2007 i gave you the Royals,08 I gave you the Rays. Last year I gave you the Rangers. This year......
Im giving you the Astros. Yup the good ol Astros OVER 74.5
Heres why the SP is better than average.
1)
Wandy Rodriguez can only get better. He struck out 193 in 205 ip last
year. With 14 wins he led the staff. He also allowed less than a hit an
inning
2) Roy Oswalt. He was hurt most of last year and responded
with his worst season ever. He will return the his previous form making
him a deadly number 2 SP
3) Brett Myers will hate pitching in
Houstons bandbox but Philly was no better. However the difference is
that Myers will not feel quite the same pressure he did in Philly. I
expect 15 wins and maybe 175 ks with no injuries.
4) Bud Norris.
Believe it or not he was a top prospect for the Stros. He pitched well
last year for a rook. He will get better as long as his walks get lower.
He has a decent K rate and I expe ct Norris to remain in the rotation
but be topped out at around 175 ip.
5) a tossup between
Moeler,Pualino,Bazardo. I expect Pualino to win this battle with almost a
K an inning I say he wins the 5th starter job and runs with it.. His
era will be in the low 5s or high 4s. Not good but good enuff with the
stros offense.
1) Bourn. A base stealing threat every time he is
on base. Stole 61 bags last year and even hit .285 A Perfect leadoff
man. Expect Bourns average to remain about where he hit last year but Im
thinking around 80 bags will be stolen
2) Pence. Hunter will be
Hunter. I am stopping the Pence breakout year bandwagon I have been on.
However for a 2nd place hitter 25-80 .280 isnt to shabby
3) Berkman. -
Yes last year WAS a sign of things to come. But I do think he still
tops the 25 home run 100 rbi mark but this time with a lower then usual
avg. Lets say .260
4) Lee. With Carlos you get consistency. He will hit his 25-35 home runs and get his 100 rbi. A perfect cleanup man.
5)
Feliz. Pedro isnt all that bad. He will drive in a few and hit a few
dingers. Not a typical 5th place hitter but is an excellent defender
6) Matsui. See above
7) Keppinger. 1 .250 hitter with teen Hr power. Dont expect much so anything above that is a blessing.
8) Towles.,Quintero. One could break out but I expect a platoon.
Rp
is decent probably better than most. With Lindstrom and Lyon there will
be an excellent 8-9 bridge to either or. Not sure who is getting the
saves but each has good experience.
So with good SP and average
hitting I think the Astros get to 80 wins rather easily. You can argue
with me all you want but i correctly predicted the Rays-Royals and the
Rangers the last three years and niether of them was close.
This is what I posted back in MArch and most of you laughed at nme. No problem. Ill laugh all the way to the bank. From 07 I gave you the Royals the Rays the Rangers and now the Astros. I am fucking awesome on season win totals. Nothing my patting my own back eh?