I think Harrell is begging to be released. I don't know if it has affected his play or if he's doing a Sheffield to get himself released. Not only has he pitched poorly since his demotion but he's been passed over for other kids when openings in the rotation have been presented other than last Tuesday and he wasn't that awful when he made the emergency start. He just got left in too long since he wasn't stretched out to go that long.

Somewhere Brad Mills is nodding silently and saying "See? It wasn't me that was the problem." I think we would have been a better team had we held onto Lopez and not sent him to the Rockies for a guy who broke down as soon as he got here. But then this year is definitely not about being a better team.

"We don't do anything easy. We're the Astros." - Craig Biggio