On Monday night, the Houston Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves and sealed their first victorious playoff series in franchise history. Jeff Bagwell homered and Craig Biggio scored twice. But 2004 was full of twists for the Astros. And now, as Bagwell and Biggio advance in their fifth postseason appearance together, Houston is once again led by the Killer B's. Only now, it is not Bagwell and Biggio. Beltran and Berkman are the Killer B's now. And it is just further reason why 2004 has been a screwy season for Houston.
Make no mistake about it; the Astros have taken the oddest route to the postseason of any team in the playoffs this season. In the offseason, they signed two ex-Yankee starting pitchers, Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens, as free agents, the latter of whom was supposed to be retired. Then they traded their longtime closer Billy Wagner for failed prospect Brandon Duckworth. All of this still left them with 38-year-old Craig Biggio, who had started his career as a catcher and later prospered as a second baseman, still stuck playing center field. Changes were bound to happen and they did.
In June, the Astros traded slumping right fielder Richard Hidalgo to the Mets for mediocre relief pitcher David Weathers. Hidalgo went on to slug 21 home runs in 86 games for New York, amidst rumors that the trade was caused by Houston manager Jimy Williams' distaste for Hidalgo. But shortly after the trade, the Astros acquired star center fielder Carlos Beltran from the Royals, when most expected him to be traded to a bigger budget team like the Yankees or Dodgers. This allowed Houston to move Biggio to right field but cost them yet another closer in Octavio Dotel.
But here is where things get crazy. After the Beltran deal, the Astros still fell out of contention. The team fell so far behind the Cubs for the wild card that rumors abounded they might consider trading Beltran again just to cut their losses and prepare for next year. The team fired Jimy Williams and hired Phil Garner, a man who had only managed a team to a winning record once out of ten seasons as manager in Milwaukee and Detroit (only counting one of the two seasons in which he was fired).
So, to sum up, they traded an outfielder and two closers, traded for the best available player in baseball, still fell almost irretrievably far back in the playoff race, fired their manager and hired one of the most consistent losers in recent baseball history. Yet the Astros still managed to come back, surpassing the Cubs for the wild card crown and then beating the Braves in a best-of-five series.
How is this possible? Well, Clemens pitched masterfully, serving as the only bright spot besides Roy Oswalt on an injury-plagued starting rotation. And Brad Lidge dominated as the team's newest closer. But while Biggio had a bit of a comeback season, slugging over .450 for the first time since 2001, his value is not nearly as high as an outfielder as it was when he was a middle infielder. And Bagwell slugged under .500 this year for the first time since 1995. The real answer to the question is that the Killer B's kept the Astros alive-the new Killer B's, that is.
As an Astro, Beltran has shown that he might be the scariest power and speed combination in baseball. In July and August alone, he hit 19 home runs and stole 21 bases, without being caught stealing once. Meanwhile, Berkman has put up his most staggering numbers since his breakout season in 2001. His on-base percentage and slugging percentage were .450 and .566 on the season, respectively, while after a cold July, Berkman slugged .624 in August and .638 in September.
Bagwell and Biggio have been waiting for this moment a long time. After missing their chances with teammates ranging from Doug Drabek to Randy Johnson to the late Ken Caminiti, the Killer B's have finally made the second round of the playoffs. And they have done it after a season that could only have been more of a screwball comedy if it had Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and a wild leopard. But now, after all the craziness, the Astros are reaching for a world series and counting on the new Killer B's to get them there.
