Astros’ Play is Deja Vu All Over Again

Having owned the best record in Major League Baseball since the start of the 2005 season and leading the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox are trying to prove that they are the real deal this year. Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals have been more of a surprise than anything as they held the lead in the National League East until this past week. They still expect to give the Atlanta Braves a run for their money as they get back some of their injured players.

But more of a surprise since the All-Star Break is the torrid streak of the Houston Astros with a 22-7 record in July, the best home record in the majors and tops in winning percentage at .759 through July 30th. And the Astros held the lowest National League starting pitching ERA through July 30th at 2.33 and is second only to the St. Louis Cardinals in overall ERA in the National League.

For a team that started out the season with a 14-30 record and is now nine games above .500, it is as if they have woken up from a bear's winter's-long hibernation, not realizing yet that it is August. There has been no epiphany for the Astros, but rather intangibles like the leadership and spectacular pitching of Roger Clemens, who has the lowest ERA at 1.46 in all of Major League Baseball, as well as manager Phil Garner's ever-positive attitude.

With Lance Berkman having returned the second week of June after offseason knee surgery, and now playing first base rather than right field, he has energized the hitting with a .379 average in July. Craig Biggio has started to light it up again at the plate and is back to his natural position of second base, having been relegated to left field last year. And third baseman Morgan Ensberg has had a bust-out year, being selected as an all-star for the National League team, helping the Astros become tied for the most hits in the National League.

Ensberg and Clemens have largely been the glue that has put the Astros on top in the National League wildcard race. They have just kept going no matter how grueling and dismal the first half of the season has been. Ensberg has 27 home runs, 77 RBI, and a .580 slugging percentage and has shown great defensive skills at third. Biggio has 28 doubles, 17 home runs, and is a National League leader in runs-scored with 66. Willy Taveras has been a pleasant surprise in centerfield, batting .294 with 116 hits and 27 stolen bases, topping the Astros' National League lead in stolen bases. He has also shown he can cover the field well. And Adam Everett has been a steady defensive force at shortstop.

Pitching has been the one constant led by Roger Clemens' consistent and remarkable pitching performances a few weeks shy of his 43rd birthday. His 1.46 ERA accompanies 127 strikeouts in 147 innings pitched. His 9-4 record is deceptive, however, as he has suffered eight no-decisions and in his four losses, he pitched worthy of winning, but he got virtually no run support. Roy Oswalt, who placed third in the voting behind Roger Clemens' 2004 National League Cy Young Award, has kept up his stellar stuff as well in 2005. He enjoyed a 2.33 ERA and a 14-8 record with 114 strikeouts and four complete games, leading the National League in innings pitched with 158.2, prior to his loss to the Mets on July 31st.

Fortunately, a healthy Andy Pettitte has started to show the same pitching brilliance he had throughout his years with the New York Yankees, since having elbow surgery last August, around the time the Astros started to make their ascent. Pettitte has a 2.58 ERA with 103 strikeouts and has gotten back his rhythm, enjoying the lowest ERA of 1.13 in the National League in July, with only 12 hits allowed. In his most recent start on July 30th against the New York Mets, Pettitte pitched eight shutout innings, allowing only three hits and getting six strikeouts. It was his best effort so far this season on a day when he told catcher, Brad Ausmus, after the first two innings, "I have no rhythm at all."

And not enough can be said about pitching closer Brad Lidge, who remains one of the premier closers in the game having accumulated 26 saves so far this season, which is among the top 10 in both leagues combined. Lidge also leads in strikeouts in the National League among relievers.

But for the Houston Astros, their second-half rise seems to be passé as it is appears to be a replay of 2004. Shortly after the All-Star Break in 2004 when Phil Garner came in as the new manager, the Astros were resurrected and never looked back. They came within one game of reaching the World Series, having been defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. While the Astros no longer have the services of centerfielder Carlos Beltran, a free agent who signed with the New York Mets for 2005, nor the benefit of veteran first baseman Jeff Bagwell, who is on the disabled list after shoulder surgery in June, Garner has been able to begin to pick up the pieces once again.

And much like last year, the Astros are not making any proclamations. They just hope to quietly grind it out with whatever players they have while staying focused. Even the most recent back spasms of starting pitcher, Brandon Backe, now on the 15-day DL, has not allowed the Astros to let up, let alone give up. And seemingly as long as Clemens stays healthy, we might just see the Astros again in the postseason. But the Houston Astros are trying not to worry about that now, though, because as Yogi [Berra] says, "The future ain't what it used to be."