Strangers in a Strange Land...

Some years ago, my IBM colleague Sam and I went down in Texas to teach an "Object Oriented Design" class at the Clear Lakes office. Like most of the guys in our group, Sam preferred to stay in a Marriott. He was collecting frequent-sleeper points in hopes of someday going on vacation to somewhere exotic -- where he would reside in a hotel that was just like the ones he stayed in on our business trips. Back then, Clear Lakes (home of the Space Center) didn't have a Marriott, and the closest one was in Houston. I didn't care about collecting Marriott points, and would have preferred to stay close by the IBM office, so I could get a little more sleep and a little less commute. But this time, I didn't argue -- the closest Marriott just happened to be in the vicinity of the Astrodome.

So the deal was, I'd agree to stay in the Marriott near the Astrodome if Sam would agree to go to a ball game in the evening, after we got back from Clear Lake. Deal. We went to the Astrodome -- a huge thrill for me! I hadn't been back there since I'd moved away from Texas some years earlier. I picked the seats -- out in the bleachers, where I'd always sat as a kid growing up in Houston. The game started...

...and the Astros stunk. And worse, although I could rattle off the names of every starter on the team back in the day, I didn't recognize any of these guys. The year was 1991. 

[Side note: Remember what it was like before the Internet? Although I've always been an Astros fan, there were a number of years after I moved away from Houston when it was very difficult to be a very engaged fan-in-exile. Until the Internet came along - game stories, then pitch-by-pitch, the online radio, and finally streaming live video - my daily source of Astros news was generally limited to a sentence or two and a box score in the Washington Post. I became a fanatic in exile with my first subscription to mlb.tv in 2004.]

So back to 1991... Who were these guys? A quick review of the roster in my program explained why the players were so foreign to me. Many of them were in their first year in the big leagues -- like Jeff Bagwell, who went on that year to be the MLB Rookie of the Year. Other rookies: Darryl Kile, Luiz Gonzales, Kenny Lofton. There were some other young guys I'd never heard of, who were in their first (or only) year with the Astros: Curt Schilling, Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch, Mark McLemore. And a few others, whose names I'd know better in later years: Craig Biggio, Ken Caminiti, Casey Candaele, Jim Deshaies...and coach Phil Garner. I don't remember who I saw on the field that night -- not even who pitched. Mike Scott, one of the better known Astros players, was in his last injury-plagued season, and didn't pitch that night -- I would have remembered that!

The night I went to the Astrodome, the Astros lost -- badly. It was one of many bad losses that year, as they went on to finish with a 65-97 record, one of the worst seasons in franchise history, tied for the most losses in a season. As we are all well aware, the 2011 Astros stand to demolish that record.

I'm telling this story for two reasons: First of all to celebrate how the Internet has made it possible for fans to really stay in the game for their home teams, even if they are exiled far away. Second, and more importantly, to remind us all that a team full of young nobodies one season may be a team full of winners later. The Astros had a .500 season in 1992, and did not have another losing season until 2000. In the meantime, they were first or second in the division 6 times in those 8 years.

So 2011 is a throwaway season - one to groan about or laugh about, depending on your outlook. Maybe both. One long Spring Training, without the nice Florida-in-March weather.  But in losing Oswalt and Berkman and Pence and Bourn (and Wandy today?), we've picked up some young quality players. We've signed a lot of our draft picks, and who doubts that we're due to get the first pick in next summer's draft? By stocking up on prospects and rebuilding our miserable farm teams,  the Astros just might have some fun years ahead.

Now back to our regularly scheduled loss...

Midway Through the Season from Hell

With the All Star Game now in our rear view mirror, the second half of the 2011 season looks like an interminable drudge to the finish -- one where the only thing that the Astros will be competing with is themselves: Will they or won't they be the worst Astros team EVER?

Please do not call think of me as a traitor, but I actually have money on this question: An $18 bet with my sister Elizabeth (the one who has braved Kissimmee with me twice) that the Astros won't win 65 games this year. I actually offered to go lower than that. I was willing to put down money that they wouldn't hit 60. I'm not being negative or unfaithful, just honest: That's how bad this team seems to be. At 94 games, they have a 31-63 record. So unless something happens to drastically improve the team, they are on pace to win about 53 games. Record book stuff indeed.

One could point out that the Astros have often been a late bloomer, with a big bang finish to the season. But there's really no reason to think that's going to happen this year. If anything, it's possible that the Astros' in-flux owners will sell off any of the "stars" who can command some value, reducing the winning rate even further.

Given that I had expected this to be a losing season, I'm actually more cheerful than I sound in this blog. I'm pepping myself up with phrases like:

First Pick
Fresh Blood
Rebuilding
Hope for the Future...

It's what it takes to get through a season that looks like Spring Training for six months. But there are some ominous things floating around that worry me and threaten my longer-term loyalty.

First and foremost is the rumor about moving to the American League. My dad has been advocating this move for years -- he's a retired engineer and likes things to be well designed and balanced, so the lopsided leagues annoy him. But I'm one of those people who think that the Designated Hitter ruins the beauty of the game. Moving the Astros to the AL could be ammunition for moving me from mlb.tv to the Nationals Ballpark. I'm not kidding.

The other ominous thing is the possibility that some of my team favorites may be traded. Yes, I know that change is the nature of the game. Players come, players go. Players are stars, then they aren't. Players retire, players are traded. For a Fan in Exile, even more than a home town fan, continuity is important. When you only get to see the team at Spring Training, and maybe for a few games when they're playing an away game where you live now, you need some continuity of players to keep up your connection and loyalty. For years, Bagwell and Biggio were the poster boys for that continuity. (Literally -- I have a Bagwell/Biggio poster giveaway from 2004 in my office.) Then they retired. The pennant winning Astros players from 2005 started to disappear. Then fan faves Oswalt and Berkman were traded last year.

Now rumor has it that the management is looking to see what they can get for Hunter Pence. Underpants! He's the face of the team, the nice guy everyone loves! The only All Star on the team! Well, duh -- that's why he has value to the other teams who would presumably trade away their prospects to get his bat and his outfield assists to bolster their race to the pennant.

Who else may be on the trading block? Michael Bourn? Wandy?

Now if we could unload El Caballo, I wouldn't quibble.

Change is good. I keep reminding myself that. I keep telling myself that even the worst team in the Major Leagues won't lose all the rest of the games of the season. So I'll keep watching the games, hoping to catch a win once or twice a week. And I'll keep popping up on Twitter, hoping to catch some other Astros fans to commiserate with. But recently, it's mostly been the people who are paid to watch games and talk about the Astros.  If you're reading this, please post a reply. Being an Astros Fan in Exile has gotten to be a very lonely pasttime.