How to proceed

You may have noticed (but then again, you may not have noticed) that Astros County has been moderately quiet over the last couple of weeks. Between separate family emergencies, work, kids, etc., writing about a team 50+ games under .500 hasn't exactly been a priority. And judging from the complete lack of comments, reading about a team 50+ games under .500 hasn't exactly been a priority, either.

So how do we proceed? I don't want to pull Astros County's Annual "We're Taking a Break" post again. Should the day come where Astros County ceases to exist in its current format, I want there to be weeping and gnashing of teeth...not, "Well, they've been talking about it for three years."

Ultimately, the losing is awful. Yes, brighter days are ahead, and not guaranteed. You know what's guaranteed? This Astros team is the worst. Ever. Remember when the Astros were 2-1? That was the highlight of my season. I tweeted, "I am not emotionally prepared for 2-1." Three games in, and I was flying high. Even when they were 22-23, we all collectively couldn't believe our luck.

Little did we know how fast and hard the Astros would fall. Since 22-23, the Astros are 20-71, a .220 winning percentage, which would translate into a 36-126 full-season record.

How do you continually talk about losing? Are there positives to come from this season? Sure. The Astros have $5.5m committed to payroll next season - $500K for Chris Snyder's buyout, and $5m to the Pirates for taking Wandy. There are five players eligible for arbitration, so that will send payroll up slightly, but areyoukiddingme$5.5millioncommitted. Luhnow got rid of every asset, sacrificing this season to prepare for what will be perhaps the biggest rebuilding project in modern baseball history (the 1998 Marlins should be on the list - but Loria's a douche, so...)

Talking about losing isn't fun. The "XX losses in their last XX games" stats are getting old, as are the "Jordan Schafer managed to strike out eight times in three plate appearances" stats. Yet every day that passes is another day The Luhnow Plan is put in place. Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said it would happen soon.

Ultimately, we're still here because there's no way we're bailing on the Astros - and talking about the Astros. Why? Because we're looking forward to writing about the good times, however far away they may be. Just bear with us while why we figure out what the rest of the season looks like.