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Astros Will they win in 2011 Thread (Tepid Stove no longer on) (1 Viewer)

coolnerd

coolnerd

Footballguy
Like the in-season thread I will probably be talking to myself especially if there is not a more interesting move during the offseason. Astros fans should be tired of the team over spending for G. blum, J. Michaels type players who can be had at any point in the off-season.

<a href="http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/18/astros-get-clint-barmes-from-rockies-for-felipe-paulino/" target="_blank">http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/...felipe-paulino/</a>

<i>Colorado has traded infielder Clint Barmes to Houston for right-hander Felipe Paulino.

Barmes was once the Rockies’ starting shortstop, but moved to second base when Troy Tulowitzki arrived in 2006 and is coming off a horrendous year at the plate, hitting just .235 with a lowly .656 OPS despite calling Coors Field home.

At times Barmes has posted some solid-looking raw numbers, but for the most part he’s been mediocre even with a hitter-friendly ballpark on his side and has batted just .224 with a .266 on-base percentage and .352 slugging percentage on the road during his career. Those are horrendous numbers, even for a good defensive middle infielder like Barmes and even for a team like the Astros that was in the market for a starting shortstop.

Take him away from Coors Field and Barmes has been a utility man-caliber player at best, so it makes sense that he was traded for a pitcher with a 5.83 career ERA. Paulino was awful for the Astros, going 6-21 with that ugly ERA in 208 innings, but he did rack up 187 strikeouts and has very good raw stuff with a mid-90s fastball and high-80s slider. I think Paulino still has a chance to be a pretty solid pitcher, but between his awful performance so far and various injury problems it’s tough to blame the Astros for giving up on him.

Giving up on him in order to acquire Barmes, of course, is another issue.</i>

 
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The Astros are officially for sale. Sources tell FOXSportsHouston.com that owner Drayton McLane has engaged the services of the investment firm Allen & Company of New York to help in the search of a buyer. In recent weeks, an unnamed New Yorker had interest in purchasing the team from McLane, but according to sources, that party has not been able to secure funds for a purchase. McLane’s asking price is believed to be from $700 million to $800 million. The Astros owner had some negotiations with a group from New York almost one year ago about purchasing the club. After the group was given a 30-day window to secure funds, the group was unable to meet McLane’s price.McLane has owned the Astros since 1992.He has been the most successful owner in the history of the franchise and one of the most successful owners to ever grace the professional sports scene in Houston.From 1993 to 2010, the Astros posted the fourth-best record in the National League.The Astros reached the postseason in six of the past 14 seasons, which includes National League Central Division titles in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001.The franchise won Wild Card berths in 2004 and 2005.In 2005 the Astros won the National League championship and earned their first trip to the World Series.From 1993 to 2009, only the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals made the playoffs more than the Astros.Before McLane bought the franchise, the Astros made the postseason only three times in the first 31 years (1962-1992) of the franchise. And even with the eventual sale of his franchise on the horizon, McLane decided last month to spend as much as $12 million for the first major renovations to Minute Maid Park.The project includes the addition of the second largest HD video board in Major League Baseball.McLane has not been available for comment.A key figure in Allen & Co. is Steve Greenberg, son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.A May 25, 2010 article in Fortune Magazine labeled Greenberg "King of the Sports Deal."According to Fortune, among Greenberg's many sports deals, he counseled Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and his family during their sale of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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Balco said:
Is there a team in more disarray than the Astros?
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They actually might be interesting if they were in disarray. This off-season really has more of the same bunk. The farm system is awful with only a couple of decent prospects. They spend way too much time with low upside veterans like Barmes. Rowland-smith probably not a high upside guy but at least he is young enough to improve. Barmes is 3 million dollar guy who should be like player 24-25 on a team.
 
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coolnerd said:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/12/...-one-year-deal/

Actually surprised that a "good" team did not sign him connsidering he can play darn near everywhere and when he is a fill-in for a week or two injury he has enough skills to matter out of the bottom of the line-up.
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Hall is a lot better as a Utilityman than in the every day role the Astros are talking about using him in. For a fill-in game or as a injury replacement for a guy on the 15-day DL, Hall isn't a terrible option. But as a possible regular, he's one year removed from a 58 OPS+. His 35 HR year with the Brewers is one of the great fluke (PED enhanced?) seasons in recent memory.
 
Bill Hall? Really? That is the best you can do? I can't find any reason to go watch them next season. None. Why should I? Even with free tickets, do I really want to pay $7 a beer to watch the crappy retread lineup they'll trot out?

 
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/12/...om-from-astros/

Matt Lindstrom traded for what looks to be overaged meh prospects.

The swap is now complete, according to Astros social media director Alyson Footer. Houston will receive minor league pitchers Jonnathan Aristil and Wes Musick in return from the Rox.

Aristil, a 24-year-old right-hander, had a 5.90 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over 71.2 minor league innings in 2010. Musick, a 23-year-old lefty, posted a 4.05 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 122.1 innings at Single-A.

5:18 PM: That was quick.

About an hour ago Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweeted that “the Astros are working hard on a possible trade of Matt Lindstrom today” and now Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports that the 31-year-old reliever has been traded to the Rockies.

Colorado has been in the market for right-handed bullpen help all offseason and dealing for Lindstrom allows the Rockies to fill that role without committing to a multi-year contract. Lindstrom is under team control for two more seasons as an arbitration eligible player and figures to earn around $3 million in 2011.

Harding notes that the Rockies first tried to acquire Lindstrom in the November trade that sent Clint Barmes to the Astros for Felipe Paulino, so they clearly like him a lot despite a rough second half that saw him post a 7.50 ERA and lose closer duties to Brandon Lyon. Lindstrom has averaged 96.3 miles per hour with his fastball over the past three seasons, which ranks third baseball, but all that velocity has never equaled great results and he has a 4.00 career ERA.

 
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6058659

ORLANDO -- Starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez agreed to a three-year contract for $34 million with the Houston Astros to avoid salary arbitration, a source close to the negotiations told ESPNdeportes.com.

In his salary arbitration process, Rodriguez had filed for $10.25 million while Houston had offered $8 million. The left-hander earned $5.10 million in 2010 after losing his arbitration case.

"It's an agreement that should work well for both sides," said the source. Rodriguez, 32, went 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 32 starts last season. He is 62-64 with a 4.18 ERA in six years in the majors.

 
Finally a great signing. Great move to sign Rodriguez. Very fair contract for a very good pitcher.

 
Balco said:
Finally a great signing. Great move to sign Rodriguez. Very fair contract for a very good pitcher.
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It's a great signing if they can trade him for a boatload of prospects. The Astros are 3-5 years from contending. Why should they waste the best years of Wandy's career on a team that may get to .500 if they are extremely lucky?
 
Jabrone said:
Balco said:
Finally a great signing. Great move to sign Rodriguez. Very fair contract for a very good pitcher.
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It's a great signing if they can trade him for a boatload of prospects. The Astros are 3-5 years from contending. Why should they waste the best years of Wandy's career on a team that may get to .500 if they are extremely lucky?
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Because who else are they going to roll out there? They can't just say "Hey guys, we're going on a break. See y'all in 3 years!" He's a steady enough arm and they can always trade him.
 
Dr. Awesome said:
Jabrone said:
Balco said:
Finally a great signing. Great move to sign Rodriguez. Very fair contract for a very good pitcher.
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It's a great signing if they can trade him for a boatload of prospects. The Astros are 3-5 years from contending. Why should they waste the best years of Wandy's career on a team that may get to .500 if they are extremely lucky?
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Because who else are they going to roll out there? They can't just say "Hey guys, we're going on a break. See y'all in 3 years!" He's a steady enough arm and they can always trade him.
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If he was 28 instead of 32, yeah. Trade him now when you can get the most out of him. They need to be putting youth out there, give the fans a reason to come out to the park. Is Wandy putting butts in seats? Probably not.Maybe they signed him to trade him. Again, probably not. Sugar Land minor league club is coming online soon. That will certainly bite into the Astros fan base. Hell, I'd rather go to a minor league game than to watch the Astros. The baseball is the same caliber and the beer doesn't cost $8 apiece.
 
Balco said:
coolnerd said:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/...uston-astros-2/

The Astros depth chart...read and weep
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Yikes. Wandy and Myers is not a bad top of the rotation. But the rest of the staff? Oof.

And that offense is pitiful. Carlos Lee could be the slowest player in baseball. Pence is the only guy that is solid.

I think this is the worst organization in baseball.
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The problem is that they are generally good enough to not bottom out with 59 wins season or something that gets the attention of Drayton. they won something like 75 games last year and I would target them for that again, maybe making it to 80. Why? Because they get the professional , gringinding, but low upside guys who when the season is "over", but not over in terms of games who are mature and professional enough not to roll over like dogs in that July-August stretch. that's what you have with Michaels, Barmes, Bill Hall, of the world. Also, even the better players are miscast as more than they that are. While the Rangers, have finally figured it out, i was thinking about who would be able to contribute from the Astros regular line-up.

Bourne would be a more experienced Bourbon, so he probably would start and would probably be at the bottom of the order.

Pense would be a right handed David Murphy.

One of Hall, Barmes, Keppinger would the utility last position player.

The astros younger guys, Johnosn, Wallace, and Castros might all be in AAA. Honestly, though I wish they more of these types who could at least get better and surprise (see Johnosn last year).

The Astros had a ten or so year run with Bagwell/Biggio as the centerpieces. The organization has been floundering for 5 years or so and needs to figure something else ut from what they are doing at the moment.

 
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Every time I start to get excited about the potential of Brett Wallace, I wake up in a a cold sweat from a dream in which he is being eaten by Carlos Lee.

 
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/04/jason-castro-likely-to-miss-entire-season-with-torn-acl/

Jason Castro‘s season is over before it even began, as the Astros catcher has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Castro, who suffered the injury Wednesday while running to first base, is expected to be sidelined for at least six months. That leaves some chance that he could return in September, but with the Astros likely to be well out of contention by that point they’ll have no reason to rush the 24-year-old former No. 10 overall pick back into the lineup.

His injury leaves the Astros with the same catching situation they had prior to calling up Castro from the minors in the middle of last season. Humberto Quintero is now atop the depth chart and one-time “catcher of the future” J.R. Towles now seems likely to make the team (and get one final shot at sticking in the majors) as his backup. Carlos Corporan, Brian Esposito, and Rene Garcia are the other catchers in camp.

Towles is still young enough to potentially step up and show that his solid minor-league numbers are for real, but so far he’s hit just .189 in 101 games in the majors. Quintero is a 31-year-old career-long backup who’s hit just .232 with a ghastly .271 on-base percentage and .322 slugging percentage in 300 games. Among all the players with at least 800 plate appearances since Quintero’s debut in 2003 his .593 OPS ranks third-worst ahead of only Tony Pena (who has since converted to pitching) and Jeff Mathis.

Castro’s development was one of the few things Astros fans had to look forward to this season, but instead they may not see him again until 2012 and an already bad team just got even worse.

 
'coolnerd said:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/04/jason-castro-likely-to-miss-entire-season-with-torn-acl/

Jason Castro‘s season is over before it even began, as the Astros catcher has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Castro, who suffered the injury Wednesday while running to first base, is expected to be sidelined for at least six months. That leaves some chance that he could return in September, but with the Astros likely to be well out of contention by that point they’ll have no reason to rush the 24-year-old former No. 10 overall pick back into the lineup.

His injury leaves the Astros with the same catching situation they had prior to calling up Castro from the minors in the middle of last season. Humberto Quintero is now atop the depth chart and one-time “catcher of the future” J.R. Towles now seems likely to make the team (and get one final shot at sticking in the majors) as his backup. Carlos Corporan, Brian Esposito, and Rene Garcia are the other catchers in camp.
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Brad Ausmus is in Padres camp this year as a coach :mellow:
 
'Eephus said:
'coolnerd said:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/04/jason-castro-likely-to-miss-entire-season-with-torn-acl/

Jason Castro‘s season is over before it even began, as the Astros catcher has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Castro, who suffered the injury Wednesday while running to first base, is expected to be sidelined for at least six months. That leaves some chance that he could return in September, but with the Astros likely to be well out of contention by that point they’ll have no reason to rush the 24-year-old former No. 10 overall pick back into the lineup.

His injury leaves the Astros with the same catching situation they had prior to calling up Castro from the minors in the middle of last season. Humberto Quintero is now atop the depth chart and one-time “catcher of the future” J.R. Towles now seems likely to make the team (and get one final shot at sticking in the majors) as his backup. Carlos Corporan, Brian Esposito, and Rene Garcia are the other catchers in camp.
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Brad Ausmus is in Padres camp this year as a coach :thumbup:
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What's Mitch Meluskey up to these days?
 
I have followed my Astros since they were the Colt 45s. I have never entered a season with less hope or anticipation that I have for this 2011 squad. SO no need rushing the meager pipeline talent they have- not going anywhere this season regardless. Wait a few months and put off a year of arbitration eligibility.And Drayton - just sell the freaking team already so some who give a #### can try and do something with them.

 




Potential for greatness at next owner’s fingertips



by Richard Justice



The Astros should be one of baseball’s great franchises. That’s the simple message for whoever ends up owning the club.

Everything is in place to succeed. In other words, there’s no reason to fail. When the Astros have been bad, it’s because the people in charge have done dumb things.

First, there are the fans. Between 2004 and 2007, the Astros drew an average of almost 3 million fans per season to Minute Maid Park.

If the Astros become competitive again, they’ll fill that park back up, make it noisy, make it and fun.

Then there’s money. This isn’t Tampa or Pittsburgh. When the Astros have put a good product on the field, they’ve brought in barrels of cash. If the new owner does things right, this will be one of the game’s cornerstone franchises.

Drayton McLane once dreamed of having $100 million in revenues. He reached that mark a decade ago and kept going and even passed $200 million for a couple of seasons.

The Astros may never be able to afford a $175-million payroll. But if they’re managed smartly, they will have plenty of money to succeed. They must have a sensible blueprint, and they absolutely must stick to it when times are tough.

The Astros can’t spend money on older players while cutting corners in player development. They did this sort of thing for years, and that’s how they arrived at this coming opening day with attendance likely to decline for a fifth straight season.

All the fans want in a new owner is someone who’ll treat their baseball team as something more than a column on a spreadsheet.

Remember when Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens signed to pitch for the hometown nine? The Astros had to bring in temporary help to answer the phones and accommodate all the ticket buyers.

Park’s a wonderful place

If you were at Minute Maid Park for those late-season pushes in 2004 and 2005, you saw a park vibrating with excitement and anticipation.

“People would come up to you on the street and just say, ‘Thanks,’ ” Craig Biggio said. “These are great fans.”

And there’s that ballpark.

Part of McLane’s legacy will be that he ran the Astros during a stretch in which they went to the playoffs six times during a nine-year stretch. But perhaps his greatest gift was in leading the campaign that got one of the great parks in all of baseball built.

Minute Maid Park is beautiful, functional and a cash cow. When the crowds have been big and the hardball good, there aren’t many better places on earth to spend an afternoon or evening.

The new owner will have plenty of flexibility to shape the club. There are few long-term salary obligations, and there appears to be a growing stockpile of talented players in the minor leagues.

National misconception

General manager Ed Wade has done pretty much what he did in Philadelphia. That is, he constructed an organization from the bottom up, with an emphasis on player development.

Wade was fired by the Phillies before seeing the job completed, but that 2008 championship was in large part his.

But we digress.

If Houston businessman Jim Crane ends up buying the Astros, he probably already knows how good the franchise can be. If the new owner is from out of town, he may be in for a surprise.

He’ll find out we love baseball every bit as much as fans in Boston and St. Louis love it. He’ll find the fans will turn out in huge numbers, too, if given a reason.

But he can’t be scared. He has to give his general manager the freedom to spend a bit more as the farm system is being rebuilt. He’ll have to articulate a vision to fans who have lost hope.

Around the country, they think this is football country and that everything else is a distant second. Only those of us who have been here a while know the little secret that baseball can be as popular as football.

New era of excitement

Baseball fans are relentlessly optimistic. Every season, no matter how hopeless, comes with at least a sprinkle of excitement.

The Astros have lost that excitement these last few years as the organization has spiraled downward. It will return the first day the new guy takes over, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t stay.





 
At this point this probably also minor fantasy news,

Carlos left the game on a cart (sitting up though) after and he the short stop slid into each other. It looked like an injury to the left rib area. He had hit the Astros 1st three run homer of the year the inning before the incident.

 
Lyon to 15 day DL

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2011/05/05/struggling-closer-brandon-lyon-put-on-15-day-dl/

A day after blowing his fourth save in eight chances, Brandon Lyon was diagnosed with biceps tendinitis and a partial tear of his rotator cuff and placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Righthander Mark Melancon will take over as closer in Lyon’s absence, and Jose Valdez was recalled from Class AAA Oklahoma City and will join the Astros Friday in Pittsburgh.There was no estimated timetable given for Lyon’s recovery, but he will be treated non-surgically.

After Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Reds, Lyon was unavailable to speak about his physical condition, and manager Brad Mills had said that as far as he knew, there was nothing physically wrong.

However, Mills and Ed Wade said today that there had been some concern about Lyon in the recent past. He had been getting treatment for some minor biceps tendinitis and the shoulder issue had come up before.

“We’ve had some questions about whether the strength in there is exactly where it needs to be,” Mills said. “To get that fully addressed, we wanted to get an MRI and see exactly where it was.”

According to the baseball statistics site Fangraphs.com, Lyon’s average fastball velocity is down this year from 91.6 to 90.4 miles per hour. His fastball topped out at 90 in the ninth inning Wednesday.

“I’m sure it’s all tied in together,” Mills said. “But when you get in a situation where his shoulder is a little weak and maybe he doesn’t have the strength in the shoulder and he starts compensating in other areas, that’s one of the reasons we wanted to look at this MRI.”

 
http://hardballtalk.nAll last week, as the reports of Jim Crane’s imminent purchase of the Houston Astros came in, current owner Drayton McLane kept saying that the lawyers had to dot I’s and cross T’s, and that there were “a lot of details for the lawyers to work on.” Seems that McLane made his lawyers work over the weekend, because there will be a press conference this afternoon officially announcing the sale of the team to Crane.

As we speak, Crane is likely watching video of the McCourts’ introductory press conference after bought the Dodgers to make sure that he says absolutely nothing like they did whatsoever.

For Astros fans, here’s an interesting look at some of the other faces and wallets in the Astros’ new ownership group. And, more interesting than that: 10 things you don’t know about Jim Crane. Both of those links come courtesy of Richard Justice, who is mad-Tweetin’ this afternoon.

bcsports.com/2011/05/16/the-sale-of-the-houston-astros-is-a-done-deal/

 
'coolnerd said:
http://hardballtalk.nAll last week, as the reports of Jim Crane’s imminent purchase of the Houston Astros came in, current owner Drayton McLane kept saying that the lawyers had to dot I’s and cross T’s, and that there were “a lot of details for the lawyers to work on.” Seems that McLane made his lawyers work over the weekend, because there will be a press conference this afternoon officially announcing the sale of the team to Crane.As we speak, Crane is likely watching video of the McCourts’ introductory press conference after bought the Dodgers to make sure that he says absolutely nothing like they did whatsoever.For Astros fans, here’s an interesting look at some of the other faces and wallets in the Astros’ new ownership group. And, more interesting than that: 10 things you don’t know about Jim Crane. Both of those links come courtesy of Richard Justice, who is mad-Tweetin’ this afternoon.bcsports.com/2011/05/16/the-sale-of-the-houston-astros-is-a-done-deal/
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The ownership grouphttp://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-15-11-meet-the-big-name-partners-of-new-astros-owner-jim-crane-other-power-players-involved-in-the-deal/
 
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/28/astros-place-wandy-rodriguez-on-dl-with-elbow-injury-will-promote-jordan-lyles

The Astros have placed Wandy Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list with fluid in his left elbow joint, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

As we mentioned here on HBT yesterday, Rodriguez was scratched from today’s scheduled start against the Diamondbacks with discomfort in his elbow. Bud Norris will move up a day to start in his place.

In yesterday’s post, I also speculated that top prospect right-hander Jordan Lyles could potentially get the call from the minors if Rodriguez required an extended absence and that’s precisely what will happen. Lyles is now scheduled to make his major league debut Tuesday against the Cubs.

Lyles, a supplemental first-round pick in 2008, has a 3.49 ERA over parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, averaging 8.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. The 20-year-old right-hander is 3-3 with a 3.20 ERA over his first 10 starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. While not a hard-thrower, he has a four-pitch arsenal and a plus-changeup. He was ranked as the No. 42 prospect in the game by Baseball America prior to the season.

 
Coolnerd:

What are your thoughts on the possibility of Lyon being eased back into the closer role?

Hasn't Melancon done enough to retain that job? What are your thoughts on Melancon moving forward?

 
'Onions said:
Coolnerd:What are your thoughts on the possibility of Lyon being eased back into the closer role?Hasn't Melancon done enough to retain that job? What are your thoughts on Melancon moving forward?
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I am sure you read something along these lineshttp://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2011/06/08/astros-plan-to-ease-lyon-back-into-closers-role/I only remember Melancon having one bad outing as the closer, so the there is not a reason to move him (IMO) except for the 5 million they are paying Lyon. Assuming Lyon returns to some form I am guessing he will get the most of the limited save oppotunties around. The best hope for the Astros is if Lyon proves healthy so that they can shift him to a contender for a prospect or two. Long term, I think Melancon is probably an 8th inning guy and fill-in closer, but really to me he has the best arm in the bullpen though that is a little short busish.
 
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