Who thought, on August 1, 6-6 after the ASB and 7 games under .500, that the Astros would be 10 games over .500 before mid-September?
I thought they'd be a better team after the all star break but I counted them out of the postseason picture. My bad. I even let Mr Wade have it on the Randy Wolf and Latroy Hawkins deals. What a couple of nice pieces to add to the mix, huh?
i think back to all those apocalyptic posts in the wake of the wolf and hawkins deals and, i have to admit, laugh heartily. same thing with the texans this week - all this doom and gloom, "the sky is falling! the sky is falling!" rhetoric - show some patience, people!
I expected us to be around 6-8games over, not 10. Ofcourse I'm a major homer, and knew we would have our september run. But man, it's way better than I pictured. I was fed up but still watched. Thankgod they are winning, it's more fun now filling the days between the Texans games.
I expected us to be in the hunt, because I didn't think the Cards would do anything at all, and I didn't foresee the Brewers picking up CC Sabithia and having him completely dominate. having said that, I didn't expect much from this team about 3 months into the season. This run is fun, and I'm hopeful, but I honestly......5 games to make up with 18 left. sigh. It's not impossible, but I don't think it's gonna happen.
To be optimistic, the Astros were 9 1/2 behind the Brewers coming into September. They made up 4 1/2 games in the first 8 days.
By August 1, Sabathia was already 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA in 3 starts with Milwaukee. Same here. Agree again.
I am curious as to everyone's opinon of Cooper now that his moves are working. He reminded me of the run Garner had in 2004 and 2005 in that 11 inning victory over the Cubs the other night. He did a few inexplicable things and they all worked. It is amazing how much a consistent bullpen and starters that don't put you into an immediate hole can change the complexion of a team. The other part of this run is they are doing it with a patch work offensive lineup that doesn't have any stats that jump out at you. I believe they have the best record in the NL (maybe all of baseball) since the all-star break. During that time they continue to be 10th in OBP but they are 3rd in slugging, so when they do get on base, their odds of driving them in have increased. Pitching wise they are 6th in ERA (since the break) and 3rd in OBP so they are keeping guys off the bases. It is suprising to me that they are doing this with the starters they have. Just noticed this seemingly irrelevant stat. The Astros pitchers have only thrown 19 wild pitches this season. Next closest is Oakland with 27. They have also allowed only 45 stolen bases all year (Cardinals lead with 44, major league average is 84). Say what you want about the Astros catchers, but for whatever reason, they have kept the running game in check and they have a lot to do with preventing those wild pitches.
I was thinking of starting a thread asking..."Are Wade and Drayton smarter than the fans?" We all bashed and **** on the moves (or lack thereof) that have been made this year. We all crapped all over Cecil Cooper's moves and lineups numerous times. We all questioned who in their right mind would let Brian Moehler on the roster, let alone into the starting rotation. Trade for Randy Wolf and Latroy Hawkins? Are they f***ing nuts? What happens? They are playing meaningful September baseball. I guess the one thing we're all prepared for is if they don't make it to the playoffs, we can all say "Well, we didn't expect it anyway." Either way, I'm loving this run again. The one thing I get tired of hearing is "Are the 08 Astros the Rockies of last year?" BULLS***! The Rockies of last year are the Astros of 04 & 05.
I thought we might finish around .500 but never did I think we would be at some point 5 games out of the WC.
I should have been more clear, I meant at the begining of the season, I didn't expect the cards to do anything, and didnt see the brewres picking up Sabithia........the rest is in tact.
i know. the bo sox also made up 5 games in a short time against the rays. again, it's not impossible, but even if we do it, you have to admit, it would be a small miracle.
i didnt either but why do they always do this to us at the end of the season? cmon guys play like its september all year long
hopefully they will be able to make up another 4 1/2 games in the next 8 days, which it will only leave us .5 game behind the wildcard leader.. I smell post season if that becomes reality...
I mistakenly turned on 790's morning show about 2 weeks back...and that Davies guy was upset because he couldn't get Wade, in an interview, to talk about next season's opening day lineup. They spent a bunch of time talking about winter ball.
