It seems like forever since the Houston Astros were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Yet that was only October of 2005. But as the Astros head into this 2010 season, hopes for returning to the World Series seem dimmer than ever.
The 2010 Houston Astros are a team of injury-plagued former stars, aging utility players, and youngsters trying to prove that they belong in the majors. Unfortunately, there are too many youngster, and too many oldsters. Owner Drayton McLane has put the club on the market, but the odds of the team being sold this season are slight. McLane's chief advisor is club president Tal Smith. Smith was the architect who turned the Astros from a laughingstock into a contender in the late-1970s, a remarkable feat in that the team was being run by bankruptcy creditors. But now, his primary accomplishment appears to be the sloping hill in centerfield named Tal's Hill.
The club's general manager is Ed Wade, best known as the previous general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies before coming to Houston. His main moves in Houston have been to sign players such as Kazuo Matsui and Brandon Lyon to contracts that appear to be above their worth as players. But he scored big when he traded closer Brad Lidge to the Phillies for Michael Bourn. Bourn appears to have been born to patrol the vast expanse of the Minute Maid Park centerfield; he won a National League Gold Glove for his defensive excellence last season.
The Astros come into the season with a new manager, Brad Mills, who will be a major league manager for the first time. A former major leaguer for the Montreal Expos -- 106 games in the early-80s -- he also worked as an advance scout for the Chicago Cubs, and he spent 11 years as a minor league manager for the Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Colorado Rockies. He was the first base coach for the Phillies and Expos -- under manager Terry Francona -- and he spent the last six seasons as the Boston Red Sox bench coach, also serving Terry Francona.
John Royal serves as a sports columnist for the Houston Press.
