I think the Astros should bust out the old rainbow uniforms. They remind of the Astros of old; great pitching and no hitting.
See, I found it easier to watch last year because you had a lineup that was overdue to produce and start winning. I watched the games saying"ok, this is where we explode". This year, we don't have that...I sit and watch the games hoping that everything lines up exactly right so that we can scratch out some runs and steal a win.
Just because they were "overdue" never meant it was a guarantee to happen... thus, I was terribly frustrated last year. If they don't go on a miraculous run, and make the playoffs, last year is an utter failure and the Astros would have been the biggest dissapointment in baseball. How do you like that hanging over your franchise? Also, you just probably got your last look at a cy-young award winner who is only just the greatest living pitcher still playing. There was a great level of doubt haning over last year's squad around mid-season, and if they hadn't turned it around, all bets would have been off in terms of the long term future of this franchise (Beltran would have been cheaper, but Drayton likely wouldn't have seen the value in even pursuing him because of his .258 average... Roy and Lance may have been wondering if they have a better chance to win elsewhere.... etc. etc. etc.). This year, nobody is expecting them to even make the playoffs... which makes each time this team produces that much more sweeter, and each time they fail that much more easier to take, since there can't be the expectations on this club that was there last year.
Why can't there be the same expectations? What happened to "this is the same team as we had last year just minus Kent?" Kent was a huuugggeee loss. Without him and Berkman our lineup is a joke, period. I mean c'mon two aging superstars, an inconsistent 3B and SS, one of the most offensively inept players in the game, (Ausmus), and a bunch of kids. I said it before the season began and its worth repeating, the owner f##ked up. We should have done one of two things. A) put all of our eggs in one basket and just gone for it this year, which means bring Kent back, bring Clemens back, and if you couldn't get Beltran back then so be it, be aggressive trade Burke and whoever for a Soriano. I don't want to hear about trading away the future, who cares? The Astros haven't won jack in 40+ years! Take a damn risk! B) Say the hell with it, go with a youth movement, do not bring back Clemens, Kent, or Biggio. Resign Oswalt and Berkman to long term deals and let all the kids play. Pinch all the pennies you want, get a top draft pick, save money for a good young free agent or two next year. So what did the Astros do? They split the difference, brought back Clemens and Biggio, let Kent walk and let a bunch of the kids play. What's that going to get us? No top draft pick, no money saved and no playoffs. A wasted season is much more frustrating to me then watching a great lineup struggling.
Would I spend a Saturday evening watching two awful baseball team battling for the fourth place in the division? Hell no.
Willy T better be the leadoff hitter when AE comes backs because for the second straight game he got on baseball to lead off 1st and scored. Knowing Phil, he probley put AE back at leadoff.
REgardless of what you think, why keep repeating the same crap? The season started. Offseason is over. Get over whatever you didn't like and look forward.
Good Lord, people! After sampling a few whines here, I went to Yahoo! to check out the box and see how bad loss #7 actually was. News Flash: The Astros won the game. News Flash II: The Astros scored seven runs. News Flassh III: The Astros hit Kerry Wood hard. (ain't it nice they no longer make him look like Bob Gibson while everyone else is pounding him?) Also nice to see, now that Bagwell has strung a few hits together, all the haters turn their attention to Biggio. Is it possible to be a consistent and solid fan of a team but bandwagon its players?
WTF is wrong with Phil Garner. Todays lineup W. Taveras cf C. Biggio 2b J. Bagwell 1b M. Lamb lf 0 J. Lane rf M. Ensberg A. Everett R. Chavez c R. Oswalt p No Jose Vizcanio? He has .409 BA, 2 HR vs. Prior and he is not in the line-up. Biggio has .257 BA vs. Prior and he has been horrible the last two weeks. Finally he realizes AE is not a leadoff hitter. But I still don't know why Jose is not in the line-up.
It's possible Viz still has a touch of the flu that has been going around the Astros clubhouse. (And did anyone notice the Brewers had the flu and they gave it to the Astros!)
Biggio to Garner in Rocky voice: "You take me out of the lineup I'll kill you." Man this guy needs a rest more than anyone. Why not do it now?
Taveras has gotten on base in each game versus the cubs in the first, and scored each time. This is exactly what we want in a leadoff hitter; results. So I'd say, yes, he's a leadoff hitter.
