The Astros can feel free to regress any time now.

The Astros can feel free to regress any time now.

agreed there, but of course my team needs to win a couple of games before I'll get happy.

Hey, wait a minute. This is a 4-game series with the Brewers. The Phils could be tied for the wild card lead by the end of the weekend.

Nahhh....Astros get to World Series, get swept by the Angels, combined score of 29-2.

Not to celebrate a hurricane, but I figure if anything's gonna slow down the Astros, it's a couple forced days off. That, and the Cubs don't face Oswalt. Couple breaks there.

The Astros have won 30 of their last 40. How?

Apparently the NL Central race is over.

The Mets have won 20 of 26. I thought the Phils were falling apart down the stretch, but no, they just aren't sweeping anybody and they aren't playing as well as the Mets.

Apparently the NL Central race is over.

Currently greater than a 5 game lead

How dumb are the Astros for just postponing these games and trying to get them played in Houston later rather than at a neutral-site now. Not to mention putting your team through a doubleheader in September, which has the potential to ruin your rotation and bullpen for 3-4 days after if things don't go well. Your team is hotter than #### right now, and you should be doing anything possible to keep playing these games on schedule, whether in St. Louis, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, or Moosejaw-#######-Canada. I mean, just last week they swept the Cubs IN WRIGLEY; the 'Stros shouldn't be afraid of playing ANYWHERE at this point.

Note: all of the above is written purely from a baseball point of view. From a business standpoint, obviously you want to hold out for home games.

If the 2 games are played at the end of the season, when the Cubs have clinched the playoffs, there's a very good chance the Astros would be facing the Iowa Cubs

If the 2 games are played at the end of the season, when the Cubs have clinched the playoffs, there's a very good chance the Astros would be facing the Iowa Cubs

If I'm a manager or player on a team playing absolutely out of their minds right now, I want to keep playing every day: I don't care who the opponent is or where the game is. Who's to know how the Astros will be playing by the end of the year?

Not to mention putting your team through a doubleheader in September, which has the potential to ruin your rotation and bullpen for 3-4 days after if things don't go well. Your team is hotter than #### right now

The Astros rotation is already in shambles. Jack Cassel and Alberto Arias were scheduled to start the next 2 games because Wandy Rodriguez and Brandon Backe are battling nagging injuries. Those games were already going to be bullpen games. If the Astros can stall for a few days they could probably get Wandy (their 2nd best starting pitcher) back into the rotation and Wigginton (their 2nd best hitter) back into the lineup. Yes, that's right....Ty Wigginton and Wandy Rodriguez are 2 of the best players on a team contending in September.

Whenever the Astros have been winning this year, they've been Berkman and another hot hitter (Tejada in May, Lee in July, Wigginton in August, Pence lately) and a bunch of average-to-bad hitters. I'm as Astros fan, and I can't figure out how they're winning, other than Roy Oswalt doing his Orel Hershiser impression. Part of it is that they've been getting lights-out bullpen work from Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins (who was an even-more-ridiculed pick-up than Randy Wolf, who has also been very good).

Roy Oswalt down the stretch in Astros contending seasons(Aug/Sept)

2001 6-1, 2.04
2002 8-3, 2.30
2003 4-0, 2.00 (injured in August)
2004 10-2, 3.08
2005 6-4, 4.09 (but 5-1, 2.93 in September)
2006 7-1, 2.50
2008 7-1, 1.56

If you want to know why the Astros usually finish really well, one good place to look is Roy Oswalt, one of the great stretch drive pitchers of our generation.

His career second-half W-L is 65-19.

They Phillies have really lucked out having 4 at home against Milwaukee this late in the season. Not only is the team struggling, but no Sabathia.

And if the Astros make the playoffs, there should be a one year ban on all discussion of player-personnel decisions, because clearly, no one has a clue what they're talking about.

Suff, you mention the Astros' acquisition of Hawkins. That was a real head scratcher for me, at the time it happened. But he has been a big part of solidifying the bullpen, and keeping Doug Brocail's arm from falling off. This quote from the Houston Chronicle:

“Incredible,” Astros first baseman Lance Berkman said. “I don’t know what the Yankees were thinking when they cut him loose, but I’m certainly glad they did. He brings a lot of experience — not to mention the fact he’s got filthy stuff. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that he’s — if not the main reason — one of the two or three main reasons why we’ve made this little run we’ve had.”


Hawkins has yet to allow a run as an Astros pitcher.

Hawkins has yet to allow a run as an Astros pitcher.

Ridiculous.

Pre-season I thought the Astros could be a surprise team. Fun to be watching them and the Jays doing impossible runs. Odds are against either making it but it sure is fun.

Nothing though reaches how happy the Baseball Prospectus people must be over their pre-season Tampa Bay prediction.

Not to keep hammering on facts but I think it's important to grasp the magnitude of the Brewers failure in September.

This team came into September slugging almost .500 against lefties and having won 70 percent of their games against lefties.

In their last 11 games the team has lost all five games started by opposing lefties.

The team had one of the best Home records around.

They lost 7 of 10 at home.

The team had 7 games against teams among the worst in the NL.

They lost 4 of 7 with all of the wins by 1 run.

If you had asked for a setip for a team to generate separation this was the best case.

And the team has gacked.

That's two years in a row exhibiting the same behavior.

Again, just sharing facts.

19 ks and 3 walks in 13 ip
And he still has an ERA+ of 98n the year- it's just very hot 13 ip.

and Wiggy has hit .312/.346/.727 the last 28 games

he's streaky- he's had real good months before, .327/.383/.582 in 107 PAs 7/04
.317/.379/.650 in 67 PAs 7/06, .321/.373/.481 in 118 PAs 6/07...
basically for his career he's pretty much the same hitter Xavier Nady is for his...

Looking at their game log last 45 games...
they've been playing a lot of teams that are bad (Pirates)- or teams that were struggling at the time- Cubs- Mets in early august were in the midst of a pen meltdown.
and they've been playing well- I gave a list on another thread but more than half their lineup has hit WELL above normal the last 45 days or so (the exceptions being ironically- 2 of the stars- Berkman- who's merely been himself, and Miggy who's played poorly)-
it's almost like a perfect storm-

They're basically a .500 team - but at this point? They have a decent shot at the W/C...

Hawkins has yet to allow a run as an Astros pitcher.

Ridiculous.

All of five appearances. That, and Hawkins has been a pretty good reliever in his career. And despite his weird exit he was pretty decent for the Cubs.

And despite his weird exit he was pretty decent for the Cubs.

Other than in 9th inning save chances...

In any event, his throwing Victor "I'll swing at anything that lands between the 2 dugouts" Diaz an 0-2 fastball down the middle with 2 outs in the 9th earned him my everlasting scorn and derision.

As for the Astros--they're playing a little over their heads, though they've been legitimately excellent during this 40 game run (actual record 30-10, pythag 25.5-14.5). How much of that's due to playing mediocre competition, I have no idea, but it's a huge reversal from their first half; even after this tremendous run, they've still been outscored on the season.

Hawkins has yet to allow a run as an Astros pitcher.

Ridiculous.

He's probably not the "closer". With both the Twins and the Cubs, Hawkins was lights-out as a set-up man, and a gascan as a closer. He was the poster-boy for the mental pressures of the closer position.

16 G, 13 IP Andere.

Cecil Cooper for Manager of the Year. BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAA!

It's a shame to see the Brewers seemingly collapsing again. They could, of course, get hot soon and they probably will, but this is still hard to watch right now. It's especially hard to watch Jason Kendall repeatedly get ABs in the 9th or later with the game on the line when the Brewers have like 8 extra bench options called up, but what-#######-ever.

16 G, 13 IP Andere.

Brain cramp. Still...Scott Eyre went 14 games without giving up a run this season.

Best part of Houston's streak? They actually went 4-7 at one point in the middle of it.

They've gone:

15-3
4-7
13-1

Neat.

They're 5-1 in one-run games & 5-0 in extra-inning contests (only one of the latter was a one-run game).

They've lost 5 games by five or more runs, but only won 6 games by that many -- that includes two of their last thee wins.

Obviously, the secret to outperforming Pythags is Jose Valverde.
And Chris Burke is a #### curse.

They actually went 4-7 at one point in the middle of it.

That was against Arizona (in the midst of a 8-2 run), Milwaukee (near the beginning of a 10-3 run), and Mets (coming off a 3 game sweep of Atlanta.)

probably meaningless- but aside from that 4-7 stretch they largely played with bad teams or slumping teams...

probably meaningless- but aside from that 4-7 stretch they largely played with bad teams or slumping teams...

yes, but were the other teams beat because they were slumping, or were they slumping because the Astros were beating them?

don't feel too bad, harvey. if the brews complete their meltdown this year there's no way yost keeps his job. small comfort, but there it is.

Hawkins was utterly useless for the Yanks: slapped around in close games, slapped around in mop-up work: absolutely no command.

Whatever pitching and hitting coaches are supposed do to, those employed by the Yanks ain't doin it this season...*

*assuming that they in fact do anything at all, which I realize is unwarranted...

yes, but were the other teams beat because they were slumping, or were they slumping because the Astros were beating them?

working backwards

they just swept Pittsburgh...

2 of 3 from Colorado (who have lost 5 straight now since getting swept by Atlanta)

swept the Cubs- who lost the previous 2 games against Philly, and then lost 2 of 3 against Cincy

Swept STL- before that they were in a win won lose won pattern- treading water- 4-5 in teh 9 games since the sweep

Took 2 of 3 from Cincy

Mets, Mil, Az discussed above,

swept the Giants
swept Cincy
lost 2 of 3 to the Cubs (who were very hot then)
Swept the Mets who were kind of floundering- Heilman coughed up 2 of these games
took 2 of 3 from Cincy

weak competition and/or slumping teams...

still 33-12? These Astros?????????????