sam...yikes!!! ease up!!! no one is saying sunshine and flowers. who here is saying this team is a lock to win the division?? or even the wild card? who here is pushing that??? RM95 and I are probably the most solid in the optimism camp, and neither one of us has said that. i'm not predicting this team will be better than the Cards. i just think, given where we were at the start of last season, the only difference is no Jeff Kent. at the beginning of last season, did you think we would suck?? we removed jeff kent...we may replace those RBI's with Burnitz. if we can get clemens to come back, i think our opening day rotation looks better than it did last year. does that lock anything down for us?? of course not. but i'm not ready to say, "awww...we're gonna suck," until i see this team play. these are the same guys who wrote off the season last year. there's just too many variables. we're not the devil rays, pirates, brewers or tigers, sam. not even close. and i don't think it's sunshine and flowers to assert we're not. it's reality instead of overreaction to an offseason that hasn't concluded yet.
I never said that people like MadMax or myself have a "patent on being true sports fans". I just don't see the point of enjoying sports if you're not an optimist about it. That's just be though...to each their own.
I think your words were "Go away and root for the Cubs." But anyway I wasn't trying to be harsh - sorry if it came off that way. I need to sprinkle my posts with more and and maybe a few of every now and then, it's just hard to tell the inflection in a post without someone in front of you. If we were all drinking a few beers at a bar it'd be different. I guess it's one of those agree-to-disagree things. Y'all don't understand how people can enjoy sports without being optimists, I don't understand the point of entering threads discussing offseason moves and saying "anything can happen." That's true, I guess, but the fun of the hotstove league is discussing and evaluating player moves. If you prefer not to do so, cool, but why let it rile you up when people do? It's all part of the fun of the offseason. <----note the smiling emoticon with the sunglasses And for the record, I can't look at this team and think they're as good as they were last year. I don't think they'll be terrible, but I think they've taken a step or two back from where they were last season, even with a theoretically healthy Pettite. I can't turn a blind eye to the loss of our 2 best RBI men without a replacement and not comment. Doesn't mean I won't cheer for the Stros as hard as anyone! To me being a sports fan is't being always optimistic (in the sense of seeing the current situation as rosy - of course we all hope for the best in the future), it's experiencing the ups, and downs, of the season (and offseason).
for the record...we lost ONE of our top RBI men compared to what our expectations were going into last year. we didn't have carlos in the beginning. while we'll certainly miss those 7 he provided for us in all of September i'm just talking about what our expectations are beginning this season as opposed to beginning last season. but at this point, the record is incomplete. the offseason isn't over. i don't know if this is the team we have, or if there will be more. so saying definitely they'll suck or be great next year is beyond me.
Of course, you can't say definitively. You can only look at what's on paper now, and what's been rumored (Burnitz?) - but that doesn't mean you have to wait until April to have an opinion. Compared to last season, at the beginning of the season, we're missing Kent and Wade Miller. Remember, there was talk that the Stros had "4 aces" going into the season, and there was alot of optimism for Redding - as much as there is for Backe this year anyway. Dotel was supposed to be a good closer, and Lidge a good setup guy, but both were semi-unproven and Lidge is definitely considered better going into this year than he was last. Ensberg was coming off a good 2003 and was considered to be a rising star, his poor showing in 04 has diminished the expectations for him now. Berkman's not in the opening lineup, and might miss a month, which means that there will be some productivity lost in April, maybe longer depending on his recovery (we had a great April last year). Everett, Ausmus, Biggio, Bagwell, Clemens, Oswalt, Pettite are all about the same going into 03 as they were 04. Removing Beltran from the equation certainly helps even the analysis, but I think the expectations at 2B, 3B, RF, and SP are less than they were at the start of last season. Of course this is subject to change, if we sign significant players the outlook will be cheerier.
You're only supposed to mention that if it detracts from a player that the Astros are reported to be considering.
and... no Wade Miller no realization that Biggio can't play LF either no Berkman for a short while and no guarantee he will bee 100% all year
I'm still excited for next season no matter what. We are not in a terrible state. I am glad Lane is finally going to get (perhaps) a lot more playing time. He has been good in his time on the field.
nothing wrong with that...i just think Sam, myself and a few others are being more realistic about this season Something that a lot of people haven't mentioned is that in addition to losing ground to the Cards, we also lost ground to the Braves, Mets, Giants, Dodgers, Padres and Marlins.
he had played in pretty much the exact same amt of games in Florida as he did in Colorado and had a better average in the seasons he has spent in Florida
i don't think you're being realistic, at all. you're saying this is going to be a frustrating season...you're saying we're going to struggle to play .500. RM95 and I are suggesting you might want to watch the young guys play first...and see what other moves we make...before you jump to conclusions about a season that doesn't begin for another 3 1/2 months. i would argue that our position is far more realistic than the "sky is falling"position i'm hearing here.
Thank you. I haven't heard anyone say that they believe with absolute certainty that the Astros are going to go to the playoffs. We just think there might be a chance that not getting Beltran isn't the end of the world as we know it.
Is that right? In his five seasons at the Major League level (3 in Colorado and 2 in Florida) his only season below .300 was in Colorado. I'd also like to add that two of his top three OPS years have come in Florida.
Hang on....Im telling you that a team thinking about letting the youngsters play along side of a couple vets who are clearly past their prime is a recipe for mediocrity at best and you are sayiong that IM being unrealistic? Would it be more realistic to say that we have a great shot at the postseason? You are being a little naive
I had a similar thread to this in almost every way (a forward looking and positive one as well) but it was locked and this one isn't? Whatever... Oh well great points Rileydog but I will take the Burk+Backe for Sheets trade anyday anytime is the speclation is true. Great starting pitching coupled with serviceable relief bunch is the sure road to competitiveness for us in 2005.
