Happy Birthday - 11/4

Happy Birthday to ~

Catcher/Coach Mark Bailey (53)
A sixth round pick for Houston in 1982, Bailey played for the Astros from 1984 to 1988 before being traded to the Montreal Expos for Casey Candaele in 1988. In 322 games for Houston, he hit .223/.340/.340. Since retiring from playing, Bailey has been a coach in the Astros system.  He served as bullpen coach for the Astros from 2002 to 2009 and has since served as a minor league hitting and catching coach.

These former Astros celebrate the day as well ~

OF Ryan Thompson (47)
Originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 13th round in 1987, Thompson came to Houston as a free agent in January 1999. In 12 games for the Astros that season, he hit .200/.273/.400.

RHP Ezequiel Astacio (35)
Astacio came to Houston as part of the November 2003 Philadelphia trade for Billy Wagner. In 28 games (14 starts) for the Astros in 2005 and 2006, he was 5-6 with a 6.02 ERA and a 1.592 WHIP. Astacio never made it back to the major leagues.

LHP Travis Blackley (32)
Originally signed by the Mariners as a free agent in 2000, the Australian native came to Houston in an April 2013 trade with Oakland that sent OF Jake Goebbert to the A's. In 42 appearances for Houston, he was 1-1 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.429 WHIP before being traded to the Rangers in August 2013. Apparently, he wasn't too terribly broken up about the trade. In 2014, he pitched for Rakuten in the Japan Pacific League.

Happy Birthday - 11/4

Former Astros celebrating birthdays today ~

C Mark Bailey (52)
A sixth round pick for Houston in 1982, Bailey played for the Astros from 1984 to 1988 before being traded to the Montreal Expos for Casey Candaele in 1988. In 322 games for Houston, he hit .223/.340/.340. Since retiring from playing, Bailey has been a coach in the Astros system.  He served as bullpen coach for the Astros from 2002 to 2009 and has since functioned as the hitting coach for Corpus Christi in 2010 and the hitting coach for Tri-City in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 he was a catching "development specialist" and was assigned to the Corpus Christi team.

OF Ryan Thompson (46)
Originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 13th round in 1987, Thompson came to Houston as a free agent in January 1999. In 12 games for the Astros that season, he hit .200/.273/.400.

RHP Ezequiel Astacio (34)
Astacio came to Houston as part of the November 2003 Philadelphia trade for Billy Wagner. In 28 games (14 starts) for the Astros in 2005 and 2006, he was 5-6 with a 6.02 ERA and a 1.592 WHIP. Astacio never made it back to the major leagues.

LHP Travis Blackley (31)
Originally signed by the Mariners as a free agent in 2000, the Australian native came to Houston in an April 2013 trade with Oakland that sent OF Jake Goebbert to the A's. In 42 appearances for Houston, he was 1-1 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.429 WHIP before being traded to the Rangers in August. Apparently, he wasn't too terribly broken up about the trade.

Roster Moves

HOUSTON
LHP Xavier Cedeno designated for assignment
1B/3B Brandon Laird contract selected and assigned from Oklahoma City to Houston

OKLAHOMA CITY
1B Brett Wallace assigned from Houston to Oklahoma City
LHP Travis Blackley to Oklahoma City for rehab assignement

CORPUS CHRISTI
OF Domingo Santana placed on the 7-day DL

The Mysterious Case of Kyle Hallock and Other Roster Moves

Barely more than a week ago, I outlined why I thought that it could be a BIG YEAR for Astros LHP Kyle Hallock. I felt that if he could get back to his pre-2012 injury form, he could move quickly up through the ranks. However, I did not foresee that he would pitch one inning at Low A Quad Cities and be promoted up three levels to AAA Oklahoma City the next day. Color me confused. That's a huge leap which makes me think that the promotion may be a temporary fill-in measure. It is my fervent hope, though, that Hallock makes the most of the opportunity even if it's simply a case of being in the right place at the right time (and being a lefty). I'll admit that there is a special place in my heart for Hallock who gave me my first interview ever.

In conjunction with this move, Cameron Lamb was assigned to Quad Cities from extended Spring Training. That was not unexpected since Lamb was already listed on the provisional roster released by the Astros on Monday.

Also, I am delinquent in posting the info on the trade with Oakland that netted the Astros LHP Travis Blackley for AAA OF Jake Goebbert. I think that the move will ultimately be a good one for Goebbert and I wish him nothing but the best. I got to know him a little bit in this interview from last summer. But it is our friend Astros County who tells us the ultimate story about the type of player Goebbert is. Edgar Gonzalez was removed from the 40-man roster and designated for assignment to make room for Blackley.

And finally, LHP Tommy Shirley and OF Chris Epps were placed on the temporary inactive list for Lancaster.

UPDATE: At the precise moment I posted this, it was reported that the aforesaid Travis Blackley strained his shoulder in his very first bullpen at Minute Maid Park and will be placed on the 15-day DL. Dallas Keuchel is being called up to replace him.