This is one of the few guys out there who seems to think the Astros can take the Central. Of course, CBS Sportslines power rankings still have the Astros at 15 this week with the Cubs and Cards at 10 and 11, respectively. http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/6628243 A little tension, sweat not about to sidetrack Astros Sept. 10, 2003 By Scott Miller SportsLine.com Senior Writer Remember those old deodorant advertisements, the "never let 'em see you sweat" spots? Roy Oswalt's return is as big a boost as a midseason trade.(AP) The Houston Astros would never do those. Could never do those. Every time the Jeff Bagwell - Craig Biggio Astros play meaningful games down the stretch, they're sweating like a hog farmer in the sun. Look at them now, rounding the final turn in the NL Central squeezed in tight with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals like a piece of ham pressed between a square of cheese and a couple of deli rolls. "That '98 team that won 102 games was special," Biggio was saying the other day, almost dreamily. "Other than that, every year we've won the division or wild card, it's been a grind down the last week. "And obviously, this year it's going to come down to the last weekend, too." Or, as a National League scout said this week: "You'd better score in the first six innings against Houston, because (reliever Brad) Lidge will get the seventh, (Octavio) Dotel will get the eighth and (closer Billy) Wagner will get the ninth. You don't have a chance." Like a Boy Scout troop, the Astros have come prepared. They've packed their bags, cleaned their underwear and brought plenty of provisions. They know what it's like to see how many folks you can fit into a Volkswagen. In 1997, the Astros won the division championship by a mere five games over Pittsburgh. In 1999, they squeaked out the division championship with Cincinnati nipping at their heels like a Chihuahua to the end. The Red Machine finished only 1 1/2 games out. In 2001, they won the division championship only after beating St. Louis on the final day of the season, pulling into a tie with the Cardinals at 93-69. Though the record books list it as a tie, the Astros were slotted as the first-place team in the playoffs based on their better head-to-head record against St. Louis, and the Cardinals were the wild-card team. So what of 2003? Houston? The Cubs? St. Louis? "One team has got to play better than they've been playing, and that's going to be the team that wins it," Bagwell says. The Astros getting starter Roy Oswalt back in Milwaukee on Monday was tremendously important. Break this three-sided coin down by starting pitching and the Cubs, with Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano and Matt Clement, have a clear advantage. Break it down by schedule, and the Cubs have an advantage, too. Houston and St. Louis will spend the next two weekends chipping away at each other over six games (three in Houston this weekend, three in St. Louis next weekend). Meanwhile, the Cubs get Cincinnati (this weekend) and Pittsburgh (next weekend). Which is why Lidge, the rookie with the hard slider and the fierce movement on his fastball, Dotel, Wagner and Ricky Stone factor in big over these final days. What the Astros lack in starting pitching (Ron Villone?) and big boppers in the lineup (though Bagwell is tied for ninth in the NL with 33 homers, no Astro ranks in the top 10 in RBI), they make up for in the bullpen. The Astros' pen ranks second in the National League behind Los Angeles with a 3.21 ERA. Houston relievers are 25-20, and they're holding opponents to a meager .226 batting average. The relievers have been so good that they've been irresistible. Lidge ranks fourth in the NL with 77 2/3 innings pitched, Dotel is tied for fifth with 77 and Wagner and Stone are tied for eighth at 76 1/3. Manager Jimy Williams has gone to the well often, and some question whether it has been too often. Dotel suffered a strained left gluteus muscle Saturday night in San Diego and likely will not pitch until this weekend. Which is one reason why getting Oswalt back now -- and keeping him healthy after he has made three trips to the disabled list with groin strains and hasn't pitched since July 29 -- is so important. Biggio likens adding Oswalt now to completing a major stretch-run trade. Oswalt limited Milwaukee to five hits and four earned runs in his stick-a-toe-in-the-water return Monday and appeared to come through unscathed, earning his first victory since July 18. The Astros are going to need him over the rest of this month, just as they're going to need some big outings from Wade Miller, left-hander Jeriome Robertson (13 victories, a franchise-record for a rookie), Tim Redding and the rest. They are going to need their lineup to get them a lead by the sixth so that the bullpen can go to work. "Nobody expected Robertson to have 13 wins right now, and I think our third base tandem (Morgan Ensberg and Geoff Blum) has done a tremendous job," Bagwell says. "Other than that, we haven't had anything great from anybody. "Nobody is having a great year offensively, and nobody is having a great year on the pitching staff. We've been middle-of-the-road. To be where we are, we're fortunate." Says left fielder Lance Berkman, whose clutch RBI double pushed the Astros past Milwaukee on Tuesday to keep them in a first-place tie with the Cubs: "The good thing about our division is that every team has a problem it has to address. The Cardinals' rotation is a problem. The Cubs have been inconsistent.... Our bullpen has been consistent all year. That's the reason why we are where we are." So as their manager says, the Astros will just keep "chugging along" in this sprint to the wire. It's not unusual for the Astros to be perspiring hard at the final turn. It's what they do. They don't win going away. They excel at keeping it close and closing fast. "We have to take care of ourselves," Williams says. "That's our whole focus. "We wanted to be in the hunt in September. And here we are."
