A Few Fun Goals for this Astros Season

As long as we intrepid Astros fans are plodding along, enjoying the view of fresh talent, with low expectations for this season's outcome, maybe we should add a few modest goals. After watching some very fine Astros baseball over the Memorial Day weekend, I have a few to suggest. Note: These are not predictions per se -- just a few possibilities that would add some fun to a year when the Astros aren't on track to be contenders.

1. George Springer for Rookie of the Year: I don't want to jinx him, now that Springer seems to have put his rough season start behind him. But I'm thinking that it's about time for ESPN and Sports Illustrated and all the other sports news guys to notice George Springer. SI came out with its predictions for ROY honors this week and Springer didn't get a mention. But that list was posted on May 22, before Springer hit 5 homers in 4 games over the holiday weekend. Before Springer went 4-4 on Memorial Day, with a homer, two doubles, a single, and a walk, knocking in 3 RBIs, and scoring  4 runs. And oh, did I mention the awesome catch up against the wall? Maybe Springer's just having a good week. Or maybe he really did figure it out, after his humbling beginning (BA of .182 in April, .325 in May, .340 batting in his current #2 position in the lineup). Whichever it is, he doesn't look like the ball player we saw wildly strike out in Camden Yards just 2 weeks ago. He looks like a guy who's having some fun playing Major League ball. I'm not predicting that he'll keep up the weekend's crazy pace of run production. But he's shown all of us the power, speed, and fielding skills that he's capable of. ESPN, SI, Fox Sports -- take note: There's someone missing from your short list for ROY!

Springer may be faceless to (non-Astro) baseball fans now, but he'll soon be in the spotlight!

2. Jose Altuve for AL Batting Title: Altuve must be one of the most underrated great players in the Major Leagues. If he were a big guy, or even a small guy playing for a big box team, he'd be in the news all the time. Instead he's our Dark Horse (Dark Pony?) candidate for the league batting title. Right now he's only got the 4th highest batting average among AL qualifiers, but he leads the league in hits, with 20+ more at-bats than the others ahead of him in BA. And look at how he's trending: In April he hit .276; his BA for May is 100 points higher at .375. Altuve is likely to be the Astros' All Star player this year (every team gets at least one), but isn't likely to win the second base slot on his own merit. Two of the three players ahead of him right now in BA are also second basemen (Cano and Kinsler), both of whom are much better known players, which kind of squashes Altuve's votes. But neither of them come close to Altuve's league leading 17 stolen bases. Altuve's still young and his day will come, but it sure would be fun for him to hit for the record this season.

Altuve might have a small frame, but he's got a big bat and an even bigger heart!

3. A No-Hitter for Dallas Keuchel: With 26 2/3 innings pitched in his last 3 starts, Keuchel has shown his ability to stay on the mound deep in the game. In his last start, a complete game, he gave up only 4 hits, with one unearned run. In the previous one, he got down to his last out in the ninth in a scoreless game before he was pulled with two runners on base - both of whom the reliever allowed to score. Three games back was a CG shutout against the Rangers. Keuchel doesn't have the blazing hot stuff that gets all the attention, but he's got something else that's earning him wins -- the league's best ground-to-fly ball ration. This is a pitcher who can finish games, and if anyone on the team has a no-no in him this season, it's Keuchel.

4. Beat the Red Sox: I'm not predicting, 2005-style, that this Astros team is going to the World Series, despite a gruesome season start. I'm not even predicting that this Astros team will come out with an overall winning record. But, despite their current position in the AL (and MLB) cellar, I think that this Astros team just might not end up the worst team in baseball this year. Hey, I'm not knocking that first pick in the draft; after 3 years of being the very worst team, those first draft picks are going to be part of our championship team in the future. But I don't think we have to be the worst this year. That honor might go to the Cubs or Diamondbacks in the NL. Or (sorry, Mom and Dad!) the Mariners in the AL. But the goal I'd like to propose is to come out ahead of the Red Sox. That's right, the same Red Sox that won the World Series last fall. For whatever reason, they are down in the dumps this season, just coming off a 10 game losing streak, and with only a .420 record at the moment. The Astros at .385 still have a ways to go to get there, but the trend is positive. Our W/L rate has gone up more than 70 points over the past few weeks. Beating the Mariners would be fine, but beating the Red Sox would be a much more fun goal for the season!

Enjoy those High Fives at the end of a game -- there will be lot more to come in the future!

So four modest goals for the 2014 Astros. Okay, four pretty challenging goals, but going after any of them would add some fun to the season. Hey Astros fans, anyone have any other fun goals to add?