Ever since the Astros have gotten rid of their most famous and highest paid players, they have been playing the best ball of the season. They have gone 14-8 in their last 22 games with a team ERA of 2.18 in that stretch. We swept the playoff contending Phillies and have shutout the Cardinals the past two games. Outstanding pitching has led the way with timely hitting. By no means do I think that the Astros have a shot at making the...don't say it...playoffs (Oh he said it!). But they are only 10 games out of .500 and have a better than .500 record at home. As a loyal Astros fan, I had already written this season of as a waste. But I was early to do that. The Astros have surprised me and have made it exciting again. Its not exciting because they have a serious shot at the playoffs, but more so because I like to see them spoil the chances of other teams.
Lets take a walk down memory lane for a second. On this day in 2004 and 2005 the
Astros were 3.5 and 4.5 games above .500, respectively. In 2004 they were one game away from the World Series and actually made it to the World Series in 2005. All Astros fans remember what a magical era that was. Both of those seasons, mind you, started out in typical Astros fashion: another sub-par season that is just enough to maybe get us to the playoffs but stall out quickly and more importantly, keep ticket sales up.
2010 started out the same, if not worse, but has turned into exciting baseball. Although they may not get anywhere this season, it is fascinating to watch and leaves me wanting more. The Astros have an ambitious, young group of guys that I see a great future in.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Mark Ingram Out For Beginning of Season with Knee Injury
On Monday Mark Ingram suffered a knee injury during practice. The following morning he had surgery. That was probably the best move they could have made for his career and stats. There's no point in having him sit out a few days and see what the swelling does or how he feels. The basically said, "Look, you can sit a few days, weeks, we don't know, and not be 100%. Or you can have surgery to fix it now, miss a few games, heal up and move on." Will he have diminished stats or will this hurt his team? Considering the opponent, maybe not. But in this world of BCS computers and too many unknowns, don't put any money on it.
Alabama did the right thing by taking care of this swiftly and quietly. No doubt they have the best medical team all over this. But lets scratch the surface of what this could affect. Conference Champions, National Champions, Heisman Trophy, draft pics, recruiting classes. Okay, maybe I'm going overboard, but who knows. I'm just saying, it will be interesting to see what kind of impact this may have on all of these things.
Alabama did the right thing by taking care of this swiftly and quietly. No doubt they have the best medical team all over this. But lets scratch the surface of what this could affect. Conference Champions, National Champions, Heisman Trophy, draft pics, recruiting classes. Okay, maybe I'm going overboard, but who knows. I'm just saying, it will be interesting to see what kind of impact this may have on all of these things.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Why The Texans are on the Verge of Something Big...or Bust
As a Houston fan, I am cautiously excited about the solid beating the Texans gave the so called "America's Team." Its always good to beat Dallas at anything. However, Texans fans should not got too excited about that preseason win, nor should they get excited when the Texans do it again in the same stadium during the regular season.
The Texans are going into the 2010 season with the leading passer in Matt Schaub, the best receiver in the NFL in Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels healthy, the two best tacklers in the AFC South (minus Cushing for a few games), and a defense that has peppered playmakers around Mario Williams. With this level of talent, there should be higher expectations. We can't use the excuse that we are in a tough division since we have the Colts to deal with. We beat ourselves with penalties in one game and let the Colts come back from a 17-0 deficit in another. Actually, all but one of our division losses were by a touchdown or less, and that one loss that was more, was only eight points.
I would't look past the Texans to make a strong playoff push, possibly surprising and uprising in the division. The Colts had a chance to have a perfect season. Those opportunities do not come around often and it would be hard to repeat. Nothing is automatic. The Colts are beatable. I predict the Texans will go at least 10-6, because anything less would be disappointing considering the talent.
The Texans are going into the 2010 season with the leading passer in Matt Schaub, the best receiver in the NFL in Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels healthy, the two best tacklers in the AFC South (minus Cushing for a few games), and a defense that has peppered playmakers around Mario Williams. With this level of talent, there should be higher expectations. We can't use the excuse that we are in a tough division since we have the Colts to deal with. We beat ourselves with penalties in one game and let the Colts come back from a 17-0 deficit in another. Actually, all but one of our division losses were by a touchdown or less, and that one loss that was more, was only eight points.
I would't look past the Texans to make a strong playoff push, possibly surprising and uprising in the division. The Colts had a chance to have a perfect season. Those opportunities do not come around often and it would be hard to repeat. Nothing is automatic. The Colts are beatable. I predict the Texans will go at least 10-6, because anything less would be disappointing considering the talent.
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