A Look Around The Division

First lets check in with the Brewers. I like their scrappy lineup and called Lyle Overbay the wildcard in that lineup in my prediction post in early April. So far he has been much more than that as he is batting .351 with 5 HR's and 31 RBI. Add in Junior Spiveys .293, 3 HR's, 17 RBI, and it looks like Milwaukee is getting enough offensive production from the Sexson trade at a far less amount of money.

Currently they are holding steady at around .500. Ben Sheets looks like he is coming into his own. Currently he is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA and 44 SO's in 42 innings pitched. Former Cub minor league outfield prospect now turned pitcher, Brooks Kieschnick, is having a fine year out of the bullpen with a 1.26 ERA, and 11 SO's in 14 innings pitched.

Overall Milwaukee is doing about what i suspected. A few good pitchers scattered amongst some pretty horrible ones. The lineup is the one carrying them and will continue to do that for the rest of the year. Keep an eye on Bill Hall to supplant Craig Counsell at SS as the season progresses. Him and Scott Podesdnick could form an extremly fast 1-2 punch at the top of the order.

Next is Houston. Is Roger Clemens still a non-factor? Righttttt just checkin. I also said never ever bet against Roger Clemens. 6-1, 2.11 ERA, 44 SO's in 38 IP. Not bad for a guy a lot of Cub fans said couldnt pitch in Houstons offensive park. In fact he loves pitching in Houston with a 1.39 ERA at home and a 3.65 ERA on the road.

Roy Oswalt is 2-1 with a 2.90 ERA, Andy Pettitte is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA and the one pitcher everyone completly forgets in Houstons rotation, Wade Miller, is 4-2 with a 2.75 ERA. The one blemish is Tim Redding and his 8.00 ERA starting. Just like the Cubs the Astro's have 4 very good starters and one lousy one. Unlike the Cubs, Houston isnt expecting to get back their best pitch off the DL in the near future. That could be the difference as the season goes on.

Another area where I heard most Cubs fans bag on Houston was their bullpen. The common reasoning was, "Well they lost Billy Wagner, that bullpen is nothing without him and Octavio Dotel has never closed." Yeah, i never believed that for a second because I noticed they were stocked with alot of good young arms in that pen and could easily lose Billy Wagner without skipping a beat. Dotel has performed fine in the closers role with a 2.40 ERA, 5 saves, and 19 SO's in 15 IP. The other notables are the veteran Dan Miceli and his 1.96 ERA in 18 IP, Brad Lidge's 2.60 ERA with 28 SO's in 17 IP, and Brandon Backe with a 3.60 ERA in 15 IP. The dissappointment so far into this season out of the pen is Ricky Stone currently sporting a 11.00 ERA. He should settled down and get back to his 3.87 career ERA.

If you dont know about Houstons vaunted offense you haven't been on planet earth lately. Craig Biggio must of found the Holy Grail because he is having a comeback year with a .347 BA, 6 HR, and 21 RBI from the leadoff spot. From the leadoff spot? Holy cow.

Berkman, Bagwell, and Kent are all around .300 with 5-6 HR's and 20-25 RBI each. As for Hidalgo it's always been a question of which Richard Hidalgo will show up this season? So far it has been the good one. .327 BA, 4 HR, and 25 RBI. But is that worth the $12.5 million Hidalgo is getting paid this year?

Overall Houston is just chugging along. They are getting very good pitching and bullpen work to go along with a potent offense. If Father Time needs a team to strike down as the season goes on it should find Houston as a lightning rod. But as with Clemens I am not betting against Houston to suddenly crumble and fall apart.