» Astros

Outfielders celebrate series win. Soriano (left) Gathwright (center) Bradley (Right)

One Day after Ryan Dempster did enough to win his game, Ted Lilly did enough to lose it. However Dempster walked away with a no decision and Lilly walked away with the win. It’s funny how things work out in baseball, it will work itself out over the course of the season i am sure.

Koyie Hill was catching Lilly who served up 4 home runs and 5 runs total. Soto left game 2 with shoulder soreness in the 6th inning, and although it is not expected to be too serious, he may have to miss the first game of the weekend. Aaron Miles would be the back-up catcher for the game if anything was to happen to Koyie Hill, Theriot would also be a candidate in extreme circumstances.

Mike Fontenot hit a 3 run homer and added another RBI on Wednesday to propel the Cubs to a 2-1 series victory. A-Ram continued his strong start to the season with 4 RBI’s on the night, and Fukudome was back in the lineup and answered with a 4 hit night. D-Lee and Theriot both got on the RBI list as well. Soriano hit his 2nd home run on Tuesday with a shot that landed on top of the left field train track.

David Patton pitched 2 innings in his MLB debut Thursday, and after a shaky start he calmed down to retire the next 6 hitters after the lead-off HR. After Patton surrendered the home run, Lee came to the mound to tell him to calm down and show the Astros his stuff, wise words from a veteran head. Guzman and Marmol have each started the season well.

This is hopefully the start of many series wins this season.

New Major League Baseball Blog Reader?, we highly recommend that you subscribe to our exclusive Major League Blogging RSS feed. Make sure to come back daily for fresh content.

Sorry Astro fans, it’s been a hectic week. Life and work seems to have caught up to me and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and talk about my Stros! And boy, do I have a lot to cover!

The biggest headline out of the Astro camp is Miguel Tejada’s probation. He was sentenced to a year of probation for lying about his involvement with steroids. He was in position of HGH as an Oakland Atheletic, but claims he never used it and threw it away. Prosecutors have no evidence to contradict this, so that is why he is just receiving probation. He’ll still be the Astros starting SS, and in the Spring Training game after the hearing, he belted a home run!

Another important headline: Aaron Boone went under the knife for open heart surgery. There have been no complications reported, which is always fantastic news. Boone will miss this season and his career might be done.

Pudge Rodriguez fits into the lineup nicely and is having a great Spring, batting .333 for 2 home runs. Just the addition the Astros needed!

The Astros have rattled off 7 ST wins in a row. I knew they were a second half team, but I didn’t know that translated to Spring Training too! Their current Grapefruit League record is 8-16.

That’s it for important news snipets I think. Astros are coming together offensively well, but still need pitching help. For anyone interested in fantasy baseball, I run http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com/. It’s a look at the 8 drafts I’ve participated in and how those teams have been adjusted as Opening Day approaches. I just finished posting results for an NL Only draft I did last night, so check that out if you are curious to see how it shakes down!

Aaron Boone will undergo open heart surgery and will miss the entire season.  Doctors think he will be able to play baseball again, but Boone isn’t sure if he wants to in the future.

This leaves the Astros pretty much with Geoff Blum at 3B, unless they promote a rookie from triple A. This is another situation where having Ty Wigginton in the organization would be a huge plus, but I’ve already blogged about that.

Obviously, Astro fans wish him a safe and compplication free surgery, but it is odd that he knew he had a heart problem from college and has taken this long to fix it, and certainly puts the team in a bind at the hot corner.

In other news, Hunter Pence left a Spring Training game with a bruised knee, but thinks the injury isn’t serious. It is nice to see him hustle and try to slide at the plate, but it is only Spring Training and we can’t afford to lose anymore of the team!

Well, after Puerto Rico is done with the WBC, Ivan Rodriguez  will be headed to Houston, and after passing his physical, he will be the starting catcher for the Astros!

This is great news, Pudge is a good defensive catcher, which makes our pitching staff better, and he has some power in his bat, contrary to last year’s drop off with the Yankees.

He has hit 9 for 15 in the WBC with 2 homeruns and was named most valuable player out of the pool Puerto Rico was in.

This is great news for the Astros and is certainly a boost to the team. Pudge will make 1.5 million bucks, with another 1.5 million in incentives for 1 year.

Let’s hope USA knocks Puerto Rico out of the tournament tonight so Pudge can get the ball rolling on becoming an Astro.

Not much going on in Astro land it seems, so I thought I would highlight some key players and how they are doing in Spring Training

Michael Bourn has 5 stolen bases through 37 at bats…very impressive, but he is only batting .189! Seems every time he gets on he is good for a stolen base, he just doesn’t get base often enough, and that worries me a lot. I’ve griped about Bourn before though.

Hunter Pence is showing shades of his brilliant rookie season of 2007. He is one of only six Astros to hit a home run in ST (YIKES!!), and the only one to hit two. Throw in a stolen base and a .270 average through 37 at bats and you have a very fine young player. Hunter Pence is going to be exciting again this year. He does have 8 strikeouts though, which is a little bothersome

Lance Berkman is being Lance Berkman. More walks than strikeouts and a .316 average in 19 at bats. Nothing to worry about her folks, the Puma is in good form.

There is something to worry about in Carlos Lee however. The all star slugger is hitting on .067. He also only hit .143 in the WBC. Carlos needs to turn it around fast or the Astros are in for an even tougher 2009.

Miguel Tejada had a home run in both ST and the WBC, and is batting .300 in spring games. Miggy looks primed for a much better 2009 campaign and can greatly help this Houston lineup.

And as a final note, if anyone plays Fantasy Baseball be sure to check out my blog http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com/. It isn’t your typical fantasy sports and news blog or my personal player projections, but rather a look at how I draft and manage teams throughout the season.

Before talking about my beloved Stros, I just want to point anyone interested in Fantasy Baseball to http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com. It’s a blog I write detailing drafts, add/drops, and trades, for the many leagues I play in this year. If  you are curious about some real life auction draft results? I’ve done 4. Interested in how some Yahoo trades shake out? I’ve got you covered there too, so check it out!

Now that I’m done pimping the blog, let’s talk about the Astros. Houston is an absurdly bad 1-11 in Spring Training this year. One and Eleven! That is beyond terrible!!

Most of the problem comes from pitching, as is usually the case, but I feel as though management made a HUGE mistake letting Ty Wiggington go to Baltimore. Wigginton was practically guaranteed to hit 20 homeruns, have an average in the high 70s or maybe even low 80s, and just bring better offense all around. Sure he wasn’t the best defensive player, but he could play a vairety of positions, which gives a manager some flexibility and increases Wigginton’s value to the team.

He signed a two year deal with Baltimore for only $6 million. I have to think Houston could have easily paid that and a little extra to keep his bat in the lineup for 2 more years.

Right now the offense  looks downright cold. Berkman and Lee are the biggest threats, and Pence is bound to have a better year thatn 2008, but probably not as good as his rookie year in 2007, and Tejada is just not the player the Astros thought they were getting a few years ago.

It looks like it is going to be hard to be a Houston fan this season, I’m preparing for the heartbreak and disappointment already. I sure hope I get proved wrong.

It’s no secret the Astros need a catcher for 2009. Sure, they have J.R. Towles and Humberto Quintero, but those guys are not great. Towles is young and was touted as having a big bat, and I was pretty excited going into last year that we had a good hitting catcher to replace Brad Ausmus. However, actually watching Towles play is a train wreck. He might have been called up too soon, but I just don’t see a productive year from him or Quintero offensively.

What the Stros really need is a veteran to sign to a one year deal while they wait for super prospect Jason Castro to blossom in the minors and make his way up in 2010. Enter Ivan Rodriguez: A one year deal with Pudge would be just what the Astros need! He was a great hitter last year, hitting nearly .300 (.295) in Detroit with 5 Home runs and 6 stolen bases, just the sort of player the Astros need to bring up the bottom of the order. He tanked after being traded to the Yankees, and I have no explanation why, but I think he still has the skills to help out a team.

The Astros have publicly said they do not wish to sign him, and it looks more and more like he will sign with the Marlins to back up John Baker,. I think the Astros are missing an opportunity to shore up a weak spot in the roster while waiting for their best prospect to develop.

Who knows, maybe Towles turns it around and becomes the hard hitting catcher Houston fans thought they were getting. I’d love to hear your comments on this.

The following Astros are participating in the WBC and their stats so far.

SS Chris Barnwell- Team Canada    No stats, but currently playing against Italy.
P T.J. Burton- Team Canada           No stats
P LaTroy Hawkins- Team USA      1.o IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
OF Carlos Lee- Team Panama        .250 avg with 1 BB, no other stats
P  Chia-Jen Lo- Team Chinese Taipei    No stats
P Roy Oswalt- Team USA               3.2 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, 7.36 ERA, 2.18 WHIP
SS Miguel Tejada- Team Dominican Republic  .500 avg and a solo homerun as his only RBI

Sort of a mixed bag right now. Oswalts numbers are frighteningly bad, but it is good to see Miggy still have some power. LaTroy Hawkins continues to dominate in middle relief, so that is exciting.

Yesterday I went over Houston’s suspect rotation, so today I’m going to focus on the bullpen.  It’s no secret that games are won and lost in late innings, and having solid relief pitching, especially with just a so-so starting rotation, is crucial.

Jose Valverde is an electric closer.  He has an excellent fastball. a good strikeout rate,  and has saved over 40 games each of the last two years. His ERA last year was a little high for a closer, but playing in Houston, a hitters’ park, certainly played a factor.

Setting up Valverde, the Astros have options with Hawkins, currently playing for Team USA in the WBC, Brocail, Byrdak, Geary, and Wright, a rookie last season.  Brocail is solid, earning almost 1 strikeout per inning last year, and Wright showed a lot of promise last year, but posted a poor ERA, as many rookie relievers do. Hawkins was lights out last year after coming over from the Yankies, posting a ridiculous .43 ERA through 21 innings with the Stros. Look for him to establish himself as the premiere set up man for Valverde.

All in all, the bullpen will have  high WHIP and above average ERA, but with most having a good fastball and good strike out rates, we should be able to give Valverde a chance to close out the win more often than not.

It’s no secret that a good rotation is the key to a championship, and it pains me to say that the Astros just don’t have a good one this year.

Roy Oswalt is a legitimate ace, but his ERA has been going up and his innings pitched have been going down since 2005. Roy-O will lead the team in wins and ERA, and put up good strike out numbers, but his supporting cast does not look all that impressive.

Wandy Rodriguez is currently listed as the no. 2 starter. He pitches very well at home, posting an ERA under 3 in home games last year, but just can’t seem to put it together on the road. Last year was the young pitcher’s best year in the majors so far, and if he can build and improve upon his results he can complement Roy O nicely. He was also injured for a bit last year, but there seems to be no lingering effects.

Third in the rotation is Brandon Backe. Backe put up horrid numbers last year: a 9-14 recrod with an ERA over 6. You just can’t win games with pitching like that. However, it was the first time he had pitched over 50 innings since 2005, and last year’s 166.2 innings pitched is his most innings pitched in a season to date, with 149.1 pitched in 2005. I think Backe rebounds this year but not to the tune the Astros need him to. I expect around a .500 performance from him, with an ERA in the low 4’s. I sure hope I’m wrong though.

The 4th pitcher made his career pitching in Houston, pitching very well as a young pitcher joining the team in 1996 through his all star season in 1999 where he claimed 22 wins and an impressive 2.90 ERA. I’m talking of course about Mike Hampton. The past few years he has been with Braves and  has been plagued by injuries, but if he is healthy and can regain even 80% of his former Houston self the Astros will benefit immensely. That’s a big if though, and I remain optimistic as a fan, but realistic as a blogger. Hampton will have better numbers than Backe and probably better numbers than Wandy if he pitches the whole season. His upside is immense though, but I fear he is just too old to put together the type of season the Astros need.

For now, Brian Moehler rounds out the fifth spot. He’s 37 and has a high ERA and low strike out rates. Fernando Nieve might get a his first shot at a starting rotation gig if he impressives coaches during Spring Training. I just don’t see Moehler has a good fifth starter, but the Astros don’t seem to have many options.

So, to sum up, the rotation looks extremely questionable after Roy, but an improved Wandy and a possible resurgent Hampton could give Houston a good shot to be in contention until the trade deadline, where they make a move to grab a solid starting pitcher.

Houston has historically been a second half team, so if we can make it to the break with a decent record and pick up a solid pitcher, the Astros could make a slim run at the wildcard.