BPA & need are basically the same thing. OF & possibly C/SS are the only non-need positions, especially if its a HS player. If there is a need that most important it is power. Drayton needs to do whatever he can to draft the best player.
True but if there is a stud pitcher right there for them to choose or an infielder who will they choose? I want them to choose whoever is best player at that draft slot regardless of position, the farm needs EVERYTHING.
I want them to take a star player. Players like Castro & Mier are really role players. They need to take a guy that can be the next Berkman or Oswalt in terms of production for this team. We really need the high upside guys.
As BrooksBall pointed out, Towles sent down because of his catching, not hitting. http://foxsportshouston.com/05/05/1...hitti/landing.html?blockID=229263&feedID=3803
I really had no idea. It was just a logical guess based on the fact that Quintero and Cash are as bad, or worse, offensively. I also asked Zach Levine last night after posting my thoughts here. This was his response: Z, do you think that the Towles move possibly had more, if not everything, to do with his ability to call games and other things related to the catching position? Given the state of the team and the hitting abilities of Quintero and Cash, I just don't see any other explanation. They might as well have put any doubts about him to rest in a lost season. Let him sink or swim unless, again, it's actually related to his catching skills. Yes, I don't think it was about Cash's offense being that much of an upgrade if one at all; they were starting to move Towles away from a couple of the pitchers, and yesterday seemed to be a culmination. -Z http://blogs.chron.com/unofficialscorer/2010/05/your_questions_on_astros_hitti.html Basically, for the Astros to justify keeping him up, his offense had to be considerably better than Q's, or Cash's for that matter. Since it was just marginally better, it didn't justify what was apparently an inability to call games. That is the number one job of a catcher. Hitting is generally secondary, which is why you see quite a few poor hitting catchers ending up having long MLB careers.
So, will be able to get more than a run off of Rodrigo Lopez tonight or will he throw a CG SO and look like Roy Halladay? I'm guessing that we score at least 2 runs. It just seems like we are due for an offensive outburst. Maybe we'll even score 3 runs but I don't want to get greedy.
This is nothing new to Roy...I can remember countless times the stros' didn't give him any run support...its the way it is, but more glaring since we really suck this year and are on our second 8 game skid...
It's amazing that Roy leads the league in wins since joining the Astros. I know that was the case up until recently. Even if he's not still on top, he's right there. I moved to Houston in 2002 and didn't really follow the Astros seriously until a year or two later but I don't remember many world beater offenses backing him up. His accomplishments are pretty amazing everything considered.
We'll get some hits, leave runners on base and score <= 1 run, Rodrigo Lopez will look good and Bourn will provide another highlight.
The offense got real bad as soon as we got great pitching. We were expecting a good offense in 2004. Ensberg and Hidalgo were coming off monster years. Berkman was Berkman. Bagwell had just hit 39 HR. We still had Jeff Kent. We got Clemens & Pettitte, and the offense started falling apart.
Below is where the Astros' offense ranked in the NL in terms of runs scored by year since Roy joined the team in 2001: 2001: 2 2002: 5 2003: 4 2004: 5 2005: 11 2006: 12 2007: 13 2008: 11 2009: 14 2010: 16 (duh) I didn't realize we were that good in the early 2000s so he was getting plenty of support early in his career. The thing is that Roy won more games in the 4-year span between 2005-08 than between 2001-04. It's not news to most people but Roy has had an amazing career no matter how it ends. He's finished in the top 5 in Cy Young voting on 5 different occasions and will go down as the most accomplished pitcher in Astros history when all is said and done. Berkman is at least as special of a hitter but that's a separate discussion.
Below is the W-L, ERA, ERA+ (adjusted for ballpark, the higher the number the better) and WHIP for 6 different active pitchers. Only 1 of them hasn't won a Cy Young. 121-74, 3.85, 117, 1.288 87-62, 3.27, 142, 1.239 139-74, 3.21, 135, 1.201 96-70, 3.34, 118, 1.192 153-77, 3.38, 135, 1.191 125-62, 3.14, 142, 1.117 See if you can match up the stats with the player. Keep in mind that a few of these pitchers didn't pitch their entire careers or win their Cy Young(s) in the NL so it's not really fair to compare all of these numbers. ERA+ only partially compensates for the differences.
Oswalt and Halladay are the only 2 I can tell from the numbers. I guessed Webb for the wrong spot, but had him in there. Don't know who the remaining 2 are. Edit: Got them all. I had the first guy, but then didn't see it when I looked back to match the numbers.
I just lost all my respect for Brad Mills. He just called Cash and Quintero two "very good" catchers. Everything he says seems scripted. He is trying too hard to impress people.
I'm assuming that he's talking strictly about their abilities behind the plate, as opposed to offensively, which is the ultimately the most important part of being a catcher. Either way, that seems like a pretty extreme reaction on your part. If you scrutinize every comment that way, I don't think you'll ever find a manager or coach that you like in any sport. What is Mills supposed to say? It's probably good of him to say something positive about the players that are actually with the team. Furthermore, my initial reaction to the situation was also shock but if Towles is truly having issues handling and working with pitchers, I can't really blame them for making the move. To be honest, how they handle Towles is relatively insignificant in the big scheme of things given the state of this team.
With Cain getting it going, the Giants have 4 SP looking like aces. Zito is actually pitching like he deserves his contract. I'm sure that only 1 or 2 of those guys will keep it up but still... not fair.
Release Carlos Lee, please. No, that wasn't an easy catch but a better outfielder probably makes it. And yes, my first comment was made in frustration.
