May 21, 2008: Astros Even the Series with the Cubs

Thank goodness Hunter Pence figured things out.  Otherwise, I’m not sure if we would have scored a run last night.  We got people on base, but nobody seemed to be able to come home.  We were in danger of being shut out.

But Hunter got a beautiful grand slam and the Astros and their fans went home happy.  The rest of the offensive machine continues to be AWOL and Berkman appears to have finally come back down to earth.

Chris Sampson pitched a decent game when all was said and done.  During the game, it felt like he wasn’t pitching good at all.  He got into immediate trouble in the first, but got out of it.  It seems like he battled every inning, but he only gave up a 2-run homer to Ramirez.  That’s a decent game in my book.  Even if the Astros had lost 2-0, it still would have been a good start by Sampson.

So why do I feel scared when I see he is going to pitch?  More to the point, why do I have such little faith on the Astros pitching?  Think about it…

Does a lineup of Oswalt, Backe, Moehler, Sampson and Chacon make you feel confident?  Would an opposing team look at that and think “Oh God… we have a tough gauntlet to get through”?  If Oswalt was playing the way he is capable of, you would at least have a halfway decent lineup, but it would still feel like the Pirates rather than the Red Sox.

Every night, I have no idea if we are going to win and now that the offense has slowed down, I REALLY don’t have that confidence.  Wandy is about to come back, but that doesn’t make me feel much better.

Right now, we have a #1 pitcher in Oswalt (even though he is not at his best this year).  Backe is probably a #3 pitcher when all is said and done.  Chacon is probably a #3 pitcher as well.  Moehler and Sampson?  #5 pitchers, at best.  Wandy is about to come back and when he is on, he is a #1 pitcher.  But more likely, he is a #3.  We are missing a #2 and a #4 pitcher. 

We need a #2 pitcher.  Badly.  It’s a huge hole in the lineup and unless we get it filled, we are in danger every game that the offense goes to sleep.