Happy Birthday - 6/20

RHP Tanner Bushue (21)
Bushue was drafted in the 2nd round in 2009 out of high school in Illinois. Saying that Bushue did not start out the 2012 season well is a vast understatement. In six games (three starts) he gave up 23 earned runs in only 11 innings. He was sent back to extended Spring Training in late April and he will be getting a bit of a do-over as he pitches for the Greeneville Astros as they start their season this week. Bushue has battled injuries but appeared to be putting things together in Lexington in 2011. I'm hoping that Greeneville will get his career jump started and he can live up to his early promise.

LF/1B Carlos Lee (36)
Signed as a NDFA out of Panama by the White Sox, Carlos Lee came to Houston as a free agent signing in November of 2006. In six seasons with the Astros, Lee has hit .287/.339/.489 with 180 doubles, 8 triples, and 132 home runs. Lee was an All-Star from 2005 to 2007 and won Silver Sluggers in 2005 and 2007. He has recorded five 30 home run seasons and six 100 RBI seasons in his career.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

SS Dickie Thon (54)
Originally signed by the Angels as a NDFA in 1975, Thon came to Houston in an April 1981 trade for RHP Ken Forsch. In seven seasons for the Astros, he hit .270/.329/.395 with his best season being his All-Star 1983 season as he hit .286/.341/.457 and won the Silver Slugger. In early 1984, Thon was hit in the eye by a Mike Torrez pitch threatening his career just as he was hitting his stride. Although he eventually was able to be effective at the plate again, most Astros fans who saw him in 1983 were left to wonder what if. In 1983, Thon led the National League in WAR at 7.2. Rumor has it that Blogger Astros County has erected a shrine to Thon in his home which his wife is forcing him to dismantle for nursery space as they await the birth of their first child this summer, a girl named Thonella.

C Paul Bako (40)
A fifth round pick by the Reds in 1993, Bako came to Houston in a January 1999 trade. In 74 games with Houston in 1999 and 2000, he hit .253/.329/.355.