I am watching the replay of the game on FSN Houston right now. The 12 AM re-broadcast of game. I kept up with the game when it was live, a little bit on MLB.com gameday and this game thread at work. But I am going to see the game now.

It is nice to see the Astros beating teams like the Braves and Cubs. In most years, that would be really good, since those two teams have been really strong teams in more recent memory. However, they are both under .500 teams this season, and I am more eager to see how we play vs the good teams out there. Teams like the Mets, Reds, Cardinals, but more importantly, the better teams from the AL like the White Sox, Tigers, Rangers, who we got coming up on a brutal 9-game road trip.

I think the Houston Astros could very well be the best team in the National League when this 2006 season is all said and done. Maybe not by season-record, but we will be playing in the 2006 World Series. But I wonder how we stack up vs the best team from the American League once we are in the World Series.

For the past two years, the best teams in baseball have been from the American League. A big reason why I feel the Astros and Cardinals were both swept by the White Sox and Red Sox in the World Series the past 2 seasons.

While that 9-game road trip vs White Sox, Tigers, and Rangers won't be a do-or-die road trip. It certainly is a great opportunity to see where we stand vs the best teams in the American League, Yankees and Red Sox not included, which are two more strong teams from the AL.