Astros cooling off , NL Wildcard Heating Up!

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The Astros appear to have finally cooled off, having trouble scoring runs this weekend vs Pittsburgh...

Watch out for Florida with their big 3 pitchers Willis, Beckett, and A.J. Burnett (won 6 straight starts) and the quietest superstar in MLB Miguel Cabrera, they appear to be finally puting it together...

Washington got healthy this weekend out in Colorado plays an important 4 game series @ the Phils starting tonight...
 

Hawkeye-Packer-Yankee
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Weren't they playing the Phillies this weekend?

Also they cooled off because I took them last week in the Hollywood contest. So far this year I can cool off The Devil If I picked him.

:sad3:
 

J-Man Rx NFL Pick 4 Champion for 2005
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Jarbo said:
Weren't they playing the Phillies this weekend?

Also they cooled off because I took them last week in the Hollywood contest. So far this year I can cool off The Devil If I picked him.

:sad3:
:lolBIG: Kinda been my fate this year also as I also had them in the Hollywwod contest. I guess it is time for the A's to cool off this week as they are my pick this week.
 

Hawkeye-Packer-Yankee
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Sorry J-Man, my bad.

But I can still cool of anybody.
 

I'll be in the Bar..With my head on the Bar
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Astros league leading 14 shutots this year...didnt somebody predict at the start of the season they would break the record for futility this year??? hmmm wonder who that guy was:howdy:
 

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Big Astros/Cubs series this week. Cubs need to at least win the series to get back into the hunt.
 

For G-Baby
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The Cubs are done. I don't understand why people continue to talk about them like they're contenders. They're 6.5 back and behind five teams, not including the BREWERS, who they're tied with. It'll take something miraculous for this inconsistent team to sniff a wild card berth, let alone win it.
 

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SkinsRaj28 said:
The Cubs are done. I don't understand why people continue to talk about them like they're contenders. They're 6.5 back and behind five teams, not including the BREWERS, who they're tied with. It'll take something miraculous for this inconsistent team to sniff a wild card berth, let alone win it.

It's a long shot but quite frankly Houston was way back at this point last season. Plus, Cubs have 10 games directly against Houston. 6.5 games isn't that much. But that's why this is a big series. It's now or never against Houston.
 

For G-Baby
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I agree that it's a big series, but I still don't think the Cubs have a shot. You can't compare the Astros of last year and what they did to what the Cubs or ANYONE COULD do. For one, the 'Stros got hot right after the all-star break. Two, they had Carlos Beltran carrying them. Meanwhile, the Cubs have wasted an unbelievable season by Derek Lee, and don't tell me Nomar is gonna come in and provide a Beltran-like spark. He actually looked really good last night, but I'm not sold. And even if he's pretty good, he's not gonna do anything near what Beltran did last year.

If there's one team out there that could make a run, in my mind, it'd be the Marlins. They have the pitching, and the bats have been pretty good of late. Don't forget, most all of those guys have been here before. And it looks like there's no hurricane this year to fuck their schedule, either, so that's a plus.

NL wild card race is gonna be interesting, at the very least. Go Nats!
 

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In the words of Teddy KGB, my Phils "keep hanging around..these kids(Myers, Tejeda, Utley, Wagner,etc..) must have alligator blood?"
 

And if the Road Warrior says it, it must be true..
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My Astros will give up the lead in the Wildcard race...but for some reason this club only does well when they are behind. I see them 2-3 back for the start of september and w/ the 1-2-3 combo they have in pitchers they will probably get that wild card. There is a report in the Houston Chronicle calling for Moises Alou to comeback and play the final month...JMO
 

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Alou, who has proven ability and is familiar with Minute Maid Park, could be had for a wink, a smile and about $4 million left on his contract this year. Sure, that's big money. But how much does an owner worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes Magazine — more than all but two major-league owners (the Twins' Carl Pohlad and the Reds' Henry Lindner) — want this thing?

Of course, Alou would have to clear waivers, which might make you think teams such as Washington and Philadelphia would block the deal by claiming him. But with the Giants scheduled to pay Alou $7.25 million next year, they'll be motivated to let him go to any team that lays claim.

And any team that claims Alou must be willing to pay him. Jeff Bagwell, hoping to return in September, has lobbied for Alou all year. Others would love his bat and experience. Astros management has discussed it.
 

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maxdemo said:
Alou, who has proven ability and is familiar with Minute Maid Park, could be had for a wink, a smile and about $4 million left on his contract this year. Sure, that's big money. But how much does an owner worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes Magazine — more than all but two major-league owners (the Twins' Carl Pohlad and the Reds' Henry Lindner) — want this thing?

Of course, Alou would have to clear waivers, which might make you think teams such as Washington and Philadelphia would block the deal by claiming him. But with the Giants scheduled to pay Alou $7.25 million next year, they'll be motivated to let him go to any team that lays claim.

And any team that claims Alou must be willing to pay him. Jeff Bagwell, hoping to return in September, has lobbied for Alou all year. Others would love his bat and experience. Astros management has discussed it.

Moises Alou would not clear waivers on all of the teams below the Astros. Not a chance.
 

And if the Road Warrior says it, it must be true..
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D2bets said:
Moises Alou would not clear waivers on all of the teams below the Astros. Not a chance.

Alou deal unlikely

Source Houston Chronicle:

According to a top National League official, the Astros have made a couple runs at acquiring San Francisco's Moises Alou, currently on the disabled list. Alou likely would turn down a deal to the Astros for two reasons: He wants to play for his father, Felipe, and he's hurt that McLane didn't sign him in the winter.


And for all the fans wondering why the Astros haven't picked up a hitter, the answer is simple: Opposing teams aren't letting players through waivers. Because so many teams still have legitimate postseason aspirations, teams are quite busy blocking potential trades by making waiver claims, forcing teams to pull the players back.

Here's just a partial list of hitters who were pulled back from waivers since the non-waiver trade deadline elapsed: Tony Clark, Jay Gibbons, Bill Mueller, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Willy Mo Peña, Coco Crisp, Vladimir Guerrero, Lyle Overbay, Jeff Kent and Shea Hillenbrand.



That's a rip-off

Sure, Purpura could have landed Clark before the non-waiver deadline, but the Diamondbacks wanted Brad Lidge in return. Clark's a decent hitter, but two Clarks aren't worth half a Lidge.


As Alou has proven, older players are greater injury risks. Even Roger Clemens, who appears indestructible each time he takes the mound, has been plagued by back pain since late July. If Clemens or Roy Oswalt or Andy Pettitte or Lidge go on the disabled list, the Astros' chances of doing something special this year diminish.

Considering that the Astros' top wild-card contenders will be beating each other up in the tougher NL East, I'd guess the Astros will win the wild card.
 

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Astros are golden. They have 2 more wins vs my Cubbies this week. Oh, and they have 7 more with the Cubs the last 10 games of the season. Expect anything but max effort from the Cubs to officially end the Dusty Baker Era.
 

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