The knee jerk reaction here is that the Astros contended in 2020 and came within one final rally of going to the World Series. But in reality, the Astros snuck into the last playoff spot in a field that had been expanded by 60% from five to eight for this most unusual of seasons.

The natural thought for Astro fans heading into 2021 is to be concerned about the team’s outfield and relief pitching. In the outfield, three of the four main outfielders headed into free agency, George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick. They were able to re-sign Brantley, which helped somewhat with that situation, but still appear…

Apologies to Stephen Sondheim, but as much as he may have loved George Seurat’s paintings, that is how much we will all miss the heart of our Astros, George Springer.

After a relatively quiet off-season for the Astros with the signing of a couple of smaller name relievers, Ryne Stanek and Pedro Baez, being the early highlight, things have picked up since the onset of the international signing period on January 15.

Note – The George Springer post scheduled for today has been moved to next week. Growing up in the ’60s, a lot of kids thought Willie Mays was the greatest baseball player. Others were in the corner of Mickey Mantle. But at my house, Hank Aaron was my parent’s favorite player and therefore mine.

There is no doubt that the Astros’ 2021 bullpen was an area that needed shoring up after a freefall from a top bullpen in 2019 to a middle of the pack unit in 2020. The bullpen has added Ryne Stanek and Pedro Baez, will see the return of Joe Smith and there have been a…