The Astros had the worst record in baseball after the All-Star break and there’s really no reason to believe that they won’t pick up in 2010 where they left off in 2009.
Manager: Geoff Blum said, recently, “It got bad. It was what it was. Everyone could see it. There was a communication breakdown.” Blum was referencing a toxic year under departed manager Cecil Cooper. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter if Brad Mills is a good manager or not. This team is old, slow, and has next to nothing in the farm system to replace the “old guys.” Management has a mandate to slash a bloated payroll so the few stars that they have will probably be gone.
Key Departures: Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins are gone but having those pitchers on this team are like giving your 4 year old the keys to a nice if older sports car. It will exasperate an already low talent team but in the end it only cuts down on the money each would have spent on therapy because they were stuck on such a bad team. Of course, as we already mentioned, Aaron Boone retired. Cheers to you Mr. Boone!
Key Pick-ups: Well, they got Lyons from the Tigers. I imagine Tiger fans are happy about that. Seriously, the best decision in this department was when they fired Cooper who was in over his head from day one. Don’t believe me? Why did he walk Nick Johnson to face Hanley Ramirez? Why did Veterans start wearing T’s that said, “Really?” on them?
Outfield: Carlos Lee led the team in RBI’s(102) , homers (26) and total bases (298) last year. He also had 140 strikeouts, which is good in South Texas because let’s be honest you need a breeze now and again. He’s also 34. Michael Bourn earned a gold glove and raised his on base percentage to respectable .354 last year. Hunter Pence was an All Star and he may continue to improve. This is probably the best aspect of this team. Grade: Offense B-; Defense B
Infield: This infield has more questions than your freshman biology test back in the day. The right side has more issues than SI. Matsui needs to get on base once in a while. Berkman hit just .274 last year. Maybe it was an aberration or maybe it’s the beginning of a downhill slide. Tommy Manzella takes the reigns at short. Defensively he should be solid. The question is what kind of hitter will he be. Geoff Blum, is a Class A guy but over the last two season’s he has hovered at .240. Grade: Offense C; Defense B-
Catcher: Last year was catcher by committee. No one stood out. Two are back and I see no reason to believe they’ll be any better. Grade F
Starting Pitchers: Roy Oswalt is the man. No doubt about it. Wandy Rodriguez is also a top tier pitcher. Beyond that, they have numerous #5 starters to fill their #5 slot and #3 and #4. You see the problem? Felipe Paulino was 3-11 with a 6.27ERA. They’re still considering him as a potential 5th starter. If the team goes South and I would say it’s a safe bet to say it will, Roy will probably ask demand a trade. If that happens this group gets even worse. Grade D
Bullpen: Brandon Lyon is an adventure to watch. I know he gets the job done. This bullpen is a mess. If I was starting pitcher and I had a lead, unless my arm was falling off, I don’t think I’d want to give the ball up. Grade C
Key To Winning in 2010: Despite my sarcasm that drips throughout this post, I believe the Astros could be competitive in 2010 if the stars align. If Roy and Wandy can both win 16+ games. If the outfield can produce runs and the infield can get on base. If they can solve the catcher issues and the bullpen pulls it together. Of course, while they’re at it maybe they can solve world hunger. I just don’t this team is going to be very good. My suggestion to Astros fans, play MLB ’10 the Show.
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