CLOSE BUT NO CIGARS/NL CENTRAL

There's a lot of good talking going on in Houston these days.

The owner of the Astros, Drayton McLane, knows how to talk to

the county pols, and now taxpayers are building his club a new

downtown ballpark. The general manager, Gerry Hunsicker, knows

how to talk to the owner, and the payroll has jumped from $33

million last year to $39 million. The manager, Larry Dierker,

knows how to talk to the G.M., the owner, the players,

everybody, and he has them all loose and happy and playing

Dierkball.

What you have in Houston is the near-perfect execution of your

basic one-big-happy-family concept, and it seems to be working

pretty darn well. Last year Houston won the National League

Central before losing three straight to the Braves in the

Division Series. This year the Astros are aiming even higher,

looking to win their division, and more. They'd love to face the

Braves again (though perhaps not until the League Championship

Series), maybe win a game or two this time before settling in

for the winter. Maybe even win more than that.

Of course, even in the happiest of families, not everybody feels

chipper all the time. Jeff Bagwell--the All-Star first baseman

who hit .286 with 43 home runs and 135 RBIs last year as the

only pure power hitter in the lineup--was kind of grumpy in the

off-season. The story is that he got upset at McLane and

Hunsicker for not re-signing his bud, righthander Darryl Kile,

Houston's ace last year. Bagwell claims Hunsicker didn't make

the pitcher feel wanted enough, first by offering $4 million

less than the Rockies (who signed Kile to a three-year, $24

million contract) and then by lying about how much he had

offered. The Astros deny this.

As for Dierker, his response to the Kile situation is revealing

as to the depth of his mellowness.

SI: Were you mad at your bosses for not re-signing Kile?

Dierker: No.

SI: How come?

Dierker (drawling) : 'Cause I look at it as an either-or. Either

we're going to sign Kile, or we're going to get some players to

replace him. We didn't sign him, but we got Moises Alou, Dave

Clark, Jack Howell and Carl Everett instead. I don't trust

pitchers to stay the same anyhow. Position players, yes.

Pitchers, no.

A note on the drawl: Dierker, who grew up in Los Angeles, has

lived in Houston for 34 years, and his voice reflects a blend of

the two cultures. He sounds unworried, laconic, content--and he

is. What's the worst thing that's going to happen? His club is

going to lose a game? He's going to lose his job? No big whoop.

He can always go back to the broadcast booth, where he spent 18

years calling Astros games before being asked to manage the team

in October 1996. Dierker is the opposite of his best all-around

player, second baseman Craig Biggio, who is intense, always

studying, always planning. The two get along famously.

Back to Kile. Houston will miss him. Not just because he went

19-7, with a 2.57 ERA, but also because he pitched 255 2/3

innings. That's a whole lot of frames to replace, and the Astros

don't have the arms to do it. Their rotation is a mess. It's

Shane Reynolds, a control pitcher coming back from knee surgery,

followed by Mike Hampton, a 25-year-old southpaw, followed

by...as they say, lots of question marks. The Astrodome is a

hurler's haven, and when the Astros have won, they've won with

pitching. If they win this year, it will be with their bats:

Biggio, Bagwell, Derek Bell, along with Alou.

This year we'll find out if the manager can get his team to play

Dierkball full time. Last year we got a glimpse. Here's his

spiel on how the game is played.

First rule: There are no rules. Anybody who wants to try to

steal a base, go ahead, knock yourself out. Any pitcher who

wants to bat for himself and stay in the game, grab yourself a

piece of wood and show us what all you can do. I'd love to get

another inning out of you. You know what you guys consider a big

lead? Take two more giant steps. That is a lead. Now, son, why

would you want to bunt the runner over when you could swing

away, maybe hit yourself one of those doubles you hit so often

in Double A, and then we'd have second and third, no outs?

Remember, fellas, we're playing a game here.

Dierkball. It could catch on. --M.B.

COLOR PHOTO: JOHN IACONO WICKED STICK With the loss of their ace, Kile, the Astros will go as far as offensive stars like Biggio can carry them. [Craig Biggio batting]

COLOR PHOTO: CHUCK SOLOMON [Shane Reynolds]

BY THE NUMBERS

1997 Team Statistics (NL Rank)

1997 record: 84-78 (first in NL Central)

BATTING AVERAGE .259(8) OPP. BATTING AVG. .252(5)

RUNS SCORED 777(5) ERA 3.66(3)

HOME RUNS 133(11) FIELDING PCT. .979(11)

OFF-SEASON MOVES

WHAT THEY NEEDED: An ace to replace Darryl Kile. Pitching depth.

A bit more pop in the outfield.

WHAT THEY GOT: Pitchers Pete Schourek, Sean Bergman and Doug

Henry. Outfielders Moises Alou, Dave Clark and Carl Everett.

Veteran third baseman Jack Howell.

WHAT IT ALL MEANS: With Alou joining Jeff Bagwell and Craig

Biggio in the lineup, the Astros now have three Grade A sluggers

in their primes. Plus, Everett and Clark are above-average

hitters who give Houston outfield depth. But unless Schourek

and/or Bergman pull an Ali and shock the world, losing Kile is

an insurmountable obstacle that leaves Houston with a highly

questionable starting staff. And no matter what his parents say,

Henry is not the answer.

THE X-FACTOR

Shane Reynolds is the Astros' ace, but for a team that once had

the arms of Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and Mike Scott, that

doesn't mean quite what it used to. Now, with Darryl Kile gone

to Colorado, Reynolds will be handed the ball on Opening Day

and, from there, has no choice but to win 20 games. if the

Astros hope to climb to the top of a weak division. Last season,

when he missed five weeks with a knee injury, Reynolds was 9-10

with a mediocre 4.23 ERA, but he insists he's regained the form

that allowed him to go 16-10 with a 3.65 ERA in '96. The Astros

will thank their lucky stars if he's right.

Projected Roster With 1997 Statistics

Manager: Larry Dierker (second season with Houston)

BATTING ORDER B/T BA HRs RBIs SBs

2B Craig Biggio R .309 22 81 47

C Brad Ausmus R .266 4 44 14

1B Jeff Bagwell R .286 43 135 31

RF Derek Bell R .276 15 71 15

LF Moises Alou[***] R .292 23 115 9

3B Sean Berry R .256 8 43 1

CF Richard Hidalgo* (R) R .279 11 78 6

SS Ricky Gutierrez R .261 3 34 5

BENCH

IF Jack Howell[***] L/R .259 14 34 1

OF Carl Everett[***] S/R .248 14 57 17

OF Dave Clark[***] L/R .301 5 32 1

C Tony Eusebio R .274 1 18 0

3B Bill Spiers L/R .320 4 48 10

STARTERS W L IPS BR ERA

RH Shane Reynolds 9 10 6.0 1.32 4.23

LH Mike Hampton 15 10 6.6 1.33 3.83

RH Ramon Garcia** 9 8 5.9 1.36 3.69

RH Sean Bergman[***] 2 4 4.6 1.69 6.09

LH John Halama* (R) 13 3 6.7 1.07 2.58

RELIEVERS W L S BR ERA

LH Billy Wagner 7 8 23 1.24 2.85

LH Mike Magnante 3 1 1 1.05 2.27

RH Jose Cabrera (R) 0 0 0 0.78 1.17

RH Doug Henry[***] 4 5 3 1.58 4.71

RH Chris Holt** 8 12 0 1.34 3.52

RH Jose Lima 1 6 2 1.33 5.28

[***] New acquisition (R) Rookie B/T: Bats/throws

IPS: Innings pitched per start BR: Base runners per inning pitched

*Triple A stats **Will begin season on DL