Do the Astros have the pitching to compete?

I think you severely underrate the Astros' bullpen. Most teams would kill to have pitchers as good as Miller and Borkowski as their 4th and 5th guys out of the pen. Even if Lidge is too unreliable to close, he'd make a really good, albeit overpriced 7th inning guy. I do share your concerns about the rotation, though.

 

Jennings is an unknown commodity.

Didn't know Jennings was a rookie. Seriously, we know what to expect from both Williams and Jennings over a full season.

Same can be said for Wandy; it is just that we don't like it. Actually as a fifth starter, the best you can hope for is league average ERA and 15 of 30 quality starts (6 innings giving up 3 runs or less). Wandy has the potential for that. If the Stros are contenting in June, Clemens will sign and Wandy will ride the pine. IIRC Wandy actually did not suck last year in April and May.

Better question is :

Who in our division has better pitching?

 

Your right man our starting pitching outside Oswalt has a BIG ??????

When your 3rd starter says stuff like this after giving up 5 runs in 5 inning..

"I felt good today," "I threw the ball well and it was the kind of outing I needed to have before my final tuneup. It was definitely a step in the right direction, and I'm ready to get home."

"I'm very confident now," "I made a lot of good pitches and the ball felt good coming out of my hand. It was definitely good enough to compete and win."

WTF is Woody talking about? Good enough to Win? Yeah if we allways put up 6+ runs a night for his sorry A$@.... I hope he proves me wrong and he has an ERA below or right around 4.

 

The Stros opened last season with a top 4 of:

Roy, AP, Backe & Wandy...as opposed to this year's:

Roy, JJ, Woody & Wandy.

Yep, big difference there.

They most likely need another starter. They needed one last year too. He showed up around June. If he doesn't, they'll have to make a move or have a couple of the youngsters that people pine for incessantly step up. That's the same situation as...umm lemme check...every team in the NL.

It's a long season.

 

WTF are you talking about?

It's spring training. Results don't matter.

 

So Buck what your saying here right now is that he's not going to be this sorry in the Season???? Because everything were seeing on offense and defensive mean Zilch??? I mean why should we even care what happens in Spring Training Right??

 

Results in ST don't matter. I can't make it any clearer than that.

 

But a lot of times they aren't...because pitchers don't pitch in ST games the same way they pitching in regular season games. They work with different pitches. They test stuff out.

Originally they said Backe was out all year. Later I read something that said he might come back at the all-star break.

 

Here's a little experiment for ya:

Woody Willams, Spring Training, last 4 seasons: ERA - 14.54, 14.4, 7.2, 6

Reg Season, last 4 years: cumulative 16 games over .500, ERA about 4

JJ had a 5.4ish ERA last Spring, how'd his regular season go?

Meaningless.

 

Out of curiousity, what exactly do you expect from them? Jennings had an ERA of 3.5 last year, and in the 5's the previous 3 years. Woody Williams had an ERA in the 3.6 range last year, and in the 4.8 range the year before and is now 41 years old.

 

Oh, the memories of one of the fun Astros threads last year, 3 weeks into the season...

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=111964

 

Purp has said repeatedly that they've targeted the upcoming offseason to be a significant one. Clemens/Pettitte/Bagwell (close to $50M) off the books. Oswalt's extension & a re-signed Pettitte will hopefully eat a chunk out of that, as will raises for a few other players.

The Stros will have spots to fill in LF & in the rotation.

Carlos Lee is the ideal target.

Hot damn, I'm good.

 

As of right now, No.

*If they get Clemens back
*If the pen (ie. Lidge/Qualls) performs up to their ability (2005)
*If they get something more from Ausmus/Everett (to help the pitchers)

I am not too worried about Scott or Burke but they are not proven so it is still a *if

The way I see it, too many "what if's"

This being said, they have one of the top three hitters in baseball and I think the best pitcher in baseball so when you have those two great anchors for your staff and lineup you got a chance.

I am excited for next monday but after that the Astros are an after thought (for a while) since the Rockets have a legit shot at a title. Let's hope we can stay close to St Louis and Chicago and get Roger back.

All and all I am happy that we have been in the mix the last few years and for the most part been a winner for the last 10+ years.

Now the goal is to win a world series not have the 4th best record in baseball over a period of time (the Astros like to bring up this stat) but when you take everything into account things are a hell of a lot better now. Nobody used to care about baseball in this town, the Astros were pretty bad and now we have a ballpark downtown people come early and stay late, folks make road trips I just wish the Astros could reward us with a title and the city can celebrate like back in the day.

On a side note, the Texans have been terrible but we can all agree the owner is a great guy who want to win very bad and it seems like we have a smart gm and a good coaching staff. Things in the NFL can change fast and if the Texans win a super bowl before the Astros and if the Rockets grab two more with Yao/Mac than I am worried this town will go back to not paying attention to the Stros. I like the way it's been but just back in 2003 (not long at all) they could not sell out opening day so I hope this thing continues without Roger and Andy.

 

wanna bet?

the astros have been consistently good for a while. that draws fans. that, and the fact you can still get in the game for $5. the ballpark is beautiful and it's a great place to spend a summer evening.

if the rockets grab two more??? seriously, man..i love the rockets big time...but you're talking about a sport where more teams make the playoffs than don't, and our track record for that ain't so hot over the course of the past 10 years...let's get out of the first round once before we start talking about multiple titles on the horizon.

the nfl is on another planet. it draws in spite of itself all over the country. it's not only the most popular sport in this country, it's arguably this country's favorite entertainment, period.

 

Jennings has only proven to be around a .500 pitcher in his career, that is all he has proven.

That being sad, I think they will be fine. Its basically the same pitching as last year, except Jennings for Pettite. No one else in the Central has more than 1 good pitcher, so although i dont think the pitching will be great, no one else's will be either.

 

for the Rockies. if you're getting the Rockies to play .500, you're doing well!

 

No I don't want to bet because I want people in this town to care about baseball. When I was a kid, I rode my bike up to the dome and paid 1 dollar to sit in the outfield. Nobody went to games and the only thing people cared about was the Oilers. In 97 there was barley over 30k for the freaking division clincher in 98 game 2 of the playoff series (with the best record the Astros ever had) there were dozens of empty sections.

I want the good times to keep rolling and I am worried they wont if the Astros go 5 years without either playoffs or a a series win.