Can the 4 Team Give Houston Its First Pennant?
by Baseball Prospectus The following article originally appeared in The New York Sun, and is reprinted here with permission. Baseball Prospectus provides content for the Sun throughout the baseball season. As the baseball world obsesses over every detail of the ALCS, there’s another fine series going on. And for all of New England’s hand-wringing, Red Sox Nation does not hold a patent on postseason disappointment. Houston’s near-misses in the National League’s Championship Series of 1980 and 1986 were about as agonizing as any a fan of any team could endure. Having already won the franchise’s first playoff series ever in dispensing with the Braves, it isn’t news that this year’s Astros team is already on the cusp of achieving what no other Astros club has done in reaching the World Series. Certain storylines have emerged: What will Carlos Beltran do next, or how nice it is that Craig Biggio or Jeff Bagwell may finally have a championship on the line when they play. And fans in either B
