I’ll take the Astros for the World Series win, just like every year. So far, it hasn’t happened.
But that’s why they call us fans.
Look for the Astros to put a hurting on everybody this year. A middle-of-the-lineup of Berkman-Lee-Ensberg should give every baseball fan nightmares. And yes, Ensberg had a down year last year. But with his shoulder healed, look for him to return to his '05 form, when he hit 36 homers and had 100 RBIs.
That’s not even counting Luke Scott, who I believe will continue his badassery from last year and hit about .640.
Astros also signed Mark Loretta, who is a career .300 hitter and will play second base on days Craig Biggio is resting (which should be most road games). Signing Loretta gives the Astros probably the best bench in the league with him, Mike Lamb, Orlando Palmeiro, and maybe Richard Hidalgo or Eric Bruntlet.
Astros pitching got weaker, of course, but Roy Oswalt is still the best pitcher in the NL and this is the year he gets his long-overdue Cy Young award. When you put together back-to-back 20-win seasons and just generally kick ass every night, you deserve one. Oswalt deserves one.
I look for Jason Jennings to be a great #2. When you pitch 3.78 in Colorado, chances are you’ll pitch pretty well elsewhere. Plus, all indications are that he’s really stepped his understanding of how to pitch to a new level, so I expect an improvement on top of all that.
They signed Woody Williams, who at age 73 still managed to pitch a 3.65 last year. More than adequate as a #3.
The #4 and #5 spots are open right now, but I predict they’ll be filled by Wandy Rodriguez and Chris Sampson. Rodriguez I’m not too thrilled about, but the club seems to love him for some reason. Sampson I have high hopes for. Through his 10 appearances at the end of last year, he came in and posted a 2.12 ERA. I felt really good about him and I hope he comes in and impresses in Spring Training.
The Astros bullpen is arguably one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the league. Qualls-Wheeler-Lidge is something no one wants a part of. Yeah Lidge sucked last year, but everyone attributes that to the fact that he played in the World Baseball Classic in the offseason last year and was not “properly rested”. That makes a little more sense to me than the “omg albert butthols ruined his PSYCHE!” method that arose after the Astros-Cardinals NLDS two years ago, because if you go back and look, Lidge was starting to suck it up a little before the bomb Butthols hit. He had been overworked to that point, so fatigue issues seem to be consistent.
Don’t forget Adam Everett, who isn’t going to turn any heads at the plate, but is absolutely, bar none the best shortstop in the game of baseball. Not his division, not the National League. The whole thing. All of MLB. Every defensive statistical formula puts him ridiculously above everybody.
And then there’s Brad “Double Play” Ausmus, who sucks a fat cock at the plate, but seems to be the favorite of every pitcher he’s ever called for. That should count for something.
All this, and Roger Clemens still might join them mid-year?
ASTROS IN '07