Where will the Astros finish in 2011?

[Kingdom]

Maybe the better question is, how much longer will Carlos Lee be in Houston? It's easy to say they're competing with Pittsburgh for the cellar and there's not much reason to believe otherwise. But after they dealt Oswalt, this team was performing at a decent rate. They only finished ten under, and had a winning record within the division. Not bad for what seems to be a pretty ugly roster on paper, and a weak farm system. Their staff will be anchored by a solid trio off Wandy Rodriguez, JA Happ, and Brett Myers, and the pen consists mostly of younger, unproven talent coupled with Brandon Lyon at closer. The lineup is mostly the same as last season, with the addition of Clint Barmes and Bill Hall up the middle. The outfield should hit if Lee bounces back, and the infield depends on young guys like Chris Johnson trying to repeat his rookie success, Brett Wallace establishing himself as a slugger and not the next Brad Eldred, and Jason Castro avoiding becoming a bust like JR Towles.

[love_that_reefer]

I think they will finish 4th but I see them being a bit more competitive than KOZ but only if Lee plays first base. Lee is the worst LFer in all of baseball and unless Wallace knocks the cover off the ball, Lee should be moved. The rotation is not that bad with Wandy, Myers, Happ and Norris. The sooner Keppinger comes back, the better. Hall needs to be the super utility guy, not a starter so that's why Keppinger's health is important. Barmes could shock some people this year. The Astros finished a game ahead of the Cubs last year to finish 4th but this division will be a lot closer than it was last year. Even the Pirates got better. 5th place finish is what I see but this division will be tight.

[realmofotalk]

A blow for the Astros concerning one of the few promising players they were looking forward to:

C Jason Castro will be sidelined for most or all of the season following surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Castro was injured during the March 2 exhibition game, taking a bad step on the first base bag while trying to beat out a ground ball. The original diagnosis was a sprain, but an MRI revealed a tear in Castro's right meniscus. The torn ACL was discovered late Thursday and he was operated on Friday. The typical recovery time is six months.

[love_that_reefer]

It is a blow but I still thought Quintero was going to get the majority of playing time. Now Towles will be back! Woo fucking hoo!

[Fitzy]

This team could be the worst team in the majors. Plain & Simply.