Well hello, Houston! It's the greatest day in America: Opening Day 2007! Spring Training is over, the roster is set and now it's time to play ball.
The Astros' main concern last year was hitting. Heck, it was pathetic, but Uncle Drayton broke out the checkbook, signed power hitter Carlos Lee for a cool $100 million and added utility player and 2006 All-Star Mark Loretta. Also new to the team are a pair of native Texans: Jason Jennings and Houston's own Woody Williams. who have replaced Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens (until he un-retires, that is). But what are the Astros' chances this year? As good as anyone's. There's no clear-cut favorite in the NL Central, including the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. But let's separate the contenders from the pretenders:
- The Pittsubrgh Pirates: Way too many holes. They haven't had a winning season since 1992. It's a shame. Pittsburgh has great fans and a Grade A ballpark.
- The Cincinnati Reds: This team has a hard time getting over the hump and going to the next level. Every year it starts off strong, but eventually, it just falls off. Last year was another perfect example: At one point late in the season, the Reds were leading the NL Central, but then they choked and ended up with their sixth consecutive losing season.
- The Chicago Cubs: Yes, we know, they broke out the checkbook and spent millions in free agent signings — but they're the Cubs, the lovable losers. When are owners going to learn that pitching wins, not overpriced hitting? In Chicago, there are three things you can count on: Death, taxes and Kerry Wood on the disabled list.
- The Milwaukee Brewers: This is an up and coming team that has great young talent such as Bill Hall (35 HRs), Prince Fielder (28 HRs) and Rickie Weeks (No. 2 overall pick in '03). The Brewers' pitching will help them compete, but the key is Ben Sheets, the staff ace. He's been injury prone often and without him, this team will be looking at third place all year long.
Now for the contenders:
- The St. Louis Cardinals: The World Series Champs have major holes in their rotation. Gone are '06 NLCS MVP Jeff Supan, Jason Marquis and Jeff Weaver. In come Kip Wells (2-5, 6.80 ERA) and closers-turned-starting pitchers Brandon Looper and Adam Wainwright. Your guess is as good as ours as what these three are going to do. As long as they have the best player in the baseball in Albert Pujols and the magic of manager Tony LaRussa and pitching genius Dave Duncan, the Cardinals will be looking for another post-season run.
- The Houston Astros: The lineup will be talk of the NL this year. Berkman and Lee are arguably the best 1-2 punch in the league, Luke Scott will be looking to continue his magical ways of 2006 — and don't forget about Morgan Ensberg. It's 2007, an odd year, so you know what that means? Thats right, Houston: a healthy Morgan Ensberg. He enjoyed a decent spring at .281 with four HRs. Ensberg is the major key to make this offense click at full speed. And then there's the legendary Craig Biggio, who is 70 hits shy of the elite 3,000 hit club. Biggio will be looking at what could be his final year in Houston to take this team to one more playoff birth before he hangs up the cleats. The rotation features Oswalt, Jennings and Williams, all proven workhorses. The keys are Wandy Rodriguez and Chris Sampson. There's no such thing as a great five-man rotation, but if Rodriguez or Sampson can combine for 18 wins, this team will be playoff bound.
The bullpen returns Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler and Brad Lidge. Hey, two outta three ain't bad. Let's just hope Nolan Ryan fixed Lidge's problems. If so, a lead in the seventh inning is over when these three take the mound.The X-factor in this whole equation is Roger Clemens. There's no doubt he's coming back — he's just too good — but to whom? That's up to the Astros. A great April start would make the hometown team the favorites.
The NL pennant is up for grabs. The AL? Good luck. The Tigers, White Sox, Yankees and Red Sox will all be battling for AL supremacy. The road back to the World Series will be easier through Houston.
April 2007 NL Central Power Rankings:
1.) Houston Astros
2.) St. Louis Cardinals
3.) Milwaukee Brewers
4.) Chicago Cubs
5.) Cincinnati Reds
6.) Pittsburgh Pirates
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