I know it's pretty early to start this, considering anything can happen in baseball and we still have alot of head to heads left with the Cards and Scrubs. Houston 83-58 Cubs 77-63 Cards 76-64 OK, I'll be conservative and say the Stros go 10-11. That leaves them with a 93-69 mark, though I think it will be better. The Cubs would have to go 17-5 in their remaining 21 games to win the division by one. The Cards would have to go 18-4. I'm loving our chances guys. But, I do know it's a bit early.
Your optimism, logic and reasoning are sound, the only problem is the number of games the Astros have left with the Cubs and Cardials. For instance if those 11 losses are all to the Cubs and Cards, it makes it that much easier for those teams to reach their needed win totals, considering the quality of the opposition.
this is true...im hoping for a seattle-houston series...so i can wear my astros hat all over seatle and taunt...followed by running...and hiding...
red -- yeah...the cubs don't seem to be playing well enough right now. And quite frankly, I don't see us playing below .500 or even at .500 given the kind of starting pitching we're getting now. At this point, to lose a 5.5 game lead with around 20 games to go would be nothing short of catastrophic....I'm not saying it couldn't happen...but the Cubs would have to play out of their minds (something I think they already did early in the season) and our starting pitching would have to implode (something I don't see happening) I think if the Astros end up with about a 5 game lead going into the first Cubs series and they take 2/3 from the Cubs, the division chase is, for all practical purposes, done. I'm ready to consider first round playoff matchups...let's assume we win the best record in the NL...we're around 3.5 games up on that count right now. Who would you most like to face in the first round?? Keep in mind, we can't face the Cubs if they win the Wild Card. So then we'd likely be stuck playing the winner of the NL East (Atl or Phi). I'm not sure who I'd like to play most. I think LA is a team we could handle...but Kevin Brown still haunts me in a short series. I think Phi is a team we could roll...but for some reason we've struggled against their starters as much or more than any other team in the league this year. Atlanta isn't the Atlanta of old...but still, do you really want to face Maddux and Glavine in a short series?? We had success against the D-Backs this season...but I'm not thrilled with facing Schilling and Johnson in a 5 game set either. Which leads me to the Giants. Their starting pitching doesn't frighten me...if I could choose, that's probably the team I'd most like to face. Plus, Barry, like Bags and Biggio, doesn't seem to meet the task in the postseason.
Max, the playoffs will be tough for us, unless we play up to our potential. Zona- want to avoid these guys. We've played decently against Schilling but Johnson is scary. Atl- They're still the ATl, and I think they may have our #. Things can change though. Giants- Very good home team. I don't fear these guys however. LA- Has the plumber ever lost to Houston? Philly- I'm praying these guys win the East. I think the Stros match up well with them.
Let's take this one game at a time. Anybody here (other than me) old enough to remember 1980? We had a three game lead over the Dodgers with three games to go against the Dodgers, and we lost all three! It took a one game playoff victory over Los Angeles to make the playoffs. Just keep winning, and not look ahead till we get there.
Behad, I guess I'm old also. I went to that playoff game. It was exciting. Standing room only. That was the first playoff atmosphere type of game that I had ever been to & the place was rocking. If any of you haven't been to a playoff game (in any sport), then you can't begin to imagine the difference that you'll feel, actually being there. It's electrifying.
Don't speak too soon. I'm not a pessimist, but the Astros pitching does not look too good after Miller and Oswalt. Astacio is injured still. They just lost Hernandez for the year, and Villone is inconsistent. Reynolds is not back to his old form prior to the injury. So who will step it up? Redding?
Villone and Mlicki are inconsistent, although Mlicki has hada few quality starts. Reynolds looked good a few days ago. I'm more worried about the offense than anything. They seem to get into slumps together.
I'm driving in from Austin for the WEdnesday game. Was supposed to goto Tuesday game, but I bought the Wednesday tickets, lol.
Hey Hot, I'm not trying to call you out or anything, but I remember that game being in Los Angeles, so I looked it up. From CBS sportsline: The Astros whip the Dodgers 7-1 in a one-game playoff at Dodger Stadium. Art Howe drives in 4 runs with a HR and 2 singles and Joe Niekro wins his 20th game of the season to put Houston in the post-season for the first time since entering the major leagues in 1962. It must be the old age! Perhaps you were thinking of some other game? But I know what you mean about playoff atmosphere. I went to game 3 of the 1986 NBA finals. The Rockets won over the Celticvs, and the place was absolutely crazy!!!
Great! Now I suddenly feel really old. They say that the mind is the first thing to go. It must've been the last regular season game then.
Stros won, Cubs are losing. Oh, but St. Louis is tied for second, so no recalculating until they're game is over.
Exciting game on t.v. though,...I wish I was there with crispee and mum. Oswalt looked pretty damn good again.
Yeah, Oswalt looked good. But he should never, ever have pitched the 9th. His pitch count was already too high for a young pitcher, and the 9th just made it worse. Dierker is going to end up ruining Oswalt's arm, if he's not careful.
In the after game segment, Oswalt commented that he told the coaches that he would welcome relief in the ninth and said he was getting a bit tired at the end (not word for word). that concerned me also haven.
