The Annual Astros Report Card is Here!

It's that time of year again. No I'm not talking about Christmas, or tax return day, or the last day of classes for all you fellow college junkies out there. It's the best time of year, meaning it's time to start hearing ball hitting leather, bats cracking, and sprinklers....sprinkling. It's baseball season, the timeless sport that has been around for supposedly forever, and will be here long after 2012 and nuclear armageddon. And with baseball season comes....you guessed it! The annual Houston Astros report card. I know it's your favorite read every year, (or maybe just last year, since this is only the 2nd annual edition). Ok ok enough chatter. Let's get down to business, position by position.

Starting Pitchers:

This is surprisingly the group that I am most confident in this year. Brett Myers was an absolute horse last season, posting a 3.14 ERA with a solid 14 wins (considering the fact that could have gotten as much run support from your local Little League team). Myers also had about 13,000 consecutive quality starts by my count. If Brad Mills isn't an idiot, Brett will be the Opening Day starter.

Wandy Rodriguez should be a nice number 2, but you can never guarantee anything with ol' Dub-Rod. While his first half of 2010 was atrocious (trust me, he was on my fantasy team), his post All-Star break numbers were some of the best in baseball, and hitters still can't seem to figure out his nastily slow curveball. That being said, Wandy's performance will be anyone's guess this year, though I predict a solid season with more ups than downs.

J.A. Happ was perhaps the prize of the Roy Oswalt trade, and showed his skills last season, compiling a 5-4 record in 14 starts with Houston. While he's still young and a bit raw, it's not too farfetched to say that Happ could end up being a roaring success in 2011.

After Happ, it's just about anyone's guess who will be starting in the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation. Ryan Rowland-Smith is a decent acquisition from Seattle and the cheap, and it will be hard to keep him in the pen, purely because of his experience. Nelson Figueroa will also probably get one of the spots at the beginning of the year, despite his up and down performance in 2010. Jordan Lyles and other young prospects aren't exactly out of the question, but look more likely to be sitting on chairs in the bullpen when the season starts. Bud Norris is an enigma, and it will be a crap shoot to see where he ends up. Though if he makes the rotation, he wasn't terrible in his debut season, but needs some sharpening. Overall, a decent front 3 and at least a solid back 2 that should be able to challenge some opponents in the NL.

Grade: B

Relief Pitching:

From the above paragraph(s), you can pretty much guess that the bullpen is a big question mark for the 'Stros, and that's never a good sign. The one bright spot, however, is the fact that Brandon Lyon is the established closer, and performed well in the role at the end of 2010, compiling 20 saves and 19 holds. Lyon was always a better option than Matt Lindstrom at closer, but Millsie could hardly ignore the fact that Mormon Matt threw over 100 mph. Fireballers always win the closer controversy. Lyon is more savvy with his pitches, and uses the entire arsenal of them.

Mark Melancon, Fernando Abad, Wesley Wright, Jeff Fulchino, and Wilton Lopez are a motley crew of relatively unproven arms, but some (particularly Lopez) have shown varying amounts of potential over the last few seasons. It's usually feast or famine with these guys, and while I don't think the bullpen is going to be the second coming of the 2010 Arizona Diamondbacks, it won't exactly be 3 up, 3 down in the 7th, 8th, and 9th.

Grade: C

Catcher:

One of the most overlooked and important positions in baseball is backstop, though the Astros can't help but worry about it all season long, since it's been the black hole for the team ever since Brad Ausmus left (and he was no Joe Mauer). The grade for this position depends entirely upon one man: Jason Castro. The team called the young prospect up in June, when Ed Wade finally took matters into his own hands and decided to rebuild with youth. Castro wasn't a total disaster, but his numbers at the plate were less-than-stellar. An above average defensive backstop, Castro is liked by the pitchers and seems to call games well, but the 2011 season will be his time under the microscope. If he performs to his supposed capabilities, the Astros will have finally found a formidable guy behind the plate for years to come. And if not, well say hello to J.R. Towles and/or Humberto Quintero.

Grade: C

First Base:

While Mills and Co. have been "debating" who is going to start at first on Opening Day against Philadelphia, Brett Wallace will eventually get the job, and his report card runs just about the same as Castro's. Will he live up to his potential as a homer and RBI machine? Or will he simply stumble on his own gigantic thighs and mess up defensively like he did last season? It's anyone's guess, but I remember seeing Wallace play at Arizona State, and trust me, you don't wanna be a third basemen when this dude is swinging a metal bat. Wallace has more potential than Castro in my eyes, but he doesn't seem to have too much of a brain. Could he be the next Bags? Probably not, but I see a decent output of numbers this season if he gets the bulk of the starts. Maybe 80 RBIs? Do I have a taker?

Grade: C+

Second Base:

I personally liked the Bill Hall acquisition. While he wasn't a superstar during his brief stay in Boston, I won't forget how many times he terrorized Astro pitching while in Milwaukee, and his home run potential is a lot better than Kaz Matsui's or Jeff Keppinger's. I am a bit sad that Hall will altogether keep Kepp out of the lineup, but such is baseball. Hall can drive the ball, is a decent defensive second baseman, and can even swipe a couple bags. Either way, he helps upgrade a middle infield that was atrocious last year.

Grade: B-

Shortstop:

Clint Barmes > Tommy Manzella, and Ed Wade agrees with me. Actually, anyone > Tommy Manzella, and I'm just glad there will be someone else there this season besides flat bat Tommy. Barmes is no Willie Mays, but he proved himself a decent baseball player when Troy Tulowitzki got injured in Colorado, and just like Hall, he's an upgrade over anyone who sat there last year. Won't be a jersey seller, but should be a solid 7 or 8 hitter.

Grade: B-

Third Base:

Chris Johnson is probably due for a drop-off in production this year, but that doesn't discount the amazing potential he showed when thrust into the starting job last year after the Pedro Feliz project failed miserably. He's not black and doesn't run a 4.2 forty, but I think Johnson is potentially the best infielder in this bunch, and barring injury or catastrophe, I'll even say he hits .300. He won't lose the job to Manzella, at any rate.

Grade: B

Outfield (because I'm getting tired of doing each position):

The veteran core of the team, the outfield will provide the bulk of the hitting numbers (hopefully) for the Astros in 2011. As long as Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence don't go for a collective 0 for 974 like they did at the beginning of last season, this group should be the bright spot in what is a questionable batting order. Many fans have been calling for a Carlos Lee trade, but because his gargantuan contract is so unmovable, it looks like we will have him until the bitter end. Hunter Pence was last year's team MVP, and should hopefully continue to improve this season, with a little more consistency in his wacky mechanics. Michael Bourn is a pillar in center field, and with his Gold Gloves and steal numbers, will be the team MVP in 2011. If all 3 can get on base and drive each other in, the season might not be as atrocious as everyone thinks. Keep your fingers crossed.

Grade: B+

There you have it. With all the ends and odds sticking out in this group, my overall prediction for the season is a 77-85 record, which is at least an improvement from last season. We could be this season's Padres, but that's rather optimistic. Keep watching and keep hoping. Let's play ball Houston.

Kobe Bryant Immortalized in Hollywood-Who's Next?

As reported by Yahoo! News, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has been awarded a star with his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California. The NBA superstar has been a symbol of the team and city since he came into the league in 1996 at the tender age of 18. Bryant has been selected to 13 All-Star teams and has won five NBA championships, all with the Lakers.

Bryant is the first athlete to ever receive the honor, as he takes his place among numerous film stars and television personalities. While there is an extensive process for the selecting of honorees each year, the final approval is given by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for who goes on the walk.

Bryant’s enshrinement seemingly opens the door for an entirely new set of celebrities to be immortalized in Hollywood. The question is, who’s next? This writer believes that the next star should go to perhaps the most important athlete in American history, baseball great Jackie Robinson.

After all, isn’t Robinson emblematic of what the Walk of Fame stands for? A poster boy for the then Brooklyn (and now hometown Los Angeles) Dodgers in the 1950s, Robinson broke the seemingly impenetrable color barrier in baseball, and opened a wealth of new opportunities for not only black athletes, but all high-profile professions for minorities.

Not to mention his stellar career as a player. Robinson has a lifetime batting average of .311, was elected to 6 straight All-Star teams, and won a Rookie of the Year and National League MVP award in his relatively short 10 years in the majors.

Robinson has already been enshrined in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and all 30 MLB teams have his retired number 42 hanging from their stadium rafters. However, his importance to sport and to society in general can never be overstated. In the turbulent 1950s, before Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X became prominent, Robinson was the leading catalyst for racial equality. Jackie helped people see that people of color were just as good at baseball as whites. If a black man could rule the diamond, why couldn’t he succeed in an office job? How about on the movie screen? What about a black writer? Robinson instilled hope in a race, and took a beating while doing it. It was only after his playing career that he was recognized for his contributions and achievements.

So when Hollywood comes calling next year, who will be immortalized in stone? Only time will tell, but hopefully the committee will recognize that if more athletes are to be enshrined, they ought to start with those who were most important to the game, and almost no one can rival the historical significance of the late and great Jackie Robinson.