[ESPN.COM's Jayson Stark] Players who have cleared waivers and players who can't

Not a single Astro on either list ......... is this a good thing or a bad thing ?

 

What is the middle ground? Limbo.

 

Notice that Griffey Jr. was the only true outfielder available? I wouldn't mind having him, but I'm sure Drayton doesn't want that contract.

 

I personally think that Drayton just wrote this year off once we lost Beltran. It's a pleasant surprise that the Astros are leading the wild card this late in the year, but I don't think that changes Drayton's game plan.

The problem with that mentality is that I don't really see this team getting better next season. Rocket and Biggio will be a year older. Willy will no doubt improve, but I don't know if you can say that about anyone else on the roster. The prospects we have in the pipeline either aren't overwhelming or are too far away. And are there any offseason FA hitters that could really help this team? Johnny Damon? How much would he cost?

 

You say that Taveras will "no doubt" improve. What about Lane? Burke? Also, I expect Berkman to have a much better season next year. I expect Rodriguez, Astacio and Backe to also be better.

 

yeah great.... FOR NEXT SEASON. plus, Taveras and Lane have shown potential, Burke has not.

i think with and addition of a decent bat in the 5 spot (OF of course), we could make some noise this year. we have to do something....

spare me the "next season" crap for the offseason.

 

I don't know why you expect those pitchers to be better. Anyway, pitching isn't this team's problem.

I think Lane is too old to improve that much. Burke will improve, but still, he's a middle infielder playing out of position. He's never going to provide the kind of offense that you need from a leftfielder - no one expects him to hit like that.

Berkman will be better too, but he and Ensberg (assuming no drop off from Morgan) still won't be enough to carry the club. It's wrong to put the whole offensive load on their shoulders because one of them could always get injured - the the beginning of this season for an example.

This team needs to upgrade offensively in leftfield at the very least.

 

If you take note, I was responding to a poster who was writing about next season. I was questioning as to why Taveras was the only player who (in his mind) would improve.

 

Why wouldn't you expect those pitchers to get better? Pitching is still a major concern of this team. When you start 2 rookies in the everyday rotation, pitching is always a concern. In addition, Backe is essentially a rookie starter. The Astros have 5 reliable pitchers (in other words, for the most part when Clemens, Pettite, Oswalt, Wheeler and Lidge are in the game, most fans are comfortable). They need more. Hopefully, Rodriguez and Astacio will continue to improve and become reliable as well.

 

I'm not sure that I buy into the idea that Backe is a rookie, especially with his playoff experience.

No offense, but I think you're nuts if you believe that both Wandy and Zeke will be better next year. Wandy hasn't shown us much of anything. And while Zeke does have a great arm, it looks like he has Tim Redding's Disease.

I stand by my assertion that this team doesn't improve next year unless they get a leftfielder who hits better than Lane.

 

Astacio has improved dramatically THIS season. It is reasonable to assume he will continue to improve (9.00+ ERA before the all star game, 3.62 after in roughly the same number of innings). Rodriguez. has gone from a 7.00+ ERA (pre all-star) to 4.50 (post all-star). With continued experience should come continued improvement. No offense, but I think you are nuts if you believe they are as good right now as they are going to be next year.

Prior to this season, Backe started a total of 9 regular season games. In essence, this year, he is still a rookie starter.

Tell me what you think of the monthly stats for this player:

Month 1 - .285 average, .887 OPS
Month 2 - .259 average, .955 OPS
Month 3 - .317 average, .868 OPS
Month 4 - .362 average, 1.062 OPS

 

Nice bogus stats. These are the correct stats.

Month 1 - .295 average, .887 OPS
Month 2 - .118 average, .366 OPS
Month 3 - .259 average, .955 OPS
Month 4 - .317 average, .868 OPS
Month 5 - .362 average, 1.062 OPS

 

Ha! Love how you put up Lane's stats, not including his missing month of May when he fell off the face of the earth - that gap hurts your theory of a steady climb on his part. Just goes to show that you can prove anything by picking and choosing statistics.

Lane's going to have his ups and downs just like any other player - as such, I'm not into looking at 3 and 4 month trends, then using that to predict improvement next year. Anyway, I don't know what your point is - I never said that Lane can't be a decent major league starter. He'll just never be a star out there, which means that you need more pop at another position, like leftfield.

The same goes for Wandy and Zeke - you can show me a sample of stats that says they've gone from awful to mediocre in the short term, but you can't seriously argue that both will significantly improve next year based on that alone. I still say it's 50-50 whether Zeke gets better. And I would be surprised if Wandy is on the 40 man roster after the 2006 season is over - I don't see how he's any better than Donne Wall, Jeriome Robertson, or Kirk Saarloos.

Sorry, but Lane, Burke, Zeke, and Wandy won't take this team to the World Series - this year or next. They're good pieces, but they won't improve that much. Another hitter is needed from outside the organization.

 

They are not bogus. Lane's stats show that he has had one horrible month this year. Other than that his numbers have been solid to excellent. Take out that one month and he is hitting .300 with a .584 SLG and around .920 OPS. Given that, the one month appears to be an aberration.

There is nothing wrong with Jason Lane's production since June 1 and he will most likely continue to approach being the hitter he has been MOST of the year than the hitter he was for that horrible May. In short, the Astros do not need to replace Jason Lane as Furious Jam suggested. They definitely need an outfield or first base bat (both this year and in the future), but it doesn't need to be at Lane's expense.

 

I never wrote where any of those players would take the team to the world series. I was attempting to counter your argument that Taveras was the ONLY player on this current team that you thought would improve next season.

My whole argument is that most (if not all) of the young players on this team will show improvement next season barring injury.

I find it interresting that you don't see how both Astacio and Rodriguez have shown marked improvement from early in the year. Both players pitched in AA last season and are thrust into major roles on a pennant contending team. In essence, the more they pitch, the better they have been.

 

Wow, so based on a half-season of major league experience, you think all of these players have peaked? How many rookies DON'T improve in their 2nd year of playing in the majors?

 

There's nothing in any of my posts that says Lane needs to be replaced.

The only thing I've said is that Lane's average and, at his age, probably won't get much better. I'm fine with Lane out in RF, but he's not so great that he lifts our outfield's production overall. If you're going to keep him out there and be a contender, you'll need more from leftfield than you're getting right now.

 

Sorry, I guess I misread this:

"I stand by my assertion that this team doesn't improve next year unless they get a leftfielder who hits better than Lane."