Hardball Talk's Drew Silva ran down the Astros in 2011:
If the Astros want to get better, they need to start mimicking the ways of smaller market teams. Don’t give long-term contracts to aging players. Commit money to scouting and development. Draft well. Get busy on the international market. Build a top-level presence in Latin America.
It would seem to me that the Astros, for the past two seasons, have done all of these things.
Prediction Time:
This season brings 90 losses for the first time since 2000 and a close-shave fifth place finish over the sixth-place Pirates at the bottom of the National League Central.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
