The Pecan Park Eagle

The Houston Astros begin their American League career tonight at 7 against the visiting Texas Rangers. Right-handed Bud Norris takes the mound for Houston against lefty Matt Harrison of Texas in a game that likely represents the Astros’ only chance this season to be ahead of the Rangers in the standings with a victory for even a single day.

For all of us who don’t have Opening Night tickets or Comcast Cable, the game will still be available on TV via ESPN. For some of us, it will be our first look at the new Astros – and maybe our last look until the gods of greed and their minion company dollar-devils work out the salient details of how much extra money it’s going to cost all private TV network subscribers for a lesser number of us to watch Astros baseball over the tube on a regular basis.

I’m excited, of course. I’m always excited on Opening Day, no matter what. After all, “we gotta have hope. Mustn’t sit around and mope.” That being said, it doesn’t mean we also have to be loaded down with great expectations either. To expect much this season on the winning side would be an almost total disconnect to the facts available about what our boys are up against in the AL West – and what they bring to the fight at $25 million for the whole active roster.

Hope for hustle, quick learning, and some extra games won by the energy exertions of a club run by the likes of a powerful field leader named Bo Porter. Just don’t expect the Astros to buck the odds against the talent they face and actually make the playoffs. That being said, I do think we shall see this season moving things in the direction of a brighter tomorrow next year. And I also think the mid-season infusion of young talent like Singleton and others into the MLB roster is going to sweeten that pot too.

It’s spring. Time to hope. Let’s do it.

GO ASTROS!