Hmm. . . .

So maybe I didn't jinx Adam Everett after all, considering his average right now is .308 and his OPS is .815.

Unfortunately, he seems to be more or less pacing the team. I'm glad for him, especially if I decide to stay with him as my fave this year (this always makes me feel a little Annie Savoy-ish, but whatever. As if), but what does that say about the rest of the guys?

Other bloggers, and some of the players themselves, have pointed out that an 0-4 record would receive little notice in July. I don't entirely agree with that statement (I've found that Astros' fans, myself included, are about as spoiled as they come--well, no, that would be Yankees' fans. Again, whatever). However, I remember last year when Qualls was getting booed in the fifth game of the season for giving up a run, and thinking how glad I'd be when the novelty of the season's start had worn off and all the unreasonable people were staying home.

I find myself less concerned with the losses than the level of play. I'm worried about Chris Burke adjusting to center field. He's never been one of my favorites, and was so rude to a friend's daughter that I may never forgive him (she was six at the time, just a little girl, and he was an asshole). Maybe if I liked him, I'd have a little more patience with his adjustment period, but I don't, and I thought playing him there was a bad idea to start with (didn't think he did all that well last year in the outfield, although he managed left okay). Biggio is starting off much better than I expected, so that's a bonus. I was worried that the march to 3000 would drag the team down (and it still could, but so far so good). Ausmus has always been an offensive liability, but always called a good game, right? So who called the pitch to Wainwright last night? Wandy straight up said he was confused to find out the guy could hit, and you know a guy who's had less than 40 major league starts doesn't call his own game. Sure, Wainwright was a reliever last year and didn't get a lot of opportunities at the plate, but I'm surprised that someone who is supposedly as well prepared as our catcher usually is would make that mistake (and yeah, it was just one pitch, and people are allowed to make mistakes, blah, blah, blah--just looking at things that I find concerning, that's all). There are plenty of other mistakes and miscues and poor execution to go around, for sure. And that's what is so bothersome.

Winning is obviously better than losing, but to give a non-baseball example, take A & M basketball. I don't even know basketball well enough to appreciate it fully, but I know enough to have seen pure beauty in their play against Louisville and Memphis. The teamwork, the timing, the execution--I actually caught my breath a couple of times, and I barely knew what was going on! In the same vein, what makes me happiest as a fan is to see well-played baseball, which the Astros are NOT doing. (Now, would I want them to have the heartbreak of A & M/Memphis, to play their guts out every game and lose in the last few seconds? No, but it does sometimes happen. At least the Aggies could be proud of how they comported themselves.)

Oh well. If the Astros don't pick it up, then at least I don't have to worry about ponying up the money to exercise my post-season option, right? Bright side, bright side. . . .