Fangraphs projecting us as most-improved team in MLB, adding +18 WAR. Despite the big bump in wins, still 2nd lowest projected total, behind Twins and ahead of Marlins. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-most-and-least-improved-teams-for-2014/
http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...inish-500-wants-at-least-to-avoid-100-losses/ “We do not want to lose 100 games,” Crane said Sunday. “That would not be good. We think the team’s good enough to be very competitive and give some people some fits. And hopefully, my expectation is, I’d love to see us — (general manager Jeff Luhnow) probably won’t go on a number — but I’d love to see us get to .500. Would be a big step for us, or somewhere close to that. And then next year, I think — not that I want to get past this year, because we haven’t even started — we’ll continue.” I think .500 is more akin to a dream than a hope. Not losing 100 games may be doable though.
I would be astounded if we end the year at .500. I still believe we'll be in contention for the top overall pick for a fourth year in a row.
At least we have a Top 10 CF: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/bbtn100_topCF/ranking-top-10-center-fielders-mlb-2014
63-99 is my measuring stick. Each additional win is a bonus, each loss is a disappointment. 2 things I really don't want to see: 100 losses. A god-awful stretch like 4-34 during Summer 2012 or the 15-game skid to close out 2013. It's one thing to watch a plain-old bad season, but it's almost comically challenging to watch a team go through a stretch where every night for 2 or more weeks you can practically taste a loss within 30 minutes of the first pitch.
I'd think we'd all be going apes*** if they finished anywhere in the neighborhood of .500. I'd be extremely happy for anything over 65 wins.
ESPN says 63-99 http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview14/story/_/id/10578735/american-league-preview 5. Houston Astros ESPN FORECAST W 63 L 99 PCT .389 DIF +12 PROJECTED LINEUP #Dexter Fowler CF Jose Altuve 2B *Jason Castro C Chris Carter DH Jesus Guzman 1B #Robbie Grossman LF Matt Dominguez 3B L.J. Hoes RF #Jonathan Villar SS PITCHING Scott Feldman SP1 *Brett Oberholtzer SP2 Jerome Williams SP3 Jarred Cosart SP4 *Dallas Keuchel SP5 Matt Albers RP Chad Qualls CL * -- lefty; # -- switch-hitter David Schoenfield: They traded for Dexter Fowler and signed Scott Feldman, but the Astros could still be headed for a fourth straight 100-loss season and a fourth straight first overall pick in the June draft. After all, the Astros lost 111 games in 2013 and will bring back largely the same cast of characters. They probably won't lose 111 again -- they can't possibly lose 17 games they led going into the eighth inning again, can they? -- but some signs of progress would be nice. Young starters Jarred Cosart, Brett Oberholtzer and Brad Peacock will get a chance to prove themselves over a full season while outfielder George Springer and first baseman Jonathan Singleton should make it up to the big leagues at some point. Still, just finishing out of fifth place would be an achievement for this team. Then again, maybe the front office would just as much prefer that No. 1 overall pick again. Dan Szymborski: The future's not yet the present in Houston, but after inheriting a team that was almost devoid of talent, both in the majors and minors, and short on cash, general manager Jeff Luhnow has overhauled the organization from top to bottom; Astros fans at least have some players to look forward to. Houston is still not a good team and likely to finish in the basement, but with the addition of some legitimate major league talent (Fowler) and the possibility of seeing some of the minor leaguers like Springer start graduating to the majors, they could leave triple-digit loss totals in the rearview mirror.
