The Astros are in a very good place heading toward the All-Star break, with the two huge caveats being the health of Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. Altuve down again with a second oblique injury (that makes one on each side) is a downer. If Alvarez actually is progressing well now from his oblique injury he should return (grab piece of wood and knock on it) in time for the Astros-Rangers series that starts July 24. Out of the break the Astros have a nine game road trip against no good teams (three at the injury-ravaged Angels, two at the lousy Rockies, four at the atrocious A’s) while the Rangers have a nine game home stand of three games apiece versus the Guardians, Rays, and Dodgers. Beware Texas Rangers: objects in mirror are closer than they appear. And the Astros appear close already.

Trade deadline shopping list

With Michael Brantley shut down again and quite possibly done as a viable big leaguer, General Manager Dana Brown has clarity on what to seek in trade before the August 1 deadline in addition to a starting pitcher. Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers, and Corey Julks all bat right-handed. Replacing one with a quality left-handed hitter is the play. But replace which of them? From June 1 forward McCormick has hit .325 with a .948 OPS. Since Julks stopped swinging at everything he has made marked improvement. After drawing a woeful four walks over his first 166 plate appearances, Julks has drawn 12 walks in his last 80 plate appearances, batting .324 with a tremendous .425 on-base percentage. Meyers is nine for his last 55, a sad .164 average, and obviously has the least power of the three. So easy call right? Meyers would seem the obvious odd man out, but if the Astros still evaluate him as their best defensive center fielder, that is a factor. None of them are young (Chas is 28, Corey and Jake 27).

This flew under the radar

There was a moment at Minute Maid Park Wednesday that happily drew no reaction since hardly anyone in the crowd was aware of the backstory. The Rockies brought in relief pitcher Daniel Bard with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Bard retired Jose Abreu on a pop-up to first base then worked a one-two-three eighth inning. Minutiae in the Astros 6-4 win.

Daniel Bard is the pitcher who broke Jose Altuve’s right thumb with an errant pitch during the World Baseball Classic. Had Altuve not been sidelined by his second oblique muscle issue of the season, it certainly would have been attention getting had he faced Bard Wednesday. From an Astro fan tunnel-visioned perspective, many who made the connection would have booed Bard like he was Joe Kelly. Understandable purely from a venting standpoint, but knowing Bard’s story is worthwhile, albeit no consolation for his having completely unintentionally sidelined Altuve for the first seven weeks of the season. Bard wound up starting the season on the Injured List because of anxiety brought on by his injuring Altuve. Bard’s bigger career story is darn near unbelievable.

Bard’s Major League career got off to a good start. Over his first three seasons with the Red Sox as a relief pitcher Bard’s record was just 5-13 but his earned run average was a very good 2.88. He walked more batters than ideal, 76 in 197 innings, but nothing ridiculous. The Red Sox made him a starter in 2012, and whatever went wrong went way wrong as Bard came down with what many call “Steve Blass Disease,” essentially a professional nervous breakdown through which a pitcher basically loses control over where he throws the baseball. In 59 1/3 innings pitched for the Sox in 2012 Bard walked 43 batters. He was demoted to the minors for three months. In 2013 he pitched one inning over two April games and at 27 years old was sent back to the minors where his real disaster began. Bard’s next big league pitch would not come until more than seven years later.

Across three minor league stops in 2013 Bard pitched 15 1/3 innings and walked 27 batters. He made “Nuke” LaLoosh from the all-time classic baseball movie Bull Durham look like Greg Maddux. The Red Sox waived him, the Cubs claimed him then let him become a free agent. Somehow Bard hadn’t yet bottomed out. He signed to play in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Bard made three appearances, recorded exactly one out, walking nine, and hitting three batters, with four wild pitches mixed in. Somehow, the Texas Rangers signed Bard for 2014.

He was sent to their single-A affiliate and made four appearances. There over two-thirds of an inning he recorded all of two outs, walking nine, and hitting SEVEN. The Rangers released him in June 2014. Bard next threw a minor league pitch two years later. In 2016 again in “A” ball, Bard pitched three innings over eight appearances, walking 13, hitting five, with six wild pitches. In 2017, two minor league stops, nine and a third innings pitched, 24 walks, “only” four hit batters, seven wild pitches. The gruesome combined stats from winter ball 2013-14 through 2017: 13 1/3 innings pitched, 55 walks, 19 hit batters, 17wild pitches. ERA: 28.35. Bard retired after 2017.

In 2020 Bard decided to try a comeback. The Rockies signed him, called him up to the big leagues in July, and he has pitched for them since, and fabulously over the last season and a half. Despite pitching his home games in the by far worst pitchers’ park in MLB, Bard last season posted a 1.79 ERA and at 37 years old signed a two year 19 million dollar contract extension. His ERA this season is 1.82. Bard still walks too many batters (24 in 29 2/3 innings this year) but obviously not in a career-killing fashion.

Incidentally, Daniel Bard was born in Houston.

Don't miss our Astros podcast that drops every Monday!

Stone Cold ‘Stros is the weekly Astro-centric podcast I am part of alongside Brandon Strange and Josh Jordan. On our regular schedule a first video segment goes up at 3PM Monday on the SportsMapHouston YouTube channel, with the complete audio available in podcast form at outlets such as:

Apple Podcasts

AudioBoom

Google Podcasts

iHeart

RSS

Spotify

Stitcher

YouTube