For all you who think we are going to be a 4 or 5 seed

i think the astros analogy was good.

big aspirations, and a blockbuster addition. true superstar for the home team.

an injury later, and not even a sniff of pennant.

am i crazy to be REALLY worried about t-mac's bad back?

i actually like the team we have, but its like jenga, pull that one piece out, and its over.

 

My Buccos are only one game back and are on fire, so not only are the Astros looking at being the biggest disappointment in baseball but also at perhaps being a last place ball club.

....but i'll stop the baseball chat now before I get chewed out by some hothead for discussing baseball in the GARM forum.

 

Yes, you are. Actually, you can be alittle worried over his back, but it's not as big a problem as we all thought. As Jeff has pointed out, it was a knee injury (that isn't re-occuring) that put strain on his back last year due to favoring a leg, that kept him out for a few games.

The analogy is good, as far as big aspiriations, blockbuster addition etc etc As all you pointed out in your post there. But, the analogy is bad when it comes to what a blockbuster addition in basketball means and what it means in baseball.
As I said, Roger Clemens can only play once every 5 games, and can only control the defensive side of the game.

T-mac, can play every day, every minute he can and wants, can control the defensive side and the offensive side of a game. He can take command and over a game and cause the decision of a game whether its a win or lose more than any baseball player can, simply because he can choose to do so at any moment. Think of it as Andre Pujols, comming of the bench to bat at any moment he pleased with no limitation of at bats, and especially at moments where bases are loaded. Notice the GREAT difference there?

And it's not just T-mac, we also have Yao Ming. And as I pointed out before, that core of superstars, who have the majoral influence over the team is 23 and 25, in contrast to the astros' superstars, who are in their late 30's and early 40's.

There really is NOTHING to worry about as far as that goes, should be no concern over the Rocket's having a season even remotely close to the Astros' this year.

 

We were 7th last season. Let's look at the teams ahead of us.

Spurs, Wolves, Kings are still way ahead of us.

Lakers and Mavs are worse. Grizzlies about the same. Rockets are better. I think we will surpass Memphis. We may or may not be better than the Lakers and/or Dallas.



Teams behind us last season.

Nuggets are better, about the same amount as us. So they are still slightly behind us. Utah are better, could catch up on us. Portland has not improved yet. Still behind us. Suns got better, but they were too far behind us. The new kid Hornets is no better than Portland and Suns, imo.

Sonic, Clippers, and Warriors aren't getting much better, heading for the lottery again.


In summary, we pass one, possibly three teams, and are passed possibly by one team. I think #5 is realistic. #4 is possible but very tough. We may also end up anywhere from #6 to #8. Missing the playoffs is very unlikely.

 

Fochin' A people! Quit freakin' out. It is July! Not September! Remember this unequivocal truth. We have plenty of time to figure it out and add to our team. Just b/c CD, JVG, and Les aren't in the espn headlines for pursuing so and so or signing FA this or that yesterday or the whole week before doesnt mean they are not doing anything and more importantly---have not realized the obvious flaws of our burgeoning championship team and accordingly--how to correct them. I know the whole point of this board is discussion at sometimes frivolous and at some times provocative and insightful, but ya gotta admit that these damn "RANK THE WEST", "TMAC&YAO vs. ____" type of threads are getting pretty absurd. I suggest we all have a nice beer or whiskey&coke and just wait till at least mid-august (when we have a clear(er) idea of what the roster is shaping up to be) to stretch out into the yonder that is conjecture and partially blind prognostication.

P.S. This thread reminds me of the election in 2000 when Dan Rather and all the news people were calling the election as a whole and in certain states and then completely pulling a 180 at the utterance of any somewhat applicable news. Chill out don't call the game at halftime fellas.

Peace