The pride of Weir

InCREDible.

Last night rocked! Obviously, I'm glad the Astros won (duh), but the thing that made me happiest was the awesome pitching of Roy Oswalt. It was one of the most dominating performances I've seen from him this season, certainly since this game when it took him only 88 pitches to throw a complete game, 2-hit shutout of the Blue Jays. It set a new record for shortest game ever at Minute Maid Park (hey! I've been to the shortest game, and the longest game!), 1 hour and 50 minutes. Roy Oswalt (pronounced OWES-walt) seems to be very genuine, a country boy from Weir, Mississippi (ask him where that is, and he'll tell you it's about 20 miles from Possum Neck). He is often overshadowed by his more media-genic teammates, the ageless Roger Clemens and the beautiful Andy Pettitte. Around Astros' country, Roy's known as the Wizard (of O's). Sports Illustrated called him Roy Wonder, and I couldn't agree more. I couldn't have been more proud of the way he stepped up last night if I were from Weir myself.

And it's back to Houston this weekend, for Games 3 and 4 of the NLCS. I'm especially excited about tomorrow, with another chance to see the Rocket before he quite possibly retires, and with the fabulous bonus of going with great friends, including one fellow on loan for the weekend from the Marine Corps.

Go 'Stros, and Semper Fi!