How Is Your Faith In The Houston Astros?

I don't know how many times I need to say it, but I'll repeat myself one more time. This has been a bad week to be a Houston Astros fan.

From the firing of Brad Arnsberg to the new Jim Crane allegations to all the losses to both Atlanta and Pittsburgh, Houston fans are just getting kicked around. Usually, this is the spot where I talk about the best players over the past week, but not now.

Instead, I looked at the Fan Confidence poll, which has plummeted all the way down to 19. Seriously, it's that low. I've never seen it that low since it was introduced, but, to be fair, it wasn't around in April of last year.

Still, even then I don't think it got down to 19, simply because Houston had Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. Those guys gave you some confidence in the team. That's pitifully low. The Pirates have a confidence rating of 69 right now. The Twins, who are the only other team to be as close to as awful as the Astros are, have a confidence rating of 67. Even the Dodgers, who are bad AND have ownership troubles, are at a 35. Houston sinks below all that.

No wonder fans are staying away from the ballpark. Why would you want to see this disjointed team play? Guys like Jeff Keppinger are all but pining for a trade. Carlos Lee is collecting his fat paychecks and going about his business in the outfield. Brett Myers is getting bombed each and every start, no matter that he's also signed a lucrative extension.

The glimmers of hope Houston does have are even pretty slight at this point. Yes, Jordan Lyles is doing well, but fans are probably constantly afraid of a future injury (or is that just me?). Yes, Brett Wallace is hitting like we hoped he would, but the power still isn't there and he's a pretty awful first baseman. Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn are having good years, but the offense still stinks.

It's a bad time to be an Astros fan. I wonder if that confidence rating will sink any further by the time this dismal season is done.