In late July, I predicted by this time in August, it'd be clear as to whether the Astros' season was still alive, or in the gutter. Looks like I was wrong. Things are still unclear in Houston.
The Astros have had some tough opponents during the last two weeks and really needed to win more games than they did, but they're hanging on by a thread. To make matters more difficult, some of the team's key contributors are now dealing with injury issues that makes their status unclear from here.
There's little room for leeway, and the Astros genuinely need to dominate their competition during these last eight weeks if they want any hope at making the playoffs. They've yet to do this thus far.
In 2004, they took off on the sort of run they will need to reproduce this year. Back then, they had only two good starting pitchers - Oswalt and Roger Clemens. They had to depend on the offense to win the other three starts in the rotation. This year, they might just have three dependable starters if Oswalt and Rodriguez can stay healthy and Bud Norris continues to pitch well. Brian Moehler is a 50-50 proposition every time out.
On the offensive side of things, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltran, and Lance Berkman filled the stat sheets. While these names are somewhat bigger than Berkman, Lee, Pence, and Tejada, these four are talented in their own right and could easily do some damage.
The trade deadline came and went without a deal. The August waiver trade period will likely end the same. But the Astros are still capable of making a run if the bats come alive in the clutch and they get better starting pitching.
I'd normally say their season is done, but this is the Astros we're talking about here. They seem to do this every August. Why should this year be any different? What may make this season different is the fact that the team hasn't even had a big winning streak this year (even the Nationals own a larger streak).
While there's time, I'm going to go out on a limb and give the team another 10 days. If they haven't pulled things together by then, I think it's safe to say the season has ended. - 16887
The Astros have had some tough opponents during the last two weeks and really needed to win more games than they did, but they're hanging on by a thread. To make matters more difficult, some of the team's key contributors are now dealing with injury issues that makes their status unclear from here.
There's little room for leeway, and the Astros genuinely need to dominate their competition during these last eight weeks if they want any hope at making the playoffs. They've yet to do this thus far.
In 2004, they took off on the sort of run they will need to reproduce this year. Back then, they had only two good starting pitchers - Oswalt and Roger Clemens. They had to depend on the offense to win the other three starts in the rotation. This year, they might just have three dependable starters if Oswalt and Rodriguez can stay healthy and Bud Norris continues to pitch well. Brian Moehler is a 50-50 proposition every time out.
On the offensive side of things, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Carlos Beltran, and Lance Berkman filled the stat sheets. While these names are somewhat bigger than Berkman, Lee, Pence, and Tejada, these four are talented in their own right and could easily do some damage.
The trade deadline came and went without a deal. The August waiver trade period will likely end the same. But the Astros are still capable of making a run if the bats come alive in the clutch and they get better starting pitching.
I'd normally say their season is done, but this is the Astros we're talking about here. They seem to do this every August. Why should this year be any different? What may make this season different is the fact that the team hasn't even had a big winning streak this year (even the Nationals own a larger streak).
While there's time, I'm going to go out on a limb and give the team another 10 days. If they haven't pulled things together by then, I think it's safe to say the season has ended. - 16887
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