the curse of the Astroturf rolls off the tongue smoother. Oh and it's real. It won't be lifted till all Astroturf in every stadium in the world is removed and and Astro player bleeds on the field.
Yes, Vinatieri is known as the Ram killer. I'm grew up in Houston, UH grad, so I am still an Astros and Rockets fan, but I switched to being a Rams fan when the Oilers left Houston. It gave me great pleasure to watch the Titans fall one yard short. Sort of somes up the Oilers existence. No longer in STL though, moved to Tucson this summer.
Excuse me...I must have confused the Astros with one of the hottest post-All Star Game hot streaks in the 100+ years of MLB. I mean, it really is unusual for red hot teams like that to get to the Series, right? And nobody in this Forum was licking their chops and the prospect of facing Suppan, Tavares and Isringhausen were they? Oh...I forgot...all three are 1st round HOF'ers... Back at ya...
On the money. I said before the game that if the Cards could hit Clemons and Oswalt and shut down our hitters they deserved to go to the Series. They did it and they are. Thanks Astros for some of the most exciting baseball I have ever seen. It was a great great run; loads of fun. The Cards will demolish the Red Socks, may sweep them. The Red Socks are emotionally spent and their pitchers can't contain the Redbird's power. I believe that the Astros could have beat them too, but we won't get the chance. Sad, that would have been sweet, World Champions.
THANK YOU!!! Garner could only play with the hand he was dealt. Garner gave these guys EVERY chance to prove themselves and come through and they failed to deliver. Anyone who wants to throw stones at Phil Garner should first take a look at the Astros box score from this game: Houston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Biggio, LF 4 1 1 1 0 1 1 .188 Oswalt, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Beltran, CF 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .417 Bagwell, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259 Berkman, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .292 Kent, 2B 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .240 Ensberg, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .136 Vizcaino, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250 Ausmus, C 3 0 0 0 0 2 4 .105 Clemens, P 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 .000 a-Palmeiro, PH-LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Totals 30 2 3 1 2 7 12 In the end, the manager can only do so much. It's up to the players to come through and make the plays necessary to win. Ours didn't - theirs did - END OF STORY. In my book, Phil Garner has more than earned the chance to come back as their manager.
GATER, I think you are making too big a deal about "HOFer!" I mean, maybe if you say it with an echo! Or write it like this... <h2> CLEMENS the HOFER!!!!</h2> It might make it seem scarier for the opposition. The fact of the matter is that younger stud pitchers make (or break) their names in the play-offs. Just like a younger Kevin Brown did against us (look at him now; Ha ha! ). They stepped up, had better power, movement, and just got the job done. We just got beat by a better team. Suppan, Tavares and Isringhausen might not have the same reverence that Clemens does. But they were able to last longer.
i can't watch espn right now. its just too depressing i dunno if i can watch espn from now until the ws is over
Sorry.. I know we made a good run.. but I can't help to be depressed.. a 42 year old franchise can't be happy with winning their first ever playoff series.. it's not like we are a expansion team.. it's a joke that it took us 42 years to win one.. and I'm not going to say yay if they win the next within 30 years.. I'll be rooting for them as always next year.. it's just frustrating because we should have had this series won.... I don't care if the cardinals are better.. when you go back up 3-2 with Roger ready.. you have to win
i read a whole lot of sh!tty posts in this thread but this pile of crap bascially sums up the pessimistic mood that alot of people are in but really shouldn't be. that's not a list of reasons why next year won't be good, that's a list of the absolute worst possible scenario that could happen regarding every aspect of the ball-club. i don't know what's going to happen next year but there's plenty of things to be positive about. and you sure as don't know that beltran wants to play for new york. i'd like to thank the astros for an amazing run and the most exciting 3 months of baseball i've ever watched. they played hard and matched the cardinals blow for blow till the last game where they just got outplayed.
Man, I don't even want to read this thread and all the crap the bandwagon jumpers were spewing last night and this morning. Obviously I'm disappointed. Feels a TON like 1986, when I was 12 years old. That picture of Vizcaino in the dugout reminds me of the pictures of Bill Doran in the dugout after game 6 in '86 that broke my heart. But the last two months have been the most fun I've ever experienced as an Astros fan. An amazing rise from the dead...a great playoff series win against a longtime nemesis...watching Beltran play like few have ever played in the playoffs...watching these games with my wife and son and friends...the 3 wins in a row at home and a very clear sea level change in this town's passion for baseball and sports in general...and Kent's dramatic 3 run shot. Wow...that was a blast. Obviously I can play the "what if's." What if we had made some different moves...what if Andy and Wade had been there at the end? But every team can play those. This will be the longest offseason for me, ever. Baseball is my first love among sports, so I always wait with anticipation for the next season. But this team was so fun this year...assuming they can bring back a strong core, they can make another run. I can't freaking wait!!! About 5 months till pitchers and catchers report. GO 'STROS!!!!
I am not all that dissappointed. Sure it hurt and some decisions could be questioned, but man what a ride. What I am worried about is whether Clemens stays. I honestly feel that having him in the clubhouse got us to the LCS. His demeanor and professionalism and attitude spread throughout the whole team. I can't help but think what would have happened if Pettite and Miller were healthy. I am not worried about Beltran, he was a rental, sure he is awesome, but if he wants to go, let him. DD
I'm with you Da-Da....I love our boys and they had NOTHING to lose...They gave us a story-book run to the post season, swatted the braves and took the best team in baseball to 7 games... Pettite will be back, maybe Beltran, the Cubs are folding like a cheap suit and there is no WAY that St. Louis can keep that line-up together... Here's to the Stros, thanks for the memories!!
This season was too much fun (at least from August 15th on) to crap on the players performances like some of you. Go jump on the Cubs bandwagon or with the Braves. Oh wait, they didn't get this far. We will be back even stronger next year. With or without Clemens, a rotation of Oswalt, Pettitte, Miller, and Backe is pretty good. Backe will be a year wiser and has much tougher skin than Tim Redding ever did. With Clemens, it might be the best in baseball (depending on health, of course). Some of you will be suprised by Chris Burke. He may not hit 30 hr's, but he is a good hitter. He is much like Adam Everett, but with more power to hit the gaps and the speed to turn those into triples. A team with Everett, Burke, Beltran (I think he will be back in the $15 million range), and maybe Taveres off the bench is going to steal a ton of bases and be very fun to watch. Kent will not be back with a $9 million team option. I don't know what to do with Biggio. I don't want to see him go out like Hakeem. However, I don't want to see him in left field everyday. If he is willing to play the utility role, then he should be back for one last season. If not, as much as it hurts to say it, Biggio should not be back. The only relievers that are guaranteed a spot for next year should be Lidge, Qualls, Wheeler, and Harville (I think he is going to be very good). Other than that, we need a more reliable lefty who can get lefty's out. Miceli is gone. Munro is probably gone again. Gallo is probably gone. As far as catcher goes, I want to see Chavez get more starts next season. Xenon was right about one thing. Ausmus is a walking rally killer. His defense isn't what it used to be and no longer makes up for his pathetic offense. A run at Varitek would be nice if we don't re-sign Beltran. I totally respect all that Ensberg and Lamb did for us at 3rd this year. Neither are great defensively. With Everett out for as long as he was, I think a few more balls got through than would have with him in there. If they are both back, I will be happy, If they aren't, it wouldn't kill me depending on who we got to replace them. All in all, it was a blast. I love the Rockets and Texans, too, but I live and die with the Astros. I got to go to my first NLCS game and got to see Roger Clemens pitch in person. We beat the hated Braves in a postseason series. We kept the Cubs out of the playoffs and got to hear them whine like the little b****es they are. Man, I can't wait for next season to start. Thank you, Houston Astros! You made the entire city of Houston and the state of Texas proud.
I agree. At the end of the day, the Astros were definitely not the better team. They had a miracle run just to get to the playoffs. The Cards had a better lineup. The Cards had a better bullpen overall. AND, most importantly, the Cards were MUCH better at the intangibles - defense, baserunning, etc. I lost track of the number of times a ball that should have been played in the infield got past Vizcaino or Kent. The Astros were able to make up for that in Houston, cause the field was more to their advantage in terms of mashing the ball, but when you have to rely on infield hits to score runs, and the other team either has you played perfectly every time, or makes amazing plays to get to the ball, and you're team is one of the weakest up the middle in the infield, you're going to lose those games.
