Ya Gotta Love...

At Spring Training 2005, I was overcome by a certainty that those Astros were going to the World Series. This year, I did not experience any kind of epiphany or other-worldly visitations (the Spirit of Pennants Past?). I just made a more rational material assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the team's composition. So, is this The Year?

I don't really know. The losing record the first week of Spring Training is no real indication, of course. I repeated that to my husband like a mantra that during the games we attended: It's only the first week, they are taking a look at a lot of kids and non-roster invitees, Berkman is a notoriously slow starter, the pitchers are building up endurance and trying out new stuff, this is not what the team will look like on Opening Day, etc. There are some holes, especially in the pitching rotation, and there are some favorites who are gone. But there are also some things that you just have to love about this team. Here are a few:

J.R. Towles: That mop of blond hair makes him instantly recognizable among the mass of unfamiliar players. It goes with a big smile, and a big bat too. So far Spring Training has been a continuation of Towles' short but impressive plate performance last September - after the first week, he's batting over .450. His youthful energy, conditioned with Ausmus' maturity and encyclopedic mentoring, give him tons of potential. If he has a 20% higher batting average and up to 20% lower IQ than Ausmus, he'll be great.

Jose Valverde: Berkman's entitled to his opinions; I'm sure that the players view the antics of the other guys differently than the fans do. Assuming that Papa Grande continues his mound performance from last year, stats-wise, his emotion and sense of humor will play very well with the fans. At Spring Training he was constantly engaging with the fans, bowing and chatting, making faces at the press photographers who were trying to take his picture. Then he gets on the mound and looks like a monster.

Roy Oswalt: The opposite end of the emotional display scale from Valverde, Oswalt wears a deadpan facade to work. He's all business on the mound -- and with the kind of run support that is anticipated, this could be the biggest year of his career, win-wise. The rest of the rotation may be suspect, but Oswalt's ERA plus some big BAs could add up to CYA this year.

Jose Cruz Jr: The sentimental wild-card among the non-roster invitees, Junior is getting a lot of playing time this Spring. Whether it's out of deference to his father or a serious look, Cruz has gotten more at-bats than any other player so far. So far he's coming through-- in 10 games, he's batting .345 and leads the team in hits. It's hard not to want him to be successful, with his dad looking on from first base.

Hunter Pence: After a year in the Big Leagues, he doesn't clap his hands when he gets on base anymore. But Pence still has great energy and enthusiasm and a big smile and a wave for the fans. While he's not hitting .500 in Spring Training this year, his .357 BA after the first week is more than respectable. He's got "star" written all over him, and if he's not a nice guy, he's a hell of an actor.

More things to love about the 2008 'Stros in my next post. But first I have 2500 Spring Training photos to wade through, looking for the best shots for my website Photo Album.

The Most Familiar Face

Not everyone on the roster is a stranger, of course. There are a handful of returning players -- Berkman, Oswalt, Pence, Ausmus, Lee, Loretta, Wigginton, Wandy, Williams, Borkowski. Just enough to give a sense of Astroness to the team. It's great to see them all on the field.

But there was one face that was the most welcome sight of all - Jeff Bagwell in the dugout, sitting with the coaches, giving batting advice to the Minor Leaguers at the practice fields. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I got a lump in my throat when I saw him walk onto the field the first time. The last time I saw Bagwell in person was at Spring Training 2006, when he was trying so hard to make a comeback. By the time the season started, Bagwell had admitted that he would not be able to play.

I did see Bagwell a few times on TV (well, mlb.tv) during the past couple of seasons - when Biggio got his 3000th hit, when Number 5 was retired. But it's not the same as seeing him in uniform, out on the field, even if he's not playing. It's just so right to see him wearing Number 5, hanging out with the players.

Live from Kissimmee!

After two games, a few initial observations from Astros Spring Training...

I already knew that it was going to be a very different team this year, after all the trades and acquisitions over the winter. But I am still surprised how different it is. The past couple of years at Spring Training, I could recognize most of the players at a glance, without having to check out the backs of their jerseys. Not so (yet) this year. There are so many new faces on the roster, not to mention the non-roster invitees and guys with really large jersey numbers up from the minor leagues up for a cuppa. This early in Spring Training, there are lots of players rotating out on the field. I try to photograph as many different players as possible -- who knows who will make the team, or will be a star in the future? But then I can't always figure out who they are when I format the pictures. This picture, by the way, is Nick Gorneault scoring the tying run in the 9th inning of Friday's come-from-behind win.

A second observation: I know that I'm not seeing the Starting Day lineup (especially in yesterday's split squad game), as there are a lot of guys that Cooper and the coaches want to take a look at. But so far the scoring has been pretty light - 4 runs in Friday's win, 3 runs in Sunday's loss to the Nats. It would be nice to be seeing some of those 8- or 9-run games that have been predicted. Yesterday's game was practically poetic - to borrow inaccurately from T.S. Eliot:

This is the way the game ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Pitching - the big question for this year - has been mixed so far. Oswalt was Oswalt on Friday. I'm hoping to see him pitch again later in the week. Brocail and Valverde were terrific on Friday; both got beat up on Sunday. Brocail's back-to-back homers must have been pretty disappointing for a guy who'd like to spend the year back in Houston. Paulino's looking great. Chacon was good on Sunday, despite a double and homer that put the Nats ahead in the first. Cassell got clobbered on Friday. Non-roster invitee Carlos Hines has pitched scoreless 9th innings in both games I attended so far. I haven't seen Villareal or Geary pitch yet.

Trivia: Cooper seems to be keeping up Garner's tradition of moving his catcher to an infield position for an inning or two. Quintero played a reasonable first-base on Sunday. I heard from another fan that J.R. House had played first on Saturday, with less effective results.

Well, I'm off to see the Astros beat the Yankees. I expect the stands to be pretty packed, and the Yankees fans to be as annoying as usual.