Phenomenal Smith wrote:
They gave up more runs than they scored. They got career years out of Wigginton and Moehler. Wolf pitched 70 brilliant innings and Hawkins pitched way over his head. I don't think you can count on those things happening next year. They were also the oldest team in the NL this year.
Smith, what I count on next year is Carlos Lee and Kaz Matsui staying healthy. I don't expect Roy Oswalt to pitch so horrible during the first two months of the season. I'm not expecting this team to play two extra road games or Cecil Cooper making so many managerial mistakes during the first half of the season. Cecil Cooper even admitted to making mistakes early in the season, but that he learned from those mistakes and managed a lot better during the second half of the season.

There's reason to be optimistic about the 2009 Astros, especially if they have a good hot stove league and add at least one top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher who they can pencil in as their number two starter. Somebody who can "shut other teams down" and take the mound every fifth game after Roy Oswalt.

In fact, I hope the Astros aggressively pursue C.C. Sabathia. He's such a sensational workhorse, but Cecil Cooper wouldn't manage him so poorly like Ned Yost ( prior to being fired ) and that other garbage manager the Brewers have.

I would love to see Drayton McLane giving Ed Wade the green light to pursue the top starting pitcher on the free agent market. Let's make C.C. Sabathia an offer he can't refuse!

And if not, well there's still eight or nine other free agent pitchers I wouldn't mind having. Any one of them would look good in an Astros uniform.