1st Half Notes, Stats, and "Awards"

Let's go over a few things, now that we have a few welcome days away from the Astros, shall we?

1. Even though we knew this season was going to be rough, losing 62% of the games has been extremely difficult to swallow. That said, and I truly believe this, I still think 2011 was the darkest year in franchise history. This season was never going to be easy to follow, but with every event that passes (June Draft, Trading Deadline, etc), we're that much closer to the implementation of the front office's plan. But yeah, this season still sucks.

2. The Astros are 58-109 (.347) from the 2011 All-Star Break to the 2012 All-Star Break, with a -162 run differential. In their last 162 games, they're 60-102.

3. Houston is 12-30 since the beginning of Memorial Day weekend. They're 10-17 in Day games, and 0-8 in extra-innings.

4. They're on pace to be one of the worst road teams in the history of baseball, having won just nine road games all season. The 2010 Pirates and 1962 and 1963 Mets won 18 road games all season. On the road, they're hitting .241/.297/.359. they're 3-13 in June and July road games, and haven't won since June 14 - the game after Matt Cain's perfect game.

5. Things won't get much better for the Astros after the break. Their first ten games are on the road against NL West teams, against whom the Astros are 7-13 this season. They have a 10-19 record against the teams they'll play until the Trade Deadline.

6. We'll get a taste of 2013 life, when seven of the first ten games after the break don't start until 8pm or later Houston time.

7. 1st Half Astros MVP: Jed Lowrie. That deal - Luhnow's first as GM - even with Weiland on the DL, could not have turned out better for the Astros. Lowrie is 10 games away from setting a career-high in games played. He had 19 career homers coming into 2012, and has 14 homers since. How he isn't an All-Star is totally beyond us. (Honorable Mention: Jose Altuve)

8. 1st Half Astros Cy Young: Wandy Rodriguez. Wandy and Lucas Harrell are the only starters with a winning record, but Wandy also has a 3.38 ERA/1.23 WHIP. It's just another season of Wandy being Wandy. Still, it's not going to be pretty for August-September if the Astros do what most think they will, and trade both Lowrie and Wandy.

9. 1st Half Astros LVP: Jordan Schafer. It's not just that he's been bad. From May to the Break, Schafer has an OPS of .599. And that's with a .310 BABIP. Schafer's OPS, by month: .707, .661, .538, .554.

10. 1st Half Astros Cy Dumb: Fernando Rodriguez. Rodriguez comes into the break with eight losses, one behind J.A. Happ for the team lead. Hardball Talk noted that Rodriguez has the "chance" to be the 8th reliever since 2000 - and the first since 2008 - to record ten losses. In five straight appearances (and eight of his last ten) where Rodriguez has faced 2+ batters, he has left the game with the Astros in worse shape than when he entered.