Sorry about not posting yesterday.  i got a phone call about my sister fainting at school.  I went to pick her up and, well, to put it lightly, after I took her to the Doctor's office to get her checked out, I found out I'm going to be an uncle.

I'm going to have a long talk with my soon to be brother in law...

My take on Michael Young's contract extension, as well as Gary Matthews Jr.'s steroid allegations will be talked about on Monday's Rangers Report.

In the meantime, let’s see where we go as the division previews roll on….

The Hat says, to loosely quote Davy Crockett, "The Red Sox can go to hell, we’re going to Texas!"

Houston Astros

The Astros again tried to turn it on at the end of the season to make the playoffs.  They almost made it.  However, Houston suffered some huge losses in the off-season.  Though they bolstered the offense with the addition of Carlos Lee, the loss of Andy Pettitte, who genuinely wanted to stay with the Astros, as well as that of Roger Clemens leaves the staff decimated.  Houston has taken measures to try and ensure the rotation will stay together, but a lot of it depends on the youngsters stepping up.

Starting Rotation

1. Roy Oswalt (RHP) – Oswalt is now the oldest member of the rotation and by far the most successful and most experienced.  Though questions about his durability will always abound, Oswalt has been solid the last few years and has been nothing short of dominant.  Oswalt will likely post solid numbers again and contend for a Cy Young, but he no longer has that dominant lineup behind him, as the talent level drops off severely after him.
2. Jason Jennings (RHP) – Jennings was obtained for a high price, with the Rockies obtaining pitchers Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz and centerfielder Willy Taveras in exchange.  Jennings is in his walk year and has a career line of 58-56, with a 4.74 ERA.  He also had a losing record last year, but that should change with a more pitcher friendly park.  Is he as good as the man he’s replacing, Andy Pettitte?  No.  But can he be a solid innings eater.  Yes. 
3. Woody Williams (RHP) – Not sure why the Astros spent money on Williams instead of spending it on Pettitte.  Williams has lost a lot of his edge as far as his stuff goes and his ERA was largely a product of Petco instead of performance.  He should be a fifth starter, but unfortunately he’ll be the third guy in Houston.
4. Wandy Rodriguez (LHP) – People are going to wonder why Rodriguez is the fourth starter and not some of the other options.  For starters, Rodriguez isn’t as bad as people think, as his stuff is tolerable and he’ll keep the team in the game provided he gets run support (something he didn’t get much of last season.  And second of all, Rodriguez is the only lefty and the most experienced of the young Astros.  Hence, sticking him here is a no brainer.
5. Chris Sampson (RHP) – Sampson was good as a reliever, but even better as a starter.  With Nieve better suited to relief, where it’s thought that he’ll eventually become a closer, Sampson is my favorite to win the fifth starters job.

Bullpen

• Brad Lidge (Closer) – Lidge has had a rough time since Albert Pujols’ moon shot during the 2005 playoffs.  Lidge has since been hammered hard and has even lost the closer’s role for a time during his struggles.  Lidge enters the season on the hot seat, as the slightest hint of trouble will cause fans and management alike to demand Dan Wheeler to take over.
• Dan Wheeler (Setup Man) – Wheeler is a solid setup man that could close on many teams.  Unfortunately for Brad Lidge, that team might be the Astros if he’s not careful.
• Chad Qualls (RHP) – There was talk of Qualls moving in the rotation to serve as the fifth starter, but that talk has since ended, leaving this solid setup man as the Astros’ 7th inning option.
• Trever Miller (LHP) – Miller did wonders in his first year in the NL.  Now, he’s going to have the pressure of being the pen’s only lefty reliever.
• Fernando Nieve (RHP) – Many scouts like Nieve’s ability, but see him more as a reliever in the future.  With Sampson likely going to get the nod to starter, Nieve will have a whole season to adjust himself to relief duty.  It’s hoped that once Lidge moves on (which I eventually believe he will), Nieve will be the team’s closer.  For now, he’s the team’s Longman.
• Dave Borkowski (RHP) – This Rule V Pick has great arm strength.  I have him in the pen, because usually you don’t spend the cash on a Rule V pick unless you plan on keeping him. 

Starting Lineup

1. Chris Burke (CF) – With Willy Taveras now in Colorado, Burke will finally be in the lineup everyday.  Burke is a solid offensive player that is a better fit at second than in center, but with Craig Biggio still in Houston and Hunter Pence not ready, Burke has to make the transition as smooth as possible until Biggio reaches 3000 and until Pence shows he’s set for the majors.  Burke should be a superb upgrade offensively, as he’s got more power than Taveras, while maintaining the same contact rates.
2. Craig Biggio (2B) – The last of the original Killer B’s, Biggio will play everyday until he gets hit Number 3000, after which he’ll likely begin to sit down to allow Burke some reps at second.  BIggio showed his age last season, but I think he’s got at least one decent season left to wring out from him.
3. Lance Berkman (1B) – Berkman had to step into the role long occupied by Jeff Bagwell and did so admirably, putting up a MVP caliber season in which Berkman drove in 136 runs, while hitting .315 with 45 home runs, all while taking talks and getting on base, though a lot of that was intentionally walking, thanks to little protection behind him in the lineup.  With Carlos Lee now in Houston, Berkman should have a lot more RBI chances.
4. Carlos Lee (LF) – Now that he’s finally in Houston, Lee should provide more than adequate protection to Berkman and should take advantage of the short left field porch at Minute Maid.  Lee continues to improve as a hitter and has loads of thunder in his bat, but his range in Left last season with Texas should be troubling.  Lee has been said to have been working on his conditioning this off-season, so it should be interesting to see how he shows up to Spring Training this year.
5. Luke Scott (RF) – Scott provided an extra power bat for the Astros after being called up and will now be part of the Astros’ heart of the order.  With Lee and Berkman hitting in front of him, Scott will see a big chance to get some RBI chances, particularly if this next guy rebounds to his old form.
6. Morgan Ensberg (3B) – Ensberg was awful last season, losing the starting job to Aubrey Huff, but Ensberg was also hurt last year and that may have altered his hitting motion, resulting in his collapse.  The signs are good that Ensberg has at least one more quality season left on him before he begins to enter his decline phase.
7. Adam Everett (SS) – This light hitting shortstop makes up for his offensive troubles by flashing the leather at short.  He should have won the Gold Glove instead of Omar Visquel, but Gold Gloves tend to be won more on reputation than anything else.
8. Brad Ausmus (C) – Ausmus is the worst regular catcher in baseball.  Despite a solid defensive glove and with him being one of the most respected players on the team, Ausmus doesn’t hit enough to justifying him being a starter.  Thankfully, this is the final year of his contract, but Houston needs to start looking for a temporary solution to catcher, as the kids aren’t ready yet.

Bench

• Mark Loretta (IF) – Loretta figures that he’ll get some playing time spelling Morgan Ensberg and Craig Biggio, which is why he picked the Astros’ offer of being their utility man over that of the Rangers.  Loretta still has some good pop in his bat, but he’s not going to hit for much power.  I do think that he’s valuable in terms of doubles power and as far as fielding, he hasn’t lost enough on his glove to make him a liability.
• Mike Lamb (1B/3B) – Once a highly touted Rangers’ prospect that flamed out, has found a hope in Houston, where he’s been able to hit for contact, if not much power.  He plays a solid hand at the infield corners and should get plenty of playing time with Ensberg’s status in doubt and Berkman needing a day off every now and then.
• Jason Lane (OF) – Kinda hard to see why the Astros are giving up on Jason Lane one year after posting a .267, 26 HR, 79 RBI campaign.  But with Lee now in left and Scott now the next big thing in right, Lane’s left with bench duty. 
• Humberto Quintero (C) – The Astros’ backup catcher is unproven at the moment, but if Quintero could offer any offensive upgrade over Ausmus, the Astros should give him a shot.
• Eric Bruntlett (SS) – Brunlett was passable as a backup shortstop.  He’ll see some time at short, second, and possibly center.

Disabled List

• Brandon Backe (RHP) – Backe is a solid young pitcher who was once mentioned in a possible trade to the Texas Rangers for Alfonso Soriano.  However, Backe had to undergo Tommy John surgery toward the middle of the season and won’t be an option until the end of the season.   If Backe can come back to at least 70% of what he once was, the Astros will take it.

Can't Make Up His Damn Mind

• Roger Clemens (RHP) - Clemens is again trying to decide what the hell he's going to do with his career, if he's going to retire or play another season.  At this point, many of the Astros teammates have quietly made it know that they really would rather do without the soon to be hall of famer.  It strikes me more of a case that the rest of the Astros tolerate him, but have some resentment over the fact that he doesn't play the whole season, nor does he show up to the park every day.  We'll see what happens, but if Clemens again decides to return to Houston, he'll have a huge impact.

Down On The Farm…

The Astros farm system is in one of it’s down periods, as the Astros have now begun aggressively trying to win now, surrendering draft picks to sign free agents.  The Astros are without a first rounder this year, having surrendered their pick to Texas for the Carlos Lee signing.  The system has also surrendered a lot of talent via trades, as Hirsh, Buchholz, Mitch Tablot, Ben Zobrist and others, thinning it further.  The Astros have also lost ground in Venezuela, a arena they once dominated, resulting in further losses.  The system does have some intriguing arms, but there is a lack of prospects that can hit, aside from Hunter Pence.

• Hunter Pence (OF) – Pence, the organization’s best (and only) position prospect, is a powerful righthanded hitter, from Arlington, who has done nothing but hit since he came into the minors.  Pence’s athleticism allows him to play all of the outfield positions, as well as giving him great speed on the bases.  His power in his bat is incredible, but there are some doubts as to whether or not he’ll hit for average In the majors.  There’s also the question of his judgement, as he was caught for DUI this past fall as well.  The Astros hope the embarrassment from the bust will keep him in line now and he may get called up as soon as Craig Biggio gets 3000 hits, allowing the Astros to begin playing Chris Burke at second a bit more, opening center for Pence.
• Troy Patton (LHP) – Patton is a hard-throwing lefthander that is now the Astros’ best pitching prospect now that Hirsh is a Rocky.  Patton has excellent stuff for a lefthander, with a very nice 89-92 mph fastball that touches 94 and has good movement.  He compliments it with a hard curveball, and he’s got the makings of a decent changeup.  He held his own at Double-A before his 21st birthday. Patton also has a history of arm trouble, as he’s pitched through arm soreness and various points in his career.  Patton will likely return to Double A in 2007, but he could be a factor in the rotation at some point this year.
• Matt Albers (RHP) – A 2001 Draft and Follow, Albers was impressive in the lower minors, beginning the season in Double A and finishing it in the majors.  Albers has excellent command and control of low 90s fastball and a slider that becomes a plus pitch at times. Good feel for a changeup.  The only real problem I have with Albers is like all short pitchers, his pitches have less of a plane to move on, resulting in little movement.  He also issues a bit too many walks for my taste, but at the very least, he’ll be a solid fourth or fifth starter if he can cut down on them.  Albers could be an option for the rotation at some point this season.
• Juan Gutierrez (RHP) – Gutierrez is often overshadowed by Patton, but that doesn’t mean he’s not talented.  He’s a pitcher with a power arsenal, as his fastball sits in the mid 90’s and he’s got a hard curve to compliment it.  He’s changeup is still a work in progress, but he does have the tools to succeed if he can get it going well.  He’s ready to help out in the bullpen now, but look for him to remain in Triple A for the moment.

In Conclusion

This is a weak division, to be sure.  But in the case of Houston, they’ve got just enough youth and experience that they’ll win the crown and return to the playoffs again, Rocket or no Rocket.

Final Standing:  National League Central Division WInner