Welcome, Citizen Seth

Today we welcome a new citizen to Astros County, Citizen Seth. I asked questions, he provided answers. If you'd like to join, send an e-mail and be prepared to answer some questions...

AC: If you could punch one Astro in the face, it would be...
CS: Drayton McLane. I wish I could go back in time about 4 years ago and punch him in the face and force him to sign all of the draft picks that he low-balled in that time period. As bad as the Astros drafted, they would not be in near of a pickle if they would have signed a lot of those draft picks... instead of not offering them too much money to please Bud Selig (another guy I would like to punch for the "Home" series he gave the Astros last year in Milwaukee vs. the Cubs down the stretch during the hurricane). Sorry, I'll step down off the soap box. Basically, Drayton has got us in trouble by buying high and selling low, way too many times.

If he doesn't count because he's not an actual player, I would have to say Geoff Blum. I witnessed him hit the home run in game 3 of the 2005 World Series that ended up beating the Astros. I wouldn't hit him hard, it would just be a jokingly done love tap.

AC: What is it going to take for the Astros to make it to the playoffs?
CS: That's simple... it's going to take overacheivement. I am going to say that the magic number is 4. 4 players are going to have to have breakout/career/comeback type seasons. That is of course taking for granted that Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Jose Valverde, and the rest of the bullpen perform like they are expected to. After that, some players are going to have to breakout like Michael Bourn or maybe even a Felipe Paulino who currently looks solid against the Reds. Career seasons from possibly Wandy Rogriguez, Blum/Keppinger, or Hunter Pence. Maybe we can get comeback seasons out of Pudge, Hampton, or Ortiz. In summary, 4 of those players listed in the breakout/career/comeback list need to play very well.

AC: If the Astros traded (one of) Berkman, Valverde, or Oswalt, I would be okay with...
CS: 1. Valverde
2. Berkman
3. Oswalt

I would be ok with Valverde being traded. It wouldn't break my heart... as long as we got decent return out of it. I would only be ok with trading Lance and Roy if we were so far out of it that it was time to do a complete rebuild or if they wanted out.

AC: How long before the Astros make it to the World Series?
CS: You never know with these guys... Sadly, I think it will be at least 4 or 5 years with the way the "retooling" is taking place. They are rebuilding the farm system, yet keeping it clogged up top with older players. When these older players start to phase out and the Jason Castros era starts to take over... maybe we can compete for it then.

It will not be until we have a rotation rivaling the 2005 rotation.

AC: Who's in the Hall of Fame first: Biggio or Bagwell?
CS: That is a tough... tough question. I'm going to go with Biggio. To me, Biggio is the definition of a team baseball player. Not the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but he could just play ball. Played for one team, switched positions 3 times, and was the clubhouse leader. Yep, Biggio gets in first also because Bagwell plays a position where offensive numbers usually come from. Biggio being a catcher/2nd basemen, his offensive numbers are more impressive.