Isn't Boone 0-for-? as well? Abercrombie, Michaels and Maysonet all got hurt physically today in addition to the collective beating the players' pride has been taking recently.
It's getting a little ridiculous right now. I know it's Spring. I know Roy and Carlos aren't around. I know Lance is only playing every other day and no road games. That's no reason to get destroyed every time out. 5-1 today. 13-0 yesterday. I don't care about their record but at least be competitive.
I'm all for signing Pudge Rodriguez. Jeez, Astros have got to do something to add to the ballclub or this season could be disastrous. No pudge...err pun intended . Our pitching rotation 3-5 has a shot at being the worst in baseball.
I think Wandy is pretty good when healthy. At least at home. Much better than those other has-beens and no names that potentially comprise 3-5.
I agree Wandy is okay when he's healthy but I don't see him as a #2 for multiple reasons and I don't see his place as the #2 preventing our 2-5 from being potentially the worst in baseball as opposed to just the 3-5 as you stated. Wandy has pitched over 140 innings just once in his career. There is nothing impressive in his results at this level (ERA, WHIP, HRs allowed, OPP AVG, etc...). It's always glimpses and potential with him and he's over 30-years-old now. And I always worry about his mental fortitude after he gives up a couple of hits, especially in the middle innings. I just don't see Wandy as a legit 2 given all those factors. I don't think it would be wrong to argue he is still a 4 or 5 quality SP even though I'm sure somebody will say he's at least a 3 despite the fact that there is little evidence to support it. Sure, he may be a 2 or 3 on this club but that doesn't say much about Wandy or this team.
Honestly, does it matter? He made Florida better. He made Detroit better. If there were clubhouse issues, it certainly didn't prevent them from winning on the field.
On an average pitching staff, a #3 pitcher should be about a league average pitcher. Wandy's ERA last year was well below league average (3.54) and he was basically league average the previous year (4.58). He's also dropped his ERA by about 1.00 each of the last two years. For comparison purposes, his ERA last year was identical to Roy Oswalt, and his strikeout rate was noticably better (his WHIP was noticably worse, however). So last year was more performance than just potential. Health is certainly an issue, but I think he's no worse than a #3 on a reasonable pitching staff when healthy.
I guess I was wrong. Wandy could be our #3 but it's pushing it to consider him a legit #2, which is looking like what he'll be, assuming his most recent injury doesn't hold him back too much this season. Back to the Pudge thing... There doesn't seem to be any good financial justification for not signing him since we could unload a couple of non-guaranteed contracts (according to rikesh on the previous page). There also doesn't seem to be any legitimate concerns about him ruining team chemistry based on how much Pudge has helped some of the teams he played for in the past. If the Tejada drama didn't break team spirit last season, I don't see anything Pudge could do that would be a problem. This team has a good foundation of veterans to prevent anything like that from happening. It sounds like Pudge would be willing to take a 1-year contract for a reasonable sum just to have the chance to play. He has the same passion for the game as Tejada, who despite all the issues surrounding him and the poor numbers still went out and competed at a high level every night. I love having those kind of players on any team I support, especially when they are also good players like Miggy and Pudge. We would still be left with question marks at 3B, CF and in our starting rotation but at least we'd be a step closer without having to give up anything or increase payroll, right?
are we? you think it's likely that luis palmisano, humberto quintero, and j.r. towle's hitless springs are likely a fluke, and they are all actually great hitters and better than pudge? come on dude. i was "judging" these hitters well before the spring started. it didn't take putrid spring starts for me to know that any of the 3 of them would be the worst starting catcher in major league baseball, and that a 17 time all star would be an astronomical upgrade for us. signing pudge is a no-brainer. unfortunately, we have an owner with no brains.
We could always look at their career numbers if you like. For starters, career batting averages: Pudge .301 Quintero .230 Towles 1.88 No matter which way you look at it, our offensive production from the catcher spot would improve massively if we signed Pudge. Fact. Period. And it's cheap. What are we waiting for?
actually i wasn't thinking about the catchers when i wrote that. and as long as pudge is cheap cheap cheap, i'd be for signing him. having said that, i don't think i can judge towles (for instance) on 10 spring at bats. he could have had A-Rod numbers last season, and 10 spring at bats would be worthless. the flip is true, too. he may be an improved hitter from when we saw him last...and these 10 at bats (particularly since we can only see them in a box score and not in person -- and the chronicle doesn't employ writers who know how to judge a plate appearance to describe it to us) don't tell me one way or the other. if we're going to discount Pudge's .212 average with the Yankees saying, "it was just a few months" then how can we possibly give such concern to 10 spring at bats for the other guys? beyond that...i hear a lot of praise for Johnson at 3B and for the 2B behind Kaz (blanking on his name) because they're batting around .400. I can't imagine either has more than than 20 at bats so far. I hope these guys are the real deal and would love to see an injection of some good young talent.....but spring training gets so overblown....in both directions.
I think Pudge's numbers in 2009 are more likely to be closer to Quintero's career averages than his own career averages. Career averages for guys in their final years...particularly when they start to show signs of falling off...aren't very telling. I'm guessing none of you honestly believe Pudge will throw up a .301 this season. I'm guessing you understand that there are 30 GM's out there who wouldn't miss on him if any of them thought that was possible....particularly given the idea that you're all convinced he'll sign for dirt cheap. I'm all for signing Pudge, provided it's reasonable. But I don't expect him to come in here or anywhere else and hit very much. And if Quintero can bat .230, honestly I don't expect Pudge hit more than about .250...roughly 2 more hits every 100 at bats. And if any of the concerns about Pudge behind the plate are true (as we've discussed here before) then that really starts to marginalize his value. You're paying for his name and what he once was for another team...not for what he will be for yours.
He batted 0.279 for the season though (0.295 for Detroit). He certainly may regress to 0.250, but it's worth noting that in his 17 year career, his lowest BA ever is 0.260, and that was his second year in the league. Since 1993, he's never been under 0.270. His Detroit numbers last year showed no declines from the previous few years (except in power numbers) - his OBP and AVG were right at his career averages (0.338 and 0.295). The NYY games seem more like a fluke than anything else.
I hear ya....but the Astros aren't the only team in the league who still hasn't signed this guy. They're not the only team in the league with need at C and still avoiding Pudge.
This is what some people here fail to understand when they talk about how smart they are and how stupid the actual baseball people for the Astros are. Things that make ya say DUH!
