Spring Training is here! Spring Training is here!

In light of the very un-spring-like weather we've enjoyed recently, it might come as a surprise that baseball is just around the corner. But in a similarly brisk part of central Florida, the 2010 Astros are taking shape. After a disappointing and often muddle-headed 2009, the team is looking to rebuild and remain respectable at the same time. Let's take a look at the primary storylines to follow as the team awakens from its winter slumber in Kissimmee.

Young Faces. The 2010 roster will feature many more young faces than Astros teams of the past. Roles that were filled last year by veterans like Miguel Tejada and Pudge Rodriguez will now be the domain of youngsters like shortstop Tommy Manzella and catcher Jason Castro. Castro is not guaranteed to make the club out of spring training, but will certainly be the club's starter by mid-season. Manzella is a defensive wiz who will make all of us who actually knew that Adam Everrett was worth a damn (despite hitting .230) wistful by saving runs for the young pitching staff.

Speaking of which, while last year's rotation was held together with Mike Hampton and duct tape, the team has made it clear that it needs Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino to step up and deliver on the potential they've shown at Round Rock. Paulino, never a friend of salads, has lost almost 30 lbs. this offseason and looks ready to destroy some fools with a blistering fastball. Norris is expected to take the #4 starter role, and that looks to be his professional ceiling. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Racing the Clock. Will the veteran core of the team be around the next time that the team is competitive? Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Roy Oswalt, who compose the heart of the team and its biggest contracts aren't getting any younger. After watching Biggio and Bagwell finally play in the Fall Classic after years of toil, you'd kinda hope that Puma, El Caballo, and the Wizard would get one last chance to make a run together. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. In 2011, Carlos' no-trade clause will be up, and the temptation to unload him to the American League for prospects will loom large.

The kids likely won't be enough to make the team playoff ready this year (short of Albert Pujols shoulder exploding and disrupting the course of the Mississippi River), but if Puma and Oswalt rebound from a poor 2009, we won't be a Pirates-level embarrassment, either. 2011 will be the true last charge of the Heavy Brigade.

Is Mills Worth 10 Wins? Cecil Cooper was the worst manager in recent Houston memory. Note that we didn't say Astros memory. There are red-faced, screaming t-ball coaches who are currently spraying Copenhagen-flavored spittle on 6 year olds who are't as incompetent as Ol' Coop was last year. By the end of last season, the clubhouse was in revolt, Roy was openly talking about trades, and the September rookies were barely seeing playing time.

Enter Brad Mills. Until this year, he's been Terry Francona's right hand man in Boston throughout all their recent successes. He's wowing the press and players in Kissimmee with his work ethic and personality. But most importantly, he's a tactician whose lack of boneheaded decision making could push a few games out of the "L"; column, or at least prevent some W's from migrating that way.

So where does that leave us, Astros fans? Angry and discontented? Hopefully not. It's popular in some corners to crap on Drayton McLane and Ed Wade and bemoan the fact that they didn't (over)spend for John Lackey or Matt Holliday this offseason. But apart from the New York teams and the Red Sox, no one spends like drunken sailors at a whorehouse anymore; Pedro Feliz and Brandon Lyon may not have been sexy signings, but they filled specific needs, and are part of a larger plan to get younger and emphasize pitching and defense. The froth-mouthed commenters at a certain newspaper don't seem to get that, but we hope you do.

If not angry, then what? Excited, hopefully. Excited about a team that, though it won't win the division or probably even finish in the top three, is giving some young faces some time to shine and get acquainted with the hometown crowd. Excited about a new manager who knows his butt from a hole in the ground. Excited that we do have Michael Bourn patrolling center field and making breathtaking plays out there. Excited that Berkman is still pretty damned good at getting pitches into the Crawford Boxes. Excited that baseball is here again, dammit! Let's go Astros, and screw the Cubs!

Photo: flickr user Termin8r