Mike Scott

I take exception to that. There are plenty of diehards who have followed the team devoutly pre-Enron Field. Biggio and Bagwell have not just set the mood in the clubhouse, they have created a fanbase that enjoys to see baseball played well. The issue I have is that the gimmick ballpark and the addition of Clemens have lowered the fan IQ considerably. The positive from that is that those "fans" pour more money into the team. I never dreamt that the Astros would be able to have this competitive of a payroll. They'll eventually either smarten up or jump ship.

That was classless.

I'm not making excuses.

The Astros got swept but the games were close. The Astros played good baseball in the Series but the Sox were better. No shame in that unlike the Cards in 2004. You mean the year they beat the Astros in the NLCS? A sweep is a sweep. The Cardinals played poor baseball 2 years ago, but the Astros were equally embarrased last year. All I ask for as a fan is good baseball. Did you watch the 2004 NLCS? Great series. I felt no shame when the Astros lost. I gained a ton of respect for that Cards team but lost it all when they tanked in the Series. Most boring World Series ever. Yes a sweep is a sweep but good baseball is good baseball. The Cards did not play good baseball in the 2004 World Series. The '05 Series included two one-run games and two two-run games. One game was decided in the ninth and another in the fourteenth. I felt no shame losing to the White Sox. The Astros fought tooth and nail but the Sox played better baseball.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The Astros got swept but the games were close. The Astros played good baseball in the Series but the Sox were better. No shame in that unlike the Cards in 2004.

Not on your life. Just coming to this thread. Jimy sure is cocky these days. Amazing to see that kind of attitude. Makes sense coming from somebody who can't spell Buchholz. Buchholz looks good but he's a rookie with a strange track record. Wandy, Nieve and Astacio still scare the hell out of me. Back to the top 3 of the rotation. Mussina is not anywhere near as good as Oswalt. Mussina has become a league average pitcher. In fact, I'd take Oswalt over Mussina in his prime. In five seasons, Oswalt has four years with an ERA+ above 140 and his numbers this year are as good as ever. I have no idea how good Johnson will be. He had a phenomenal year in 2004 sandwiched between two mortal years. Is age catching up to him? Beats me. Pettitte is eight years younger. I have no idea how good Pettitte will be. Given the ERA+ for both of these guys over the last three season, I don't know how somebody could definitively pick one over the other this year. Given the huge discrepency between Mussina and Oswalt, I'm not sure how Mussina, Johnson, Clemens > Oswalt, Pettitte, Clemens. As much as the media might lead you to think that Roger is twice as good when he wears pinstripes, I don't think that would be enough to tilt the scales.

This Cubs fan says it was one of the worst pitching seasons in my lifetime. ? Um, he pitched for the Mets. NL East... There was no NL Central back in the day. The 1986 NLCS is still the greatest series in my memory, completely heartbreaking. The Mets had a hell of a team that year. Gooden allowed 1 run in game 1 and pitched 10 innings in game 2, again only giving up a run. His ERA for the series was 1.06. This guy was going to be the greatest pitcher of his generation. Sad to see people go down this road.

Mitre was amazing tonight. The Cubs lost another front line starting pitcher. Ok...maybe I'm exaggerating, a lot. I wasn't all that impressed. He threw strikes and the Astros didn't hit them. Kudos to him. The Astro hitters were not relaxed tonight. If you're into fantasy baseball, I wouldn't count on Mitre putting up those kind of numbers very often. The past two seasons, the Astros have been wretched in April. That trend may continue.

With Chavez being claimed by the Os today, Munson is going to be the Astros backup catcher to start the season. Who saw that one coming???? http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060331&content_id=1378015&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

The lack of base on balls drawn are a worry. Hopefully Biggio will start taking a few more pitches again. Anybody know if there is statistical significance for older players to have such a dramatic decrease in drawing walks? Taveras was definitely better in the minors drawing walks but he probably won't continue to hit .300. I'm hoping that he'll be able to get his OBP to .340 while doing a good job of moving runners over. I think that Lane will be able to get his OBP up as well now that he's comfortable at the major league level. You are right, the team's OBP is a problem but I'm optimistic that it will improve.

lol. You'll be happy to know that he's be assigned to AAA Round Rock. It looks like Buchholz has the 5th spot locked up. I keep praying that Steve Sparks is going to be released.

Yeah...almost no way Pettitte matches what he did last year. Hopefully he'll pitch 200 inninngs. He and Oswalt need to be horses to keep the pen from being overworked. The rotation really worries me.

Backe is one of my favorite players. The guy has heart. I saw him pitch a game in Albuquerque with playoff type intensity. Best minor league game I've ever seen. Problem is, I'm not sure how long somebody can sustain that kind of energy. I think that's why he's so inconsistent. He'll have games where he's rocked early and he'll have his fair share of gems. Backe will be fine. It's the fourth and fifth starters that scare me to no end.

Yeah...those outlooks look pretty damn optimistic to me. Honestly, I'm deathly afraid of the bottom of the rotation for Houston. I have no faith in Wandy. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if this team had a solid #3, bumping Backe and Rodriguez down a spot. Taylor Buchholz is impressing people but how many playoff teams have 4th and 5th starters without amazing arms and with little to no major league experience?? I can't stand Roger Clemens' antics but man would his return transform the rotation. The bullpen is going to get worked, especially since Backe is inconsistent. With that said, I'm pretty optimistic about the other areas of the club. The defense, bench and bullpen should all be very good. I'm also optimistic about the offense. This club should easily score more runs than last year's team. Is that enough to offset the end of the rotation??? I'm skeptical but a return of the Rocket would change things dramatically.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cubans play. Fidel takes such great pride in his players. It'll be fun to see how they stack up in a competition against major league players. Is anybody else suprised about how weak Canada is? The US bracket is going to be cake.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- When Jeff Bagwell joins his team on Feb. 24 for the first full-squad workout, he will begin a crucial period of evaluating where he stands physically and whether his right shoulder can endure the strain brought on by hitting and throwing. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060219&content_id=1315759&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

I'm pretty worried about the back of the rotation. I have faith in Backe as a 3 but Wandy Rodriguez scares me. Astacio has a good arm and pitched well in the second half of the season. He should be very good, as a fifth starter. The wildcards are Hirsch, Buchholz and Nieve. All three of those guys have better stuff than Wandy. Hopefully Clemens will come back. Two inexperienced starters isn't an ideal situation for a contending team.

Jeff has to have 5 and 10 rights, correct? If he can hit, I'd be suprised if he would pass up the chance to get to 500 HRs. Who knows. Complete conjecture.

If Bagwell can play, the Astros could be a considerably better offensive team. Defensively, if he can throw first to third than I'm all for him coming back. I'd love nothing more than for Bagwell to have a really solid year. He's a class act who you have to chear on. Berkman reports that he has extra mobility since the surgery so he should be able to do a decent job in left. My big concern is Wilson in center. He's much more suited to left with his knees. Regardless, I'm rooting for Bagwell through all of this. Who plays instead of Bagwell if he isn't back? When he did play last year he wasn't a very good offensive player, especially poor for a 1B. If Bagwell is back, the Astros likely run out this line-up: 2b Biggio CF Taveras LF Berkman 3b Ensberg RF Wilson 1b Bagwell SS Everett C Ausmus If Bagwell isn't able to play, Berkman shifts to first, and Lane moves in at left. Either Lane or Tavares would be the odd man out if Bagwell came back. Purpura loves both of those guys but thinks Lane can swat 40 HRs. Lane is seen as a right fielder while Wilson is seen as either a left or center fielder. If Bagwell plays, Taveras would probably be the odd man out, assuming that Wilson can play center. I'm sure with injuries, resting players and defensive switches, Tavares would still get a sizable amount of PT. As far as how good of a hitter Bagwell can be in 2006, who knows? His 100 ABs last year were pretty bad but so was his shoulder, which effected more than his throwing. His agent claims his strength and conditioning are the best they have been in the past four years. I'll take his 2003 or 2004 numbers. If Jeff is healthy, displacing Tavares to the bench, Everett would probably hit in the 2 hole. Not particularly appealing but a 3-4-5-6-7 of Berkman, Ensberg, Wilson, Bagwell and Lane would be pretty productive. With all of that said, I'm skeptical that Bagwell will be able to play the field. If he proves that he can hit in spring training, I wouldn't be suprised if he's traded to the AL.

I have some fond memories of Milo but man he's completely useless now. They both were/are horrid announcers at the end of their careers but their egos wouldn't/won't let them walk away. I don't really understand their rivalry and honestly I don't want to. I just want quality broadcasting when I'm listening to a game. Milo is as incapable now as Harry was in the tail end of his career. Why don't people like to go out on top?

If Bagwell can play, the Astros could be a considerably better offensive team. Defensively, if he can throw first to third than I'm all for him coming back. I'd love nothing more than for Bagwell to have a really solid year. He's a class act who you have to chear on. Berkman reports that he has extra mobility since the surgery so he should be able to do a decent job in left. My big concern is Wilson in center. He's much more suited to left with his knees. Regardless, I'm rooting for Bagwell through all of this.

Berkman's neither the most athletic individual nor the most disciplined. He's pretty much done in the OF. I can just see Bagwell making a miraculous turnaround pushing Berkman to left and Wilson to center. Yikes. Talk about giving the pitchers confidence.

I'm too tired to make a lengthy response. I can't defend Wheeler all that much but Qualls is the real deal.

My comparison of the outfields was only in response to that first guy who seemed pretty confident in his statement that the Astros have the wrost OF in the division. Nothing more or less.