A good move to not have this as a distraction...I think he's worth it... Ensberg Feb. 3, 2006, 2:32PM Astros, Ensberg agree to 1-year, $3.8-million deal By BRIAN McTAGGART Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle The Astros and All-Star third baseman Morgan Ensberg reached a one-year, $3.8-million contract agreement today, avoiding arbitration.Ensberg, 30, had a breakout season last year in helping the Astros to the World Series, hitting .283 with career highs of 36 home runs and 101 RBIs. He was named the team's Most Valuable Player by the Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association. Ensberg had asked for $4.2 million in arbitration, and the Astros countered with an offer of $3.4 million. Both sides were able to meet in the middle. The signing of Ensberg leaves the Astros with no pending arbitration cases. The club hasn't had a case go to arbitration since 1997.
"biggest asset." For sure, the runs he costs you offensively is a consideration. I'm simply saying that his defense will save you the same number of runs whether you're an offensive powerhouse or a team like the Astros - nothing more. Burke may indeed be a better option.
Heck no. You do not trade a gold glove caliber SS, period, unless you acquire Miguel Tejada or one heck of a hitter at the position. Burke is not that hitter. If you people would like to piss off the entire pitching staff and make the team worse be my guest. Defense at SS is critical to being a great pitching staff. Furthermore, you are also underestimating the offense badly. Biggio-Berkman-Ensberg-Wilson-Lane is a lot better than you give it credit for. They struggled to score runs because they missed Lance for 2 months last year and then they got him back and they had no decent Bagwell replacement. Those two things are different this year. And that makes a huge difference.
And bemoaning the offensive production out of the 7-8 spots in the lineup - on a team that struggled terribly to get on base, especially at the top of the order (the real problem with the offense) - is the height of silliness.
Everett will not be traded. They are just trying to find ways to get Burke 300-400 AB's this season by making him a super-util. He will play all over the place this year. Best case scenario, he will be a RH Bill Spiers type.
Astros confident in offense for 2006 Berkman's health, addition of Wilson should prove beneficial By Alyson Footer / MLB.com HOUSTON -- When the postseason ended last year, most of the players who comprised the Astros' roster expressed their desire for the team to remain intact for 2006. Much to the chagrin of the majority of Astros fans, the club was indeed quiet over the winter, adding just a couple of chips to a team fresh off its first World Series appearance in franchise history. The addition of Preston Wilson, a proven RBI producer with solid power numbers, should give the Astros a boost in the offense department. But will it be enough to help a team that was shut out 17 times last year, falling six shy of the club record? The Astros may or may not benefit from the services of Jeff Bagwell, who intends to play this year, seemingly against the club's wishes. But even if he does play, it's unlikely that Bagwell would hit in the middle of the order. That burden will likely be placed on Lance Berkman, Morgan Ensberg and Wilson, with Jason Lane sliding into the six-hole as he enters what looks to be his second full season as regular starter. Much of the criticism toward last year's lineup focused on the wrong culprits. True, Adam Everett could have been better, Willy Taveras didn't do such a great job of moving runners up or getting on base via the walk and Brad Ausmus certainly had a poor first half. But had the middle of the order been better, it's unlikely that we would have been talking a lot about players who are here mainly for their defense. Last year, the heart of the order was in a bit of disarray. Berkman was unavailable for the first month of the season, and he was largely a non-factor in May as he attempted to play catch-up after missing the entire Spring Training season rehabbing his right knee. Ensberg started slowly, then burst onto the scene midseason, only to fall off in September after hurting his hand. And Lane, finally a starter after years of waiting, was streaky -- great at times, but too often unpredictable. Barring injuries, those issues should not resurface in any dramatic manner in 2006. It's safe to say that the Astros would not have sunk to 15-30 to start the season had Berkman been fully healthy and available at the start. Although Berkman will need some extra time to recover from his recent surgery to clean out scar tissue in his right knee, the Astros do not anticipate any major holdups as he prepares for the upcoming season. In fact, the surgery may have been a blessing, because Berkman should be more agile in the outfield. "The issue that he's having has really been resolved from the surgery," general manager Tim Purpura said. "He's got great extension now. By getting extension back 100 percent, he'll also be able to build his strength easier. I think he's now less of a liability from an injury point of view now than he would have been before." Ensberg, hampered by an elbow issue the year before, became the hitter the Astros anticipated last season, and they believe he's on an upward swing. He suffered a contusion last September, when he was hit by a pitch on his hand, which hurt him for the remainder of the season, but an offseason of rest should remedy that problem. Wilson's not sure which outfield spot he'll play, but he's guaranteed a starting spot, and the Astros expect numbers similar to those he put up last year, when he belted 25 homers and drove in 90 runs with the Rockies and Nationals. That leaves Lane, who, if productive, could be the one bat that gets the Astros over the proverbial hump. "One of our scouts during the World Series said that kid's going to hit 45 home runs in this league," Purpura said. "I hope it's soon. Clearly, he's got the ability. There's no doubt about it. It's a matter of comfort level and confidence level." The presence of Chris Burke and Eric Bruntlett on the bench should help, too, as both showed promise last year in abbreviated roles with several clutch hits. Both Purpura and manager Phil Garner have said many times that if they put the exact same team on the field as the one that played through the postseason last year, they have confidence that it would be a stronger offense than the one that couldn't figure out a way to score a single run for a third of Roger Clemens' starts. Purpura points to the playoff experience as an invaluable learning tool. "I see this team as an emerging team," Purpura said. "Last year, we felt that they had the talent, and they proved it. They do have the talent to compete. Now, it's a matter of them going out there and doing it again. "The confidence they've built, the roles that have been established ... I look at our biggest issue last year, production, and I think that's going to improve with an additional bat in our lineup." Especially now that this team knows how it feels to reach the pinnacle and fall short of the biggest payoff. "When we talked to players in the offseason, it's not about how great it was that we did what we did," Purpura said. "It was -- it was great we got there, but now we have to keep pushing and win this thing. They're not resting on the fact that they got to the World Series. They talk about how much they want to get back. "For a young team, that's invaluable to have had that experience. To play on that stage, how crazy it is with the media, it was a tremendous experience for a young player." Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...d=1309061&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou The season can't start soon enough.
At present, Sox, 'Stros not built to succeedBy Bob Klapisch Special to ESPN.com Archive Not a day goes by without another news alert from the Roger Clemens-watch -- which could be the difference between the U.S. prevailing or getting smoked in the World Baseball Classic. But the real intrigue begins in April (or May), which will impact the two 2005 playoff teams most in need of Clemens' fastball this summer. AP Photo Without Roger Clemens, the Astros are a likely a longshot to return to the postseason.Baseball executives speak with one voice when they say that without Clemens, the Astros are doomed as a wild-card entry, let alone finishing second in the National League Central. And those same industry voices are saying the Red Sox, still sorting through the residue of a frenetic offseason, won't win 95 games again unless they can pluck the Rocket from Houston before May 1. In fact, the Boston Globe says a face-to-face meeting between Clemens and Red Sox officials might already have taken place last week. With so much at stake, it's no wonder that Clemens' agents are fielding a steady stream of just-checking-in phone calls from GMs, including the Yankees' Brian Cashman. He all but revealed the team's courting strategy this week, saying, "Roger's got a great place in our history. It doesn't mean history can't continue to be written." Still, the Yankees know they're long shots in the Clemens vigil, which is why they're not exactly sweating the next two months. Cashman told reporters that "we have depth" in the starting rotation. Despite Randy Johnson's and Mike Mussina's advancing years, Yankee officials still believe their starters will be more dependable than Boston's. And for the Astros, GM Tim Purpura doesn't try to minimize the Rocket's imprint on the franchise, or what his loss would mean. In a recent radio interview, Purpura said, "Our goal is to get back to [the World Series], and it would certainly be easier with Roger on board." Here's the breakdown of the Red Sox's and Astros' potential trouble spots: Boston After so much reshuffling, the Red Sox like to think they're younger and more athletic than they were in 2005. But one American League executive said, "There are too many question marks for me to think they're better than the Yankees right now." First on the list of curiosities is how well-conditioned Curt Schilling will be. He gained weight after post-surgery rehab on his right ankle last year, which resulted in the highest hits-per-inning ratio of his career and a diminished fastball. Depending on who you believe, the 39-year-old Schilling is due for a bounce-back season or else is on a slow, insidious slide towards mediocrity -- not unlike Mussina's potential trend line. The Sox are just as hopeful (or anxious) about Josh Beckett, who has the chance to be a young Schilling -- or just Josh Beckett, who's won more than nine games just once in his career and whose ERA on the road last year was almost two runs higher than at Pro Player Stadium. There's a whispering campaign under way about Beckett's health, as well, focused on his right shoulder that's in rougher shape than anyone at Fenway is letting on. It's no secret that at least one Red Sox executive was ready to kill the Beckett trade with Florida after an MRI of the right-hander's shoulder revealed excessive wear and tear. Al Bello/Getty Images After being a World Series hero for the Red Sox in 2004, Keith Foulke suffered through an injury-plagued season in '05.However, the Yankees are fighting suggestions that Johnny Damon's shoulder is a mess, too. One rumor has it that Damon, who received a cortisone shot in his left shoulder last September, has been getting secretly treated all winter, although Cashman says, "That's news to me. He had to pass our physical, and he did." The Sox's list of concerns extends to Keith Foulke (how effective will he be after surgery on both knees?) and Mike Lowell (is he really just 32?) and Coco Crisp, who's better suited to play left field, not center. Alex Gonzalez is a far better defensive shortstop than Edgar Renteria, but the Braves' faith in Renteria -- admittedly fueled by Rafael Furcal's defection to the Dodgers -- will be worth watching. The good news for the Red Sox is that the Yankees, aside from Damon, are a slow and relatively unathletic team that has no choice but to engage in high-scoring games. Mussina and Johnson are older and not necessarily better than they were in 2005, and a completely new setup relief corps offers no clue as to whether Mariano Rivera will breathe any easier this summer. In fact, the Yankees will have to carry 12 pitchers because of lefty reliever Mike Myers' inability to retire right-handed hitters. That will leave just four players on the Yankees' bench: Bubba Crosby, Andy Phillips, Miguel Cairo and Kelly Stinnett. In the words of one scout, "[Joe] Torre better hope no one gets hurt." Houston The Astros were two different teams last year, losing 32 of 51 games in April and May, but winning 19 of 30 after September 1 en route to reaching the World Series. But not everyone was impressed. Nationals GM Jim Bowden told Florida Today, "I'm not sure they would have gotten into the playoffs as a wild card had the Phillies played the same schedule that [the Astros] had." Clearly, the Astros are pinning their hopes on Clemens' return. Other than adding Preston Wilson, the Astros, who were 11th in the National League in runs, haven't upgraded their offense. The Cardinals are the logical favorites in the Central Division, but second place could be anyone's prize, including the Cubs, who've added Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones as their Nos. 1 and 2 hitters. The two top spots in Chicago's lineup scored 173 runs last year, third fewest in the National League. Morgan Ensberg Third Base Houston Astros Profile 2005 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R OBP AVG 150 36 101 86 .388 .283 The Astros are hoping, of course, for Morgan Ensberg to hit the way he did before being struck by a pitch on his hand on Sept. 5, forcing him to miss the next 10 games. Ensberg set Houston franchise records for home runs (36) and RBI (101) by a third baseman in 2005, but he had just one homer in the playoffs. The Astros' offensive profile is further complicated by an ongoing dispute with Jeff Bagwell, who insists he will show up for spring training and not retire -- despite the Astros' attempt to recoup through insurance $15.6 million of the $17 million Bagwell will be owed this year. Purpura insists no one is trying to force Bagwell out of the game, nor is he being denied his money. But, ruefully, the GM also says Bagwell is "a mere glimpse of what he used to be." Of course, Clemens could fix all this. At the very least, he could give the Astros what they most desperately need for 2006: hope. Link
This article is absurd for several reasons. Clearly, he's referring to the difficulty of the NL East. Has that really changed? The Marlins will have a dropoff, but the Mets should be a lot better, and the Braves likely will be also. The NL East will still be a very tough schedule, so I'm not sure what relevance that quote has. Lazy reporting. Sure, the Astros were 11th in the NL in runs... when you count those two months that Lance Berkman, one of the best hitters in all of baseball, was out and/or just returning from his injury. It's a much different story after that. Also, Preston Wilson isn't all that much of an upgrade, but Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones are? Are you kidding? Pierre's a leadoff man with a .326 OBP and an OPS lower than Willy Taveras as a rookie... a player the Astros are considering sending to AAA. Jacque Jones? A corner OF - a premium position for offensive numbers - with an OBP of .319 and a OPS of .742? And this is supposed to help the Cubs score more runs? To do that, don't they need to get on base at even a mediocre level? Some writers get into this mindset that any move is a good move, just because it's a move. Sometimes that's true... but not when it's Juan Pierre and Jacque Jones. Using those two as evidence why the Cubs have elevated themselves to the status of the defending league champions is incredibly ridiculous and destroys any credibility the author might have. Sounds bad... until you consider the Astros won the NL with a contribution of next to nothing from Bagwell, so what does it really matter? They've already proven they're fine without him. Of course, they need to make the article seem more dramatic, so those facts are left out. The defending league champions don't even have hope? My gosh, the lengths to which ESPN will go. The offense returns completely intact and is actually improved with the addition of Wilson (takes Lamb/Palmeiro/Burke's spot) and Berkman being fully healthy. And that's not even considering the potential of Bagwell returning. The starting rotation and bullpen, except for Clemens, all return as well. Really, the only player the Astros have to replace is Clemens. And as good as he was last season with his ERA, the reality for the team is that they won 15 of the 35 games he started last season, including the postseason. 14 of 32 if you count just the regular season. Exactly how difficult is that to replace in the rotation? How is that a death blow to the "hope" of this team? I guess only in ESPN's world, where all you do is look at the name and hype of individual players instead of taking the time to look at how a season actually played out.
As was pointed out elsewhere: The Astros had a better record against the NL East than Philly did. The Astros had a better record against the NL Central than Philly did. The Astros swept the season series from the Phillies. Bowden's an idiot. Espn is 99% crap. Water is wet.
And nevermind the fact that Clemens was shutout in like 7 of his starts and was - for the most part - a non-factor down the stretch. That said this team is better, obviously, with him on it. But without him, we have just as good a shot to defend our title as last year. Hell I'd say we have a better chance to make it to the poststeason this season than last... our team is pretty much intact, our young guys have valuable and deep postseason experience, we have a healthy Berkman, an added bat, and I doubt will get off to as horrid a start.
I was cleaning up my room and found an old box of baseball cards that I've never really gone through. Pulled out a dozen cards just look through them and in the middle was a '92 Topps Bagwell rookie card. 1 more day.
If the "experts" were predicting an Astros division championship at the beginning of the season, I'd be nervous. Having said that, the Astros will win the division championship in 2006.
