Star Performer of the Week

Every Sunday during the season I will be selecting an Astros player as my “Star Performer of the Week.” Since the season started on a Friday, I decided to skip the first Sunday and use the first nine games to determine the inaugural honoree. Although raw stats will play a part in my decision they will not be the only factor. I will be looking for the player who makes the biggest contribution in games the Astros win, and does everything he can to give the Astros a chance in the games that don’t go their way.

Since the team got off to such a rough start, winning only two of the first nine games, not many players were in the running. In fact this was pretty much a two horse race. Brett Myers came up with a gutsy performance on opening day and should have earned a victory. Myers came back on Thursday with another fine performance paving the way to the team’s first win of the season. The ace of the staff deserves mentioning but will have to wait until next week (he will start Tues. & Sun.) to try and claim the trophy.

And the winner is….. Angel Sanchez! Number 36 has taken full advantage of the opportunity while filling in for the injured Clint Barmes. Sanchez had two hits against Roy Halladay in the opener, scored three runs against Cliff Lee the next day, and his consistent play has kept him in the number two spot in the batting order. Sanchez had three hits in today’s big win against the Marlins to raise his average to .364. He has a .421 OBP, 7 runs scored, and 4 RBI. Not bad for a guy who was considered not good enough to start. Angel, we here at Climbing Tal’s Hill salute you. Keep up the good work and continue to prove that you belong in the lineup even when everyone is healthy.