Roof Closed
I went to the game on Saturday evening at Daikin Park. I was hoping the roof would be open. Before I left to go Downtown, I saw an Astros social media post saying that the roof would be closed. It was perfect weather for an open roof. I don’t understand the decision-making process on opening the roof. I think there is no decision-making process. They are just not going to have the roof open for home games during the regular season. That was the whole purpose of having a retractable roof when the ballpark was first built. It is disappointing. The Astros are not giving the fans the best experience. BTW, 26-years ago today, March 30, 2000, Enron Field, err Daikin Park opened with an Astros versus Yankees exhibition game, and the roof was open.
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I saw this in the Daily Beast yesterday:
Thieves made off with more than 12 tons of KitKat bars in a chocolate heist that has left Nestlé scrambling to track the missing shipment from the sticky-handed burglars. The candy giant told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that the haul “remains unaccounted for” after it was stolen last week while in transit between production and distribution sites in Europe. The timing couldn’t be worse. With Easter looming—a peak season for chocolate sales—the company warned the theft could disrupt supply and leave some shelves short of the popular wafer bars. A spokesperson tried to keep things light, joking that the culprits may have taken the brand’s famous slogan—“Have a break, have a KitKat”—a little too seriously. Still, Nestlé said it isn’t giving up the chase. The company noted that its products carry unique barcodes that can help trace the shipment if the stolen goods resurface on European markets. Investigators are also working with local law enforcement as the search continues.
Talk about a huge payday for the perps. They certainly made off with mounds of sweets. It is crunch time for Nestlé. It would not surprise Commentary if Nestlé put up a reward of 100 grand. Talk about a sweet caper. It looks like they ought to send in the 3 Musketeers to assist. Please, save your snickers for later. Aww.
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More on grub theft. See this from ABC Channel 13 News:
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A restaurant in Houston Heights was robbed Saturday morning, with the suspects stealing equipment and food, including a pot of menudo, according to the restaurant’s owners.
In a post on social media, taco restaurant Tacos Doña Lena said its Heights location on 18th Street was robbed of food, equipment, and merchandise on Saturday. The post also mentioned that the restaurant chain had been robbed before at another location.
ABC13 spoke with Angel Cabrera, who is Doña Lena’s son, about the alleged robbery. Cabrera said the incident happened at about 3:50 a.m, when the suspects got into the restaurant by taking out the kitchen window.
According to Cabrera, the suspects took a pot of menudo, a Mexican soup, that was prepared and left overnight. The suspects also took three 24-packs of Mexican Coca-Colas, a rice cooker, and chicharron, Cabrera said. He said that one suspect was inside, handing the stolen items to the second suspect outside the restaurant.
This is the second break-in at this location in two years, Cabrera said. The restaurant has shared surveillance images of the alleged robbery, showing the suspect pulling out the window and taking multiple items from inside.
According to Cabrera, the restaurant could not serve menudo on Saturday, but said that the food item was back on the menu by Sunday.
I wonder how many customers showed up Saturday morning with the intention of ordering a bowl of menudo. I wonder what their fallback choice was. I am thinking barbacoa or chorizo con huevos tacos. Since you asked, my go to menudo eatery is Spanish Flowers, a few blocks from my house.
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We lost the first two games of the season. On Saturday night, tags tweeted this:
RBI single by Christian Walker gives the Astros their first lead of 2026.
Better late than never.
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We signed pitcher Tatsuya Imai during the offseason. He is among the players featured on the new mural at the Hall of Fame Alley concourse. His gear in the featured photo is a top seller. Just so you know, Imai’s nickname will now be I-45. He had his MLB debut yesterday and here is from the Chron:
Houston staked Tatsuya Imai to a four-run lead after two innings in his MLB debut. The right-hander from Japan could not preserve it. Imai surrendered four runs in the third and did not make it out of the frame. The Angels harassed Astros starters over the four-game series, scoring 15 runs in the 17 ⅔ innings they combined to throw and chasing all but one by the fifth inning.
Imai’s outing was the shortest of those four, pressing Houston’s bullpen into extended action. Zach Neto struck a two-run home run against Roddery Muñoz in the fourth inning, giving the Angels a 6-4 lead. Walker erased it with a two-out, two-run double against Chase Silseth in the fifth, two batters after the Angels had turned to their bullpen.
After the enthusiasm over his signing and optimism about his acclimation in spring training, Imai’s debut was decidedly underwhelming. He struggled with command, ceded a four-run lead handed to him in the second inning and did not escape the third.
In Japan, Imai had battled control issues early in his career and improved in recent seasons. He recorded just one walk in six Grapefruit League innings this spring. Sunday, he walked two of his first three batters faced. In between, he recorded his first MLB strikeout, getting Mike Trout looking on a fastball.
Imai threw 25 pitches in his first inning. The Angels swung at three of them. They were more aggressive after that but still totaled 20 swings on 74 pitches. Imai generated seven whiffs on 20 swings and struck out four of his first eight batters faced. But his outing unraveled in the third inning.
Ahead 1-2 on Neto, Imai issued a one-out walk. He built an 0-2 count to Trout, but Trout worked it full and singled. Imai missed badly to his arm-side multiple times in a walk to Schanuel, loading the bases and prompting a mound visit.
Soler had struck out looking at five sliders in his first at-bat. Imai stayed with the pitch. Soler lined the eighth straight slider he saw into the left-field corner for a bases-clearing double. With two outs, Adell also lined a slider to left for an RBI single, bringing Espada from the dugout.
Imai threw 74 pitches, 38 balls and 36 strikes. He threw 41% of his pitches in-zone, per Baseball Savant. His fastball averaged 95.6 mph and reached 97.6. But he struggled to command it or his slider with any regularity. He threw 33 pitches in the third inning before Espada removed him.
Here is the entire read: Houston Astros beat LA Angels, split season-opening series.
It is only one game. We did end up winning the game and split the series with the Angels.
The Red Sox now visit us for three with Lance McCullers, Jr. getting the start this evening.