but first, did you catch dick justice's piece today? he's a certified assbag; i'm now convinced. a good writer, but he's fallen victim to the conflagration of media noise that threatens to overwhelms us; he desperately wants to sell himself and be a part of it. so he's printing abject garbage to try and be heard above the fray. here's the latest: ok, ignoring completely that, though they have more last place finishes than playoff appearances since 1996, the mets somehow inexplicably made its way onto his list of teams with a “chance to win every year,” doesn’t he, in the very same article, proclaim (correctly) that the astros have been the third most successful baseball franchise since 1996? so doesn’t that mean that oswalt already plays “for a team with a chance to win every year.”? anyway...... my pants were most encouraged by not just ensberg's performance last night (even his first out was a rocket), but his enthusiasm. he was jacked up, and i, for one, loved it. if he so much as sniffs 2005, this is going to get very, very interesting. the team was 19-9 to start the year. and that was w/o clemens or huff. if they can get back on that same pace, they'll finish with 88 wins, which should be enough this year. three teams in the chase (ATL, MIL, PHIL) sold at the deadline; the NL west sucks and is going beat each other up... leaving the reds. we have six games left with them and we trail by 5. this is more than doable, people. who's with me?
Ensberg had some good ABs last night. He could've gone 0-4 with those ABs and I still would have been encouraged. He looked completely different than the Ensberg we saw pre-break.
it all depends on Berkman's groin. i don't think this team can play .500 ball if he keeps riding the pine.
No kidding. And he only used one batting stance! Didn't get his arm tested at 3rd, though (weird with AP on the mound).
Ric, quit pumping sunshine. I've been very close to giving up on the season after the Reds and DBacks series and here you go getting my hopes up.
I need to see us put together a stretch of 3 or 4 good games before I get excited. One day we look amazing and the next we look completely inept.
Which is why I think they could have the potential to turn it around... when they win, everybody does what they're supposed to do, but when they lose its because somebody FAILS miserably. Meaning, this is a GOOD team... if they all commit themselves to getting the job done, not making stupid mistakes, and grasp that killer instinct. Yes... the 2006 Houston Astros are good enough to win it... they just have to stop beating themselves. I hope this thread lasts around awhile.
I agree, we definately have the talent we just need to put it all together. I think Andy's performance last night was a good sign. If you think about it our season has reflected the inconsistency we've seen with him this year. It's tough to win games when you can't score runs for your two best pitchers and you're third starter has an ERA above 5.
I don't know if this is the start of the run, yet. But I do know it's a game they desperately needed to have at some point. It doesn't matter if we get the old Ensberg back if 3/5 of our rotation and all but one member of our bullpen turns to complete garbage. For Pettitte to pitch 6 scoreless and for Qualls and Lidge to each look impressive had to be a huge boost of confidence for all of them. I'm not ready to pronounce any of the three as officially "back" yet, but if they're ever going to do it, that was the kind of confidence boost they needed. And they all did it under a pressure situation... lead of only one run.
Like I said in the series thread... we go from here. This team was close to being broken up. I think the guys, if they have any testicular fortitude, will respond in a big way! I look forward to the day when the Astros can field a line-up with Berkman-Ensberg-Huff-Scott batting 3-4-5-6. Taveras CF Biggio 2B Berkman 1B Ensberg 3B Huff RF Scott LF Everett SS Ausmus C Pettitte pitching well yesterday is encouraging. If the Big 3 continue to pitch well, ANYTHING is possible. I was hoping and praying to take 2 of 3 from the D-backs. The stros would've only been 4 games back today if they hadn't blown the game on Sunday. They're due for a huge tear, and I for one, can't wait to see it. GO STROS!!!
more fire... here's our sked for august: SD - 6 games ARI - 3 games PIT - 7 games CHI - 3 games MIL - 6 games CIN - 3 games combined record of those 6 teams: 299-339 (.469 W%).
Look, I very much want to believe, ok? But I just got out of a bad relationship (2005 Texans & Rockets teams), and I'm not sure I'm ready for a long-term commitment yet. Let's try the friendship thing right now and see where that goes. My ex (Texans) is back in town and called last night, wanting to get back together and claiming to be "new and improved". But I don't know what to believe. It's hard to trust my ex after what I've been put through in the past, and unfortunately, that mess sort of spills over into this relationship. I need time to sort my feelings out. Besides, at this point, I just want to be free to do whatever I want and, you know, just hang. Like harp on Adam Everett. Or maybe call Tim Purpura "fat." It's hard to give up that freedom. Look, I'm sure I'll love again, but next time it'll be on my terms.
