From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

A strange thing is happening in the National League wild-card race this year. The Brewers, who had a stranglehold on the race as recently as about a week ago, have fallen apart and opened the door up for a number of teams who seemed to be as good as done. One team who's had the door opened for them is the Houston Astros. They've spent most of the season well out of contention, but a well-timed hot streak has them contending, much like the Rockies did last year.

What makes this hot streak even more interesting is that the man behind it, general manager Ed Wade, has made a string of nearly inexplicable, almost indefensible, moves to try and improve the team. They are making a run at things, but it's been mostly lead by Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, and Ty Wigginton. All of them were Astros before Wade's hiring. What, exactly, is going on in Houston?

When the Rockies went on their amazing run in September and October last year, culminating with 21 wins in 22 games and a World Series berth, a lot of superlatives were thrown around in the media. Normally I'm the guy that rolls his eyes at those kinds of things, but that Rockies' run last year was really a once-in-a-lifetime type thing. Don't tell that to the Astros, though, as they've won eight in a row to pull to within six games of the Brewers for the wild card and they're feeling awfully lucky:

"The Rockies did something very special last year," Astros general manager Ed Wade said. "I know people say it's an aberration, but as long as we continue to go out there with the attitude we've shown the last third of the season, it's not beyond the realm of possibility."

People said it was an aberration because no one had every done anything like that before. Wade's insane vision of Astro Utopia requires them to jump over three teams (St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee) in 22 games. Even if they go 16-6 (a .727 winning percentage), the Brewers will have to go 10-12 in a stretch where CC Sabathia will pitch five times and they have 12 games against the Pirates, Reds, and Padres. Seriously, Ed, it's not happening, so just made Randy Wolf an insane contract extension offer and let's get on with our lives.

All year long, I've been laughing at the Astros and Ed Wade's "win now at all costs" plan. With the way the team is configured and their minor league system in such bad shape, focusing on the present seems to be at best myopic and and worst, destructive to the future of the franchise. I've considered a lot of questions about the Astros and Wade this year, but suddenly it seems like I've been missing one all along: what if Wade's plan works?

Last night the Astros beat the Giants 7-4 for their eighth straight win climbing to 62-59 and within 7.5 games of the Brewers for the NL Wild Card. With six weeks of baseball left, the Astros are apparently actually still in contention, tied for fifth place in that Wild Card race with the NL West leaders. They've got a ways to go to hurdle the Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, and Brewers, but stranger things have certainly happened. If they pull this thing off, are we all forced to admit that Ed Wade is some of higher level genius?

The thing is that while being 7.5 games back with six weeks to go, the fact that they have four teams ahead of them for the wild card is going to make contending nearly impossible for the Astros. And while I'm sure it's fun for Astros fans to see their team win, that doesn't change the identity of the franchse. They're still a team mostly full of declining veterans with no real help coming from anywhere in the minors. The glimpse of a pennant race this year doesn't change any of the damage done to the franchise by Wade in the past ten months.

As soon as Carlos Lee went down yesterday, the "Barry Bonds to Houston" rumors started swirling. Given their position on the periphery of the Wild Card race and Ed Wade's, "Never say day even if there hasn't been a pulse for a month" attitude, they just seem to be a logical fit. They denied interest in him this morning, but that means almost nothing. Now Cecil Cooper is threatening to quit if the Astros sign Bonds. From Richard Justice's blog at the Houston Chronicle: ''Bonds is not a fit for us. If he would come, I would go. I wouldn't want to deal with it.''

I started to talk about this in my post this morning (linked above), but I'll expand. Cecil Cooper is wrong. The Astros organization, as currently assembled with no actual minor league prospects, is completely screwed for the future. They're teetering on the edge of Pirates/Royals level oblivion. They are currently eight games behind an inconsistent Brewers team for the NL Wild Card. That's a hot streak and a Ben Sheets injury away from being interesting.

If they don't contend this year, it's not happening again until at least three years after Wade is fired (you can write that down). Wade's plan is horribly misguided and foolish, but if he's putting all of his eggs in one basket then he should fill the basket. Bonds is free, in terms of talent needed to acquire him, and cheap in terms of money. He's a better hitter than anyone the Astros have in their organization, and they're probably the only team interested. It's admirable that Cooper is willing to stand his ground, but Bonds is his best chance at making the playoffs as the Astros manager.

Ed Wade and the Astros have been doing some crazy things this year in the name of the pennant race that only they know they're in. At the trade deadline they picked up Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins despite being below .500 and down by double digits in the Wild Card race. Now that they're above .500 and have cut the Brewers lead to 8.5 games, they lose Carlos Lee for the season to a broken pinkie. The only real solution left would be Barry Bonds, but even they wouldn't, would they? The Astros say they're not interested:

"I don't see us pursuing that," Wade said Sunday.

[...]

"I don't think that's a possibility," manager Cecil Cooper said. "Not that he's not a good player, (but) I don't think that's someone we're interested in."

I've made fun of Wade's awful work all year and I'm going to do it again. He's dug his team so deeply into the ground, that the only thing that even makes sense right now is to sign Bonds and hope he gets them into the playoffs. Bonds would actually be the least damaging of all of Wade's moves, because he wouldn't cost them anything in terms of prospects. If you're going to go all-out, you'd better go all the way out or you're just hurting your team.

When the Houston Astros decided to be buyers at the trade deadline, it was somewhat confusing. The Astros were 50-57 on July 31, in fifth place in the NL Central, and trailing the Cubs by 14 games. In the wild card race, they trailed Milwaukee by nine games. It was pretty obvious to anyone with half a clue that the odds of the Astros overtaking either team, especially after they'd each added a top line pitcher to their rotation, were somewhere between slim and none.

This did not faze Ed Wade, however, as he made the deals anyway in hopes of helping Houston reach the post-season. To their credit, the Astros have played pretty well lately. They've won seven of nine since the deadline, but they still find themselves 12.5 games behind the Cubs and 8.5 behind Milwaukee. If that isn't enough to help the team realize that 2008 just won't be the year, maybe this will do the trick. Carlos Lee is likely done for the season after breaking his pinky finger.

Lee was hit by a pitch thrown by Bronson Arroyo in the third inning of the Astros' 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. He left the game immediately to be taken for X-rays.

"I knew right away it was not going to be good," Lee said. "It hit me square. It's a bad deal, but what can I do? They said six to eight weeks, so probably I'm out (for the season). Unless the guys make a comeback and I'll be back for the playoffs."

Though if the Astros still don't want to give up, I hear that some guy named Barry Bonds might be available.

When Roy Oswalt went on the disabled list earlier this month, everyone assumed that his season was over. He's got a back problem that lead to a hip problem and the Astros season has been in the toilet since late May, so there's no use in hurrying him along, right? Wrong. He's pitching tonight and to hear Cecil Cooper tell it, the team isn't entirely convinced he's healthy:

"I'm confident that (the injury) is gone, but if he does say he feels something, you have to be extremely cautious," manager Cecil Cooper said. "You don't want to have a reoccurrence. They'll watch him real closely in the bullpen when he's warming up."

This all sounds like part of Ed Wade's gonzo plan to win the National League Central this year. In the past week, the Astros have traded for a worthless starting pitcher and hurried their ace back from what seems like a pretty serious injury. And they're still 11.5 games out of a playoff spot. I've seen some bad GM work in my time, but the speed with which Wade is destroying the Astros is alarming. At this rate, they'll be a AAA team by 2010. Or they'll just finish behidn the Pirates again and again.

There are good trades, there are bad trades, there are in-between trades, and then there are trades that just don't make a lick of sense. The Astros traded for Randy Wolf today to strengthen their rotation for their intense battle for last place in the NL Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates. If you're uncertain, this trade falls into the last category. Ed Wade, however, seems pretty freaking excited about his pointless acquisition. From the Houston Chronicle:

"Randy is an experienced starter and a great competitor," said Astros general manager Ed Wade, who was with the Phillies while Wolf was there from 1999-2006. "We tried to sign him as a free agent during the offseason, but the chance for him to pitch close to home prevailed.

"I've known Randy since the day he signed his first professional contract, and I can say without hesitation that he brings every quality that you'd want in a member of your team, both on and off the field."

Don't get me wrong here, the Astros aren't giving up a lot for Wolf (they're giving up Chad Reineke, a middling AAA starter). The trade itself isn't the problem. The problem is that for some insane reason, Ed Wade looks at his terrible team and can't think of anything to do other than adding a fifth starter to his rotation. The minor league cupboard is bare, the team is full of overpriced veterans, and Wade's adding Randy Wolf. The Astros are going to be very bad for a very long time if this is the way Wade is going to run the team.

It is July. The trade deadline approaches. Which GMs are poised to destroy the near future of their franchise for a quick fix? Quis custodiet ipsos Collettus? The Colletti Watch, that's who.

The Situation: We at the Colletti Watch knew that we would likely be focusing on only a few GMs during this trade season, as there are only a few truly awful GMs in the league. Today, we have our first repeat offender. Ed Wade is seriously trying to load up for a run at the playoffs. I repeat, Ed Wade is seriously trying to load up for a run at the playoffs. Buster Olney is reporting that the Astros are in "serious discussions" to acquire Randy Wolf from the Padres. Seriously.

Yes, Roy Oswalt is out for the season and the Astros need another starter. They're also 10 games away from the nearest playoff spot, have a run differential of -55, and haven't even resembled a playoff team since May. Last night, they gave up three homers in the ninth inning to the Pirates and turned a 3-2 win into a 9-3 loss. It's true that Wade has said he's not rebuilding, but did anyone think he actually meant it?

The Doomsday Clock: RED ALERT! ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT! I have no idea who the Astros are offering for Wolf and I have no idea how close the deal is to going down, but the simple fact that it's being discussed is proof that Wade has no long-term plan for the Astros. Be afraid, Astro fans. Be very afraid.

July 31 is rapidly approaching. Buy or Sell lets each team know where they stand.

Ahhhh, Ned Colletti. He's famous around these parts, you know. Many believe he's a lame duck GM at this point, what with, oh, signing Andruw Jones to a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal. And the Dodgers stinking. Relatively.

But the thing Ole' Steady Neddy's got going for him is that the Dodgers are in a division that matches Ned in overall mediocrity, the wild, wild NL West, where .500 will take you to the postseason. So what should Ned do, in his potentially final trading deadline hurrah as Dodgers GM?

Buy, of course! Matt Holliday, Mark Teixeira, you name it. Joe Blanton, sure. Overpriced, nearly free agent veterans for potential superstars whose only fault is that they can't listen? That's Ned's wheelhouse, kids.