Taking note of Houston's record in the last 44 games: 27-17 (can you believe that?), Buster Olney goes to Roy Oswalt to find out how come the Astros have a history of being a second-half team:
"I think it's because we've got older players. Young guys don't know how long the season is. They might figure there's no way to catch up. But older guys know that all it takes is a good run, winning 10 out of 14, and you're right back in it."
And why did it take 40 games for the Astros' starters to start getting it together (with the exception of Wandy, of course)? It was the signing of Pudge:
"That's a big thing, because there is a different way of playing in the two leagues. Over there, you see a lot of off-speed stuff, and the National League is more of a fastball league. You get ahead in the count 0-2 in the AL and you're going to see a lot of off-speed stuff, but over here, you see pitchers challenge the hitters more. We're just learning each other. People don't have a real understanding of how important the relationship is between a pitcher and a catcher. Every pitcher pitches different, and he had to learn all that. A pitcher might throw four pitches, but he might have two go-to pitches, and (the catcher) has to learn that."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
