------------------( Forwarded letter 1 follows )---------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2000 11:45:14 -0500
From: cyberstros@...
Reply-To: cyberstros@...
Subject: Cyber-Stros, Vol. II, No. XIII



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Cyber- Stros
An email newsletter for the latest News, Highlights and Happenings of your
three-time defending NL Central Champion Houston Astros

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The Houston Astros continue a seven game homestand with a four-game set versus
the Florida Marlins. The Astros began the home stint with a series win over
longtime nemesis Atlanta Braves, two games to one. Houston recently returned
from a .500 (3-3) road trip to Montreal (2-1) and New York (1-2). After this
homestand, Houston will head to Chicago for a short three-game set with the
Cubs
before heading back to Enron Field for another two-team, seven-game home stint.


LATELY: The Astros have won six of their past seven series and nine overall
since the All-Star break. Houston was 3-3 on the recent two-city, six-game
road trip at Montreal (2-1) and New York (1-2). The club is 27-23 since the
break, having won 13 of the past 20 games and 17 of 29 contests. Houston s
16-11 record in August marked the team s first month above .500 this year.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR? Mitch Meluskey notched his first major league multi-homer
game Sunday vs. the Braves, launching his 13th and 14th roundtrippers. He
homered in consecutive starts for the first time since his first two home runs
of the season on 4/23 vs. San Diego and 4/26 vs. the Cubs. John Bateman holds
the club record for home runs by a catcher with 16 in 1966. Meluskey also
pushed
his season RBI total to 58, 10 shy of tying Bateman s RBI mark for a catcher
with 68 in 66. Meluskey s 14 home runs are tied with Joe Morgan (1965) for the
third-most by a Houston rookie. Jeff Bagwell hit 15 in 1991, while Glenn Davis,
who hit 20 homers in 1985, holds the single-season, club record for a rookie.

AUGUST HEAT: Jeff Bagwell drove in a club-record 34 runs for the month of
August. The previous single-month, club record of 31 had been established three
times, twice by Bagwell (also July 1995, May 1996) and once by Derek Bell (July
1995). With 12 homers in August, he enters the final game of the month only one
shy of tying his own club record of 13 (June 1994). Bagwell batted .380
(38x100)
with 31 runs scored in August.

PITCHING POWER: Houston s starting pitchers have notched a decision in each of
the past 11 games (5-6), including two complete games. Since allowing a
club-record tying 12 runs to the Cubs on 8/23, Wade Miller has posted a 1.69
ERA
(3ER/16IP) with 14 strikeouts over his past two starts, beating the Mets and
the
Braves. In the bullpen, Joe Slusarski has allowed just one run over his past 10
innings and seven outings. At home, he has allowed only one run in his past six
games (9.2IP).

TOP TEN LIST FOR ALOU: Moises Alou, who enters the Marlins series with a .367
batting average, is currently in second place for the NL batting title behind
only Todd Helton. Alou, who has played in 104 of Houston s 136 games this year,
is threatening to overtake the franchise record for the highest single-season
batting average of .368, which Jeff Bagwell compiled during hs MVP season in
1994.

FLOCKING DOWNTOWN: Sunday's attendance of 43,009 was the second-largest
largest crowd at Enron Field and the 25th sellout of the year in Houston.

CLUBHOUSE CHATTER
The Astros may have been in New York to play baseball, but tennis seemed to be
the sport of choice for the three days that the boys of summer spent in the Big
Apple. With the US Open taking place just down the street from Shea Stadium,
many of the Astros players and personnel were spotted in the stands at the
tournament that featured the best and brightest stars in the tennis profession.
Among the fans in the stands were Bill Spiers, Scott Elarton, Tim Bogar, Mitch
Meluskey, Daryle Ward, and TV announcer Bill Brown.

Baseball teams are never without clubhouse controversy, even that of a
light-hearted nature. Take for example, one day last week before a game in
Montreal. Players were very late getting out onto the field for batting
practice
because they were watching the Little League World Series on TV, which pitted
Houston s own Bellaire All-Stars against the big bad Venezuelan team.
Apparently, the clubhouse was divided on who the preferred winner would be on
one side were the American players, rooting for their hometown Bellaire boys,
and on the other side was our Latin crew of Moises Alou, Jose Lima, Roger
Cedeno
and Octavio Dotel, pulling for the Venezuelan team. Shouts of USA!USA! could
be heard echoing through the hollow walls at Olympic Stadium, countered with
bellows of VENEZUELA! VENEZUELA! Well, after Venezuela squeaked by with a 3-2
victory, Alou, Cedeno and Hidalgo formed a circle and did a little jumping
dance, all in the name of rubbing in the faces of the American boys.
Fortunately, camaraderie was restored in time for the Astros to start thinking
about baseball of the major league kind just before the first pitch of the
Astros-Expos matchup

Speaking of Little Leaguers, the Bellaire hometown heroes were special guests
of
the Astros before the Houston-Atlanta game on Friday. The Little Leaguers spent
time on the field during batting practice and were able to meet their major
league heroes, including Jeff Bagwell, Jose Lima, Billy Spiers, Chipper Jones,
Andres Gallaraga and Andruw Jones, just to name a few. The kids had a great
time
shaking hands and obtaining autographs. They even got some baseball advice from
Jose Lima on how to make it as a big league pitcher someday. We ll check back
with these 12-year-olds in about 10 years to see if Lima s words of wisdom
helped

There s a new sheriff in town, and he has no choice but to accept his role as
the latest media star. While Killer B s Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio have
grabbed most of the headlines in the past, an up-and-comer by the name of Scott
Elarton a Killer E if you will has been garnering most of the attention
lately with his 15 wins and sterling ERA. His laid-back demeanor has helped him
to take all of the recent attention in stride, and spending three days in New
York was a true test. In that span of time, he taped a segment with Jeff
Bagwell
for This Week in Baseball, conducted an interview for ESPN the Magazine, did
a
phone interview with legendary shortstop Ozzie Smith and chatted with fans
on-line on majorleaguebaseball.com, the official website of MLB. Looks like the
ball is just starting to roll for the 6-8 flamethrower, who likely will grab
headlines for many years to come

The National Anthem singer drew some extra attention on Saturday, and the
Astros
players and coaches took special interest in this particular pregame ritual.
That s because Astros beat writer Carlton Thompson of the Houston Chronicle was
the featured crooner. Thompson, who was blessed with both outstanding
journalistic skills AND a singing voice as smooth as butter, finally mustered
up
the nerve to display his pipes to a packed house at Enron Field. On a typical
game day, there may be five or six players in the dugout for the anthem, but
not
this time. The WHOLE TEAM packed the dugout to witness Thompson s singing
debut.
I don t think I ve ever been in the dugout for the national anthem, except for
Opening Day, exclaimed 10-year veteran Jeff Bagwell. And, by the way, Thompson
received rave reviews from the boys in the dugout, and witnesses claim that he
even signed a few autographs on his way back up to the press box.

ASTROS MAGAZINE ON SALE
Don t miss out on the sixth and final issue of Astros Magazine! Gracing this
month s cover is Astros flamethrower Scott Elarton, who was drafted as the
Astros number one pick in 1994 and is now anchoring the pitching staff with 15
wins. You won t want to miss this feature story that talks about Scott s very
first meeting with the Astros players back in 1994 and the ribbing he still
gets
because of his taste (or lack thereof) in clothes. Also included in this issue
is a story titled, Bouncing Back, which gives the history of usually-dominant
teams that come back to be successful after experiencing a down year. Astros
Magazine takes a look at up-and-comers such as lefthanded pitcher Wilfredo
Rodriguez, who is quickly making a name for himself in the Astros minor league
system. As always, beautiful photography of all of the action at Houston s
brand
new outdoor ballpark makes this issue a must-have. All six issues of the
Magazine are on sale for $4 each, plus $3 per order for shipping and handling.
Fans are also invited to purchase The Making of Enron Field commemorative
yearbook for a sale price of $5. Orders can be placed by check or money order
to the Houston Astros, sent in the care of Alyson Footer, PO Box 288, Houston,
TX 77001-0288.