There WILL be Losses that Make You Ill, BUT...

Right now the Astros are showing every sign of being a team that WILL be in contention for the NL Central title in 2009. Amazing as that statement may seem with the club still two games under .500 I really believe it... for now.

The reason for the optimism is because the pitching has been so good over the last month that GM Ed Wade essentially told Mgr. Cecil Cooper there is no way to cut back to five starters once Mike Hampton rejoined the active roster on Tuesday. This makes a lot of sense. If you really have been paying attention to the club and not just occasionally checking the stats you would know that Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler and Felipe Paulino have been pitching FAR better lately than their stats would indicate. Sort of like in the Wizard of Oz when the wizard, when uncovered by Toto tells everyone not to pay attention to the man behind the curtain. In this case, don't get too involved with the stats--unless you are only looking at what the team has done in the last month.

Along that line we move to the bullpen--the other part of the pitching staff. Jose Valverde's struggles at times aside, the bullpen era for June is only 2.49. Not only is that outstanding its the best there is. When the Astros had to make a roster move to activate Hampton they were forced to send Wesley Wright down. Again, he shows a 5.30 ERA, but that is NOT an indication of how he has pitched since he came back up. He has been very effective. He will be again when he comes back which is only an injury away.

And that is the potential downfall with the Astros staff. Already without Doug Brocail for most of the first half the number of older pitchers is worrisome. Older anything, pitchers, outfielders, infielders or announcers are more likely to suffer injuries during a long baseball season. (I tossed in announcers because I think I have a groin injury sustained jogging Monday.) If the injuries hit at the wrong time (except for me) the club could have trouble.

Still, I like this team. Miguel Tejada while showing diminishing skills defensively at shortstop can still hit better than 95% of the shortstops in baseball. Pudge Rodriguez may no longer be a .300 hitter, but is on a pace for 15-20 HR and 70 rbis. He doesn't block balls in the dirt as well as Ausmus did, but he hits a whole lot better and still has a solid arm. He also works darn well with his pitchers.

The bench and pinch hitters may not be what is ultimately needed, but there is still plenty of time for Darin Erstand and Jason Michaels to find a better grove. Humberto Quintero is a much more confident catcher who is showing that hitting ability he showed in the minors and early in his career.

No, I like this team--especially in the context that is the NL Central Division. Its gonna be fun to see how this all plays out.