In spite of what perhaps were our best efforts (ie. leaving 23 runners on base) the Astros put up another W on the board improving to 11-15. We haven’t updated the blog in awhile, and while there are a myriad of reasons for this, perhaps the most glaring reason is that our blog post would have read like this:
INSERT ASTROS STARTING PITCHER pitched well tonight, yet the bats just didn’t get the job done. We left INSERT ABSURD NUMBER OF RUNNERS LEFT ON BASE so at least we know that we are getting on base…?
So lets do a bit of analysis that was inspired by Jason Stark. We both feel that in order to keep ourselves play off contenders (and thus Roger Clemens possibilities) we need to win 88 games over all. There are 136 games left thus we need to finish the season from the point on with a 77-59 record which is .566 baseball. This is do able, if the Astros just win 11 out 20 games in each 20 game set for the rest of the season and at one point when 12 of the 20 then we are at 88 wins. The question becomes…HOW?
Well we start by not leaving 20+ men on base every night…if you’re getting them on, get them off (this applies to many areas of life) and by get them off, we don’t mean by grounding into double plays. Lance Berkman needs have a higher slugging percentage than on-base percentage (.337 and .405 respectively) and Carlos Lee’s batting average cannot 40 points every ten games. We don’t mean to rain on our parade (though it is POURING here) but three runs with 23 LOB is not going to get the job done for us. Congrats Roy O, congrats Dan Wheeler, but please Astros hitters…rack up RBI’s.
Let’s look on the bright side- cause hey, we’re an optimistic blog. Nobody had a good April on this team. Not one player. Everyone stands to improve…maybe not Brad Ausmus, who is currently hitting .286! Those Dartmouth boys sure can swing the lumber. Who cares if his slugging percentage is higher than Lance’s...Roy O had his ups and downs, Woody has yet to have that one shining start that shows he still has it, Wandy, Sampson and Albers have been inconsistent. We don’t need to mention the struggles of Brad Lidge. However, the struggles of Luke Scott are a different story altogether. Mr. Scott, we as Astros fans are pleading with you. Striking out 19 times through the first month plus of the season does not bode well for the man who we are trusting to man right field. Carlos Lee has 5 RBI’s in the past 11 games. Couple that with a batting average of .193 in during that stretch, and it is easy to see why in their past six losses, the Astros have managed to score only 10 runs.
I’ll throw this out there. Maybe, as the team sits at 11-15, this is what the Astros are. There were no assurances of October glory, or even a team that could contend. A team batting average that sat at .242 as of today will not cut it. Judging by that, it’s a near miracle that the team is only four games under .500. I don’t think that they are that kind of team. Those numbers that were gone over earlier are do-able. Those predictions will be chalked up as delusions of grandeur if this team goes 1 for 10 in the win department at any time this season, again. Every team has stretches where they struggle to score runs. Not every team leaves 34 men on base during one game. When they lost that particular game in 16 innings, the frustration should have boiled over. It may have, but this team is not one to show it. I wouldn’t mind seeing somebody get angry. That would at least lead me to believe that they care. They do, they’re professionals. Professionalism doesn’t win games though. They may be the “Good Guys”, but until they start to win consistently, I’ll be attempting to contact Ty Cobb from beyond the grave to light a fire under this team.
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