The Houston Astros are 36-53 on the season which has them in 5th place in the N.L. Central, 12.5 games behind the Reds. A lot of things have went sour for the Astros this sesaon, but not everything. Here is a look at some surprises and disappointments so far this season:

Pleasant Surprises: The Astros have always liked Jeff Keppinger as a utility man but he is doing a good job as the starting 2B this year. Keppinger has played in 82 games for the Astros this season and he is 90 of 317 (.284 avg, .720 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 3 homers, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Astros are very happy with 29-year old Brett Myers who has been solid for them this year. He has started 18 games for the Astros this year and he is 6-6 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. 30-year old righty Matt Lindstrom beat out Brandon Lyon for the closer’s job and he has been very solid. Lindstrom has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Astros this year and he is 2-1 with 21 saves, a 2.80 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. 25-year old righty swinging rookie 3B Chris Johnson has really been solid since given the starting job. He has played in 24 games for the Astros this year and he is 22 of 78 (.282 avg, .685 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

Disapointments: 35-year old righty swinging 3B Pedro Feliz was supposed to flash good leather while providing some power. That has not been the case in 2010. Feliz has played in 74 games for the Astros this year and he is 56 of 255 (.220 avg, .546 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 26 RBIs. He has lost his starting job to Chris Johnson. 34-year old switch hitting 2B Kazuo Matsui was supposed to start at 2B but he was so awful the Astros released him. Matsui played in 27 games for the Astros this year and he was 10 of 71 (.141 avg, .352 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. The Astros though 31-year old Wandy Rodriguez turned the corner last season as he was very good in 2009. But he has started 18 games for the Astros in 2010 and he is 6-11 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. 30-year old righty reliever Jeff Fulchino was coming off solid 2009 for the Astros. But in 2010, Fulchino has been awful! Fulchino has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Astros this year and he is 0-0 with a 6.83 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.

The Astros are off to a 3-9 start this season which has them in last place in the N.L. Central, 5 games behind the Cardinals. The Astros have been outscored 58-27 this season as they just can’t hit the ball right now. With Lance Berkman returning tomorrow maybe he will give the offense a shot in the arm. The Astros have six home games this week playing 3 against the Marlins and the Pirates.

The Astros went 0-6 in the first week of the 2010 season as they were outscored 37-13! They didn’t hit or pitch well and if things don’t start to change soon it’s going to be a long, long year for the Astros. The Astros are only hitting .222 with a .548 OPS so far this season and that is downright pathetic. It doesn’t get any easier this week for the Astros as they travel to St. Louis (3 games) and Chicago (3 games).

The Astros are now 0-4 on the season as they have been outscored 26-6! They aren’t hitting (.204 avg, .502 OPS) or pitching (6.25 ERA, 1.89 WHIP) well this season. They can’t blame everything on not having Lance Berkman to start the season as no one is hitting the ball well except Jeff Keppinger. The pitching staff has also been horrible often looking like they are putting the ball on a tee. The Astros are by far the worst team I have seen to this point in 2010 and they need to get things turned around or it’s going to be a very, very long season.

The Astros should find a way to just pitch lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez at home. At home, Rodriguez has started 15 games and he is 6-3 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. On the road however Rodriguez has been horrible. In 14 road starts, Rodriguez is 2-10 with a 7.31 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Overall, Rodriguez has started 29 games and he is 8-13 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. With baseball getting specialized so much the Astros should find a way to limit Rodriguez to starting home games. The Astros are still in last place in the National League Central with a 65-86 record which has them 13.5 games behind the Cubs & Brewers. The more important thing for right now is that the Astros are still 1 game behind the Pirates for fifth place.