Houston Astros: Next Year is Here – Recreation
Houston Astros: Next Year is Here
Garret Tupa Jr
Every year the Astros say next year, will its next year, and the Astros and the fans are ready. This year the Astros look ready to fight for it all. What will really happen this year Injuries can be a key factor for them this year. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio will have to step up to the challenge and have great years. Bagwell is still putting up the power numbers as he hit 39 homers and batted in 100 RBIs last season, but the BA has slipped down to .278. As for Biggio, hes a fighter. Biggio led the league last season with 27 HBPhit by pitch.
Look for Brad Ausmus to turn around last seasons horrible hitting.229 BA and have a good season at the plate, and behind the plate this season. Jason Lane, Orlando Palmeiro, and Jose Vizciano will the the best trio off the bench in the National League this season. Berkman, Hildago, Kent and Ensberg will have great all-around seasons. Adam Everett will struggle but find his way this season. The bats will be very exciting, runs will be plentiful.
The astros will have two 20 game winners this year and could end up with the best staff in the league. Oswalt, Pettite, Clemens, Miller and Tim Redding will be the rotation for the Stros this season. Oswalt, if he can stay injury free is one of the top pitchers in the game and Andy Pettite won 21 games last season. Clemens is a future hall-of-famer and could put up 15+ wins. The relief pitching could struggle at first but will get there act together in time to make a run for the playoffs. Octavio Dotel will take over the closing role with Billy Wagner in Philly now. Dotel was one of the premier set-up men last season and he has to turn into one of the premier closers this season.
In all, fans should get there tickets early and often. The 2004 Houston Astros will fight for a World Series birth. I think the Astros will end up with 95 wins. The Astros will be in the World Series against the New York Yankees, and game seven will be a game for the ages. This is the year that every fan can be proud to say "The Astros are my team".
About The Author
Garret Tupa Jr. wrote this article for http://www.sportznow.com
Capsulized Food: The Next Step in Food Evolution – Diet
Capsulized Food: The Next Step in Food Evolution
Protica Nutritional Research
Anyone who has spent a day fasting from food, or who has even skipped a meal, knows just how much time we save when we are not provisioning and consuming meals. Of course, efficiency is not our only concern when it comes to eating. If we were to articulate our fundamental requirements for food, we would probably come up with the following: 1 it should give us the nutrition our bodies need; 2 it should support our body transformation goals e.g. lose fat or gain muscle; 3 it should taste good; 4 it should be convenient. Foods that meet two or three of these requirements quickly become a mainstay in most diets.
A new development in nutrition research called
Should a HDMI DVD Player Be Your Next Home Theater Purchase – Home
Should a HDMI DVD Player Be Your Next Home Theater Purchase
Kenny Hemphill
Thinking about getting an HDMI DVD player Whether youve heard t he buzz surrounding the latest generation of DVD players or have an HDTV and want a player to connect it to, the information on this page will help.
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. Its the standard connector for high definition TV and video kit and is a lossless, all-digital audio/ video interface which as well as supporting HD content also carries standard definition SD and enhanced definition ED video.
Deciding which HDMI DVD player to get is becoming more difficult as more and more devices arrive on the market. Prices range from a very reasonable $200 or so for the Toshiba SD-5970 to a couple of thousand dollars for devices at the high-end.
The Toshiba HDMI DVD player, like the other high definition players, up-converts the DVD-Video content on regular DVD discs to either 720p or 1080i high definition resolution. As well as do everything you would expect of a DVD player, the Toshiba SD-5970 has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. Its progressive scan output, when connected to an HDTV using the HDMI connector, provides twice the number of scan lines present on a normal DVD picture. This means higher resolution, sharper and flicker free images which have none of the motion artifacts, such as stepping, often seen on less expensive DVD players.
Also, the SD-5970 performs, whats known as 3:2 pulldown reversal. This basically means that it corrects the distorion which is caused by translating 24 frames per second film to 30 frames per second video.
The Toshibe SD-5970 is relatively inexpensive for an HDMI DVD player, yet it marks a huge leap in terms of improvement in image quality. More expensive players are better still and best of all, becasue this is a relatively new market prices are sure to fall making even a very good HDMI DVD player within the reach fo any DVD enthusiast.
About The Author
Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner http://www.the-hdtv-tuner.com.