It would be easy to lament what has happened since the Royals came to bat in the 8th inning of Game 4. The last game-plus has been 11 innings of suck.
But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.
I want to look at a few things that went right this season, and why each one is a positive sign for 2016 and 2017 when the Astros, you know, win the World Series. (Not that winning in 2017 means Houston can’t win in 2016 as well.)
So, without any further adieu, here are a few things that went right in 2016.
1. Jed Lowrie slides home on a single from Colby Rasmus and tears a ligament in his thumb.
Yes, it doesn’t sound like a great moment in Astros history, but when Jonathan Villar proves not to be up to the task over the next five weeks, the Astros decide to promote Carlos Correa.
Before the season started, most people on this blog were looking forward to Correa at the trade deadline, or for a cup of September coffee. Instead, we Astros fans were able to enjoy the start of possibly the best rookie season in Astros history, and certainly the auspicious start of what is likely a fantastic career.
2. Of course Correa was just one of several rookies who made a huge impact in Houston this season. On May 7, rookie outfielder Preston Tucker went 1-for-3 with an RBI in a Houston 3-2 win over the Angels of some LA Suburb. He ended the season with a .734 OPS and 13 HRs.
Eleven days later, Lance McCullers showed up, pitched 4.2 innings in a game the Astros eventually lost and went 6-7 while basically suffering through some horrid run support (3.74 runs/game). That said, his peripherals (9.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.7 HR/Ga).
Forget Springer and Altuve, this is a group that could be together for many years.
3. With the second pick of the draft, the Houston Astros select Alex Bregman, a good shortstop who managed to amass a .781 OPS between Quad Cities and Lancaster. Three picks later on June 8, Houston selected Kyle Tucker then managed to nab Daz Cameron in a supplemental round. All three played well in their levels, and the trio is part of a massive number of Astros signees. Keeping the pipeline full is important. Also, picking the kinds of hitters who make contact (see how well it worked for KC?) instead of the whiffers who were a big part of 2015 will be important.
4. By singling in the ninth inning of the final game, Oct. 4, Jose Altuve collects his 200th hit, the second season in a row we’ve seen that feat. With the fear of getting a down year out of Altuve, a second 200-hit year really made a statement that Altuve is going to be very very good for the long haul.
5. Dallas Keuchel, 20 wins. Collin McHugh, 19 wins. OK, wins are not a great stat. Run support, the moment when runs are actually scored. Heck, wins make ERA look like a Moneyball stat.
But winning 20 games isn’t easy. Heck, winning 19 is hard. Don’t believe me? Ask any pitcher in the AL not named McHugh or Keuchel.
Wins mean pitchers are going deep into games. Wins mean pitchers are outliving their poor run support on bad days. Wins mean quality starts, and that’s actually a pretty important stat.
6. On July 30, Houston traded four farmhands including Domingo Santana (a guy without much of a future in Houston) Brett Phillips (the piece that hurts), Josh Hader and Adrian Houser for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Gomez is a two-time All-Star heading into his pre-free agent year, and Fiers is under team control through 2019. Oh, and he’s got a career FIP of 3.73, so I’m liking the look of Houston’s rotation going forward.
As for 2015, this trade didn’t work out quite as planned, but consider this: Go-Go is signed through 2016, so next season’s outfield probably looks like George Springer, Go-Go, and a platooned mix of Preston Tucker and Jake Marisnick. Tucker against righties had an .807 OPS in 2015, while JFSF against lefties had a .669 OPS. Not great, but I’ll take it over Tucker’s mid-.400s OPS vs. lefties.
7. For most of the season, Houston led the division. Eventually the Astros snuck into the post-season. Still, if they can do it with half a season of Springer and only 2/3 of a season, imagine what will happen if Houston plays with its best players for most of the season.
Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot wrong with the 2015 Astros. The bullpen was not as lock-down on the back-end as it should have been. All those strike outs mean Houston wasn’t moving runners over. Scott Feldman continued — for the most part — to be a very replaceable pitcher.
So, what was a big moment for you? Signing Will Harris? Seeing Springer catch fire? I’m not looking for the moments to come (trading Carter or not signing Valbuena over the offseason). I want to hear what made you say, “This makes me think positively about the future.”
CHIPALATTA 
It has to be Correa and LMJ, two young kids out of AA ball that have been awesome. 2015 was great year for this team 2 years removed from a 100 losses. We over achieved with many holes and K’s in this line up, no real closer and some guys that need to go. It has been fun, much better than years past hiding my Astro gear. I think Hinch did great job with Lunhwhatever player strategies making it a bit tough for him. Keuchel and Mchugh were great, but adding more successful young talent like CC and LMJ gives us hope for many great years to come. I cant wait to see what we do over the winter!
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Bringing up CC was a definite biggie for me! This guy was playing well past the minor league seasoning and needed to get a promotion to the big show! He did not disappoint! I am looking forward to more talented youth to come next year, a few key teades (maybe Luhnow can pry Kimbrel away from San Diego), and an even deeper run into the playoffs! I am not disappointed at all the way the boys played this year. It was positively a lot of fun to watch!!!
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For 2015 it’s Carlos Correa hands down. I assume that since you left off Colby Rasmus you’re figuring he won’t be back next year. Gregerson converted 31 of 36 save opportunities so that is not bad. It’s time to bring on some more young guys. Got to have some offense at 1st and 3rd. Conger goes and either Stassi or Heinmann comes up. We need one guy in the starting rotation that can throw some heat. We don’t need lot but the needs have to be addressed if we want to return to the playoffs next season.
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Do you not consider LMJ as someone who can throw heat or did you mean at least one guy in the bullpen who can throw heat?
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The unexpected early appearances of Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, Jr. and Preston Tucker on the big stage were what I was referencing in the last column as corresponding to the line: ‘Just then I saw a young hawk flyin’ and my soul begin to rise’. The actual line was, of course, written by Bob Seger, in the song ‘Roll Me Away’. Correa, McCuller, and Tucker are the harbingers of the ‘Young Hawk’ team of 2017 – or maybe 2016 – depending on which way the FO decides to go at the ‘great divide’.
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Correa’s promotion seemed like the defining moment of the season for me and the beginning of an era.
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For the most part the Astros will be strong up the middle next year with Correa, Altuve and Gomez. I can live with Castro only if we find adequate replacements at 1B and 3B, but they absolutely must find a replacement for Conger. I whole-heartedly agree the Astros need to emphasize high contact, high OBP players going forward. They seem to draft these type players so there is hope for this. I am in the minority, but I still like the Gomez trade. We started to see what we can get out of him right before he was injured and in the playoffs and we have control of him through next year.
I am torn on bringing back Rasmus. He had a great postseason, but an average regular season. Will he be worth bringing back at the cost he will likely demand? I am sure he will be looking for a multi-year contract and I’m not sure that would be the best route to go for the Astros.
Also, I am ready to end the Evan Gattis experiment. You can’t have a DH with an OBP below .300 no matter how many HRs he hits. I am not advocating this, but I would much rather have Chris Carter at DH than Evan Gattis. If Carter hits around .225 he is much more valuable than Gattis because of his ability to draw a walk and he has more power, if playing regularly.
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Tim, I’m actually a bit worried about LF next year. 1B and 3B will be interesting topics due to $$$ concerns, but we have Rasmus/Tucker/JFSF to consider right now (ignoring Hoes/Presley/etc.). Rasmus will require a ton to sign. We probably miss the postseason without his offense the last week of the season (right?), but his K’s and some untimely errors at Oakland and LAA cost us crucial games in the standings too. The problem, ignoring $$$, is that Tucker needs serious work in the field, and the holes in his plate coverage make me worried he is going to be Chris Carter with less power. Talk me out of floating the idea we come to camp trying a Villar/Aplin/JFSF platoon system next year in LF…please…
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Tony Kemp, leading off and playing LF. High OBP, Low Ks, base stealing ability. Good defense, not a great arm but LF in MMP is not so big., can also play 2B( MILB Gold Glove two years ago). 48 RBIs this past season hitting in the leadoff spot.
Not perfect, but he’s got the pedigree and the moxie. MVP of the Fresno Chamionship Series, so he plays big on the big stage.
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Oh, no, no, no.
Let’s give Tucker a chance. He played sporadicly this year. I want to see what he can do as an everyday player.
I’d really rather see him DH but given that we have Gattis ( not going to be able to get rid of him) I’m sure he’ll be right there in the middle of the lineup
Like it or not.
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Sandy, I was just trying to give Devin a reason to climb down off the LF ledge.
My preference for LF for 2016 is Colby Rasmus playing two thirds of the time and Marisnick playing the other third.
I want Tucker to be the DH. He is here because of, and for his bat. The Astros need lefty bats in their lineup who can hit, and subbing Tucker in the DH in place of Gattis, who got huge plate appearances and delivered exactly 0.0 WAR cannot be repeated, in my opinion.
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OP, I was yelling at Devin not you.
I don’t want Becky to have a stroke with Villar out there, even in a platoon situation.
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Tucker is an ideal DH against RH pitching, but he struggles mightily against LH pitching. It would need to be a platoon. I really don’t want Tucker in LF. I really enjoyed our OF of Rasmus, Gomez and Springer with JFSF as a 4th option. That OF could really track down fly balls.
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I don’t see Tucker as the best option they can find – but he will probably hit .260 with 15 HR next year, so he should contribute. DH is the best spot for him but…..
Of Rasmus, Valbuena, Carter and Gattis you would think 2 need to go if you are going to improve the K numbers – since we know we will have to live with Springer and Castro’s K percentages – and financially that looks like Carter and Rasmus. I’m thinking that Gattis comes into ST the DH, but slowly sees his PT eroded as he continues to have 3-4 games in a row at times where he doesn’t even get on base. The one thing that Luhnow has shown is while he will follow ML suit and not start the arby clock on people, he isn’t scared to hand special players their opportunities when its time. I think we see Reed by June at 1B, and a mix of Valbuena, Lowrie and MarGo at 1B and 3B until then.
I hope it opens the door for Kemp in LF, giving us a more traditional leadoff, but I’m sure I’m not the only skeptic that the incredible OBP’s are repeatable against pitchers with command that will challenge a guy with 3 balls in the count that has no power. Hopefully my fears are for naught, he wins LF, hits .280+ with a .350 OBP and steals some bags.
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I don’t necessarily like the Gomez trade, but I like Gomez in CF. Experienced, toolsy, crazy not lazy, but seems to give a 100% effort on the field.
Gomez is that player which I have heard of, a guy that is hated when you play against him and lovable when he is on your team. Please realize that I am applying that premise to me, only, and it surprise the heck out of me that I feel this way.
Fiers can make that trade a win for me if Strom can work with him and hone him into a better pitcher. Fiers is not arb eligible until 2017, so there is big possibilities there for a good, inexpensive BOR pitcher, with some experience.
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Absolutely, OP1. While Go-Go is not any kind of savior, he is good enough that replacing him is nowhere near this franchise’s biggest priority. We are at a ‘great divide’ moment. We can choose to go ‘east’ [following the Cubs’ model of promoting youth with crazy talent but little MLB experience] or we can go ‘west’ [following the Angels’ model of paying crazy FA money for guys who have lots of experience and track records but who have lost the ‘fire’ of youth and never quite seem to be able to live up to their outrageous contracts]. If we follow the Cubs’ model [or our version of it], which I hope we do:
1. Rasmus will leave in favor of a platoon between Marisnick and Tony Kemp,
2. Gattis will give way to a platoon of Preston Tucker and Tyler White
3. Carter will be gone in favor of A.J. Reed [or Singleton if he turns a corner] at 1B,
4. Conger will be sent packing to give Stassi and Heineman their shot,
5. Valbuena and Lowrie will give way to Duffy and either Moran or J.D. Davis,
6. Feldman and/or Kazmir will be gone in favor of the more ready of the former tandem guys: Appel, Devenski, Musgrove, B. Holmes, and maybe Keegan Yuhl; and
7. Qualls and Neshek will be gone in favor of Velasquez and someone with a strikeout pitch potential like Feliz, Bostick, Gustave, or Minaya [and the Farrell kid who will hopefully be coming into his own by 2017].
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But Lowrie is signed thorough 2016.
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He’ll be easy to trade.
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Maybe I am in the minority, but I feel the Astros targeted Fiers because they see better than simply a BOR pitcher. He needs to get more consistency, but he has a lot of potential.
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I think the playoffs showed the most important area to address in the offseason is the bullpen. With a stronger bullpen the Astros are playing in the ALCS instead of the Royals.
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Some of you participants in this very informative and entertaining blog exhibit patience beyond imagination. Having had season tickets over the last 18 seasons…its been a …well you know.
My patience is dwindling rapidly.
Yes, the stros were entertaining this season.
The concern here is that the front office still has a long way to go before a winning team is constructed. Up until this year, since Crain has owned the team, he has basically put minimum wage labor on the field for us to appreciate and enjoy. You know how that turned out.
This year he actually put 3 or 4 guys out on the field that could actually play for another big league team. Most could not. Even JA now worries me in that he choked up (ala Biggio and Bagwell) during the playoffs.
The team , as it stands, is not constructed to consistently win. (Notice the difference in the approach at the plate between winning teams and the Astros.).
The defining moment during the season imho was when TFO would not promote viable replacements from within to replace poor performers. I believe there were some difference makers there.
Alas…I will continue to purchase the tickets and go along with you all through the ups and downs… I love me some baseball.
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Money isn’t always the answer. Victor Martinez got his payday from the Tigers and he was as good a reason for their downfall this year as anything other than Scherzer.
On the other hand, we have a SS who may be one of the best players in the league right now and he made around $300,000 this year.
The answer is to stick to the plan. Develop the young players and insert them as they are ready.
The Astros don’t have a future that looks like the Blue Jays, but they have a future on the team and down in the minors, that looks like a cross between the Cubs and the Royals, OBP, youth and power, including power arms.
By 2017 there is a great chance you will see guys like Guduan and Gustave in our bullpen. That is a lefty and a righty with 100 mph fastballs. Add in Feliz, Musgrove Bostic, Martes or Paulino and you have some dynamite stuff for that bullpen.
Some of them could turn out like Rhiner Cruz and Fields, all gas and not enough performance. Or they could turn out like the Royals bullpen.
It is great that you posted. You are so welcome here!
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Absolutely correct OP, it’s not the money I’m worried about. We’ve seen high payroll teams crash and burn with payrolls in the hundreds of thousands while our guys kept on rolling.
I’m concerned about the way this team is run. Keeping em down on the farm while playing, well you know,
That’s what I’m a bit worried about. But we shall see.
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Correa was incredible. I think his contact numbers will improve and he’ll be a perennial threat to hot .320 without sacrificing OBP or SLG. However, I think the big moment for me was June 3rd against Baltimore when LMJ in his fourth appearance threw a complete game, 11K gem. The only blemish came on a double roped the opposite way by Delmon Young (who also threw out a couple runners at home…but that is a subject for what worries me about the future…). It was the first time I said, OK, we could have a legit, sit-down starter who can dominate in the post-season for years to come.
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The way I look at it right now, we are set at second, short, right and center. I would be pleased to consider improvements at the other four slots. In house or out. But let’s give the in house guys a real shot, especially at first and as #2 catcher. I think I’d rather see Tucker at DH against right handed pitching. But he is basically always going to be a defensive liability. Lose Gattis. Lose Carter. I might pay Rasmus depending on the deal, unless we’ve got a guy in house ready to take over the third outfield slot. I still look at Jake as a 4th guy. Lose Valbuena. Maybe Lowrie gets the nod initially, but maybe Moran steps in at some point
With or without Kazmir, we’ve got the makings of an excellent rotation. It is not a concern for me.
I think our pen needs another overhaul. We definately need some hard throwers in there. I look for VV to be one of those guys.
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I believe we will look at the call-up of Carlos Correa as a trascendent moment in the history of the franchise. My gosh, he is an unbelievable talent, with poise beyond his years at age 21. And he is manning a position where he gives the Astros an edge over almost all other teams in the majors from the get-go.
The Astros all time season records for HRs and RBIs for SS entering this season were 20 HR (Dickie Thon) and 84 RBI (Denis Menke).
So, in 99 games, most of them before he turned 21,Correa set a new team record for SSs with 22 HRs and would have probably been over 100 RBIs if he had played a full season.
This is our Derek Jeter. This is our difference maker. This is our future.
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Carlos Correa will be twice the hitter that Jeter ever was. I think when its said and done Correa will end up more like A-Rod on the offensive end more than Jeter. I do get the comparisons – leader, model player and citizen, etc., but he will end up BETTER. The rest of the world may not know it because he plays in Houston though.
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Falsely knocking Jeter won’t make Correa look better. Jeter’s career line is .310/.377/.440. That is amazing for any player, let alone a SS. The guy has 1311 RBIs and 260 HRs from the leadoff spot. He was an incredible ball player who will be a first ballot HOFer and deserves it.
Damnit, Phil Nevin, for goodness sakes!
Phil Nevin!!!!
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I didn’t knock Jeter, I said Correa will be better. Falsely accusing me of calling Jeter bad isn’t going to make you look any better.
Yes, he was great. Most of those numbers come like Biggio’s numbers though – they are the product of LONG periods of consistently good, not great.
I don’t know that Correa will match his average – but I believe Correa will be more like A Rod and win MVP’s. How many MVPs did Jeter win again?
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You said Carlos Correa would be twice the hitter that Jeter ever was. That is as ridiculous a statement as you will ever make and is a knock on Jeter.
And Jeter didn’t win any MVPs because his team mate was juicing and beat him out several times.
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I woke up this morning a little sad, but after my first cup of coffee I smiled. This year has given us a real glimpse into the future of a baseball team that will keep getting better, and better for a looong time. Look in the eyes of that sweet short stop, that every team in MLB would give their left arm for….and you see greatness not seen in YEARS. We only really got a taste of how good McCullers will be, and oh my goodness he’s gonna be good!! There are PLENTY of guys in our farm, that can, and probably will come up and immediately improve this team. BUT there are just as many who will never be more than a AAA player. We will find out next spring who, we have that can step up like Correa, and McCullers have this year. The bull pen was worn out, simply because only about 4 guys were used, and their arms were falling off by yesterday’s game. That needs to be addressed as soon as the world series is over. Jeff Luhnow will never admit failure, but the Conger trade and the Gomez trade were a disaster. I have no doubt Luhnow will work to try and pry Kimbrel away from the Padres……but remember this price WILL be high. If they don’t think A.J. Reed is ready to make the big club out of spring, then Luhnow HAS to have a backup plan, and that does not include Carter. I was perplexed about Hinch not playing Lowrie in this post season. I’m wondering if there was a rift between them, or if Hinch didn’t think Jed could stay healthy for the duration of the games. My opinion only, but I think Tucker will be sent to winter ball, along with Marisnick. Jake needs to work on hitting, Tucker HAS to get more time being comfortable in left, where he needs a LOT of help. We all were so frustrated watching Gattis strike out, over and over again the last two weeks, but I feel like he will be here at least one more year.
These guys fought hard, but just came up a little short…..but wasn’t it the most fun we’ve had watching them play in a looong time!!! They filled our nights with something special every night, we watched some AWESOME baseball this year!!Thank you, thank you, thank you….Chip, Dan, and Brian for the daily dose of letting us hash out this crazy, wonderful, team we call our Astros!! Becky⚾
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Becky,
You may not like the Gomez trade, but there is no way you can label it a disaster, at least not yet. We still have Gomez and none of the players traded have done anything of value, so far, for the Brewers. We also got Fiers who is a solid BOR pitcher that could be a decent MOR pitcher. I understand many didn’t, and still don’t, like the trade, but calling it a disaster is off base. I’ll give you the Conger trade as a disaster, but his little robot dance in the dugout after every Astros HR is almost worth giving up Nitro and Perez…almost.
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Nope….I don’t agree. Unless Luhnow is gonna offer Gomez a contract for 2016 he walks, because he’s a free agent after next year. I’m still so pi $$ed off that that trade went down so dang fast. Do I think Fiers is soo good that he makes the trade look better? Nope. We will have to agree to disagree on this. Becky⚾
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That’s fine, but what makes it a disaster? What have Santana, Hader or Maverick done for Milwaukee that would label this trade a disaster? I’m fine that you don’t like it and think those prospects will be studs someday, but as it stands now, the Astros got the 2 best players in the trade. Thus, it’s not a disaster. Ask me 2 years from now and I might sing a different tune, but not today.
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I woke up sad too. My evenings are going to feel empty for a while. But it was an AWSOME season. Something special that all Astros fans needed.
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Want to see the Astros go further in the playoffs next year? Consider this:
Astros in the top 10 of offensive categories in 2015:
1. BA – Altuve was 10th, with a .313 BA
2. Hits – Altuve was 2nd, with 200
3. Doubles – Altuve was 10th, with 40
4. Triples – Gattis was tied for 3rd, with 11
5. SBs – Altuve was 5th with 38
6 CS – Altuve was tied for 2nd with 13; Marisnick tied for 10th with 9
No Astro was in the top 10 in any of the following offensive categories:
OBP
SLG
OPS
Runs scored
RBIs [we had no one even within 10 RBIs of 10th place]
Total Bases
HRS [we had no one even within 10 of 10th place]
BBs [we had no one even within 20 of 10th place]
SFs
Sac Bunts
WAR – be it offensive, defensive, or overall
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But if we look at only the AL
BA Altuve 3rd .313
H Altuve 1st – 200
2B Altuve 6th – 40
3B Gattis 3rd – 11
SB Altuve 1st – 38
JFSF 8th – 24
Negatives:
SO Rasmus 6th – 154
Carter 8th – 151
CS Altuve 1st – 13
JFSF 3rd – 9
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Note that:
Preston Tucker: His OBP over his minor league career is .363. in 2013, in the minors, Preston Tucker drove in 103 runs, and in 2014, in the minors, he drove in 94, runs, and in 2015, when in the minors, playing every day, he drove in 35 runs in 33 games.
Tyler White: His OBP for his minor league career is .422. Last year he drove in 99 runs, batted .325 (better at AAA), and had an OPS of .939 [over 1.0 at AAA].
Matt Duffy: Last year at AAA he drove in 104 runs, with a .366 OBP.
Tony Kemp: His overall minor league OBP is .393. His overall OBP last year was .308 and his overall BA was .308. And he was the MVP of the playoffs.
Help is in the system. We just have to get it major league ready – and let go the comfortable bastions of mediocrity
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And I haven’t even talked about A.J. Reed, J.D. Davis, or Joe Sclafani yet.
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Was that a typo on Kemp’s overall OBP last year? I can’t imagine his OBP and batting average were the same.
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Yes, overall OBP last year for Tony was .388. Overall BA was .308.
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Jon Kemmer.
I’m just saying!
Brett Phillips came out of nowhere.
Nottingham came out of nowhere.
Now, look at Kemmer. He faced the EXACT same pitching as Danry Vasquez and Teoscar Hernandez did. How did the three of them do against the same pitchers?
Now look at the Astros top 30 prospect list and tell me where Kemmer is. The other two are in there.
Kemmer came out of nowhere because of where he went to college.
What really matters is what happens after you leave nowhere and go to somewhere.
Let’s see him in Fresno. Who knows? Maybe we have several nobodies who came nowhere and end up as major league hitters. White? Duffy? Kemmer?
I don’t care where they come from. I do care about if they can make the Astros a better team.
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Tucker was up here for a good part of the season and Duffy came up September first, yet neither one ever got a chance to get comfortable. Why?
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Not mentioned in the above is the expectation of a change in the coaching staff. Someone needs to address the base running (or lack of it). I refuse to believe the hitters ignore the coach and/or manager in every at bat. And there is something afoot in all of the minor league coaching changes that started taking place right after what appeared to be a very successful minor league season.
And finally, in the spirit of being negative, I have wondered all year if JL chooses high OBP, low strike out hitters because that is his style of player or is it be because they are easy to trade for spare parts?
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The entire coaching staff will be invited back next year….
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Op glad you mentioned Kemmer. He’s a beast and has been flying under the radar for the better part of this year. I’m really high on this guy!!! Listened to the presser today with Hinch and Luhnow, but they were pretty closed mouth about any moves, and since it’s only been 18hrs since our season ended I didn’t think they would.
BUT….the whole coaching staff has been asked back….glad we will have Strom back I hope!! He’s getting to the age that he might just say, he’s retiring……Lord I hope not.
Just the thought of seeing Devenski, and Musgrove in the rotation makes me smile!
The 2013, 2014, and 2015 draft classes were probably the best three years this organization has ever had. Bregman does NOT want to move to 3rd and I’d hate to lose the guy over a rift like that. He WA drafted this summer, and is already in Corpus. I feel lost not having a game to listen to tonight!! I might watch the Cubs try to take down the Dodgers!! Wouldnt that be sweet!!
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I’m with you, Becky. I think Bregman will eventually get traded (like Tre Turner or Addison Russell) and then used at 2B…whether he likes it or not. Alternately, if Correa holds down SS like many of us expect, Bregman can realize he has the chance to pair up and take shots at getting rings for his fingers by becoming a gold glove 3B or the next Alex Gordan in LF.
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Bregman is still listed on the Jethawk’s roster. That is where I think he will start the year, though it is not etched in Lunownite stone.
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HE was promoted at the end of the season. I will bet money he start in Corpus next season.
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I’ll ask Jane Hanson…..she will know for sure.
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You might be confusing him with 3B Colin Moran who was promoted after the CC playoffs to Fresno where he participated in Fresno’s championship. Moran was moved up when Duffy got promoted to Houston. I still don’t see anything on Bregman getting promoted. He has only played 29 games at QC and 37 at Lancaster.
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A to my earlier McCuellars comments. He does have a 95 MPH fast ball and a nasty curve. He needs to rely more on the fastball and throw the curve for strikes. Needs a good change up. This is not a criticism but an evaluation. There is no reason why this guy can’t be a TOR pitcher and I’ll take one of him any day of the week and twice on Sunday. And he’s only 21 YO.
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You mean McCullers? Mike Cuellar played for the Astros back in the late 60s. Then he was traded to Baltimore where he was a stud for many seasons. 😉
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Yes, I have a bad cold and I’m not typing very well
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Yeah, I know call me a dinasuor but I still get the paper delivered every day. I kept every copy of the 2005 world series sports pages until the season ended, and I did the same for this year. It’s fun to look back and see who pitched, and the homeruns they hit! I guess when I leave this earth my kids will get a good laugh when they discover them, and throw them away….Believe me, after having to clean out my parents house when they passed away, we found so many things to laugh at!! And it has come full circle for Qualls, who was NAILS in 2005!!
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Mets 3 Dodgers 2 Greinke took the loss.
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Lots of power arms on display tonight.
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I must see a different team than some on here. 1. The reason the team made it to the playoffs was the improvement in the bullpen. For 2016 they need to upgrade a couple or three spots there. 2. Altuve and Springer had decent OBP, but when you subtract their HRs from runs, they were left on base way too many times. (Ex. 200 hits, 33 BB, 38 SBs, yet 86 runs (minus 15 HRs). 3. 4-5-6 need to hit much better. Compared to other DH, 1st Base etc as hitters – we are near the bottom. (And you hire a DH with an emphasis on the “H”) 4. The pitching kept the team in the game almost all year. The hitting (other than HRs) was very suspect. 5. This is a very good defensive team (sans Conger). 6. The top three hitters are set for next year. 7. Without Feldman or Kazmir (not suggesting throwing them away, we just have better options), the top three SP are set for next year. As noted CF, RF, SS, 2nd are set for next year. 8. JL must eliminate several off the 40 man or lose more to Rule V. 9. And finally, each year there is a Bucky Dent, Dusty Rhodes, Don Larsen, etc that have a couple good games in a playoff/World Series and they make a career of being below average.
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Jayne Hanson has reported on her blog, What the Heck, Bobby, that Alex Presley and LJ Hoes have both elected free agency. Presley is no longer listed on any Astros or Fresno roster.
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If I’m not mistaken Presley wasn’t on the 40-man roster, but Hoes was, correct?
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Hoes is still listed on the 40-man on the Astros website. Jayne’s info is new, and she is very well-informed.
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The last I looked (couple weeks ago) that was correct.
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Agree. I recommend Jayne’s blog to any Astros fan with an interest in the minor league system. She is well informed and works hard to cultivate relationships with the people she covers.
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Logical moves by both club and players.
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Sorry, OP, I guess my prior response wasn’t clear. What I meant is that, prior to them electing free agency only Hoes was on the 40-man roster. Sorry for the confusion.
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And you Sir, are still correct.
I hate it when we agree. Makes me think I am wrong also.
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But I’m always right, AC45.
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The four teams left in the playoffs wear blue as the predominant colors.
Blue on blue, heartache on heartache
And I find I can’t get over losing you.
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Toronto has the #10 payroll in the majors
Cubs, #11
Kansas City, #14
Mets, #15
Dodgers were #1, at just over $314 million
All this from Spotrac.
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Jon Heyman’s Inside Baseball column today about Matttingly, has a section about the Astros toward the bottom that is a must-read for Astros’ fans.
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Wow, now that’s some scary reading.
I read an article somewhere yesterday ( can’t find it today) about retaining the coaching staff. Something along the lines of ” we like the way our coaches just let them do what they do best” what they do best is strike out and get thrown out running the bases. that kind of talk doesn’t put my mind at ease.
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1oldpro,
Maybe Heyman has been reading our blog. It’s all pretty obvious! But the pension thing, it just adds to my distrust of the ownership. I do not like Jim Crane. And his mentality will extend to impact the players at some point if it has not already. Are we going to be able to sign guys like Springer and Keuchel to long term contracts? Not if the players do not trust ownership and can find a better work environment somewhere else.
I spent 25 years in the hotel industry. The best hotel companies treat their employees better than the not so good hotel companies. It’s a pretty simple concept. Happy employees do a better job, regardless of the industry.
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It is not just the way you treat them monetarily. It is the way you use them as players.
Take George Springer as a prime example.
When Springer was coming up in our system he was a power hitting center fielder who was an RBI machine who graded out as plus fielder. We waited and waited for him to get here.
Now he is here. He is a below average right fielder, according to the stats, even though he was always considered an above average CF coming up. Don’t worry, I looked up his stats on Baseball Reference and Fangraphs. They confirm what I say: he is an above average CF and a below average RF in his first two seasons. Why is he in RF? If he is part of the future of this team, why isn’t he playing his best position. Does anyone see a better future CF on the team or in the minors than George Springer.
He was an RBI machine who always hit third in the minors. Now he’s hitting leadoff or second. Why are the Astros doing these things? It can’t be for the good of the team because him doing what he does best would be for the good of the team.
I waited until the end of the season to talk about this and other baseball things the Astros are struggling with.
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Maybe the nom de plume of Bopert is Jon Heyman
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I like the idea of the Astros pursuing Gordon as a replacement for Colby Rasmus. I can’t give much insight into the removal of a pension plan. Does this affect the players? How many teams offer pensions to their employees?
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I don’t like Jim Crane. I don’t trust Jeff Luhnow and Hinch is suspect.
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The door is open, but I am not going through it.
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1oldpro, I agree 100%. I figured that after awhile, folks here got tired of me referring to Springer as our “centerfielder of the future”. So I stopped. Sadly, I can see him becoming a Hall of Fame centerfielder in a place like New York or Boston.
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Yesterday, in the Dominican Winter League opener, Tyler Heineman played like a typical Astros catcher would. In four plate appearances he had a single, two walks and a hit by pitch. He scored three runs and caught the entire game with no passed balls, no wild pitches, no steal attempts against him and no errors.
He is playing for the Tigres de Licey.
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Not to worry. They’ll send Castro and Conger down to the Dominican to straighten him out and remind him how it’s done in this organization. If he keeps this up, he’ll turn into the next Max Stassi.
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When does our other Tyler start learning how to catch?
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Op…..that’s the exact reason why I have been so vocal on why Luhnow traded for Gomez to play center field. Even when we got Marisnick from the Marlins, Springer was put in right field. If Springer was not thought of as a centerfielder, then why in the heck did they bring him up as one? Personally I think it’s been a slap in the face over and over again since he was brought up. Rasmus was used in center, Jake was in center for most of the season, and now we have Gomez planted out there. Maybe the powers that be know a lot more than I do….but I think it stinks.
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Maybe it’s punishment for not taking the deal before he was brought up .
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I thought about that as well Sandy…..
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I think the reason they traded for Gomez was because Springer was injured, was, at the time, going to be out another month and the Astros were vying for a playoff spot. If Springer hadn’t gotten injured they probably wouldn’t have traded for Gomez, in my opinion.
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The Astros have decided that there will not be enough time before next season to get the renovations done so Tal’s Hill will be back next year
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I instantly saw it as not wanting to spend the money without increasing revenue.
Anything else is BS, in my opinion. You can eliminate Tal’s Hill and move the fence in about a week’s time. But they turned it into a money pit with no return on investment and now they aren’t willing to pay for it.
So, they blame it on the calendar.
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EXACTLY…….DING..DING..DING.. YOU GET THE PRIZE!!
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Ok folks I gotta question.
Do you think the Astros keep Conger, or trade him before next spring?
Got any thoughts???
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Can’t see any other team taking him. I believe we’re stuck.
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Luhnow has us in one fine mess with the most of his trades.
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Sandy,
Do you care to elaborate on the ‘fine mess’ the Astros are in because of Lhnow’s trades? I see a stacked farm system and a team with plenty of room to add payroll. I don’t see any mess.
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I believe he is arb eligible so can’t we just non-tender him. Luhnow’s ego may not allow it, but I think even he realizes he made a mistake on Conger and will not amplify that mistake by keeping him on the roster any longer than we have to.
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Becky, my question is can we keep Conger and dump the person that signed off on his trade to come here? There was absolutely nothing in Conger’s stats to think he was worth Perez – skip Tropical Nick.
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You mean like they should’ve done with Carter? Don’t see Luhnow admitting he traded away good prospects for a bust.
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Tim….Luhnow *has* made some VERY questionable trades. You and I don’t agree, but one of those trades (besides the Conger trade) is the Gomez, AND the Kazmir trade. Sorry……but it’s the truth.
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Becky,
The Kazmir trade didn’t work out, but you can’t predict how a player will perform going forward. At the time of the trade Kazmir was pitching like a #1 and there is a price to pay for that type pitcher. The Gomez trade, so far, looks good for the Astros as the players traded away have done nothing to help the Brewers. However, none of this explains the ‘fine mess’ the Astros are in because of the trades. Do you think the Astros would have done better than game 5 of the ALDS if the trades were not made? I’m still struggling to see the mess created by these trades. Can you enlighten me?
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Tim, above you admitted to Sandy that even Luhnow should know the Conger trade was bad and then you admitted to Becky that the Kazmir trade didn’t work out.
Maybe those and the fact that Gattis was in the lineup all year contributing zero WAR, while the Braves knew enough not to keep Folty in their rotation all season when he wasn’t contributing anything, could be a lot of the fine mess Sandy was talking about.
For me, it was the trade sending Brett Phillips off for Gomez, and then have Marisnick have as many HRs and RBIs in August, September and October as Gomez did that contributed to more mess.
But the real mess we have is the guys we have that didn’t deliver like they were supposed to that we traded for(Valbuena, Straily Conger, Gattis), added to the guys we signed in free agency who didn’t perform in crunch time out of the bullpen in September or October, added to the guys like Carter and Lowrie who were lousy all year and then didn’t come through in the playoffs either.
And now the team has to figure out what to do with them.
Then there is the mess of trading for a guy who then pitches a no-hitter and then the team cannot figure out for the life of them what to do with him in crunch time.
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OP,
Where is the mess? The team was one bad inning from playing in the ALCS, have many highly graded prospects and plenty of payroll to improve the team. Luhnow has taken a farm system that was in shambles, turning it into one of the best farm systems in baseball and orchestrated a turn around of a franchise that was on the verge of tailspinning into a decade or more of mdiocrity. Instead, we are looking at a franchise that, by most accounts, are looking at several years of very competitive baseball and, by most experts I have read, should be World Series contenders for several years. So, pardon me if I fail to see a mess, but I will allow you or anyone else to convince me otherwise. I believe almost everyone on here, besides myself, lambasted the Cosart trade. It could still turn better for Miami, but right now the Astros look to be well ahead in that trade. Gattis has a 0 WAR, but I wonder what the WAR of Folty was this year? What has Ruiz or Thurman done for Atlanta? Gomez was injured, but when healthy we saw he was the best player in that trade and we also got a good starting pitcher in return. So, again, I must ask where is the mess?
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I already explained where the mess is. You just don’t see it the same way.
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Well, you didn’t explain a mess. I explained how the future looks great, but you didn’t show a mess.
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OK here’s the mess:
in the 2015 regular season the Astros hit:
.237 out of the #3 spot
.230 out of the #4 spot
.220 out of the #5 hole
.229 out of the #6 hole
.247 out of the #7 hole
.253 out of the #8 hole and
.235 out 0f the #9 hole
.223 pinch hitting.
I had to look 3 times because I couldn’t believe those numbers, even though I watched the team all year.
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And? How does that relate to the team being a mess from the trades made by Luhnow? If they are a mess then how do you explain them exceeding their win projection by 10 and making the playoffs? How do you explain the projection going forward is a team on the rise and contending for the World Series? A team that’s a mess is a team with aging, over paid veterans and a bleak future. The Astros are the complete opposite of a mess. You point out batting average, which is a terrible indicator of good or weak offensive production. Didn’t we have a team that had 10 players with double digit HRs? Don’t we have the likely A.L. Cy Young and Rookie of the Year? Didn’t we have 7 minor league teams qualify for the playoffs? All you got is low batting averages as your reason the team is a mess. Normally, you make good, astute assessments of this team. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times.
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I don’t see Luhnow cutting bait. They’ll point to his HR totals and ignore everything else. Now, if he could be traded for a 19 year old A-ball pitcher, I say DO IT, but that means they’d have to give Stassi a shot, and that isn’t happening for whatever reason.
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Don’t forget about his pitch framing…..whatever that is…….must have something to do with jumping around behind the plate like a kangaroo.
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Jumping would require him actually moving…so, it’s more like him looking around clueless like Gilligan wondering where the ball went!
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Concerning the Pension Plan for Non-Uniform Wearing- here is one link that discusses it.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10444699/mlb-owners-voted-allow-teams-cut-pensions-non-players
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I think that article sums up very well which class of owner the Astros have.
Wow, I could have seen this coming all the way from Oklahoma.
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Say what you want but Crane is still all about the money.
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Stassi is cheaper than Conger (and better, too), so…
Make it happen, Jim!
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Someone doesn’t like Max Stassi……dont know who, but he won’t get a chance here. Bet on it.
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Watching Nick Tropeano and Perez work in that game where Tropeano struck out 11 and only gave up one run…..made my sick to my stomach. Watching Conger try to throw out a runner…..pass balls, and his blind act in the dugout…..makes me want to hurt somebody. I’m looking at you Jeff Luhnow.
Trade him to a Korea team who needs a crappy catcher…..he already knows how to speak the language.
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Whoa…could’ve done without that last sentence. I don’t like him either, but man…
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Conger was born in Washington state.
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That was mean…..can you tell I don’t feel good today??!! Hank Conger is probably a nice guy, but a good catcher he aint. I take it back….that was an unkind comment.
Ok???
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No worries…I’ve had days like that myself.
37 years worth, in fact 🙂
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I’m still convinced he was hurt all year. It’s difficult to go from throwing out almost a quarter of all base stealers in your career to only getting one over an entire season without something contributing.
The pass balls and errors on balls in play I can’t really excuse though.
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Yes, Devin, I also think Conger must have had some undisclosed injury. With that being said, and I agree with you again, his poor defense behind the plate is inexcusable and the reason I feel the Astros need to find a replacement for him.
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I’m sure we’ll have many discussions about our ownership and GM going forward. I don’t have it in me tonight. I’m heading out to see what’s going on!
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I’m sure Conger is a nice guy. Luhnow is solely to blame for him being here.
Lord Becky, I understand bad days. I’ve had almost twice as many as Billy.
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In the immortal words of Rodney King: Can’t we all just get along?
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No, but that’s OK. Disagreeing is a large part of being a fan. What one person sees another sees it differently. That’s the beauty of being a fan and reading this blog. It allows me to be stubborn and give my strong opinions. I hope that is never taken away.
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As long as we all understand we are only expressing an opinion. Some are based upon facts and stats – yet still an opinion.
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True. My opinions just happen to be right. 🙂
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Tim, Your opinions are not right. They are left and mine are right. At least, that’s my opinion.
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Well, unlike Billy, I lean right, so my opinions must follow suit.
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We ARE getting along!! I’m a woman and I’m right…….just like at home right??!!
Just kidding Brian…..I was just being a smart a $$ today and I said an unkind thing about Conger….all is good here☺☺☺
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http://www.baseballessential.com/news/2015/10/15/the-houston-astros-should-be-proud/
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Here’s a thought to ponder given all of our expert opinions and analysis. Where do we stand pat, where do we discard, and from which deck are we going to draw from?
Secondly, here’s one for you Chip. I’d like you to analyze the ending team much like you did at the beginning of the year. The infield, outfield, starting pitchers, bullpen, coaches, and anything I missed out on. You could grade the players and what you think should happen for next season, and even more so, what you think will happen. That should keep us all on our toes for a few weeks.
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That’s an excellent idea!
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Every body here is right when it comes to Conger.
For what ever reason he was a terrible catcher this year. The problem ( as I see it ) is why was he in the lineup for days while we were playing some of the most important games of the season? Not like we didn’t have a perfectly good catcher sitting on the bench. Hinch, a former catcher, should have seen this immediately and corrected it.
That’s the big mystery going forward. Why use bad players when you have other options.
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Hinch is told who to play…..and Duffy and Stassi were really only “invited” up to the big club at the end of THEIR season. Just an invite…..not really to fill in, or we would have seen both of them play more than one inning.
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In other words, you can come to the party but your not allowed to participate in the fun and games and you must sit in the corner and be seen but not heard. Speak only when spoken to.
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Becky, I agree. But why drives me crazy. Did they not want to win or just plain stubbornness?
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I’ve been reading about offering Rasmus a qualifying offer of $15+ million for 2016.
ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME.? I can see Luhnow offering him a 2yr. $10 mill. But he won’t take that. As much as I like his bat…..and the clubhouse puts up with his weird personality, he aint worth $15mill. It’s gonna be interesting to see how this off season shakes out….Luhnow has a LOT to think about with if he’s gonna sign any of the free agents we had.
Tony Sipp?
Kazmir?
Rasmus?
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Wait…was he offered $15 million, or was that just a suggestion someone made? I like Rasmus a lot, but no way is he worth that.
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That would be his qualifying offer, because of his strong play this year, AND he signed for half that last year. He signed a $8mill contract for 2015. Nope, he’s not worth double that.
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I read about the possible QO to Rasmus in Heyman’s column. He felt the Astros won’t give him the QO. It would be a gamble, but I think he is looking for a multi-year contract and would probably reject the QO, which would give the Astros draft pick consideration if he signed elsewhere. I’m hoping the Astros do give him a QO. Yes, it’s a risk, but even if he accepts it is only for one year and I can think of worse things than having Colby Rasmus as our LFer next year. For me, it’s a risk I’m willing to take for the possible sandwich pick the Astros would get if he signed elsewhere.
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Oh, forgot to mention Nate Lucero head athletic trainer won’t be coming back…..
I smell a bad ending here, I don’t think he had a very good relationship with the FO.
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Becky, do you think that all is not well in “Club Astro”?
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Not sure OP, but something doesn’t add up here. Nate as been with the Astros for a looong time, and unless he was retiring….I can’t see him leaving. Who knows, nothing this club does supriseses me any more. The trainers are sooo important to the players, and they really gain the confidence of the player. Doesn’t sound good does it.
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Could it be because of the dropped pension plan? I can see a lot of personnel leaving over that.
Don’t know who that type answers to, but I get the impression nobody likes Luhnow.
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Just remember that this is a business to Crane and company. It’s ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. Everything else including winning is just a sidebar to the prime objective. If 40 plus years in the corporate world has taught me anything it’s that there are only about 5% (if that many) businesses that really give a hoot and holler about what others think. Most of those in corporate America would sell their first born if they thought it would enrich themselves further. Maybe that’s too cynical but I have rarely seen those who will do the right thing as opposed to self preservation. We hear stories about the self sacrifice of our brave military men who have done just that (God Bless Them All). How often do you hear stories of corporate business leaders, their underlings, and even the everyday employee sacrificing their principles for what is right. I can’t tell you how many times I heard employees and managers say, “I’m going to do what ever it takes to succeed”. In other words, I’ll lie, cheat, and steal to get there. Take this anyway you want to but that’s how I feel. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Hey I still love my Astros!
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Tim and others, with the release of Hoes and Hader in Mississippi or someplace, has enough time passed for us to declare the Bud Norris trade a washout for both teams?
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In terms of WAR it is a wash with Norris and Hoes delivering within 0.1 WAR of each other. With Norris’s salary, that is a small win for Houston because his salary was the big reason for the trade.
Houston got some value for Hader in the Hader trade, so that is a small win, because Norris got released.
The Astros still have a chance to get a big win out of this because they got the draft pick to acquire Derek Fisher, who will move up to AA next spring, if he is still with the club. The Os got an international draft slot out of the trade, which means they got some money to go towards signing a youngster from outside the country.
Fisher is the key to a win, right now it’s close to a wash.
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Probably, but don’t forget Hader was a part of the package to get Gomez so we may need to give it more time.
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Tyler White was 1-4 for Estrellas yesterday. His hit was a 2B off former major leaguer Josh Leuke, who got a save. White played the entire game at 1B. Jake Buchanan was the winning pitcher for the Toros, throwing two innings and allowing a walk. Buchanan went in in the fourth inning in relief of former Astros pitcher, Rudy Owens. Big hitters in that game for the Toros were Brian Bogusevic and Delmon Young.
Fascinating stuff.
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Who caught for the Astros in that game? Just wondering if it was Heineman.
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Nobody from the Astros. These teams are made up of players from everywhere and can sign players from anywhere who have permission from their MLB team to play in the winter.
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Tim, sorry I didn’t see your question above. OP explained it much better than I could but let me try to give some insight as to where I was coming from.
The mess, as I see it, relates to how some of these trades and fee agent signings hamper our future.
If you have guys like Gattis, Conger, Carter, Feldman, Fields, and others. taking up spots on the 25 man roster, yet not contributing, it not only hurts the present but blocks a Duffy, Stassi, White, etc. from getting a chance in the future.
Some of these guys will hopefully not be back next year. But some will still be on the payroll. Doesn’t that hinder the team next year? Having a great minor league system won’t help if they’re stuck on the farm.
As for this year, sure they did a great job, but look past April. The rest of the season was mediocre.
Also, look at the rest of our division and how bad they started out compared to the Astros. The Rangers were in last place at the beginning of the year. They got their act together and won the division in spite of our CY and ROY candidates.
I can’t think of a trade that’s benefited this team long term. But I can name quite a few that’s hurt.
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Sandy, I would like to point out that Fields had a decent year for the Astros. If I’m going to use stats to evaluate Gattis, then I have to be fair and use stats to evaluate others, too and the numbers say Fields contributed He just did not seem to be a playoff pitcher in the postseason.
As far as trades are concerned Marisnick, who wasn’t the main piece in the Cosart trade, has turned that trade into a winner as of now with a tad of WAR he accumulated this year..
Carter has contributed a decent WAR over three years, almost equal to what the A’s got out of Lowrie. but Stassi and Peacock still could turn that trade into a win. If Luhnow hadn’t blown the Conger trade, Stassi might actually have contributed more, because Stassi might actually been a backup catcher this year.
Let’s face it, the Astros know as much about finding catchers as they do about relief pitchers, first baseman and designated hitters.
When you look at the Astros outfielders for the near future, the picture is not beautiful, it’s just OK. They have Springer, Marisnick, Tucker, Grossman, and one year of Gomez left on their roster. They have only one OF on their AAA roster, Aplin, who is Rule 5 eligible, and they have four listed on their AA roster, none of whom are ready but two are rule 5 eligible. I have to consider Rasmus as a FA because the day after the World Series ends, he most certainly will be.
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OP, amongst my rambling, I guess my point is, I don’t see them adding much more payroll unless we can get rid of some of these bad trades. If they can replace Gattis and Conger, upgrade first, third, and Catcher I would feel very optimistic going forward. I don’t feel like the Gomez trade was an upgrade over Marisnick, but now we’ve added him to the payroll. Working in accounting for 40 years, I’m always looking at the bottom line.
I really appreciate your knowledge of the minors. I’ve relied on this blog to keep me somewhat up to date so I’m sorta lagging behind. The upcoming pitching still looks good but what about position players. We probably are done ( at least for awhile) with top draft picks.
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Of course, we still have Tony Kemp and Jon Kemmer. And who knows what we have – or when we will have it – in Danry Vasquez.
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Bill, I did miss Kemp because he is listed on their roster as an infielder. So that makes one more than I listed.
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You’re right Stassi will be a backup catcher next year………just not for the Astros.
I know I sound cynical, but if this organization thought that highly of Stassi, we would have never seen the trade for Conger. I will bet you a dollar, Max Stassi will be traded in the off season.
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Sandy,
I respect everyone’s opinion, but I must respectfully disagree about Gomez not being an upgrade over Marisnick. I like what Jake can do for us, but he will never be the player Gomez is now or in the near future. Gomez battled injuries this entire year, but when healthy, he is a significant upgrade from Marisnick. I think the vast majority of baseball fans won’t dispute this.
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I appreciate your response and, as always, respect your opinion. However, none of the trades or free agent signings are long-term, team salary killers. Even Feldman and Lowrie were signed to front-loaded, 3-year contracts making both players easily tradeable. Carter and Gattis are arb eligible so we could decide to non-tender them or trade them. I’m not a big Gattis fan, but he would be easy to trade with his low salary. There is a market for him because of his power. Thus, none of Luhnow’s trades or free agent signings have hamstrung this team or blocked anyone in the minors. The Astros have a very low payroll, depth in the farm system and young core players on the major league team. They are in a very good position to improve the team. There are not a mess like the Angels who have high salaried, aging veterans and a very weak farm system. They will be the Phillies of 2014 or the Astros of 2010 in a few years. That team is a mess.
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Let me also add the Astros had a +111 run differential. This was the 3rd best in baseball and 2nd best in the A.L. Luhnow is doing something right with that large of a run differential.
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I still hate the DH. I guess I’m a Baseball purist. I also think that Rasmus will not be here next year. Looking for a 15MM multiyear deal doesn’t fit in with the “plan”. Here’s a point given we got to the playoffs this year. Anything less than a return will be considered a bad year. We’ve raised the bar so to speak.
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I like Colby Rasmus a lot. He totally won me over this year. But let’s face the hard facts. Colby is not going to make the difference we need to get over the hump next year. He’ll just be more of the same, at best. We need improvement, not maintaining the status quo. So I hope we give Tony Kemp a chance to play LF [perhaps platooning with JFSF] and lead off. Because we need a real lead off hitter who can take a BB as well as get hits, and who is still a base-stealing threat, and we need to move either Springer or Correa down into the clean-up position to increase our top-of-the-lineup run producing potential. Of course, we need some other changes – a DH that gets us 100 RBIs or more and a 1B/3B combo that gets us 150 RBIS no less than 55-60 HRs between them, and none of which are anywhere near either the Mendoza line in BA or the top ten in the league in strikeouts. But it has to start at the beginning – and for me, that’s Tony Kemp in left field and leading off.
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And try to keep Altuve from swinging for the Crawford Boxes on his first swing.
I can’t count how any times Altuve swung at the first pitch, and grounded out, or popped out in the post season. He has GOT to learn how to take the first pitch!!
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I really like Tony Kemp and feel the Astros need to find a spot for him to see what they have, but, and I realize this is not what you said, if the only change is Kemp for Rasmus then the Astros are a worse team next season. At this time Rasmus is an upgrade from Kemp. If the Astros decide to give the LF job to Kemp then they must upgrade other positions, like 1B and 3B, to account for the lesser player in LF.
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I have a good subject to start some conversations:
Let’s grade our team for this year, giving A’s-B’S ect…
But you have to back up your grade with stats, not how much you do, or do not like the guy!
Dan?
Brian?
Chip?
Anybody?
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I’m sure we will get to it. It’s a long winter.
But not as long as last winter.
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If you really like Bill Brown in the both, you might be disappointed next year. The FO will have a meeting with him in Nov to let him know if he’ll be back. As you know I’m no fan of Jaime Hildreth, and he and I have been emailing one another a lot over the last two years. I guess I’ll just have to shoot him another ” CLASSY” one about this news, and keeping Steve Sparks on the radio. UGH!!!!
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I thought Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies were a perfect match on the TV broadcasts. I really miss JD, but I hope Brown returns.
I’m not a huge Ashby fan, but I really like Blum and think he partners well with Ashby. I’m fine with keeping both of them, but keep them together. Finally, I agree with Becky that Steve Sparks is very bland on the radio and I would be fine if they found a replacement for him.
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I’m not a huge fan of Brown but not a hater either. I did enjoy the road trips with Ashby and Blum. They may not be the most professional but I liked em
Any chance you get them on tv in your area?
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