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J.R. Towles will now have a chance to return to the minor leagues, take a deep breath and regain some confidence. He may yet have a nice big league career, and this demotion may ultimately be seen as nothing more than a bump in the road.

He was hitting .145 Thursday night when he got the news. His average hadn't been at .200 since April 27. Beyond the numbers is the fact that his confidence seemed shot. He didn't seem capable of turning it around at the big league level.

This past year has been an extraordinary one. He began last season at Class A Salem and was hitting just .200 when he was summoned to Corpus Christi. He hit .324 there and was hitting .279 at Round Rock when he was called up to the big leagues.

Baseball people know better than to trust September numbers, but with Towles they did anyway. He hit .375 in just 14 games, and with few alternatives in the organization or the free-agent market, they made him the starter before spring training.

They don't need much offense from the position, but they can't carry a .145 hitter, especially when Miguel Tejada and Carlos Lee have stopped hitting. Towles got a longer look than he would have gotten under normal circumstances because the Astros didn't have a better alternative. This demotion wasn't about what was best for the Astros as what was best for J.R. Towles.

A trade seems unlikely so Brad Ausmus and Humberto Quintero will share the position for now. Maybe Towles will start hitting at Round Rock and force his way back into the lineup. Maybe he'll need a full season at Triple-A.

This season began with two experiments: Towles and Michael Bourn. Now Bourn is on the clock. He's hitting .214 and has been above .220 one day since April 19. That's not good enough.

If this season were about rebuilding and developing young players, it would be one thing. But with three stars in the middle of the lineup and one of the highest-paid pitchers at the front of the rotation, the Astros want to contend. There's no reason they should concede anything to the Cardinals and Cubs at this point.

I've been so worked up about the hitting that I'd barely noticed that the starting pitching has also been lousy. You can look it up. I haven't verified this theory with any of the smart guys, but scouts have long said that a club that has neither hitting nor pitching typically tends to irritate bloggers.

Astro starters were 2-7 with a 5.10 ERA on the road trip that ended with a loss to the Pirates Thursday night. Brandon Backe allowed 9 earned runs in 11 innings on the trip. Wandy Rodriguez and Roy Oswalt both pitched decently, but got little offensive support.

Now about the hitting. The Astros have scored 13 runs in their last eight games. Cecil Cooper had both J.R. Towles and Michael Bourn on the bench, but until Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada get going again, it's not going to matter.

I don't actually know if this is true or not since I haven't seen any of the top players. So far, the comments fall into one of two categories: the Astros are geniuses, or the Astros are morons. There's not much middle ground. As for me, I can't say. I'd just be guessing. All of you are guessing, too, but that's another story.

I keep hoping someone will write in to say, ''Hum, that's interesting. I hope he turns out to be pretty good.''

The truth is the Astros could use a good player at any position. About the only thing I really agree with is using the 10th pick on a college player. He has had more time to develope physically and has played more baseball. There's more information on which to base a decision. Getting a kid that has succeeded both on the field and in the classroom at Stanford sounds like a good idea, too. If he's anything like Mike Mussina, he's okay by me.

Few teams have made more poor decisions on draft day than the Astros in recent years. Between 2002 and 2006, they drafted 235 players. Just one of them--Hunter Pence, a second-round pick in 2004--has made a significant contribution.

They failed to sign three of their top six picks last year thanks to a combination of incompetence at varioius levels of the organization. Their top pick in 2006--high school catcher Max Sapp--looks like a bust. Their top pick in 2005--Tulane RHP Brian Bogusevic--is winless at Double-A Corpus Christi. Their top pick in 2003--RHP Jason Hirsh--was dealt for Jason Jennings. Their top pick in 2002--RHP Derick Grigsby--retired because of depression.

The Rangers took South Carolina 1B Justin Smoak with the 11th pick, and already some fans are making him out to be a combination of Eddie Murray, Willie Stargell and Jeff Bagwell. I wondered what they were saying about young Justin up there in the Metroplex, so I checked out The Dallas Morning News Rangers blog. They're letting Jon Daniels have it for drafting Smoak, which just goes to show you it's the same everywhere.

The Astros took high school players with their next four picks: RHP Jordan Lyles of Hartsville, S.C. (38), CF Joseph Austin of North Atlanta HS (56), OF Charles Davidson of Miton (Georgia) High School (88) and RHP Ross Seaton of Second Baptist (109). Their sixth pick was University of Arizona CF Thomas Steele (122).

Michael Bourn and J.R. Towles were both out of the lineup Thursday night. Bourn is hitting .200 on the trip, and his average is down to .214.

Thursday (June 5):

• Support Super Unison shows! Here's one: Unwed Sailor (Seattle), Sybris (Chicago), with locals Hungry Villagers (very nice indie-folk) and News on the March (more very nice indie-folk with more twang), from which I eagerly await recorded material. Seriously, it's hard enough to get bands to come to Houston, but once they get here, it would be nice if they played to more than 30 people.

Details: Doors open at 8 p.m. $10. Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington. 713-864-2727.

Friday (June 6):

• This week's featured band, The Literary Greats, put together an awesome show with the Scattered Pages ("We will be playing our first show in 8 months with a band whose name is at least as nerdy as our own," says the very-much-missed Scattered Pages.) I declare this SHOW OF THE WEEK.

Details: 10 p.m. Continental Club, 3700 Main. 713-529-9899.

• Hey, here's another Super Unison show: Houston's Young Mammals shares a bill with the French Kicks (NYC) and Frightened Rabbit (UK).

Details: Doors open at 8 p.m. $12. Walter's on Washington, 4215 Washington. 713-864-2727.

• Arthur Yoria isn't afraid to play anywhere. Like, really, anywhere. So if you're in the happy-hour mood and you like sports and appetizer-y food, head to the Galleria after work for a free dose of Arthur.

Details: 6-9 p.m. Free. Fox Sports Grill, 5175 Westheimer. 713-439-1369.

• If you've never seen a Los Skarnales show, you haven't really experienced Houston. This Latin/ska/rock stalwart puts on a party that will be well worth whatever gas you burn getting there. With reggae band Brains for Dinner and punk/ska band the Failed Attempt.

Details: 8 p.m. $10. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak. 713-862-3838.

• "A Tribute to Malcolm Pinson with the Jazz Warriors" sounds like an interesting jazz show, and it's best summed up by the fine people at Jazzhouston.com:

Malcolm Pinson was one of Houston's finest drummers and bandleaders who performed with Billy Harper, James Moody, Arnette Cobb and others. His band was the Jazz Warriors. One of the last editions of the group will perform the book. Al Jones (trombone), Dennis Dotson (trumpet), Woody Witt (saxes), Joe LoCascio (piano), David Craig (bass) and Marvin Sparks filling the drum chair.

Details: 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $10. Cezanne, 4100 Montrose. 713-522-9621.

Saturday (June 7):

• Solid pop-rock from Deep Ella, Another Day, Mechanical Boy, Stepsonday (Santa Monica, Calif.), and Sleeping [with] Giants.

Details: 8 p.m. $10. Warehouse Live, 813 Saint Emanuel. 713-629-3700.

• The annual Accordion Kings and Queens concert returns to Hermann Park. This year's artists include Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, La Tropa F and the Knights of Dixie Orchestra.

Details: 7 p.m. Free. Miller Outdoor Theater. 100 Concert Drive in Hermann Park.

Arthur Yoria's experiment in record-making continues for a third installment this week with I Don't Wear Red, which I like the best so far. If you don't know what's going on, see this post.

In related news, Americana songwriter and former Houstonian Mando Saenz is asking fans to choose his next single to release to radio. You can listen to the three lovely options on his Web site: Pittsburgh, A Touch is All, Come Out Tonight. Once you make your choice, email info@mandosaenz.com and let Saenz know which song is a hit. I'm putting my money on Pittsburgh.