Opening Day

Welcome to Opening Day 2009. The first and last day of the season where all 30 teams are even in the standings, fresh with their 0-0 records. Tomorrow, 15 local newspapers across the country will declare their team "contenders" after their first win while the 15 others will declare the season over and start wondering about what moves need to be made for next season. Unfortunately, I feel the Astros will fall into the latter of those two categories this season.

This preseason was nothing short of a disaster for the stros. They finished with an abysmal 12-16-4 record with the final loss coming to their own AA team. One stretch of the preseason left the Astros winless for more than 2 weeks. Headlines such as Wandy shines in 9-5 loss were common place. It does appear that Roy Oswalt will be the only pitcher worthy of being a starting pitcher. The rest, as one of my friends put it, would have a hard time making the starting roster for a nursing home softball team.

It seems like less and less of a stretch that the Astros will finish in the bottom half of not only their division, but all of baseball. They will have company with the usual bunch of stragglers like the Royals and the Pirates, all of whom have not had a winning season in decades. My prediction of 61-101 does not see as far fetched as it did when I originally (sarcastically) made it in the first place. But hey, that is what happens when you fill out a lineup card with 2 career .200 hitters and 4 pitchers who have either spent most of their career on the DL or failed to win even 10 games this past season.

Hopefully, I am wrong. And if I am I will own up to it. If I am wrong, it will mean that Berkman and Lee and Oswalt had spectacular years, all worthy of MVP and Cy Young considerations. It will also mean that Michael Bourne and Geoff Blum forget that they couldnt hit the broad side of a barn. Matsui and Hampton will have to stay off the DL. Wandy will have learned how to win on the road and the rest of our pitchers will have learned to pitch period.

So I suppose that if all of the above were to transpire then, yes, they might have a shot at making the playoffs. Im not going to hold my breath.

I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen.
~Bob Lemon