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NL Central: Astros creating a buzz

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07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros were one of the National League's premier teams during the early part of this decade, capturing four division titles during a five-year span from 1997-2001. A driving force behind that impressive run was an imposing offense led by the trio of Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Derek Bell, more commonly known as the "Killer B's."

Bees were also the primary focus when the Astros visited the San Diego Padres on Thursday, only these were of the actual insect variety. An estimated 2,000 of the honey-bearing pests converged in the left-field area of Petco Park during the ninth inning, causing a 52-minute stoppage of play.

"It's how this year's going," remarked Astros third baseman Geoff Blum. "Bizarre things."

The unusual invasion didn't prevent Houston from notching a 7-2 victory over the Padres, the sixth in the past eight games in what indeed has been a roller-coaster season for the team.

On May 28, the Astros were 18-27 and buried at the bottom of the NL Central standings. The club has gone 20-12 since, the second-best record in the league over that span, and now finds itself just three games off the lead of a division that has yet to see a clear-cut favorite emerge.

"We're winning series and playing good baseball," said manager Cecil Cooper when asked about his team's surge. "We've been able to do that quite a bit here lately, and that's the key."

Houston even trotted out its modern-day version of the "Killer B's" in Thursday's triumph. Blum belted a three-run homer in the fifth inning and came through with an RBI single in the first, while first baseman Lance Berkman finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored on the afternoon. Fleet- footed center fielder and leadoff hitter Michael also collected a pair of hits, scored twice and swiped his NL-best 26th base of the season.

Both Berkman and Bourn have played instrumental roles in Houston's recent resurgence. The former is batting .326 (31-for-95) since the start of June and has three home runs and 10 RBI over the past eight games. Bourn, a disappointment last season as one of the central pieces acquired from Philadelphia in the Brad Lidge trade, has been a force at the top of the order and is on pace for close to 100 runs scored.

ROUGH START FOR CARDS' DEROSA

The St. Louis Cardinals got an early jump on the mid-year trading season with Saturday's pickup of utilityman Mark DeRosa from the dismantling Cleveland Indians. The versatile veteran, a key player on the rival Chicago Cubs' back- to-back NL Central championship squads of the past two season, was brought over in an attempt to solve a lack of production at third base as well as give manager Tony La Russa some added flexibility to the lineup.

DeRosa's first week in a Cardinals uniform hasn't turned out to be a smashing success. The 34-year-old went hitless in nine at-bats in his first three games with his new team, then hurt his left wrist while swinging in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to San Francisco and sat out the final two tilts of the series.

The Cardinals initially feared the injury would force DeRosa to the disabled list, but an MRI taken on Wednesday revealed nothing more than a strained tendon. The team is optimistic that he'll be able to return to the lineup at some point during this weekend's series at Cincinnati.

"It's a huge relief," DeRosa told the Cardinals' official site on Wednesday. "When you hear a pop and when it's in one of those small tendons and joints and stuff like that, you never know. I ruptured my ankle the same way playing in a game against Colorado a few years back. I thought it was nothing and it turned out to be surgery and I missed six to eight weeks."

St. Louis traded reliever Chris Perez, considered the team's closer of the future at one point, and a player to be named for DeRosa, who hit .270 with 13 homers and 50 RBI in 71 games with the Indians. The former University of Pennsylvania quarterback set career bests of 21 homers and 87 RBI with the Cubs last year.

PIRATES CONTINUE TO WHEEL AND DEAL

The Pittsburgh Pirates made another significant trade during the month of June with Tuesday's swap of regular left fielder Nyjer Morgan and relief pitcher Sean Burnett to Washington in exchange for outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan. The deal comes less than four weeks after general manager Neal Huntington sent center fielder Nate McLouth, the club's lone All- Star representative, to Atlanta in a highly unpopular move.

Huntington's latest course of action was based more on potential than production. Milledge, a wonderfully-gifted former first-round pick of the New York Mets, has now worn out his welcome in two organizations due to inconsistency and a perceived lackadaisical attitude. Hanrahan is armed with a fastball that can routinely reach the mid'90's, but failed miserably in a stint as the Nationals' closer earlier this year.

The 29-year-old Morgan doesn't possess Milledge's overall package of skills and is five years older than his intended successor, but the speedster was having a solid year at the plate and supplied above-average defense in addition to being well-respected in the clubhouse. Burnett, a first-round pick of the Bucs in 2000, was developing into an effective lefty specialist after making a successful comeback from elbow surgery.

Like McLouth's departure, the trade was met with heavy criticism from a fan base that has endured 16 straight losing seasons, and from the players as well.

"They (Pirates management) have a plan, and that's what they're trying to achieve," said shortstop Jack Wilson, who's been a part of the last eight of those campaigns. "The biggest question is, when is that going to be? When do these things start turning around? It's hard for guys who have been here and have seen these exact trades happen and it mean absolutely nothing."

Milledge is currently rehabbing from a broken index finger and will likely be sent to Triple-A Indianapolis when healthy. In the meantime, the Pirates will give minor-league journeyman Garrett Jones a long look as Morgan's replacement. The 28-year-old made a nice impression in Thursday's 9-8 loss to the Mets, going 3-for-5 with a homer, triple and two RBI.

Pittsburgh also made a more expected trade on Tuesday, sending reserve outfielder Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees for a pair of low-level minor leaguers.

BREWERS' MCGEHEE MAKING MOST OF OPPORTUNITY

Casey McGehee waited six long years to make a major league roster, then spent virtually all of the first two months of this season toiling on the Milwaukee Brewers bench. But a prolonged slump by third baseman Bill Hall has given the unheralded infielder a chance at an everyday role, and McGehee is clearly taking full advantage of.

The 26-year-old has added some much-needed stability at the third base position and enters Friday's game against the Chicago Cubs, the organization he spent his first six professional seasons with, with an impressive .317 average and five home runs in 120 at-bats. The last of those long balls came in Monday's 10-6 victory over the New York Mets, a sixth-inning grand slam that gave the Brewers a commanding 7-2 lead and earned McGehee a curtain call from the hometown fans.

"That is going to be something I always remember as really special," he told the Brewers' official site afterward. "If someone would have told me this time last year that I was going to have 40,000 people calling me out of the dugout for a curtain call, I would have said you were lying."

On Thursday, McGehee made his first appearance at Wrigley Field since he was put on waivers by the Cubs in October. He was claimed by the Brewers shortly afterward and won a spot on the Opening Day roster after batting .339 with six homers in the spring.

McGehee did appear in nine games with the Cubs as a September callup last year after hitting .296 and knocking in 92 runs for Triple-A Iowa.

CUBS' RAMIREZ NEARS RETURN

Aramis Ramirez seems to be just about ready to return to the Chicago Cubs lineup for the first time since the standout third baseman dislocated his left shoulder in a May 8 contest at Milwaukee. The two-time All-Star is scheduled to begin a rehab stint with the club's Single A affiliate in Peoria on Friday.

Ramirez will play three games for the Chiefs over the weekend and barring any setbacks, is expected to be activated when Chicago begins a three-game series with Atlanta Monday at Wrigley Field. His return will be welcome news for the Cubs, who have had one of the NL's worst offenses in 2009 and have recorded a mediocre 22-25 record since Ramirez's injury.

"He's a type of hitter that changes your lineup when he gets in it," shortstop Ryan Theriot told the Cubs' official site. "We definitely welcome him back and are excited to have him. We need him. He's a big piece of the puzzle."

Ramirez was batting a sizzling .364 with four homers and 16 RBI in 18 games prior to getting hurt, and the Cubs' regular cleanup hitter had averaged nearly 32 home runs and 105 RBI over the previous five seasons.

He'll be joining a Chicago offense that finally seems to be catching fire. The Cubs belted four homers in Thursday's 9-5 victory over Milwaukee, a win which moved the reigning NL Central champs within 2 1/2 games of the co-leading Brewers in the division standings.

Derrek Lee had two of the round-trippers, connecting on a three-run shot in the opening inning as well as a grand slam in the fourth. The slugging first baseman has seven homers -- half his season total -- along with 21 RBI since June 18.

OPTIONS APLENTY FOR REDS' LINEUP

Circumstances had made Ryan Hanigan and Jonny Gomes mainstays in the Cincinnati Reds' batting order in recent weeks, a situation that proved to be beneficial for both the players and the team. With the Reds now getting healthier at certain positions and interleague play having finally come to a close, the two valued reserves have found themselves again playing more limited roles.

Hanigan, Cincinnati's backup catcher, had been seeing the lion's share of time behind the plate when first baseman Joey Votto was on the disabled list due to a stress-related disorder, with primary backstop Ramon Hernandez getting the majority of starts at first. The rookie has been one of the Reds' most consistent offensive performers this season, having hit .336 with an excellent .423 on-base percentage in 45 games.

Votto returned from a near month-long stay on the disabled list last week, leaving Hanigan as the odd-man out. The reduced playing time hasn't left him rusty, though, as Hanigan proved by going 3-for-3 while giving Hernandez a rest in Thursday's 3-2 win over Arizona.

Gomes had an opportunity for more at-bats when the Reds visited Toronto and Cleveland last week and were able to use a designated hitter in the American League parks. The defensively-challenged outfielder responded by going 8- for-22 with a pair of homers and six RBI over those six games.

With Cincinnati back to playing strictly NL teams, Gomes, who's batting .400 against left-handed pitchers this year, has gone back to being the right- handed half of a platoon with Laynce Nix in left field.

"You can't play everybody," Reds manager Dusty Baker said to the team's official site. "I have a plan on how to keep them sharp and productive for themselves and us at the same time. We knew that could potentially happen when we started. You don't have a good team unless you have too many good bodies."

Baker could have some additional, albeit enviable, choices to make in the coming future. Regular third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, out since late April with a fractured wrist, is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville and is expected to be activated when the Reds begin a series in Philadelphia on Monday.