Well, thanks for the responses. At least baseball's got that "anything can happen" feeling. . .and it should still be fun to go to minute maid every now and then.
I don't care how bad they are I love to go in April and early May when the roof is open and I always try and go when Roy O pitches I just hope we are somewhat competitive to bridge the gap between NBA playoffs and NFL
Horrible time to get back into the Astros. Aging stars who are in their decline minus maybe Lance. One good pitcher. Worst Farm system in baseball. 0 top prospects. Your savior is Hunter Pence. Every free agent signing is a stretch. Check back in 5 years.
Quite the pessimist aren't you? We only finished a few games out of the wild card last year and that was after hurricane ike and bud selig conspired to move a supposed home game to milwaukee to get no hit by Zambrano in front of 20k cubs fans. This effectively killed their playoff hopes after being on fire thru August into September. I'm not saying they're going to be great, but if some of Roy's awesomeness can rub off on Hampton/Ortiz like it appears to have on Moehler, we could have a good team.
The astros started off the preason playing terrible, but lately have gotten hot and I think if we get one more decent starting pitcher we have a chance to contend with the mets for the wild card.
I thought Spring Training was more about seeing who is going to make the team. Not putting the best players out and try to win every ST game. I wouldn't start worrying until the 2nd half of the season.
i'd say we have a punch-drunk chance to suck in the first half of the year and then turn it on and fall short at the end.
How the hell did everyone forget they won 86 games last season? I know, I know...Blaise Pascal said they only should have won 76.
The Astros finished 11/16 in runs scored last year and 9/16 in runs allowed last season. Yes, they won 86 games last year, but regardless of how you feel about Pythag records, the likelihood of them doing it again with largely the same team is pretty small. I have a hard time seeing the offense improving any this year - the catching is better (obviously), and Pence will probably be better, but those gains will likely be offset by Blum at third, and Lee regressing from a career year. For the pitching to improve, you are counting on Russ Ortiz & Mike Hampton - good luck with that.
all that is dandy. we're talking about a team that is virtually the same team from last year. and we're laughing that they're suggesting they might win 4 more games.
The Astros were 57-59 the day Lee got hurt and was out for the year. They went 29-16 the rest of the way.
Carlos Lee has been one of The most consistent players in MLB for quite some time now. No career year there. Very similar to what you can expect from him and why he was a huge signing for the 'Stros. Also, a reason why they have a potent offensive line-up, won 86 games last year and might win 90 games this year. Have to admit, a little concerned about the starting rotation, but I think a couple of those guys will surprise + Roy & a pretty good yr. from Wandy. We'll see. I like Hawkins and Valverde in the pen. Pen looks pretty strong. I say they have a fighting shot to win 90 or 91 like Lance and Coop say. I'll be there on opening day. I hope Roy O. gets the nod. Actually, Wandy always pitches lights out when I'm there.
technically, it was career year-ish. his career ops+ is 116; last year, he posted a 144. the 4 years prior, he posted a 126, 126, 109, 127. he did miss 45+ games, so it may have been moved closer to his mean by year's end... but, it was certainly his best year ever. and for it to happen at 32... we'd be silly to expect a repeat. BUT he should still be very productive - he's a very good hitter.
One nit, picked. It was going, like, oh-for-June that "effectively killed [their] playoff hopes." Carry on.
2006 624 AB .300 AVG. 37 HR 102 RUNS 116 RBI 2007 627 AB .303 AVG. 32 HR 93 RUNS 119 RBI 2008 436 AB .314 AVG. 28 HR 61 RUNS 100 RBI 2004 591 AB .305 AVG. 31 HR 103 RUNS 99 RBI Hmm. I'd take the '07 numbers if it were up to me. Repeat.
Surprising thread as i always get blasted for stating the obvious the Astros won't come close to winning the division or even the wild card. I feel bad for Oswalt and Berkman wasting their prime here. We have a nice offense now that our catcher isn't an automatic out like the pitcher, plus Pudge will have a chip on his shoulder and 15-20 homeruns, .275 avg, would be a vast improvement in that spot we haven't had in a long time. However we knew we needed starting pitching and did nothing to acquire it. Has Drayton not figured out the only reasons we've ever made it to the 2nd round and World Series was because of a great pitching staff. Our only hope is Wandy blossoms into a stud and Backe stays healthy while pitching good. However, either rebuild or go for it all. I could see Oswalt in a Red Sox uniform, Berkman for a team like the Dodgers who need another bat for Manny. Anyone would take Pence, but getting rid of Lee's salary would be the hardest. Force a team to take him with Roy or Berkman in a trade. Te only thing i fear about rebuilding is our horrible scouting. It took 10 years to bring up a bat like Pence since Berkman, never a good catcher panned out, and i don't see anyone close to Roy or any pitcher in the minors coming up as a starter this season. I think Drayton just want to keep the seats filled and fears it won't happen if he blows everything up. We can be a little over .500 by beating up on bad pitching, but i don't see us better than the Cubs or Cardinals in our division.
I am an Astros diehard. Please shut up with this "fan" bull****. You have no business speaking for any Astros fans. You are without a clue about baseball and the Houston Astros.
There is nothing wrong with redgoose's post. I've seen him be overly negative at times, but that doesn't mean he's not a "fan". He cares enough to be here and be talking about it, doesn't he? Nothing like a little "fan piety". At any rate, I'm hoping our scouting is on its way back up. They made a couple hires last year that look pretty good on paper. Here's hoping.
