ASTROSBABE's Blog

Manager Cecil Cooper admitted before Monday's home opener that the Astros are still a work in progress. Cooper likes the configuration of his lineup and bullpen, but he also isn't averse to changing things for the good of the team.

When the season began, Cooper anointed Oscar Villarreal as the seventh-inning reliever, with Doug Brocail taking the setup duties. That order still stands, but Cooper isn't afraid to tinker with it if he feels a change is necessary.

"We'll still go with Villarreal in the seventh and Brocail [in the] eighth," Cooper said. "We'll spot the other guys in situationally. Guys get hot hand -- we might go with that.

"Our team in general is a team where we still have to figure out who we are. I've got to do some figuring out myself, how each guy would fit."

The Astros lineup will look slightly different for at least the next two games. Ty Wigginton will miss the St. Louis series with a fractured left thumb and Geoff Blum will likely receive the starts at third base in his absence. Blum's left-handed bat breaks up the heavy right-handed presence near the bottom of the lineup, so it's likely he'll hit sixth.

Mark Loretta will continue to start at second in Kazuo Matsui's place. Matsui will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday and could rejoin the Astros as early as Sunday.

Tidbits
The Astros' infield has been tagged by injuries, and the club's decision to choose Tomas Perez over Humberto Quintero to occupy the final roster spot appears to have been the correct call. "We just thought with two catchers, if we had a breakdown with [J.R.] Towles or [Brad] Ausmus, we'd have a backup guy -- Blum is the emergency catcher," general manager Ed Wade said. "There wasn't any magic to it. Tomas gave us more alternatives and options because of being able to play multiple positions." ... It took Lance Berkman a while to get going last season, but since the end of July, no National League player has more home runs. Berkman has 21 home runs since July 29, ahead of Prince Fielder (20), Ryan Howard (19) and Mark Teixeira (19).