Kazmir'd

It was a combination of poor pitching and ridiculous defense between Scott Kazmir and Preston Tucker last night as the Rangers basically gave themselves an insurmountable lead in the AL West. The Angels won and the Twins lost, which sets us up as such:

Rangers: -
Astros: -4.5

Astros: -
Angels: -0.5
Twins: -1.5
Indians: -3

That is the sound of the season getting pissed away. The Astros' chances of winning the division, per FanGraphs, are just 3.6% - the lowest they've been since April 9 before everyone figured out that the 2015 Astros weren't the 2010-2014 Astros. Their chances of making the postseason: 58.2%.

The Rangers have won eight straight games against the Astros. They are 13-4 against Houston this season. This is shameful.

Since taking two of three in Yankee Stadium from August 24-26, the Astros are tied with the A's for the worst record in the AL, at 9-16, which is also the 3rd-worst record in baseball. The Rangers are 19-8.

Kazmir has been awful lately, certainly not what the Astros expected to get out of him. In his first two starts as an Astro, he threw 14.2IP, 6H/0ER, 8K:4BB. In ten starts since, he has made it out of the 5th four times. In his last four starts - two against Oakland and two against Texas - he has thrown 20.1IP, 27H/15ER, 10K:7BB, 6HR.

Kazmir didn't look good. Like, at all. Like, so bad that I thought he might be hurt and just YOLOing it with a 91-mph pancake fastball. He's not, apparently:
Stuff-wise I felt good, I really did. Couple of pitches that I left out over the plate that hurt me. All in all just didn't get it done. The past two starts have not been great...I just have to clean it up moving forward. 

Moving forward? He has one start left. There isn't much "moving forward," unless it's to 2016.

Hinch:
We have to find a way to do better. Our guys are working. They are trying and prepared and doing everything they can. It's just that the results are not there for us right now, and it has piled up for us. 

Carlos Correa, who almost killed Jose Altuve, has a cold.

Joe Musgrove is your 2015 Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year and, unsurprisingly, A.J. Reed - ideally your 2016 Opening Day 1B - was named the 2015 Astros Minor League Hitter of the Year. He knows you want him in Houston:
Yeah, it's hard not to see, I guess.

Carlos Gomez might be a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement this weekend so, no, that "minor" intercostal injury hasn't been so minor.

If you're in Pomona, California on the evening of December 12, you can see Vincent Velasquez as the grand marshal in the Pomona Christmas Parade.

Lance Berkman is taking some heat by coming out against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.