Is It Time to Leave Already?

Seems like we just got back to Houston from Denver, New York and Kansas City and now it is time to leave again for three more cities. Such is the way in major league baseball. Half the 162 games are at home and the other half are stretched out all over the country.

The worst thing about the schedule is the imbalance. The Astros will be away from home for 17 of the 30 days of June which also stretches into the first four days of July. Gone 21 of 34 days.

That is a touch order for the best teams to overcome. For this group of Astros it could be a season killer. Oh, I know, the season's hopes are on life support already, but the schedule doesn't help.

At the same time many fans have a new attitude about the club even if they are only 1-1 since the roster moves that brought in Jason Castro, Chris Johnson and Jason Bourgeios. There is bit more enthusiasm since the new blood came aboard.

Now that new blood has to prove it is ready to course through the veins of the moribund club and bring new life.

So far so good...and not. While all three players have contributed offensively with Johnson the brightest light after only two games the defense of said Chris Johnson at third base has been as scary as some reports had suggested it might be. A strong, but sometimes erratic throwing arm seems to be his major problem. He won't commit three errors every two games to be sure, but that is what he has now.

Jason Castro on the other hand has only one hit in two games, but also is 2-2 in gunning down runners trying to steal. That has been impressive. He also has a passed ball which is not.

As for Bourgeios he should be fine in his role as extra outfielder with speed. Not as much is being put on his plate but that is fine. Not really a major prospect at 28, but still potentially a very useful bench player Bourgeios has the versatility (he began his career as a second baseman) to be quite valuable.

To allow the fans to continue to have hope the rest of this season at least it is far past time for the bats of Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee to heat. Lee, actually, has been hitter with a bit more authority lately, but his batting average climb is slow and his power demonstrations rare. Not so rare as from Berkman, though. Lance is still stuck on only six home runs. That would call for less than 15 home runs for the entire season. Should that turn out to be the case you won't find this reporter arguing too strenuously with fans who may be concerned Lance's time in nearing an end. That would be a pity, but happens to all athletes. Playing the game, whatever it is, is not as easy as it once was. The reflexes slow perhaps visual acuity is not as sharp and the numbers fall.
Working out and keeping in shape can help, but stronger muscles don't do much to overcome what nature brings on.

A number of players have been able to elongate careers by making adjustments. Hitters alter stances and shorten swings to get the bat moving quicker. Pitchers learn new off speed pitches. Fielders learn how to position themselves better to help negate the loss of range in the field.

Of course, a few years ago many older players used steroids or human growth hormone. It apparently worked and not just for the huge home run totals we recall, but also to keep players at the same or nearly the same physical level they had been when younger.

Now players are starting to show the natural decline we remember others of the past experienced once they get past 32 or 33 years old. That is pretty young in normal life. It is getting pretty old now in sports.

So, the question posted above this column applies not to just short homestands, but also to short careers. Is it time to leave already? Alas, it very well may be.