Series Preview: Those Sad Sacks from Chicago



Believe me, there's still a lot left.

 I really don't understand the Astros right now. Honestly, what team drops 2 of 3 against the lowly Nationals, and then comes back to beat Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and stay in it against Roy Halladay? It's a strange sport, baseball, and once you get the round ball and the round bat out, I suppose that all logic and calculations go out the window (That's you, Brad Mills). A good litmus test for this club will be this weekend's series against the North Siders, so let's dig in.

Houston Astros (51-98) vs. Chicago Cubs (65-85), September 16-18, Wrigley Field

Game 1:
1:20 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (11-10, 3.51) vs. Matt Garza (8-10, 3.54)

Game 2:
12:05 pm- Henry Sosa (2-4, 5.02) vs. Rodrigo Lopez (5-6, 5.04)

Game 3:
1:20 pm- Brett Myers (5-13, 4.52) vs. Ryan Dempster (10-12, 4.66)

It's quite curious to look at the rosters of these two clubs, as one is stocked with young, (presumably) talented players, and the other is full of aging veterans and scrap heap trash (see Lopez, Rodrigo). Yes yes, Astros fans, if you thought Ed Wade runs a club the wrong way, imagine having Jim Hendry as your GM for the last 10 years. The only contract worse than Carlos Lee's is Alfonso Soriano's. But anyway, Garza has had a mediocre year after the Cubbies went full boar in acquiring him from Tampa Bay, but his record might be deceiving: he's now left seven starts with the lead intact, and ended up with a no decision. He also has a 2.64 ERA at Wrigley. In his last 111 innings against Chicago, Wandy is 5-6 with a 3.95 ERA. Lopez served up four long balls in his last start against the Reds, and yet somehow escaped with the win. He hasn't gone past the sixth in his last eight starts. Cubs skipper Mike Quade praises him like this: "He's the fifth starter and gives us everything he's got." Kind words, Quade, kind words. Myers is on a mini-roll, going 2-1 with a 1.19 ERA in his last three starts, including the gem he recently pitched opposite Oswalt. He's allowed just one earned in all three of those starts.

PREDICTION: I don't really feel like eating my shoes again, so I'll take the Astros to win two out of three. I think Wandy gets outpitched by Garza, seeing as W-Rod doesn't have good road numbers, and Garza has the aforementioned domination factor at home. Sosa beats Lopez but needs help from the bats, Myers outpitches Dempster.