He started to improve towards the end of last season. It will be interesting to see what he does this season, if he is a disaster again, I will admitt getting rid of him was the right move.
Good news, the Astros have no intention of batting Lugo leadoff. This from rotoworld: Craig Biggio, Houston's No. 2 hitter last season, will move back into the leadoff spot this year. Biggio will probably swap spots with Julio Lugo, but there's a chance Lugo could be dropped to seventh or eighth if he has a lousy spring. As of right now, the Houston lineup should look like: Biggio, Lugo, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Richard Hidalgo, Geoff Blum and Brad Ausmus. It is possible that manager Jimy Williams will flip-flop Berkman and Bagwell. Source: Houston Chronicle
I really don't know how I feel about that. At this point, I don't have any more confidence in Biggio's ability to be a decent leadoff guy than I do Lugo's. I just hope one of them can step up so our murderer's row of Bagwell, Berkman and Kent will have someone to drive in...other than each other.
Are you guys satisfied with just winning the division? I've just noticed a lot of Astros posts in which we take pride in fielding one of the best regular season teams in the last decade, and the first thing I think is "Biggest Loser of the last decade." I know all of you want to win it all, or at least get out of the first round, but would you be satisfied if the Astros just win the division and get eliminated in the first round?
BGM, I'm not. However, this team has the ability to win the NL this year as it stands. Oswalt and Miller is the best 1-2 punch outside of Arizona and they have as good of an offense as any in the National League. I just hope they make a move for a 3rd starter if Shane doesnt cut it, and Moehler/Redding/Munro/Saarloos struggle. The window of opportunity is there for the taking, they need to seize it. Also, anything can happen once you get to the playoffs, but management should do whatever they can to improve our chances.
Although I would love for the Astros to get past the first round of the playoffs, I am satisfied whenever any team I root for plays hard, plays smart and is competitive. Being a lifelong Houston sports fans, if I were only satisified when a team advanced in the playoffs or won a championship then my satisfaction would be rare. The Astros have finished first or second every year since 1994 with the exception of 2000. While they did not advance in the playoffs, I am truly pleased that they have remained such a competitive team for such a long time. I've been watching them since their inception. It wasn't until their 8th season that they finished .500 and that was mainly due to the Expos and Padres being added that year. It took until 1980 before they won a division, so perhaps I was weaned not to expect to much and I wasn't spoiled like the folks that became fans in the early 1990s.
i second that... i would love for my astros to win it all this year, but i say if we make it in the playoffs ill be happy, and if we dont theres always next year... doh, i said that last year..lol.. but i see it this way, the next 2-4 seasons are going to be fun
