Jimcs50
10-03-2004, 08:20 AM
The Astros are 35-10 since August 15th, that is the 2nd best winning % in that time span in the history of the league. :wow
Last offseason the Astros made what seemed to be all the right moves to finally get the Astros over the hump in the post season, by bringing The Rocket and Pettitte to Houston, but as the seaon progressed, the injuries mounted up and the Astros were a below 500 team. We lost Pettitte( our Ace) and Wade, (2 of our top 4 pitchers) for the season. I was giving up on them as were everyone else. The Belran trade looked good at first, but even he seemed to stop producing, but then came the best turn around that I have seen and I am pumped up. I have Boston and Houston entered in the dance contest. (Thank God for the wild card race) The wild card teams are actually playing the best baseball sine mid August so it would suprise nobody if we had two wild card teams at the biggest dance of all going at each other.
There is a lot of credit to be given out for this resurgance of Houston, most of all, I give credit to Gerry Hunsicker, the GM.
Where would this team be without Mike Lamb, Brandon Backe and Pete Munro? They were brought in under the radar, but they have been huge.
He made sure the Beltran deal didn't fall through, by making sure your counterpart from Oakland didn't back out of the trade. He gave up his closer, Octavio Dotel, because he knew his pitching staff deserved a better center fielder in Beltran, so he made the deal, and it worked out better than anyone ever imagined. Houston's pitchers and Astros' fans are very grateful for this trade. Hunsicker is one of the top three general managers in the game, no F-ing doubt year.
Rarely does a legend live up to the hype, but Clemmens actually surpassed all the expectations this season. He will win his 7th Cy Young Award because he deserves it. With better defensive and offensive support, he would have already won 24 games.Ther Rocket proudly served as the ambassador for the city during the All-Star Game, and there couldn't have been a better representative. In a clubhouse that has lacked much passion for years, his attitude raised the intensity when it needed it(I love this guy, even if he is s Tea sipper:)). Jeff Kent and Lance Berkman have been the Astros' only consistent hitters this year, each driving in more than 100 runs.( Jeff Kent just broke the record for 2nd basemen for career HRs. Brad Lidge didn't miss a step after taking over for Dotel. You have become one of the best closers, if not the best in baseball, which is why the Astros head into the final game of the season this afternoon with something to play for. Jeff Bagwell is the soul of the Astros, a man who never made alibis, he could have made excuses for himself, but that isn't part of his personality. He leaves the whining to others, preferring instead to lead by example. And Biggio is coming on strong now too, with 2 HRs yesterday and almost having a 3rd.
All the pieces fell into place, now it time to see if the playoffs this time will be more of the same, one and done, or whether this great ride will continue for another 2-3 wks.
Last offseason the Astros made what seemed to be all the right moves to finally get the Astros over the hump in the post season, by bringing The Rocket and Pettitte to Houston, but as the seaon progressed, the injuries mounted up and the Astros were a below 500 team. We lost Pettitte( our Ace) and Wade, (2 of our top 4 pitchers) for the season. I was giving up on them as were everyone else. The Belran trade looked good at first, but even he seemed to stop producing, but then came the best turn around that I have seen and I am pumped up. I have Boston and Houston entered in the dance contest. (Thank God for the wild card race) The wild card teams are actually playing the best baseball sine mid August so it would suprise nobody if we had two wild card teams at the biggest dance of all going at each other.
There is a lot of credit to be given out for this resurgance of Houston, most of all, I give credit to Gerry Hunsicker, the GM.
Where would this team be without Mike Lamb, Brandon Backe and Pete Munro? They were brought in under the radar, but they have been huge.
He made sure the Beltran deal didn't fall through, by making sure your counterpart from Oakland didn't back out of the trade. He gave up his closer, Octavio Dotel, because he knew his pitching staff deserved a better center fielder in Beltran, so he made the deal, and it worked out better than anyone ever imagined. Houston's pitchers and Astros' fans are very grateful for this trade. Hunsicker is one of the top three general managers in the game, no F-ing doubt year.
Rarely does a legend live up to the hype, but Clemmens actually surpassed all the expectations this season. He will win his 7th Cy Young Award because he deserves it. With better defensive and offensive support, he would have already won 24 games.Ther Rocket proudly served as the ambassador for the city during the All-Star Game, and there couldn't have been a better representative. In a clubhouse that has lacked much passion for years, his attitude raised the intensity when it needed it(I love this guy, even if he is s Tea sipper:)). Jeff Kent and Lance Berkman have been the Astros' only consistent hitters this year, each driving in more than 100 runs.( Jeff Kent just broke the record for 2nd basemen for career HRs. Brad Lidge didn't miss a step after taking over for Dotel. You have become one of the best closers, if not the best in baseball, which is why the Astros head into the final game of the season this afternoon with something to play for. Jeff Bagwell is the soul of the Astros, a man who never made alibis, he could have made excuses for himself, but that isn't part of his personality. He leaves the whining to others, preferring instead to lead by example. And Biggio is coming on strong now too, with 2 HRs yesterday and almost having a 3rd.
All the pieces fell into place, now it time to see if the playoffs this time will be more of the same, one and done, or whether this great ride will continue for another 2-3 wks.