I don’t know if all of this information is accurate, but this is what I came across after some research. Nieve had some elbow issues during his tenure with the Astros. The Astros trainers misdiagnosed the ailment as elbow tendinitis when it was actually a partial tear of the ligament that requires Tommy John surgery. Post surgery, there was the accusation of rushing him back from it. I know the Astros were out of options, so there was no sending him to the minors. They waived him in March. I’m sure they had grown weary of the guy. Was this the only way out for the Astros? He had been in the Astros system since he was a teenager and now he’s 27. It wasn’t the best timing I will tell you that. The rotation was like a train wreck in Spring Training. Anyway, the Mets claimed him off waivers and the rest is history. After last night’s game (and let me tell you I was praying for a stinker but didn’t get it) he is 3-0. The game was against the Astros’ nemesis the Cardinals. This is like pouring salt on the wound for me…..like taking the knife and twisting it. Nieve shut them out over 6 innings. I know a change of scenery can do wonders for a pitcher and this could be the case here. That’s what I’m holding on to.

Kansas City Royals: If you can’t handle the Royals in a series, you have problems. I didn’t expect them to beat Greinke, but now they have already lost the series even if they win today. With that being said, how about a win today? That would be great. The error from Berkman last night put the Astros in place to lose the lead and he seriously looked like Bill Buckner doing it. Valverde couldn’t hold it together and there went Roy’s win. To extra innings we go, I normally don’t feel good about extra inning games and the Astros, so let me sum this up quickly…the bullpen blew it by serving up a couple of taters. One in the 10th and then another in the 11th.

Bottom Line: I don’t know if the Astros will ever get to .500. Every time they get close, they start losing….like now.