WORKOUTS CONTINUE: The Astros held their second full-squad workout this morning at the club’s Osceola County Stadium complex in Kissimmee, Fla.

ON THE MOUND: The following pitchers threw live batting practice today during Astros Spring workouts at the Osceola County Stadium complex: RHP Doug Brocail, RHP Geoff Geary, RHP Ryan Houston, RHP Brad James, LHP Josh Muecke, RHP Fernando Nieve, RHP Roy Oswalt, RHP Chad Paronto, RHP Felipe Paulino, LHP Stephen Randolph, LHP Wandy Rodriguez, and RHP Chris Sampson.

OSWALT: RHP Roy Oswalt has been excused from workouts Thursday and Friday because of the death of his grandfather...Oswalt will rejoin the club on Saturday.

QUOTES FROM TODAY: General Manager Ed Wade, on the signing of Shawn Chacon:

“Shawn gives us another experienced arm to add to our mix. I know that he had better financial packages out there, but Shawn thinks we can win, and he wants to be part of what we have here. We’ll put him into the competition for a spot in the rotation and let him battle it out. We know that he can help us in some role in 2008.”

Manager Cecil Cooper, on the first day the offense saw live pitching:

“A couple of youngsters, I thought, threw the ball well. (Felipe) Paulino threw it real well and so did Josh Muecke. But today was more for pitching practice than actual batting practice, because guys usually don’t hit very well when the pitchers are throwing the first day.”

 On how RHP Jose Valverde intimidates opposing hitters:

“He’s an imposing figure with big, broad shoulders and when he is on the mound and throwing it in there 94-95, that’s pretty intimidating. Every once in a while, if they get one up and in or back to the screen, that will shake a hitter up or two.” 

OF Michael Bourn, on if he has any numbers or goals for the upcoming season:

“No, I don’t do any of that. At the end of the year, I’ll look back and see how I did, and if I think it was good, I’ll look to see what I need to do better.”

On seeing live pitching:

“It felt pretty good, except I broke my bat on the last pitch. I was mad. I got all the way through the day, but it’s the first day and that’s part of it. We’ve got a long Spring Training and a long season ahead.”

RHP Roy Oswalt, on his excitement about the new Astros lineup:

“It looks nice, and hopefully they can put up some runs for us. The biggest thing about starting is getting an early lead and trying to carry that through seven or eight innings and get it to the bullpen.” 

HOUSTON COLLEGE CLASSIC PRESENTED BY THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE: The 2008 Houston College Classic presented by the Houston Chronicle will be held from February 29 – March 2 at Minute Maid Park...this year’s participants include the University of Houston, the University of Oklahoma, Rice University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Texas, and Texas Tech University.

NICE TO MEET YOU: New to the Astros organization in 2008: OF Reggie Abercrombie, IF Geoff Blum, OF Michael Bourn, RHP Doug Brocail, RHP Jack Cassel, C Alberto Castillo, OF Jose Cruz, Jr., RHP Mike DeJean, OF Victor Diaz, OF Darin Erstad, RHP Geoff Geary, OF Nick Gorneault, RHP Runelvys Hernandez, RHP Carlos Hines, C J.R. House, RHP Ryan Houston, C Josh Johnson, IF Kazuo Matsui, OF David Newhan, IF Lance Niekro, RHP Chad Paronto, IF Tomas Perez, OF Yordany Ramirez, IF Miguel Tejada, RHP Jose Valverde, RHP Oscar Villarreal and LHP Wesley Wright...of the 52 players in Spring camp, 27 are new to the organization.

FAMILIAR FACES: Returning to the Astros clubhouse this Spring after stints with other clubs are IF Geoff Blum (2002-03), RHP Doug Brocail (1995-96) and C J.R. House (2006)...17 members of the 2007 Houston team rejoin the club this season: C Brad Ausmus, RHP Brandon Backe, IF Lance Berkman, RHP Dave Borkowski, OF Carlos Lee, IF Mark Loretta, LHP Mark McLemore, RHP Brian Moehler, RHP Roy Oswalt, RHP Felipe Paulino, OF Hunter Pence, C Humberto Quintero, LHP Stephen Randolph, LHP Wandy Rodriguez, RHP Chris Sampson, C J.R. Towles, IF Ty Wigginton and RHP Woody Williams.

GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS FEB. 28: The Astros will travel to Winter Haven to face the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 1:05 p.m. in the opening game of the 2008 Grapefruit League play...the Astros will host their first game at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee vs. the Indians in an afternoon match-up on Friday, Feb. 29 at 1:05 p.m...once again this season, the press box at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee has full wireless internet capabilities...Houston will play 16 Spring Training games at home, marking the first time since 1988 that Osceola County Stadium has hosted that many home games...the Astros will return to Houston to play a pair of exhibition games vs. the Detroit Tigers on March 28-29...Astros FanFest will take place in conjuction with the Astros exhibition game on Saturday, March 29...individual game tickets for Astros Spring Training games in Florida are on sale.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: RHP Jack Cassel is not the only family athlete as his older brother, Matt Cassel, is a quarterback for the New England Patriots and his younger brother, Justin Cassel, is a pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization...when the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl, Jack and Justin decided to support their older brother by attending the game in Glendale, Arizona...Jack wrote about his Super Bowl experience, and his entry can be found at minorleaguebaseball.com.

SAY CHEESE!: The Astros Photo Day will take place on Monday, Feb. 25, on the second floor of the Major League Clubhouse in the Osceola Stadium Complex.