Brian McTaggart has a link to the 2013 Astros schedule, just released at noon.
1) The Astros do, in fact, open the season at home against Texas.
2) The Astros play their first 15 games - and 18 of 21 - against AL West opponents, so we should have a pretty good idea how the year is going to go by mid-April.
3) The other April series against non-AL West teams are at home to Cleveland, at Boston and at New York.
4) The Astros play the entire NL Central during 2013, including home-and-home series against the Rockies and Cardinals. So I guess that makes the Cardinals the Astros "rivals." Interesting.
5) The Astros have home games during Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day.
6) There's absolutely no way Minute Maid Park gets the All-Star Game while Selig is commissioner - the Boos would be deafening.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
