To be brutally honest, between the NFL lockout being lifted, my intensely dull summer classes that actually require work, and my brother returning from his two year mission for our church, I haven't exactly been setting aside large chunks of time to watch the Lastros in action. However, I did get a chance to view the, ah, gem of a game on Wednesday night, one that actually ended in sweet, sweet victory. So here's the five things I learned from it:
1. Michael Bourn is more valuable to this team than Hunter Pence.
I'm sure everyone will strike up the "Hunter Pence is the best player....EVER!" comments. (Go ahead, talk about his hustle and effort, as if we haven't heard that before). But people, seriously, how is Bourn a lesser player than Pence at this point? Surely he has less power at the plate, but he more than makes up for that with far superior defensive ability and excellence on the basepaths. I promise, I really love Pence. But anyone who really still supports trading Bourn away instead of Pence is just crazy. Bourn is cheaper, and he does more stuff, plain and simple.
2. Carlos Corporan sucks...anyone wanna remind me why he's on the roster?
Ok, I know the theoretical answer to that question. Jason Castro is out for the year, J.R. Towles is injured/terrible/on vacation in the Shire, Humberto Quintero needed the day off because of the heat, bla bla bla. I would still take any other catcher in the majors over Corporan at this point. He's hitting 15 points under the Mendoza line, doesn't have a prayer when guys steal on him, and seemingly can't handle perfect, one-bounce throws from the outfield. I mean, c'mon! How often does Bourn throw something like that? NEVER! You gotta catch the ball, dude. Sheesh. Bring back Robinson Cancel. At least he was fat and entertaining.
3. Brad Mills still can't manage.
He's the one thing you can count on, along with inflation and age. Mills once again was able to baffle just about everyone (including, hilariously, that goon Kevin Millar on MLB Network) when he decided to pinch-hit Pence for Brett Wallace with the bases loaded and two away in the 8th. Wallace was 0-for-2 at the time, and sure, everyone knows he's slumping, but throw the rookie a bone here. THIS IS NOT A MUST-WIN GAME. If management believes that the future of the team lies in Wallace, then why not just let the kid hit in a high-leverage situation? Seriously, at this point, we're expecting him to become a star without him ever hitting lefty pitching or swinging the bat in a "crucial"situation. That's called over-managing, and Mills is certainly getting good at it.
4. Chris Carpenter is not what he used to be.
The decent stat line notwithstanding (7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB), I found myself thinking the same thing watching Carpenter on Wednesday night as I thought last season in the final few starts that Roy Oswalt gave the 'Stros before he was jettisoned to Philadelphia: He's just not what he used to be. Carpenter isn't exactly old, but perhaps his high innings log is beginning to catch up to him. He doesn't have that zip on his fastball this year, and while he's still adept at hitting his spots, Yadier Molina seems less comfortable in giving him room to work on both sides of the plate. Quite simply, Carpenter looks mechanical on the mound, and it worked to Houston's favor, as they were able to lace eight hits off of him.
5. A win is nice...but we're still terrible.
Yep, this is definitely worst-team-in-the-league material. Many times throughout the contest did I find myself thinking, Well this is where it's all going to unravel. How about the aforementioned Corporan error? Or the disastrous Pence pinch-hit? Maybe it was when Mark Melancon put two Cardinals on and had to face Albert Pujols in the 9th? You just get the feeling of "bad" and "unlucky" when you watch this team. In the end, it all turned out alright, but what's one win in a season marred by so much losing?
Well, I that's why we all watch the game, isn't it?
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Happy Trails, Jeff Keppinger
It was announced on Tuesday that the Astros had traded Jeff Keppinger to the San Francisco Giants for a couple of relievers. I'll admit that Kepp wasn't someone that I had projected to be seeing the door out of Houston before the July 31st trade deadline, and I am rather sad that he is gone. However, I find that when looking at this trade, I can only glean positives.
The relievers aren't really worth mentioning. Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel have put up mediocre numbers in AA ball for San Francisco, and should do the same in Corpus Christi. (Of course, I wasn't exactly praising Ed Wade when he traded Pedro Feliz for David Carpenter...how interesting...).
Two things are clear to me now after this deal was done:
The Astros are ready and willing to go young.
It's true. Keppinger was a proven veteran with a competent glove and a .307 batting average when he left Houston. He was the best pure hitter on the club in 2010, and yet Wade was still content with dealing him to another NL club to make room for a hungry prospect waiting in the pipeline, Jose Altuve (more on him later). Let's face it folks, on this sad sack baseball team, Keppinger was one of the best players we had. He may have gotten overlooked in the box scores, but he was that dude who went 2 for 4 every night with an RBI and two runs scored. Kepp never struck out, and you could always count on him to put the ball in play. Think of him as the anti-Bill Hall. I'm not criticizing Wade on this deal, indeed, if Altuve lives up to his .389 clip, this may be a very smart trade in retrospect, but I see it as a symbolic move more than anything else. Whether the order is being passed down by Jim Crane or not, Wade and Co. are willing to go young and build from the ground up. Just think about this: if no other personnel changes are made this year, and the 'Stros roll out the exact same eight guys in 2012, the diamond would read as follows...Jason Castro, Brett Wallace, Jose Altuve, Clint Barmes, Chris Johnson, Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence. With Jordan Lyles on the mound, that is one heckuva young team. I like it. If the infielders pan out, three or four seasons from now, Houston could be an elite team.
I also liked this trade because, in a way, it liberated Jeff Keppinger. Sure, he said he wanted to stay in Houston, but what else is he going to say? Actually, I really hate it here. It does kinda suck to be on the worst team in baseball, ya know? A scrap heap utility man resurrected his career in this town, and now he's moved on to bigger and better things, specifically those of the defending world champs. I'll miss Keppinger, but I'm glad he's in a better situation now.
Lastly, I'm excited to see Altuve take over the second base job. Assuming that Brad Mills doesn't try to force in his seemingly favorite clanker, Angel Sanchez, into the 4 spot, Altuve should get the bulk of the playing time there. He may be 5'7", and it may be a bit premature to be bringing him up to the Show, but this club could do with some more young talent. At this point, it's all about preparing for the future, and dealing a veteran to promote a hot prospect is an essential step in that process.
The relievers aren't really worth mentioning. Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel have put up mediocre numbers in AA ball for San Francisco, and should do the same in Corpus Christi. (Of course, I wasn't exactly praising Ed Wade when he traded Pedro Feliz for David Carpenter...how interesting...).
Two things are clear to me now after this deal was done:
The Astros are ready and willing to go young.
It's true. Keppinger was a proven veteran with a competent glove and a .307 batting average when he left Houston. He was the best pure hitter on the club in 2010, and yet Wade was still content with dealing him to another NL club to make room for a hungry prospect waiting in the pipeline, Jose Altuve (more on him later). Let's face it folks, on this sad sack baseball team, Keppinger was one of the best players we had. He may have gotten overlooked in the box scores, but he was that dude who went 2 for 4 every night with an RBI and two runs scored. Kepp never struck out, and you could always count on him to put the ball in play. Think of him as the anti-Bill Hall. I'm not criticizing Wade on this deal, indeed, if Altuve lives up to his .389 clip, this may be a very smart trade in retrospect, but I see it as a symbolic move more than anything else. Whether the order is being passed down by Jim Crane or not, Wade and Co. are willing to go young and build from the ground up. Just think about this: if no other personnel changes are made this year, and the 'Stros roll out the exact same eight guys in 2012, the diamond would read as follows...Jason Castro, Brett Wallace, Jose Altuve, Clint Barmes, Chris Johnson, Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence. With Jordan Lyles on the mound, that is one heckuva young team. I like it. If the infielders pan out, three or four seasons from now, Houston could be an elite team.
I also liked this trade because, in a way, it liberated Jeff Keppinger. Sure, he said he wanted to stay in Houston, but what else is he going to say? Actually, I really hate it here. It does kinda suck to be on the worst team in baseball, ya know? A scrap heap utility man resurrected his career in this town, and now he's moved on to bigger and better things, specifically those of the defending world champs. I'll miss Keppinger, but I'm glad he's in a better situation now.
Lastly, I'm excited to see Altuve take over the second base job. Assuming that Brad Mills doesn't try to force in his seemingly favorite clanker, Angel Sanchez, into the 4 spot, Altuve should get the bulk of the playing time there. He may be 5'7", and it may be a bit premature to be bringing him up to the Show, but this club could do with some more young talent. At this point, it's all about preparing for the future, and dealing a veteran to promote a hot prospect is an essential step in that process.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Midseason Review
This is the worst Houston Astros team of all time.
I admit that occasionally I tend to, shall we say, hyperbolize when talking about my lifelong local nine. I declared Craig Biggio the greatest player ever. I used to think that no one could hit the ball harder than Carlos Lee. I also believed that it was impossible to hit a ball at all when Billy Wagner was throwing it. But the above statement is not hyperbole, or even an opinion. No, sadly it is fact, as the Astros entered the 2011 All-Star break with a team-worst record of 30-62.
I think we can all admit that it's been a little difficult to watch the Astros this season. The tone was set from day 1, as the staff blew a 4-0 lead against powerhouse Philadelphia, eerily setting a precedent for what would happen many, many times in the games to follow. Astros jump out to sizable lead, Brett Myers serves up some home runs to cut said lead in half, Brandon Lyon blows the save. How many times have we seen that in 2011? The truth is, the woes in Houston lie mainly in the ineptitude of their pitching staff. The Astros' 4.68 team ERA is 29th in the majors, along with a 1.44 WHIP (28th) and .269 batting average against (28th), ranks that also hover near the bottom. No facet of the team has thrown well, as starters and relievers are both serving up runs at an astounding rate, despite 2011 being declared Year of the Pitcher 2.0. The team understandably cut loose pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, hiring former reliever Doug Brocail to take his place on an interim basis. Yet, inexplicably, they have left Brocail in as coach, a position that he has never held before, and one that he has even admitted to be a little uncomfortable holding.
Not that the bats have been helping out a great deal. The beginning of the season had me believing that this team had finally learned how to swing it, as they got into a lot of softball battles early. We just scored 7 runs! That never happens!...Whoa! Did Carlos Lee really just get a hit off Carlos Marmol? Armageddon! Alas, it was a mirage of what was to come. Houston still hits the ball reasonably well (.260 team average, 9th in MLB), but they don't score runs (19th overall), nor do they get on base much (23rd ranked OBP), or hit for power (21st ranked SLG%). Without Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, two players that have been rumored to be playing elsewhere come July 31st, this team would easily rank dead last in just about everything.
What perhaps has disappointed me the most about 2011 is how the young Astros have failed to pan out thus far. Jason Castro was done before the season even began. Chris Johnson has been atrocious at the plate and worse in the field. Jordan Lyles is still winless. Brett Wallace was raking in the first half of the season, but he hasn't shown much power at all, and his batting average has nose-dived to a cool .285. I don't place all of the blame on Wallace's shoulders, however, as the accursed Brad Mills has sat him repeatedly throughout the year, particularly against lefty pitching, claiming that he wants to ease Wallace into the majors. I simply don't buy this. From all the comments I've seen on past posts, I would tend to think that the readers of Astros 290 and Baseball at the Juicebox would agree with me that Wallace must play as much as possible. If he is going to be a big cornerstone of this franchise for seasons to come, he must face as much big league pitching as possible, including the southpaws. He's a good hitter and a smart kid, and I believe the power numbers will come and the strikeouts will drop as he gets more PAs.
So what to do now? Many believe that the Astros will conduct a firesale that will rival the New York Mets' in intensity, but I don't really see that in the cards. I dearly hope that Ed Wade and Jim Crane will put their heads together and realize that the only way this team will improve will be by rebuilding through a renewed commitment to pitching and defense, but I'm skeptical as to whether that will really happen or not. The sale of the club is still being finalized by MLB the last time I checked, and with ownership in flux, it's hard to believe the Astros will sell all of their big name players to contenders, nor should they.
Who's the one to go? I would be quite pleased if the team were able to get rid of Lee and/or Brett Myers by the deadline, but no true contender is likely to want either of them, as Lee is just plain ineffective at this point and Myers is saddled with a bad season and a new, hefty contract. The sad truth is that either Wandy Rodriguez or Pence will be the targets on most teams' radars. I'll peg Rodriguez as the one more likely to go, as a team could always use a lefty in their rotation, especially one that possesses one of the most devastating pitches in baseball, as W-Rod does with his nasty curve. The move would leave Houston with virtually no starting pitching to speak of, but luckily Rodriguez would command a sizable load of prospects in return, guys that are sorely needed in a farm system depleted of much true young talent.
Where will the season go from here? Will the Astros finish last in the league? Will they have the first pick of the draft in 2012 (!!!)? It's tough to say, as this club is known for its second-half runs, but right now, it's safe to say that there is no joy in Houston.
I admit that occasionally I tend to, shall we say, hyperbolize when talking about my lifelong local nine. I declared Craig Biggio the greatest player ever. I used to think that no one could hit the ball harder than Carlos Lee. I also believed that it was impossible to hit a ball at all when Billy Wagner was throwing it. But the above statement is not hyperbole, or even an opinion. No, sadly it is fact, as the Astros entered the 2011 All-Star break with a team-worst record of 30-62.
I think we can all admit that it's been a little difficult to watch the Astros this season. The tone was set from day 1, as the staff blew a 4-0 lead against powerhouse Philadelphia, eerily setting a precedent for what would happen many, many times in the games to follow. Astros jump out to sizable lead, Brett Myers serves up some home runs to cut said lead in half, Brandon Lyon blows the save. How many times have we seen that in 2011? The truth is, the woes in Houston lie mainly in the ineptitude of their pitching staff. The Astros' 4.68 team ERA is 29th in the majors, along with a 1.44 WHIP (28th) and .269 batting average against (28th), ranks that also hover near the bottom. No facet of the team has thrown well, as starters and relievers are both serving up runs at an astounding rate, despite 2011 being declared Year of the Pitcher 2.0. The team understandably cut loose pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, hiring former reliever Doug Brocail to take his place on an interim basis. Yet, inexplicably, they have left Brocail in as coach, a position that he has never held before, and one that he has even admitted to be a little uncomfortable holding.
Not that the bats have been helping out a great deal. The beginning of the season had me believing that this team had finally learned how to swing it, as they got into a lot of softball battles early. We just scored 7 runs! That never happens!...Whoa! Did Carlos Lee really just get a hit off Carlos Marmol? Armageddon! Alas, it was a mirage of what was to come. Houston still hits the ball reasonably well (.260 team average, 9th in MLB), but they don't score runs (19th overall), nor do they get on base much (23rd ranked OBP), or hit for power (21st ranked SLG%). Without Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, two players that have been rumored to be playing elsewhere come July 31st, this team would easily rank dead last in just about everything.
What perhaps has disappointed me the most about 2011 is how the young Astros have failed to pan out thus far. Jason Castro was done before the season even began. Chris Johnson has been atrocious at the plate and worse in the field. Jordan Lyles is still winless. Brett Wallace was raking in the first half of the season, but he hasn't shown much power at all, and his batting average has nose-dived to a cool .285. I don't place all of the blame on Wallace's shoulders, however, as the accursed Brad Mills has sat him repeatedly throughout the year, particularly against lefty pitching, claiming that he wants to ease Wallace into the majors. I simply don't buy this. From all the comments I've seen on past posts, I would tend to think that the readers of Astros 290 and Baseball at the Juicebox would agree with me that Wallace must play as much as possible. If he is going to be a big cornerstone of this franchise for seasons to come, he must face as much big league pitching as possible, including the southpaws. He's a good hitter and a smart kid, and I believe the power numbers will come and the strikeouts will drop as he gets more PAs.
So what to do now? Many believe that the Astros will conduct a firesale that will rival the New York Mets' in intensity, but I don't really see that in the cards. I dearly hope that Ed Wade and Jim Crane will put their heads together and realize that the only way this team will improve will be by rebuilding through a renewed commitment to pitching and defense, but I'm skeptical as to whether that will really happen or not. The sale of the club is still being finalized by MLB the last time I checked, and with ownership in flux, it's hard to believe the Astros will sell all of their big name players to contenders, nor should they.
Who's the one to go? I would be quite pleased if the team were able to get rid of Lee and/or Brett Myers by the deadline, but no true contender is likely to want either of them, as Lee is just plain ineffective at this point and Myers is saddled with a bad season and a new, hefty contract. The sad truth is that either Wandy Rodriguez or Pence will be the targets on most teams' radars. I'll peg Rodriguez as the one more likely to go, as a team could always use a lefty in their rotation, especially one that possesses one of the most devastating pitches in baseball, as W-Rod does with his nasty curve. The move would leave Houston with virtually no starting pitching to speak of, but luckily Rodriguez would command a sizable load of prospects in return, guys that are sorely needed in a farm system depleted of much true young talent.
Where will the season go from here? Will the Astros finish last in the league? Will they have the first pick of the draft in 2012 (!!!)? It's tough to say, as this club is known for its second-half runs, but right now, it's safe to say that there is no joy in Houston.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Series Preview- The Fish
While it's been a little tough for me to watch the Astros lately- due to more interesting things that are going on in my life, not to mention the fact that they're 28 games under .500- seeing them finally win a game in a big way last night was rather refreshing, and it gave me a sort of hope for this upcoming series against the Florida Marlins. So much so, in fact, that I decided to write a series preview for the first time in what feels like forever. So here you go, faithful fans who are still following...
Houston Astros (30-58) vs. Florida Marlins (39-48), July 7-10, Sun Life Stadium
Game 1:
6:10 pm- J.A. Happ (3-10, 5.63 ERA) vs. Brad Hand (0-3, 3.79)
Game 2:
6:10 pm- Jordan Lyles (0-3, 4.17) vs. Javier Vazquez (4-8, 5.64)
Game 3:
6:10 pm- Brett Myers (3-8, 4.67) vs. Ricky Nolasco (5-5, 3.91)
Game 4:
12:10 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (6-5, 3.25) vs. Chris Volstad (4-8, 5.46)
This series is shaping up to be the Battle of No Pitching, as only one of the eight projected starters owns a winning record. The man who owns that record, Wandy Rodriguez, also has the lowest ERA of any of the probable pitchers, a mediocre 3.25. The ball should really fly in the first game tonight, as the young Hand has given up multiple home runs already in just three starts, and Happ hasn't gotten a win since May 14. Vazquez and Lyles both seem to be victims of silly mistakes and low run support, so I wouldn't count on Lyles getting his first major league win in Miami. Myers vs. Nolasco is simply a matchup of below-average pitchers; both teams will understandably rely on their batting order to win the game. Wandy vs. Chris Volstad might be the only chance fans have to see a pitching duel this weekend.
PREDICTION: I'm flying by the seat of my pants here, and throwing all the chips in by saying the 'Stros will take 3 out of 4 and win their first series since they took two out of three against the Dodgers. I reckon they will lose tonight, as I've yet to believe that Happ belongs in a major league rotation at all, but I actually see the team winning all three matchups after that. The bats finally woke up in the last game against the Pirates, and since the club's runs have been coming in bunches all season long, I wouldn't be surprised to see them hang a few on the only pitching staff in the league that rivals theirs in terms of ineptitude. You never know, maybe that "team meeting" will bring a little winning streak to Houston. Kudos to the...um, leaders of the team for calling that meeting. One question though...shouldn't they have done that like...88 games ago?
Houston Astros (30-58) vs. Florida Marlins (39-48), July 7-10, Sun Life Stadium
Game 1:
6:10 pm- J.A. Happ (3-10, 5.63 ERA) vs. Brad Hand (0-3, 3.79)
Game 2:
6:10 pm- Jordan Lyles (0-3, 4.17) vs. Javier Vazquez (4-8, 5.64)
Game 3:
6:10 pm- Brett Myers (3-8, 4.67) vs. Ricky Nolasco (5-5, 3.91)
Game 4:
12:10 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (6-5, 3.25) vs. Chris Volstad (4-8, 5.46)
This series is shaping up to be the Battle of No Pitching, as only one of the eight projected starters owns a winning record. The man who owns that record, Wandy Rodriguez, also has the lowest ERA of any of the probable pitchers, a mediocre 3.25. The ball should really fly in the first game tonight, as the young Hand has given up multiple home runs already in just three starts, and Happ hasn't gotten a win since May 14. Vazquez and Lyles both seem to be victims of silly mistakes and low run support, so I wouldn't count on Lyles getting his first major league win in Miami. Myers vs. Nolasco is simply a matchup of below-average pitchers; both teams will understandably rely on their batting order to win the game. Wandy vs. Chris Volstad might be the only chance fans have to see a pitching duel this weekend.
PREDICTION: I'm flying by the seat of my pants here, and throwing all the chips in by saying the 'Stros will take 3 out of 4 and win their first series since they took two out of three against the Dodgers. I reckon they will lose tonight, as I've yet to believe that Happ belongs in a major league rotation at all, but I actually see the team winning all three matchups after that. The bats finally woke up in the last game against the Pirates, and since the club's runs have been coming in bunches all season long, I wouldn't be surprised to see them hang a few on the only pitching staff in the league that rivals theirs in terms of ineptitude. You never know, maybe that "team meeting" will bring a little winning streak to Houston. Kudos to the...um, leaders of the team for calling that meeting. One question though...shouldn't they have done that like...88 games ago?
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