Drayton McLane

You know: in the 1960s and 1970s there was The Carol Burnett Show and in an ongoing skit they'd do a spoof of the soap opera As The World Turns with As The Stomach Turns.

If the show were on now, they'd do a skit called As The Houston Astros' Fans' Stomachs Turn.

Phil Garner, the former Astro who managed Houston to its first and only World Series appearance, was fired and replaced by Cecil Cooper, who was fired this season. Cooper, a good hitter when in his Major League career, showed that as a manager he's, well, a good hitter.

The 2009 Houston Astros have the rest of the league just where they want them.

At 4-8 and in last place in the six-team NL Central, the Astros are well-prepared for their most epic second-half surge yet.

Armed with a stellar pitching rotation including future-Hall-of-Famers Brian Moehler and Russ Ortiz, Houston finally has the parts necessary to win the franchise's first-ever World Series championship.

Some people would say the Astros have the league's oldest roster.

I say the Astros have the league's most-experienced roster.