Statistical Aberration, Rest of Astros' Kiddie Corps Turn in Trifecta of Solid Performances

One of my fellow discussion board members coined the term "Kiddie Corps" to describe the Astros' trio of rookie starters--Wandy Rodriguez, Taylor Buchholz, and Fernando Nieve--who are currently filling the three, four and five spots in the rotation and I am shamelessly stealing it for the purposes of this post (credit goes to Spudder). So my current favorite thing about the Kiddie Corps is their apparently collective ability to rebound from previous disastrous outings where they got absolutely shelled and pitch exceptionally well. My second favorite thing about the Kiddie Corps is The Statistical Aberration's ludicrous disappearing breaking ball, which was particularly sharp as it victimized the Washington Nationals to the tune of 7 Ks on Monday night. After consecutive starts during the course of which he surrendered 8 runs in each start and looked as though he'd aged about five years, the 24-year old Buchholz managed to rebound in specatcular fashion on Sunday at home against the Rangers, pitching a complete game shutout against a hard-hitting Rangers' lineup. And last night, 23-year old Fernando Nieve deserved better, yielding only 2 earned runs on 3 hits over the course of 7 innings, but the Astros anemic offense was unable to get him a win.

A caveat: All of my enthusiasm for the Kiddie Corps does not in any way preclude my desire to have Clemens return, to the Astros, with all concievable haste. Some people in Houston have suggested that hey, the kids are doing so well, maybe paying for Roger would be, um, well, a mistake. This sort of talk is not good for my blood pressure. For all the Kiddie Corps has done for us, they are still just that: Kids. They will have ups and downs. There will be more meltdowns. And God forbid one of them gets injured. I say to Drayton: Pay Rocket WHATEVER he wants.