Richard Justice's new column tries to give you chicken soup and Sprite.
Here it goes. I think these Astros have a chance to be pretty decent this season. I’m guessing we’re not going to see eye to eye on that one...
...The thing is, I’m not convinced their 10-21 record is a reflection of these Astros. As Bill Parcells once said, you are who you are. Maybe so, but there’s more than 80 percent of this season left.
Pence:
“We tried to have fun and relax. Now we’re going to fight. If an umpire makes a bad call, we’re going to let him know about it.”
Mills:
“I want to defend their effort. I’m not going to defend how they’re doing, but I want to defend their effort. Do they want to start hitting better? Yes, they do. More and more, I hear people say they’ve never seen them work harder. I try to find the guys, and they’re back there in the cage hitting. They’re doing things to make themselves better, and that’s all we can ask.”
Justice:
The thing is, they believe. Even if it’s hard for the rest of us to believe, they’re working and caring and doing the things the Astros have done in their best years.
One of the beauties of a baseball season is that it’s so long and tears at a team’s weaknesses in so many ways that we’ll eventually find out if the Astros are as bad as they’ve played.
I believe. I can’t help myself.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
