How do you think the astros will do this year ?

Question

with all the new additions? i think they will get the series this year. go astros.

Answer 1

The Astros really aren't in terrible shape this year.

Sure,. the pitching staff isn't quite going to reach the giddy heights of 2005, but that isn't necessary to excel (and surely one should have seen that coming). Of course, the Astros' chances are significantly improved if they can get Roger Clemens to "fail at retirement" in Houston instead of New York, but that remains to be seen.

I do think that the addition of Jason Jennings from Colorado pretty well alleviates the sting from losing Andy Pettite; Pettite was, on the whole, an inconsistent commodity for the Astros in his tenure there. While it does seem unlikely that Jennings will jump into Minute Maid Park and post anything like what Pettite did in '05, I think that it is equally as LIKELY that Jennings will do as well or better than Pettite did in '06, so there is no great loss. In fact, Jennings looks to have more long-term upside then Pettite, although the loss of both Bucholz and Jason Hirsh (who might have more upside than Jennings but is still not major-league ready) will certainly hurt the Astros' overall pitching depth.

They have a reasonably solid pitching foundation: Oswalt is a bonafide ace and should do just as well as he's always done, Jennings is underrated and could very well become a big-name pitcher in Houston, and Woody Williams is older than the hills but is still savvy and can do well enough for the team as both a pitcher and a mentor for their younger arms. The problem is the back end of the rotation; although Wandy Rodriguez showed a few glimpses of good pitching last year, he is still an unproven and unreliable option as a number 4, and there's no telling who will be Houston's number 5 (the two main competitors, Fernando Nieve and Chris Sampson, are even more questionable than Wandy).

The offense should be better, what with Carlos Lee to compliment the vastly underrated Lance Berkman, but it still lacks much outside of it's new 1-2 punch. Will Morgan Ensberg hearken back to 2005? Will there be a decent table setter for Berkman and Lee with the loss of Willy Taveras and the impending AARP status of Craig Biggio? They will need more than Carlos Lee to become an offensive powerhouse, but he at least brings them back up to credibility.

As far as defense goes, they are pretty solid, with perhaps the best defensive catcher in the NL in Ausmus and probably the best defensive shortstop in the game in Adam Everett. Still, With more pitching and ostensibly the same defense, last year's Astros didn't make much noise until the end, so you have to wonder.

I project them to finish in a tie for second place in the NL Central, behind the Brewers and tied with the Cubs with a record of about 84-78. I think they will miss the wild card but be in contention for most of the season.

Answer 2

Sorry but they won't do much better than last season (82-80). They just don't score many runs and really didn't do that much to improve that situation. Even if Roger comes back, which I don't think he will, it won't make much difference. You're talking about 15-20 starts which is nothing. They are in a weak division so that might help but if I had to pick a team I'd say the Cubs did the most to improve their team. No series for the Astros this year.

Answer 3

No playoffs for the Astros this season. They look like a third place team in the Central behind the Cubs and Cardinals.

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Answer 4

Pitching is a big question for the Astros. Losing Pettite is going to hurt but if Roger decides to go anywhere other than the Astros it may be a big problem. Don't get me wrong I would love to have Oswalt on my team but he can't pitch every game. Pitching wins Championships.

Answer 5

With the big additions is the NL central, you dunno.
Look at how the cardinals collapsed late in the season, only to hold on
I think the Cubs, with their new additons, Astros, and Cardinals will make the race intresting

Answer 6

They will play good but they would be contenders if Clemens comes back to pitch for the Astros.

Answer 7

They might but they'll have a much better chance if the can land Roger Clemens for 2/3rds of the season or so.

Answer 8

Not good.

Good news ...probably weakest division in baseball especially if Cubs/Brewers do not live up to moderate expectations.

Answer 9

id say they will finish 2nd again behind the pujols and the cards, i'm definatly not buying all this chicago cubs garbage until i see them put it together on the field

Answer 10

nlcs os the far as the will
go

look out for the al
yankees
red sox
nl
giants (barry)
cardinals
mets
braves