Quite Dead... and Smelling Kind of Rotten

I know - it's totally out of character for me, but I have to admit: I'm kind of tired of this season. Actually, I'm seriously ready for it to end, so I can start thinking about how nice it will be to go to Spring Training next year. (As in "There's always next year" - what you say when your team kicks the bucket.)

Did I mention that we were eliminated over the weekend? Last night, after Rosh Hashanah ended, I immediately turned on my computer, thinking that I'd stay up late and watch all the games that the Astros won between Friday and Sunday. That turned out to be a very small set - none, actually - after their second consecutive series sweep. I was so tired of losing that I went to bed about 9:30 PM.

I'm probably not as tired of losing as Cecil Cooper is. Remember Coop? They guy who used to be the Astros manager? That's so yesterday. Today he's unemployed - a move by the Astros ownership that is sure to surprise no one at all. It's the price you pay when you have a team full of high-priced ostensibly capable players, who can't seem to get past 70 wins this season. After 8 consecutive unsuccessful tries to break 70, the fantasy of coming back to finish with a winning season has been supplanted by the image of just losing all the rest of the games. That would close out the year in a bizarre parallel of Spring Training, where the Astros got off to a record-breaking terrible start.

I'm actually not sorry about the loss of Cooper. He should be glad that he left before Monday night's loss, thus preserving his winning record as the Astros' manager (by 1 game). I hope that the next manager isn't addicted to sacrifice bunts - I don't usually second guess the managers, who know a lot more than I do about baseball. But I'm also tired of precious outs wasted in close games.

Tonight's game - the eighth loss in a row - was not a close one. The Cards won 7-3. Wandy got hammered. He gave up 6 runs in 5 innings on 9 hits. Three of the runs were in the first inning, so it was bad from the start. Wandy's stuck at 13 wins - he's going to have to get lucky to pull off those 15 wins I predicted for him this season.

I can't post without thinking of something to like. Here's one: Bud Lite had another good start on Friday night. The Astros lost, but that wasn't his fault.

Once we get past this series with the Cardinals (who haven't quite clinched, so the Astros have to at least pretend to be trying hard), I hope that they'll play more of the kids. I can squint and pretend it's Spring Training.