The Pecan Park Eagle

"Welcome to my parlor," said the spider to the fly.

Friday night’s stumble into the second half of the 2011 baseball season leaves the Houston Astros on a clear track to join some of the game’s most elite company at year’s end.  Their 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Minute Maid Park last night dropped the Houston club to 30-63 in games won and lost, so far, and a ,323 winning percentage for the current term through all games of July 15, 2011.

If the Astros maintain their current rate of futility, a .323 winning percentage is bad enough to take The Boys of Brad Mills to a final record of 52 wins on the season against 110 club record losses, bad enough for 16th place on the list of worst ever big league clubs – all the way back to 1876.

Here’s a list of the worst major league clubs in history, as measured by record. We will not place the Astros there until they’ve actually earned it, That being said, it’s hard to see anything that’s going to get in the way of a second half free fall that enables the club to reach their all time low:

Worst. MLB Clubs. Ever. By Season Record.

1. 1899 Cleveland Spiders (NL) 20-134

2. 1962 New York Mets (NL) 40-120

3. 2003 Detroit Tigers (AL) 43-119

4. 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (AL)  36-117

5. 1935 Boston Braves (NL) 38-115

6. 1904 Washington Nationals (AL) 38-113

7. 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 42-112

8. 1965 New York Mets (NL) 50-112

9. 1889 Louisville Colonels (AA) 27-111

10. 1898 St. Louis Browns (NL) 39-111

11-12-13 tie. 1932 Boston Red Sox (AL) 43-111

11-12-13 tie. 1939 St. Louis Browns (AL)  43-111

11-12-13 tie. 1941 Philadelphia Phillies (NL) 43-11

14-15 tie. 1963 New York Mets (NL) 51-111

14-15 tie. 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) 51-111

Have a nice Saturday, everybody.