Tom Kirkendall on Astros' Fading Hopes

Brilliant post at Houston's Clear Thinkers that provides a factual and unbiased perspective on the Astros' postseason hopes. I'm afraid that I tend to agree with Tom that the Astros are more of a 7-10 team than a 41-14 team, mostly because the front office failed to bring in a productive bat before the trade deadline.

I'm beginning to believe that the Phillies will be the team to beat for the NL Wildcard. Vincente Padilla's recent return to 2002-2003 form (3.10 ERA in July, 1.69 ERA in August), the emergence of Robinson Tejeda and the budding superstardom of Brett Myers gives the Phils a tough top of the rotation, backed by a studly bullpen with Wagner, Madson and Urbina. The arrival of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard on the scene have cushioned the impact of the loss of Jim Thome and the recent, surely limited, slump of Bobby Abreu. Mix in Pat Burrell, Jason Michaels and veterans David Bell and Mike Lieberthal and the Phils have a lineup that is considerably more potent than either the Astros and Nats and at least on par with the Marlins.

Also, Tom beats the same drum that I've beaten here and here about the misplaced infatuation of many fans and media members regarding Willy Taveras. He's a slap hitter who has a long way to go before being anointed as Houston's CF of the future, much less the NL ROY.