I had not written in a long while since, let’s face it, everything going on with the Astros was so predictable, all I would have done is keep on repeating the same old tired clichés you have heard elsewhere. Biggio coming back? Awesome. I never thought he’d call it quits by now. Probably next year.
Clemens and Pettitte being ho-hum about their chances for an encore next season? It just sounds like I’m watching yet another sitcom rerun on Nick at Nite.

Things here have been great so far (in Venezuela, I mean). Good baseball, interesting prospects, bitter rivalries, two fired managers already (and a third one probably in the mix) and even a 20-minute-long bench-clearing brawl. Not that I’m endorsing those, but hey, it gives you some variety.

What is relatively new for me is hearing GM Tim Purpura saying at the Winter Meetings that the Astros will be aggressively shopping during the event. They have already talked about Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee. Wow. After two years of relative inaction in this field, it is refreshing. And it was unavoidable and bound to happen.

I’m not saying Purpura has done a lousy job; the team have been to a World Series and were eliminated in the last day of the regular season in the two years of his administration. It’s just that the moment for something like this was slowly brewing until there was no way they could escape from it. Last year’s weak offensive numbers were more than enough to get it started.

Let’s just hope he doesn’t return to his Minute Maid office empty-handed.