Mike Scott

I know the Brewers have some good talent but I would be shocked if they won 90. I'm not sure how many people outside of Illinios and Wisconsin are calling the Brewers "overrated". Most of the assessments on the Astros in this thread have been fair. Most. I'm not going to claim that the Astros have an amazing outfield. While it's not spectacular, it's pretty respectable. Taveras .291/.324/.341 Pierre .276/.326/.354 Statistically, Pierre and Taveras were pretty much equal at the plate last year. Pierre's had better years so he could improve. Taveras as a rookie got his feet wet so he could improve as well. He needs to get on base at a better clip. Seeing as though he skipped AAA and in his 409 ABs in AA his OBP was .402, I expect he'll make some improvements. He's a very good centerfielder with a great arm. Wilson .261/.329/.443 Jones .249/.319/.438 Again, not a huge difference statistically last year. Wilson's knees are a concern but if he can stay healthy. He and Jones should be equals at the plate. I'm not going to do a statistical comparison of Murton and Lane. Murton's stats over 140 ABs as a rookie don't translate to a full season. I haven't seen the guy play but seeming as though he spent all of 2004 in A ball hitting 13 HRs in 460 ABs, I'm a little skeptical that he can hit anywhere near what he did last year for the Cubs. Anyway, my point is not that my player is better than your player. My point is that for Cubs' fans to be dogging on the Astros OF is, how do you say...Pot meet Kettle. As far as the bullpen goes, Qualls and Wheeler are EXCELLENT relievers. The Astros have so much faith in Qualls that Lidge almost was traded to Baltimore. Rumor has it if the Astros can get a quality bat, he's the bait. The rest of the bullpen is nothing special: Two decent lefties in Miller and Gallo and a veteran righy in Springer. The Astros bullpen should be excellent again. Other than a couple of monumental homers given up by Lidge, the Astros pen was fantastic in the playoffs. My biggest concern is that one of the young starters needs to step it up, especially if Roger doesn't come back. I'm also not convinced that Ensberg can keep up his allstar production. In short, the bullpen is really solid, the outfield is respectable, the offense is mediocre and the bottom of the rotation could pretty bad.

Birds on the Bat is a great site. Cards Clubhouse is quiet but good. Cards Talk is the last place I'd go for good baseball talk. I'm not suprised that that site's attracted the bottom feeders from Houston.

Backe was amazing in the LCS this year. Just like last. The guy has some heart. I wouldn't sell him short. He had some problems in the season but so did Lamb, Burke, etc and they're all putting it together at the right time. No way you see Clemens three times. He doesn't bounce back like he used to. He wore doen toward the end of the season. Guy's getting old. I've got faith in Backe.

Thank you. I'm still in shock. I've had my heart ripped out of my chest so many times. I can't believe the Astros are playing in the Series. The World Series! I was 12 in 1986 and I've grown up with heart break. I guess eveything will feel a little more real Saturday. I have to admit, I haven't watched the Sox this year. I know most of the players from years past but I haven't seen them play as a team. On paper, it looks like a great matchup. Question. Is their rotation really that good? Everybody on ESPN picked their rotation over Oswalt, Clemens and Pettitte. That's a bold statement.

I've seen this thread since it was created but for obvious reasons I didn't want to post the Astros sites. I know you guys are a good group so I'm not in fear of the boards I follow getting spammed. Anyway here are the Astros boards. As you can see there are quite a few with but each is very unique. http://www.orangewhoopass.com http://www.astrosdaily.com pub60.ezboard.com/bevilwontwin astros.mostvaluablenetwork.com http://www.astros.com bbs.clutchcity.net (This is officially a Rockets board but there's quite a bit of Astros postings) Keep it real.