I'll give up on this season when the mathemeticians tell me, but anyway... what about next year? Will Hernandez be ready to go 100%? Is Lidge a set up man or a starter? Will Bigg retire? Will Uncle Drayton loosen the payroll constraints, at least somewhat? Is Buck ready and/or who will catch? Will Bags' shoulder ever get any better? Is Ensberg the answer at 3B or who will be brought in? (Blum is destined to be a nice utility man/ph for someone.) Who is the real Richard Hidalgo?
Hernandez will be thrown into the fray... but he probably won't get his pre-injury "stuff" back till a year and a half after the surgery (so, probably not till 2005 season). In case you forgot (which I'm sure you have... his pre-injury fastball was around 95, and he had a much bigger 12-6 curve). Lidge will be a set-up man, and may become the closer once Wagner is traded. Oh yea, Wagner will be traded... preferably to a big market AL team with a need for bullpen help and a plethora of starting pitching (Yankees are the only real possibility). Drayton can't loosen the purse strings if he's overpaying a below-average centerfielder/lead-off man (which he is). Carlos Beltran would look oh-so-nice... and if he wasn't paying Biggio and Wagner, he'd be a probability. Since we won't get rid of Biggio, Ensberg will be used as trade bait to get some starting pitching. Hidalgo will be back next year (its a contract year for him...), and he probably will have a great year because of that. Pitching Staff - 1. Oswalt 2. Miller 3. Redding 4. Some veteran pitcher 5. Hernandez / Robertson / Villone Starting Lineup - 1. Biggio 2. Everett 3. Berkman 4. Kent 5. Bagwell 6. Hidalgo 7. Ensberg / Blum 8. Ausmus / Buck / Chavez
I wouldn't count my cards on Ausmus coming back. He frees up 5 million dollars for Drayton to stick back in his pockets. Plus Ausmus is predicted to be heading to San Diego where he's from.
everyone seems to be missing the fact that Rodrigo Rosario should be back and healthy, ready to contend for a starters position. This year, the astro's arms were just devestated.
The San Diego hitch is the possibility (probability???) of Kendall going there. Ausmus will command 'only' a mill tops next season...will he retire rather than 'settle'? (He talks about retiring.) Gee, you don't think Drayton Warbucks will toss that 5 mil in the let's spend pot?
