To steal a line from Steve Campbell of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros are undefeated in 2008. I am confident that will be consistent through the first game. I put my trust in Roy O for game one, even against Jake Peavy. Starters 2-5, I'll take the third string pitcher on my 9 yr olds baseball team over most of the Astros staff. At least we don't have to watch Jason Jennings anymore. Losing Willy "Speedy" Taveres to the Rockies for Jennings was painful. I think Taveres was faster than a Jennings fastball, but I digress.
This years 'Stros is going to make me miss something sacred in baseball. The 2 1/2 hour game. Remember the days in the 'Dome where we won with pitching, speed and defense? Now we're back to the 10 run field days. I'm thinking we'll score more than my slow pitch team, which is obvious if Chachi and Kelly are playing (enough with the inside jokes). I do think it's going to be a great year. With our lineup and the obvious availability of HGH we're going to score lots. I don't think any of the other staffs in the division can keep us off the board. Let's look at the lineup:
Michael Bourne - CF (the biggest question mark. We're excited because he's a hometown guy. Let's see if he can improve on the OBP of .348)
Kaz Matsui - (good defense, disciplined hitter, glad not wierd name like Ichi or Fukudome)
Miguel Tejada - (since off the juice, might be good for bunts, but did win Home Run Derby at Minute Maid Park in 2004)
Carlos Lee - (El Caballo, 32 hr, 119 RBI's in 07)
Lance Berkman - (one of the good guys, avg. over 30 hr, 100 RBI's, multiple All-star)
Hunter Pence - (.322 avg as a rookie, see below for more thoughts)
Ty Wiggington - (How can you not root for someone named Ty? Have you seen Caddyshack?)
J.R. Towles - (.375 avg, .575 slg during late season call up)
To be honest, that's not a bad lineup. Of course if Tejada gets deported then we substitue Mark Loretta who hit .287 with an OBP of .352 as a 1/2 season starter. My opinion is I don't care if Tejada did juice. I'm not a purist. As my friend Kelby says, "I pay to be entertained. These guys did what they did to entertain me." I happen to agree.
So about Hunter Pence. This guy is amazing. He has a hitch in his swing, a hitch in his throwing motion and runs funny. However, he can really hit, has a gun and is fast. He's the Jim Furyk of baseball. You'd never teach your kid to have the fundementals of Pence, but by goodness it works.
To explain the title, I'm a native Houstonian working on a project in Chicago. Normally it's not too bad. That's normally. Last weekend my wife came to visit and the high on Saturday was six degrees. We got up on Sunday to go see a buddy and it was -5. When walking down the Mag Mile on Saturday I was completly bundled. My breath would fog my glasses as it released from my scarf and then would turn to ice as fog is moisture. What the hell is that? Still, it's a novelty to a guy from the south and I enjoy it. We went to dinner at Harry Caray's on Saturday night. It's one of the best steaks I've ever had and the creamed spinich is to die for. The only issue was the Cubs convention was that weekend so most people were wearing those ugly blue uniforms!
Thank goodness spring training starts within the next month so the rest of teams can realize what should be expected in '08. The Astros will dominate!!!!! I predict we could win 86 games which will win this sorry division..
Let's Go Astros!
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3 comments:
Nice start.
But what we really want to know is...
Quien es mas macho, Texada O Bell?
Green leafy vegetables on your first post easily breaks man laws in most jurisdictions but I will issue a pass.
Since we entered the realm of softball. I would like to toss my own. Has a guy ever struck out swinging in slow-pitch?Anyone, anyone...Chachi...paging Chachi.
Yes! I am shamed to admit it. But I have made up for it since by striking out 4 people..........LOOKING. It's Slow pitch for God's sake. There's no Walking in Slow pitch.
And don't forget......in Baseball my OBP is .502 and my BA is .378 with a Slugging of 1.980. Of Course that is on PS2.
And as for my prediction on the 'Stros........They will now loose 10-9 most games instead of 10-2. But I will still go see them cause I can walk up on any given day a buy cheap tickets, or expensive ones. Try that at Wrigley.
Audi 5k
Chachi
Also, since I cannot sleep, I don't believe that 86 games will win the division......and here is why:
3 Teams....Maybe (and a big maybe)4 teams. Cubs, Brew Crew, The Hated Cards, and POSSIBLY the Astros.
The Cubs have not only a solid chance but I think they will still improve on what they have. Pitchers are in short supply and the Cubs have Pleanty in numerous aspects. Too Many for a 25 man roster and I smell a nice trade (maybe) that would give the North Siders a Scary lineup with arms to back it up. Even without that, a nice 1-5 spot still looks dangerous. 6-8 isn't that bad either with every 5th day the 9th batter could bat (dare I say maybe should bat) 7th.
Brewers, despite their sausage race and beer issues, are a yound team that caused havoc last year and with more seasoning....look good. hey are nothing to sneeze at and I wouldn't be surprised if they are an annoying pest to every team in the NL.
The Cards.......God I hate 'em. Although they have less talent, in my opinion, and less sense than years past, they will still find a way to be in hunt at some point. That worthless Manager (I only say that because he wears the wrong uniform) will find some way to make Pujols and company contenders. Despite injuries, Tony has skill and loves Stats.....the man knows his game. They will probably be spoilers at best, but will still piss me off just because they are in the same division.
And Last but not least the Astros. You know they say the best Defense is a good Offense. Time will tell with the shallow porches at Minute Maid (The Juice Box)and the generous pitching.
86 Games....Probably not. I will say 90. And I don't believe the Central is that weak. Well maybe the Bucs and Reds.
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