Since 2002, the hometown team is now 2-6 in Opening Day Games. Tonight was no surprise. Roy Oswalt is a notoriously slow starter, and Carlos Zambrano is a cerified Astros-killer. Astros fans can take solace in this however, at least the Z-man didn't go yard tonight (he has 5 career OFFENSIVE home runs against the Astros, 4 of them coming at Minute Maid).
I actually believe that Opening Day was just fine for the Astros. They played the game that they need to play... runners on with nobody out in the 6th, the opposing starter out of the game. Unfortunately, the big hit was not there tonight. When the players that struggle are Carlos Lee and Pudge Rodriguez, you don't worry. When the guys that worry you most about this season (Michael Bourn and Miguel Tejada), go a combined five out of eight, and the team still loses, it's important to realize the potential out there. Imagine a day with the whole offense clicking...
Unless injuries decimate this team (with their combined age, it's by no means out of the question), they will contend. No baseball city in the country should count out the local nine after one game, especially not Houston. We've been down this road before. Honestly, are you really shocked they lost tonight? You shouldn't be, and remember the last two times the Astros went to the playoffs... they lost on Opening Day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment