General Manager Ed Wade had a chance to say his peace. He is the one responsible for the product you see on the field and even though the pitching is not world class, he knows the offense can carry a club a whole lot better than they are doing right now. Defensively they need to tighten things up. Manager Cecil Cooper referred to the meeting as time to set things straight with your family. Not a lot was reported but Coop said, "Sometimes you need refocusing, just think about your kids. Sometimes you have to sit your kids downs and talk to them. That's the case."

I certainly don't think these kinds of get togethers are a cure all but they have a great way of letting the players know they've been performing terribly and things better change. I've been through them before and in most cases, players concentrate more on what they are supposed to do especially fundamentally. In athletic contests, many times it's the little things you do to create the success on a larger scale. When Wade assembled this group, he knew they would have to play defense and hit. The pitching was not going to be dominant like in years past. Coop stressed this in spring training and for a stretch, the Astros didn't make mistakes to lose games. But lately, play in the field has been brutal.

So we saw a team refocused against the Brewers. They were sound in the field and got some big hits. The 35,000 fans loved it! Roy O was his dominating self once again in a divisional win. If the Astros can stay focused, winning will follow.

Team meetings are always a reminder of how small things can create a big outcomes or somebody is going to be shown the door.