Thanks for the memories, Brad.
(c) Houston Astros
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Brad Ausmus made sure his last game in an Astros uniform was a memorable one, blasting a two-run homer that was the margin of victory in a 3-1 season-ending triumph. The blast came off ex-teammate Mike Hampton in the third inning.
He also caught as Wandy Rodriguez allowed one unearned run over seven innings for Wandy's ninth win of the year. While Ausmus was often ridiculed for his hitting over the years, he managed to hit a home run during a division-clincher (1997), and two LDS's against Atlanta (2001 and a huge one in 2005).
The Astros finished 2008 with a record of 86-75, a third-place finish in the division which would have been a hard sell to most fans back in July. Over the last two months, Houston was 36-18 (.667), best in baseball. The franchise is now within nine games of the .500 mark (3738-3747), so another 86-win season next year would get us right there.
Jose Valverde notched his 44th save to claim the league title and tie Billy Wagner's franchise record. Lance Berkman led the ball club in home runs (29) and RBIs (106) while Carlos Lee led in batting average (.314). Roy Oswalt led in wins (17) and ERA among qualifiers (3.54).
Now the Astros will have several decisions to make in the off-season, among them how to upgrade their starting pitching and stabilize the catching and center field positions where General Manager Ed Wade rolled the dice on two young players and came up snake eyes. Do you stay with them for another year or start looking at other options?
For all the fans who stuck with the Astros all season, a tip of the cap to you. Cecil Cooper's men kept things interesting, even if they eventually came up short. Few before the season or midway through the season thought the Astros would still be in the playoff hunt in the final week.
Although the season is over for the players, we at AstrosDaily.com will stay busy upgrading the site and adding some new features. You may not see changes every day but there is much to do and I'm sure the fans who check our site regularly will notice the difference. It's just five months before exhibition games start and the ride begins all over again.
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