Why I love the offseason (hint: it makes it easier to be an Astros fan)

A week ago, I was sipping on some coffee, scouring the web to find last minute insight into who I should start in my fantasy football league, and fully expecting a Manny Acta signing would need to be reported later that day.  Add another five or so hours, and you'd find me trying to control my overwhelming desire to smash my laptop across Drayton McLane's thick skull.  A quick glance at my two responses (one more thought out than the other) pretty much easily identifies me as miserably resigned to a dismal Astros future.

A week later: I couldn't be more convinced of good things to come.

And that is why I love the offseason.

The offseason is a time that allows the two separate parts of my brain, subjective and objective, a chance to really flex their creative muscle and ride the crest and trough of the news cycle.  That's not as possible—or really, even—during the regular season.

For the objective part of my brain, the offseason brings the following things into play: projections, legitimate sample sizes to make observations with, the free agent market to dissect, and more projections.  Is there anything better than pouring through a new set of projections, trying to peg whether it's going over or under, and then gathering your teams relative odds for success based on what you discover? The answer is a distinct no.

Subjectively, the offseason is a treasure trove of over-hyped stories that play on your emotions due to the enhanced air of relevance they're endowed with.  And that's how, in a week's time, I've gone from woefully depressed to cautiously exuberant (is that actually possible?).

Losing out on Manny Acta was harsh.  It showcased our owner's incompetence shortcomings, and, hopefully, left a lot of bitter tastes in people's mouths.  Then, Brad Mills' name was announced and we started learning all kinds of great things about the man.  Things like:

• Brad Mills is obsessed with knowing the advanced scouting information about his opponents.
• He values defensive alignments in an effort to maximize his team's defensive production.
• Has stated he won't tolerate the base running blunders that have plagued this team the last two years.
• Will run a tight ship and won't accept—for lack of a better term—lolly-gagging (something that makes me think of the Bagwell/Biggio years).
• Just seems—through all the anecdotes, etc.—like the kind of detailed oriented, obsessively focused, driven kind of manager that will milk the best from his players.