You shouldn't write off the Houston Astros.
Remember May 24. That was the day they hit rock bottom. Normally stellar closer Brad Lidge blew a gem by Roger Clemens with two wild pitches and two walks in 2/3 of an inning, and the Astros lost to the Chicago Cubs 4-2, dropping to 2-21 on the road and 15-30 overall. Since then the Astros are 81-36.
Then, there was Game Four of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Down 6-1 in the eighth inning, Lance Berkman hit a grand slam to bring the Astros within one run, and then, with the team down to its final out in the bottom of the ninth, Brad Ausmus - he of just three home runs in 387 regular season at-bats - delivered a long ball to tie the game. Nine extra innings later, the Astros were back in the NLCS thanks to Chris Burke's 18th inning homer.
Finally, in Game Five of the NLCS, the Astros were one strike away from advancing to the World Series before super-slugger Albert Pujols stunned the crown in Houston with a game-winning home run, sending the series back to St. Louis and prompting everyone to say that Houston was a dead man walking. But Roy Oswalt showed he had plenty of life left with seven innings of three-hit ball in Game Six, and now Houston makes its first World Series appearance in franchise history.
It's ironic that after four division titles and four straight first-round playoff exits between 1997 and 2001, the current wild card edition of the Astros is better equipped for playoff success. Forgive us while we repeat what every other media outlet in America has already said: the pitching trio of Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Oswalt is a perfect postseason formula for success.
Manager Phil Garner would do well to stick to those three as starters and keep Brandon Backe (4.76 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) ready for long relief. So far this postseason, Backe has started twice, allowing six runs in 11 innings. Of course, Garner can always turn things over to a bullpen that, while not quite as dominant as Chicago's, is still pretty darn good with Dan Wheeler and Chad Qualls setting up Lidge.
What Houston doesn't quite have now are the bashers, thanks to the demise of Jeff Bagwell and a shoddy first half by Lance Berkman. If Morgan Ensberg hadn't broken out his first prime-time season (36 HR, 101 RBI, .945 OPS), the Astros would be out on the ranch right now and Philadelphia would have a playoff team for the first time in 12 years.
But that's the great thing about the postseason - once you get there, Ausmus and Burke (.248 BA, 5 HR) can be heroes. Besides, you don't really need big-time sluggers when you have the arms the Astros do, or when you play in MinuteMaid Park, which is as cozy as a night cuddled up by a crackling fireplace.
A perfect scenario for the Astros: Chi-town manager Ozzie Guillen loses his cool like Tony La Russa did, Houston's Big Three and bullpen shut down the White Sox bats, and they get a few more clutch hits.
Just when their backs are up against the wall and you're counting them out again, Houston will have a shot to bring home its first title.
-Ben Hoffman
