCS. She joined the group the same way everyone else did: by visiting the astros.com message boards.

The message was also picked up by Melanie Morris, a "domestic engineer", as she calls herself. She fell in love with baseball when she had to live with her father his life’s final year, back in 2001. "I asked him how he could love such a boring sport; he replied that if you loved it, it wasn’t boring at all. Then I got curious enough to follow it, and look at me now, I got hooked".

His father was a mad Astros fan, so it was only fitting she started following that same team.

The Astros babes group has caught the attention of more people each time, appearing in Astros Telecasts through FSN Houston; becoming a sort of friendly counterpart to yet another fan group, formed by males specifically, who follow each start by Roy Oswalt almost religiously: the O’s Bros.

If you ask them how their experience as a group has been so far, the answer is unanimous: "It’s been the best", Morris says. "Now I have friends to go to games with". "Definitely I’m going to more Astros games", says Patsy Rawls, who works as a buyer for a service company in Houston. The group bases in three simple rules with a defined objective: Be a female, love the Astros and be willing to have fun.

They also want to break the stereotype of the so-called groupie who only goes to a ballgame to look at players physiques. Well, it isn’t that they don’t do it, but it isn’t the main reason to go to a game. "We have Cardinal fans following our model back in St. Louis", says LaFon. "There are plenty of girls that have come to us and tell us they identify themselves with us". "The stereotypes are being broken, and there’s plenty more to do yet. When guys realize I’m a baseball fan they start to quiz me in order to see if it’s true. And many of them get amazed. Yes, I am a woman, and yes, I am a baseball fan".

No one can dare to say otherwise.

This scoreboard displayed confused many of those attending Minute Maid Park last night. They thought this was a recap of the offensive numbers from the Giants during this past three-game series at Houston. But no, it was a summary of oil prices. Who could blame them: Giants hitting was as inflated as those prices these days.

After all the controversy started by Russ Springer plunking Barry Bonds, Giants manager Felipe Alou told mlb.com he was pretty upset with the attitude displayed by fans who applauded the fact someone hit on a human being, making that a bad example for kids. (I’m sure Thomas and Lisa have something to say about it). We’ll have to see which one of both elements are a worse example for children; but well, that’s another story altogether.

Despite the fact Bonds wasn’t in the lineup, the situation was pretty much the same: Dismal starting pitching , lack of hitting, and in conclusion, an Astros team that looks in a pretty different shape than the one we saw barely 30 days ago.

This game was, once again, a one-way street: 10-1 in favor of San Francisco. Matt Morris owned the Houston nine tonight, retiring 14 straight opponents in one occasion, and in conclusion, granting barely a run, 3 hits and fanning 4 in eight frames.

On the flip side of the Mirror, we had Fernando Nieve, who was beat up from the start, repeating the same pattern set by his young peers Taylor Buchholz and Wandy Rodriguez in this forgettable series: seven runs, six of them earned in 3.2 innings, skyrocketing his ERA to 5.94.

Ray Durham was the offensive figure for San Francisco, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, including a double and a home run. The Astro bullpen, represented by Trever Miller and Dave Borkowski, was able to avoid more damage for a while, but it was too little, too late; and Morris held the bats hostage. And to top it all off, Pedro Feliz ended with that fragile calm with a tater.

The Giants leave Houston extending his dominance of the Astros, now with a 5-1 record this season against them; with the added bad luck that this series was responsibility of the least experienced portion of the starting rotation, who probably panicked with the Bonds circus in front of them. It’s all over now, and there are plenty of adjustments to make in just 48 hours, before Mark Teixeira and the Rangers arrive for a new chapter of the battle for the Silver Boot.

It had all the ingredients for a boring night: Monday’s recipe was repeated. Wandy Rodriguez was roughed up (6 earned runs, 10 hits in 3.2 innings), Astros defense was inefficient to say the least, with three errors; and the San Francisco Giants hitted at their leisure, in a game that ended 14-3, insuring that the Astros will lose their first series at home this season.

But the Bonds element was there. Everyone had an eye on the slugger.

And even though he didn’t hit a home run in this game either, there was a reason for those attending the game stopped yawning; giving a standing ovation.

Russ Springer delivered a slider that "escaped from his control" in the fifth, or at least that was the official explanation, and plunked the hated Bonds, which prompted fans to applaud.

It’s clear that Bonds doesn’t want your sympathy, he couldn’t care less. He seems to be encouraged by the jeers and boos. He doesn’t think he should give any explanations at all about the accusations surrounding him, and which have reached their turning point in the book Game of Shadows.

If Bonds ever breaks the all-time HR record set by Hank Aaron, it will be one very sad moment for baseball indeed. Not because of the feat itself; records are meant to be broken. It would be because very few people will be celebrating it. We hope his loneliness serves him well.

Most baseball fans were keeping an eye on tonight’s Astros – Giants game because of Barry Bonds, who is very close to reach second place in the all-time homerun list, next to the immortal Babe Ruth, in the midst of unprecedented controversy.

But not even boos and jeers directed at Bonds (who did not hit a homer) could save this match from boredom; because it became a one-way street since very early. The Giants gave rookie sensation Taylor Buchholz a brutal dose of reality, the second consecutive rough start for him, in a game that ended 10-1 in favor of San Francisco.

Buchholz granted once again runs galore: eight in total for the three innings he worked on, product of seven hits, including taters from Randy Winn in the game’s very first at-bat, and a grand slam by Pedro Feliz in the third.

It was the worst night for Buchholz (now with a 5.31 ERA) in his brief Major League career. His teammates couldn’t do much offensively, leaving 13 men on base, including loaded bases in two occasions.

These have been two completely different games: On the first one, the Astros unloaded a powerful offensive display, not seen since the very early stages of the season. Fifteen hits to beat the Colorado Rockies 12-2, taking revenge from Jason Jennings, who shut out Houston a week ago at Coors Field.

A three-run homer by Morgan Ensberg started the onslaught, that produced seven runs in two frames, alongside Craig Biggio’s solo shot in the third. Fernando Nieve showed for brief moments that fastball that was his greeting card in the Minors; however, he lacked control at times, so in the end, the win was for Mike Gallo.

It was a whole new ballgame (literally) on Saturday night: Colorado’s starting pitching was once again superb. Aaron Cook silenced Astros bats during six frames and a third, in which he granted a run off 5 hits, giving Houston very few chances to capitalize. The game ended 2-1 in favor of Colorado. Roy Oswalt wasn’t mediocre by any chance, with two runs in seven innings, although the bats couldn’t support him.

We can’t deny the fact the Rockies have demonstrated why they are the surprise in the National League. Their pitching is solid and they are doing the small things that add up in the end. We’ll see if the ‘Stros can win this series at home in the rubber game on Sunday.

One side note: Phil Garner has decided to take Brad Lidge off the closing role, temporarily. There’s no secret in the fact Lidge has issues to work on; now he’ll be able to do it in situations with less pressure. We now know that cutting on the windup doesn’t work. Would it be that he’s showing a bit too much emotion and his gestures are tipping his pitches? Or is it that his repertoire is now too well-known among his opponents and there must be a recipe change? Lidge is able to get out of this mess, and we can only hope he does it sooner than later.

… A win has come along. Thanks to an excellent start from Wandy Rodriguez, the Astros, finally, beat the LA Dodgers 4-2, at the end of a remarkably forgettable trip.

This is the Wandy we have been getting used this season, and not the accident we saw in Denver. Barely 4 hits and a run in 6.2 innings. This was Wandy at his best, and it was so refreshing to finally see great Astros pitching after the stumbling of the last six games. Singles by Eric Munson in the second and Mike Lamb in the sixth drove in a run each; and a throwing error from Rafael Furcal in the seventh got two more runs in.

And, as it has been too usual for our taste, we saw a struggling Brad Lidge, granting walks back and forth, and an RBI single to PH Willy Aybar. Dan Wheeler was rushed for an impromptu closing job. "My confidence is fine," said Lidge, to the Associated Press, which focused their entire game recap on the young closer’s troubles. "I’ve been trying to do too many new things and trying to change a little bit too much. But at this point, I think I just need to simplify things".

One side note: After we saw Wandy, I remember the comment I made yesterday. My friends Thomas and Lisa most probably misunderstood me when I said that I didn’t think that bringing Roger Clemens back by all means was an urgent matter. I do believe that a Clemens frenzy from management would mean, indirectly, take a vow of confidence away from this staff of young pitchers who deserve it, despite the last series of problems.

I’ll say it again: it isn’t that I don’t want to see the Rocket again. It’s just that I believe it would be a little farfetched to see a desperate hunt or see management imploring Clemens and his agents for a return. So far, things are being done the right way: there’s an offer at the table for a return. Keeping distances aside, remember what happened the last time the Astros and its fans went nuts over a player so he could stay with the organization.

Another side note. This is not Astros related, but Texas Monthly magazine has a great article on Jon Daniels, the new Rangers GM. Subscription is required online.

It´s true what Robert Falkoff says in his article: if it happened to Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte, why wouldn’t it happen to Taylor Buchholz?

The young Astros starter (who already has dedicated fans and all) got his first true beating this season, giving up 8 runs and 12 hits in 4.1 innings, losing to the Dodgers 9-6, the sixth defeat in a row for the Houston ballclub.

It isn’t that the Houston bats couldn’t muster some hits of their own, but the reaction in the game’s last third, including Lance Berkman’s ninth-frame tater, wasn’t enough. Buchholz got a good dose of L.A. lumber, including homers by Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal. The Astros left 8 men in transit.

The debate remains, particularly during this forgettable roadtrip: Are the Astros in need to sign, once again, Roger Clemens? He is a remarkable addition for any team, but we have seen this rotation holding on its own. Those guys have proved it and, to be fair, this is just the first bad spell they’ve faced so far.

If this goes on for two more weeks or so, and we hope it doesn’t, then we’ll call for help. Don’t misunderstand me, it isn’t that I wouldn’t want to see the Rocket one more time wearing the Astros uniform. It’s just that I don’t see it as an urgent matter. Yet.

Now, we’ll have to see if Wandy Rodriguez can get rid of this skid.

To make things worse than they already are: Roy Oswalt had his shortest start this season, for 4.1 innings, in which he was literally clubbed by the San Francisco Giants, who defeated the Astros 7-5. After a 2-2 tie in the fifth, Oswalt started to struggle. He conceded seven runs, six earned, and 10 hits in total.

It`s not hard to figure out that the Astros offense are going through a slump when Preston Wilson and Mike Lamb are the biggest run producers for the club.

"We have lost four in a row", Phil Garner says. "And we have not played well in all of them". We are not in the position to say otherwise.

There are times in which a series of factors join to produce bad results. And there were plenty of those last weekend in Denver for the Astros, which were swept in Denver by the Colorado Rockies.

Let’s be fair: the Rockies are playing great baseball, surprising everyone as current leaders in the NL West. But the Astros, who are not precisely at a dismal position themselves, were defeated by a combination of bad starting pitching, exactly the opposite to what we have been seeing so far a the cast of rookie hurlers.

Even though Wandy Rodriguez doesn’t want to put the blame for the loss experienced on Saturday to his throat infection (and the fact it helped him from eating food for a couple of days), we can’t deny that certainly the lack of food added to medication took a toll on Rodriguez’s strength. Jason Jennings, someone who historically has not precisely been razor sharp against Houston, silenced opposing bats with a complete game shutout that ended with a 5-0 score. Jennings gave up seven hits during the whole game.

Aaron Cook didn’t want to be left behind, so he also pitched wonderfully, granting two runs and six hits in eight plus innings; while Fernando Nieve struggled on the mound and defensively as well, with an ERA reaching 5.55. The Astros rebellion in the ninth inning was quickly suffocated and in the end the Rockies took the win 5-3.

It is certain that these young hurlers didn’t have great outings in the series, but it’s also true that the Astros could see first hand why offensive numbers at Coors Field are on the way down.

Now, a quick stop in San Francisco, then Los Angeles and later a new series against the Rockies, this time at Minute Maid Park.