Five Reasons the Houston Astros Are Not Done

Don't count out the Houston Astros. Here they are 70 percent through the season, sitting at 57-61. That's good (or bad) for 9.5 games back in the National League Central and eight back in the Wild Card. Here are five reasons the Astros are still alive.

5. The schedule is not as bad as it looks, but the Astros have to take advantage.

Easy Matchups: The Astros face the Reds twice, Diamondbacks twice, the Pirates, and the Mets. The Astros must win most of these games because the teams are not as good as they are.

Wild Card Matchups: The Astros also face the Marlins, Braves, Brewers, and Cubs, who are all also in the Wild Card hunt. The only way the Astros have a chance to reach the postseason is if they make up ground in the Wild Card by beating these teams.

Tough Matchups: Arguably the toughest matchups for the Astros are when they face the Cardinals twice and Phillies twice. The Astros already swept the Cardinals this year, so it's not unreasonable to assume they can beat them again. The Phillies will be a tougher matchup, so it'd be great if they took at least four out of their eight upcoming games.

4. The Big Puma's return off of the disabled list.

Before Lance Berkman went on the disabled list, the Astros were at 49-46 and only one game back in the division. The Astros went 6-12 during the time Berkman was on the disabled list.

Why is Berkman so important? Well, he leads the Astros in on-base percentage (.410) and slugging (.521). Besides being the most consistent Astro, he's the team leader and provides protection for the rest of the team in the lineup.

3. Roy Oswalt is a beast in the second half.

We all know that Roy Oswalt is an absolute pitching stud, but he's excelled in the second half especially. His career stats in the second half include a 77.3 winning percentage, 2.96 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 4.02 strikeout to walk ratio.

Good starting pitching, especially from the team ace, can snowball to success for the rest of the team. It helps preserve the bullpen, which is key down the stretch, and gives the offense confidence they need to win with their bats.

2. Bud Norris can spark this team.

Bud Norris is a 24-year old phenom who was called up to help when Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez were ailing. Russ Ortiz was released and now he has a full time job as a starting pitcher.

In the three games he has started, Bud Norris is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and .221 batting average against. Dominating rookies can be refreshing for teams (Tommy Hanson from the Braves is another example) because the opposition hasn't necessarily seen their stuff yet. That spills over into wins.

1. Miracles can happen...remember the 2005 World Series run?

At this time in 2005, the Astros were 12 games back in the division. They went on to win the Wild Card and make a World Series run. The Astros are always resurgent in the second half.

This wasn't just a one-time thing in 2005. It happened last year, too. The Astros got to within 2.5 games of the Wild Card last year after being left for dead earlier in the season. Hurricane Ike put the Astros' season in limbo last year as they were no-hit by Carlos Zambrano in Milwaukee, which functionally ended their season.

So don't count out the Houston Astros. They empirically do well in the second half, and with their schedule full of easy matchups and other Wild Card contenders, they can make some noise.