Liftoff, at last: a switch in managers, a clubhouse coming-together and big contributions from Carlos Beltran and Brad Lidge launched the Astros back into postseason contention

3 They've stumbled against good competition. The Astros have a 26-35 record against the N.L.'s seven other postseason qualifiers/contenders.

BOTTOM LINE

Can one hot streak make up for an otherwise disappointing season? Don't count on it.

MARLINS

PLUSES

1 Despite a season that would wear out men half his age, 73-year-old manager Jack McKeon has remained upbeat.

2 Josh Beckett finally is pitching like the World Series hero he was last October.

3 They end the season with what for them is close to a sure thing--four games at Philadelphia. In their first 12 meetings this season with the Phillies, the Marlins won 11 times.

MINUSES

1 The Marlins were on their game, riding a seven-game winning streak, when their season was interrupted by hurricane season. And for a young club, the lost momentum was a bigger deal than the rest the players may have gotten.

2 Hard-throwing righthander A.J. Burnett, in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, has a sore elbow that sidelined him after he had won four consecutive starts.

3 Their offense can sputter. The Marlins have scored the fewest runs of any contender.

BOTTOM LINE

No matter how much McKeon downplays it, there's only one way to describe the team's stretch of 30 games in 27 days: brutal. Kind of like the Marlins' odds to pass four teams and end up in the postseason again.--S.M.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning