Phillies Astros

Phillies Astros

Phillies Astros

Houston Astros Look To Make It More Interesting In 2010

While fans had every right to be disappointed in the performance of the Houston Astros in 2009, things are starting to look up for the 2010 season. Their front office seems to be positioning themselves for a strong run in the regular season that will hopefully lead them back to the playoffs. While Valverde, Tejada and Erstad were cut loose, there was ample talent brought in to help fill the void.

For starters, the Astros have a very good GM in Ed Wade. Some of you may remember him from his days with the Phillies as he was instrumental in stocking their farm system. And while he was not there to enjoy the fruits of much of his labor, make no mistake that he had a lot to do with the recent success of the Phillies.

Three new pitchers will be taking the ball this season for the Astros and all three of them promise to make things very competitive for this club. Matt Lindstrom is a new face in town that comes over from the Marlins. Don't judge him on last year alone, as his 5.89 ERA was way out of character. You can expect him to put up numbers closer to his 3.14 ERA in 2008 and 3.09 ERA in 2007. The change will do him good and he should solidify this bullpen.

Brandon Lyon has bounced around a bit, but wherever he has gone he has eaten up innings and taken the ball on a regular basis out of the bullpen. 2009 was his second best season ever as he tied his personal record for wins with 6 and had his second best career ERA with a 2.86. He has always done well when playing on a competitive team and Houston will surely be that in 2010.

The last pitching addition for the Houston Astros comes via Ed Wade's old stomping grounds in Philadelphia. Brett Myers will probably be a three or four starter for them, which is the ideal place for this workhorse. Brett is another pitcher that someone looking at merely a stat sheet could be misled. He pitched through a lot of injuries and turmoil the last few years in Philadelphia and if there was ever a player that should benefit from a change of scenery, Myers is it.

Fans should know that Myers, if healthy, is going to eat up innings and allow the bullpen to get rested when they need it. As long as he can get past the first few innings, Myers can become unhittable. His one major flaw is that when he gets popped early, he will lose his cool and give up another long ball. However, this may have had to do more with the situation than it did with Brett. I think the fans can expect a huge year from him.

The last addition that has been made so far is Pedro Feliz. This is another Phillie that was brought over and one that should pay immediate dividends for Houston. This is a solid glove man that always seems to contribute at the plate at just the right time. While he only hit 12 homers last season, it seemed like every one of them came at the perfect moment or when the rest of the Phillies bats fell silent.

There is plenty to be excited about this season Houston fans and more than enough reason to start buying tickets for the hot games. If things go the way they are set up, Houston will be playing ball late into October in 2010.

About the Author

By Matt Ryan, sponsored by StubPass.com. StubPass.com sells Houston Astros Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in the world.