Defeat the Empire

The Houston Astros will seemingly always find a way. Before the season started last year, I had them penciled in as a .500 team, or possibly even worse, due to the losses of Carlos Beltran, and Jeff Kent, as well as an injury to Lance Berkman that sidelined him for the start of the season. My prediction seemed to be validated when they started 15-30. But soon, the ship turned around, and the rotation of Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, and Andy Pettitte was shutting down offenses on a nightly basis. The stellar pitching led the Astros to their first ever National League title.

Due to their success last year with relatively no offensive production, I've tentatively kept them in second place in the NL Central for 2006. Clemens is no longer with the team, but he may re-sign with Houston come May 1. That leaves Pettite and Oswalt to head a significantly weaker rotation, which is filled out by the mediocre Brandon Backe and the unproven Ezequiel Astacio and Wandy Rodriguez. The bullpen remains stellar as ever, with Brad Lidge closing games. Dan Wheeler, Chad Qualls, and Russ Springer are the best in the business in the seventh and eighth innings, and they provide a great bridge from the starters to Lidge.

The problem remains the offense, which should be putrid as usual. Last year, Morgan Ensberg came out of nowhere and had an all-star caliber season. They need him to continue at last year's level of production, although that seems somewhat unlikely. Jeff Bagwell says he will try to play, but chances are he won't be able to man first base on a daily basis. Lance Berkman will have to carry this offense, plain and simple, if they want a chance to put up even three or four runs on a daily basis.

The Astros aren't as good as they were in the previous two years, as part of their core gets a bit older and their starting rotation takes a hit. Despite this, the pitching should be good enough to secure somewhere in the low-80s in wins and a second place finish. Outlook: 2nd Place, NL Central