Heading into the 2010 MLB All-Star break, if the Houston Astros have been anything it has been consistent. Unfortunately, consistently losing games you are supposed to win and losing games you are supposed to lose it not the type of consistency anyone wants. At 33-51 (14.5 games out of first) the Astros are just two steps out of the NL basement, ahead of only Pittsburgh and Arizona, while their -121 run differential is better only than the Pirates (-186) and Orioles (-151) in all of baseball.

Things just are not going Houston’s way so far this season, and there has not been an Astros offense this dismal in quite some time. Things are pretty bad when you get a runner on third base with one out, and the assumption is that he will not cross home plate unless the opposing pitcher balks or hurls a wild pitch. When a team does not rank higher than twenty-eight in any major hitting category there is not too much more to say, and the Houston Astros are 29th in hits (662) and batting average (.237), 30th in homeruns (50), and 28th in runs-batted-in (278), so… ‘nough said!

On the mound, the lack of Houston Astros offense is most evident when you look at the fact that although their three top starters – Roy Oswalt (5-10, 3.32 ERA, 104 SO), Brett Myers (5-6, 3.57 ERA, 84 SO), and Wandy Rodriguez (6-10, 5.00 ERA, 71 SO) – have combined for 34 quality starts in 51 games, yet have a combined record of 16-26, while, without team-leading reliever Matt Lindstrom’s 19 saves and 2.97 ERA in just over 33 innings pitched, the numbers could be worse.

When a team does not have much to boast about on the field, maybe it is a good time to talk about the field. Minute Maid Park in Houston is one of the newer and nicest ballparks in all of MLB, so why not order some Houston Astros tickets today and come enjoy some fun at the ballpark regardless of what two teams are on the field?