Astros Baseball

Brad Radke needs to be saved from the Twins. He would be able to win 20+ with the astros and give the stros a top flite rotation. Reynolds, Lima, Radke, Elarton, and Dotel. Maybe not the Cy Young guys of the Braves, but are younger.

Ward and/or Berkman will be in the lineup this year. 5 outfielders are one to many.

Bogar isn't solid enough to be an everyday SS. Everitt better be f$@#% good in the future.

I like the bench with spiers and R Johnson. The Pen??Wags, wade Miller? Henry?

 

Maybe it's the new stadium, but I haven't been this excited about a baseball season ever.

I like the addition of Cedeno and getting Alou back.

Our pen is great with Cabrera, Henry, Powell, and Wagner.

I'm also very excited about Dotel and Elarton (when he comes back). I've got a feeling we're going to see a 1996 Doc Gooden show (God I wish, just as long as he's not hanging out with Strawberry).

I'm predicting a World Series trip, but no championship.

 

This Astros Team will be awesome if the pitching holds up. The only real weakness is that Bogar should not be starting. That's a given. I think it will take about three weeks for Dirk to figure that out. Spiers should be playing shortstop. Bogar just limits the lineup too much.

 

I'M NOT A BASEBALL GUY, SO GO EASY ON ME:

You all seem so excited about the Astros chances this year, one of you predicting a World Series appearance. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't our lineup ALOT weaker this season with the losses of Hampton and Everitt? Aren't we now underdogs in our own division with the Reds' addition of Griffey?

We lost a Cy-Young candidate and our second most consistent hitter, gaining prospects and Roger Cedeno...isn't that a bad thing?

Also, can you guys sort of compare the Astros in baseball in terms of basketball? Are we an up-and coming team (Raptors/Rockets/Twolves), are we a top-flight contender (Blazers/Lakers), does everyone think we're done (Jazz), or are we just pretty good (Seattle/Phoenix)?

What about our batting lineup? With the loss of Everitt, is it still the best in the league? I know last year our pitching staff was probably only second to that of the Braves...where does it stand now with the loss of Hampton?

If anyone could answer these questions, I would appreciate it. I am trying to learn a bit more about MLB.

 

Cabbage...

The way I see it is as follows.

The Astros have been a top pitching team for a few years. But the Loss of Hampy is a huge one. Lima now is our projected number one. And quite honestly this puts a little fear in me. Lima gives up gopher balls at an astounding rate, and thats in the Astro dome, which usually gives up about 40 percent less homers than other ball parks. I believe Bagwell had 33 of his 42 dongs on the road last year! Should give you an idea of how hard it is to give up dongs in the dome. Now with the team moving to Enron field, with the dimensions favoring righ handed hitters down the line, Lima may get roughed up. Shane Reynolds as I commented on in another post is in dire need of a 3rd quality pitch. His bread and butter is a fast ball, splitter combo. Problem is that his fast ball is now maxing out at about 88 MPH, and his splitter is finally being caught on to. A Slider or an off spead pitch would do wonders for him.

Add the fact that the Stro's aren't sure how Elarton is going to come back (or when) to the starting lineup. Best case scenario is that Dotel, gets a handle on his era, and walks. Elarton has his break out season, Lima time gets a little more hop on his fastball, and Shane picks up a decent 3rd pitch. Maybe the Stro's wont have a bad year from their starters. I seen enough of Chris Holt to say, enough with the excuses as to why this guy still has a job. I believe he is something like 8-25 the last two seasons he's pitched. Thats with an explosive Astros lineup, and pitching in the Dome. Im willing to give him one more shot at solidifying a starters spot. But if 3-5 weeks into the season he's at his familiar 1-5 then I say its bullpen time. Not sure though. He tends to get shelled in the first two innings of an outing.

The stadium could seriously wreck havoc on the Astro's starters.

Relievers...Billy Wagner is all they'll need. The man is a dynamo. I hope that that second pitch (a slider) he's worked on last year finally gets utilized this year. I have this feeling that eventually good hitters are going to catch up to his fastball or nothing mentality. Maybe maybe not. Middle relief is a concern. Jay Powell looked horrible last year. The Astros are going to need more from him to compete this year. Doug Henry, started to show signs of aging. But looked outstanding in the playoffs. Im willing to bet he gets it together this year. I love the kid though. Cabrera looked outstanding last year. I hope he keeps it up...if so, he could the the solution at middle relief.

Hitting...I thought the Everett deal was a horrible deal. You never give up youth and proven talent (with the ability to get better) for a maybe prospect. Everett was the Rox best overall hitter last year. And was the only protection Bagwell had against getting walked 7 times a game. But I believe that Alou can be even better. If Alou produces like he did 2 years ago, many will forget about Everett. I think that this will happen also. Biggio is getting to the point in his career when age is finally going to start dwindling his productivity. He still has a good 2 years left in him, but don't expect Biggio type numbers this year, even with the new more hitter friendly ball park. Bagwell will be Bawell. I expect at least a 50 dong season from enron field. Cammy is going to be key. He just broke his back in a hunting accident, and it will go on the list of many ailments for Cammy. He struggled for the season, but was the only hitter to show up in the playoffs. He needs to have a solid season for the Astros, and Im not sure if he has it left in him anymore.

All in all, I believe that Alou (who didn't play an inning last year) can make up for losing Everett. I think pitching will be middle of the road, instead of its usual dominating self. I do believe that Middle relief, with the addition of a few lively arms (NO MORE BRIAN WILLIAMS) could be strong point. There are alot of ifs with the Astro's this year.

But I still believe they are the most talented team in Their division top to bottom. But age may finally start to be a factor in Houston.

I forsee about 90 wins and a playoff birth.

I think the Reds will come back down to Earth (Even with Griffey) and grab about 85 wins. I think that the Cards grabbed some decent pitching (finally) and could make some noise if Drew, and Tatis can have solid years for the whole season. They could steal the division if everything goes right.

The Astros have alot of ifs, but so does everyone else. Heck, I see alot of holes in the Braves, and Mets also.

 

Dreamshake:

That's a nice insight. Unbelieveably, on my digital TV over here, I can get two live NHL games a week, 4-5 MLB games, 2 NFL games, and just crappy hour-long highlights of two NBA games. 'Cos of this, I've been watching a bit of the baseball, and I have to say I really enjoy it. Obviously, it's like, "pick a team, any team", when choosing who to support, but since I was a Rockets fan (because of Hakeem), I followed the Astros results for the last couple of years, watching them when they're featured on the TV. The one thing that I'm not 100% sure about is the types of pitches. Some of the names are self-explanatory, but it's a bit confusing. I'd appreciate a run-down, or a point in the right direction to a website that'd help out. I've got all the stats down now (ERA, Slugging pct., and so on) so I think I'm doing OK.

 

Great post Dreamshake. While we disagree on the merits of the two trades, we do agree on everything else.

Alou has a great history of coming back strong after an injury, so I too believe he'll replace Everett. I think they did the Red Sox deal because A) they didn't realize that the Mets would take Bell, and B) they've wanted Adam Everett for a long time. Apparantly he could be the SS we've been wanting since Thon got nailed in the eye.

Did you hear that Wagner has also developed a changeup? All I can say is this guy is amazing. I can't wait until the top of the ninth against the Reds. Two outs. We're up by one, bases loaded. The Kid vs. Junior.

Three straight strikes.

 

RM95...my god, how devistating would Wagner be if he got even a decent changeup and used it efficiently? He'd be a Randy Johnson coming out of the pen.

My concerns with the Stro's for the upcoming season are.

1. Age. Bagwell, Biggio, Alou, and especially Cammy cant keep producing forever.

2. Starting pitching. It might get rough if Enron field is the hitters delight that most are claiming.

3. Production at the bottom of the lineup. Tony did what he could last year, which wasn't a whole lot of anything. Mitch struggled for the 2 weeks he was starting before he got injured so he still isn't used to Major league pitching. I forsee some struggles from him. At short stop, appearantly its going to be Bogar's job. I don't feel comfy with him having the reins for the year. He has less range than Guitty, and even less pop in his bat. Id rather go with Billy Spiers, or Russ Johnson, or even Adam Everett if he starts to learn to hit the ball better.

What I think will push the Stro's above the rest in the division

1. Experience. Bagwell, Biggio, Alou, Cammy, Reynolds, Lima, Wagner, and Powell. Are all key players at key spots who have at least 2 years of playoff experience to draw from.

2. Relief. Have a lead, keep a lead when Wagner is handed the ball.

3. Offensive explosion. With the new field, Bagwell, Alou, Cammy, Hidalgo could all have career years with the long ball. Biggio is a hitter who might struggle. He is used to very little power, and many, many astro-turf assisted doubles. Supposedly Dierker is still going to hit him 1st. Why? If Cedeno can hit .300 again and grab 70 steals, why wouldn't he be leading off? Just doesn't make sense.

4. Some young lively starters could make their mark. Dotel, and Elarton might just wind up being the Stro's 1 and 2 starters by the time the seasons over.

 

The Astros are lot like the New York Knicks. We lost one of our best players last year in Moises Alou (Ewing) and still won the division. This year Alou is returning to the line-up as a big question mark and could push us over the top. Bagwell is a lot like Sprewell in that he's a heavy hitter, but tends to "choke" in the playoffs. I hate that I compared him to Sprewell, but hey, I thought it was funny. Biggio is like Allan Houston in that he quietly puts up some big numbers and set's the table. Our Pitching Staff has two cy young candidates in Reynolds and Lima. Lima is a lot like Larry Johnson. He puts up numbers and talks the whole time he's doing it, but he also tends to give up a lot of homeruns so he can't be considered the best pitcher in the league. Reynolds reminds me of Camby in that he's also a possible All star...who shows up every other game. Wagner is the man. If NY had Jordan then Wagner could be compared to him. Dieker is just like the Knicks Coach. He looks a little funny, but get's the job done when it counts. And he'll go to the mat for you in you mess with his players. In Summary, we have the talent to go a long way in the playoffs, but we have a lot of question marks as we head into the season. The knicks are the same way.

 

thacabbage,

Its hard to compare the astros to Basketball teams. Here is my best try.

Biggio and Bagwell are like Malone and Stockton. They have problems in the post season. But the stros as a hole aren't like the Jazz.

Alou(A ring and should off been WS MVP) and Cammy are like Olajuwon(2 rings) and Barkley...good when they are healthy, but healthy is a question mark.

Ward(of-1B), Berkman(OF-1B), wags, hidalgo(OF), Elarton(SP), Dotel(SP), cedeno(OF), Melusky (C) are all young players still getting better. These players have more young talent than the rebuilding teams. They all have allstar potential. Cedeno is one of the better leadoff hitters (Biggio being the best). Adam Everitt and Wade Miller are like lottery draft picks.

If Biggio, Bagwell, Alou, and Cammy stay healthy, the experience Ward and Berkman got last year will help them improve the astros instead of filling holes vacated by allstars.

 

Guys look at the NEW JEFF BAGWELL!
www.astrosconnection.com

[This message has been edited by Francis3 (edited February 25, 2000).]