Number-1.....Keep the offense in high gear!!
The offense must stay in high gear the rest of the season.
Hunter Pence started hitting in Spring Training and he hasn't stopped. I just wish they would have brought him up sooner. Lance Berkman's bat is coming around and I don't think Craig Biggio is ready to call it a career just because he officially became Mr. 3,000 last week. The Astros have scored 115 runs on 207 hits since June 13th. If the offense can keep putting up runs on the board ....it can make up for the lack of pitching prowess this team has.
In order to stay hot though ... I feel the Astros must make Mike Lamb, Mark Loretta and Luke Scott regulars in the lineup. In the past Lamb .....was consistantly benched when facing left-handed pitchers .....but with Lamb hitting .395 against lefties ..... it appears silly to sit him down. The same goes for Scott ....because he's hitting .325 versus lefties. I talked with Manager Phil Garner about this on Monday and he agreed that if those guys are swinging the hot bat ... it doesn't matter who the pitcher is ... they will get their hits. Mark Loretta is one of the most versatile players on the team along with being one of the most consistant hitters as he hovers constantly around a .320 hitting average. You can move him around on defense but please don't ever remove him from the everyday lineup. If Garner wants to keep his job ... he must turn this team around ....... and playing the guys with the hot sticks will go a long way towards doing both.

Number #2: Get Brad Lidge back!!
As much as fans love to "hate" on Lidge .... he's still one of the most talented pitchers on the Astros roster. He threw live batting practice Monday. He threw 28 pitches and he looked very good. His pitches had great movement and the 2-seam fastball that he was working on is "wicked-nasty"!! He's known for his great slider that breaks away from right-handed hitters ... but his 2-seamer breaks into right-handed hitters. So, when he mixes it in with his regular 4-seam fastball which has upward movement on it ........ he can be nearly unhittable. The question is ....will he have the confidence to throw these great pitches when things are "tight" in the late innings?? Because as good as Brad's developing 2-seamer is ...... if he overthrows it .....it loses it's break ....which .....can have disastrous (Albert Pujols disaster type) results. I predict that if he can get command of his 2-seam fastball so he can condifently mix it in regularly with his other pitches .... Lidge can have a great second half!!

Number-#3 Acquire another solid pitcher.
Before the season I predicted the Astros would make the playoffs ....and I said at the time ...... if Roger Clemens signs on for 2007 .. they could make it to the World Series. At the time I thought one of the Astros young arms would come through to become a solid starter. Chris Sampson has done just that. Matt Albers has shown flashes ...but he's been inconsistent. Whether it be a starter or a reliever .... I feel the Astros need to acquire a quality arm. They have the money ....let's see if Drayton McLane will spend it wisely.