Well, at least Oswalt as an LCS MVP... I agree that Santana is the best pitcher right now. I also think that Liriano may be just as good if he stays healthy. Oswalt's 2001 is still ridiculous... the way he came up to the big leagues and just DOMINATED from the get-go. He's had to change his pitching patterns now, as teams started catching on, but man... he was just electric when people were seeing him for the first time. (and statistically, his numbers in 2001 were the best he's ever had). 2001: 14-3, 2.73 ERA, 144K's in 141 IP (only 24 walks), .235 BAA, 1.059 WHIP, 3 complete games, 1 shutout.
eh... 3 starts... but yea, him being 21 and coming straight from AA. I've resigned myself to the fact that his shoulder would have gotten hurt eventually, somehow. It wasn't just the base-running head-first slide into second... that merely sped-up the inevitable. Yea... that helps me feel better.
What's the sense in arguing Santana vs. Oswalt. They are far and away the 2 best pitchers in their respective leagues, and the best right and left handers in the game. Santana is a little nastier, but Roy's 96 mph heat followed by a 69 mph hook that can be thrown for swinging strikes and called strikes is pretty devastating. Its like arguing Elway vs. Montana. Both are great.
It would be a big mistake for the Astros to get in the market for Zito who is A: a lefty and B: a fly ball pitcher. That is not a good combination in Minute Maid Park.
Its too bad that Suppan was just named the NLCS MVP. I thought he was a dark-horse the 'stros could try to snag, but no way Stl. lets go of him now.
dont be so sure....its not like we would have been adverse to letting backe go after he pitched so well in the playoffs...i think St L knows that the Suppan that pitched in this series is not the Suppan that you get from April-Sept.
I WAY WAY disagree. Elway was a good QB but he couldn't touch Montana, no on ever will. I would put Oswalt and Montana in the same category of greatness but to me no one can touch either of them. Santana is a good pitcher that's for sure, no taking that from but Oswalt blows him out the water.
They know that... just like we know that Pettite is somewhere between the pitcher he was last year, and the inconsistent one he was this year. Suppan put up a 2.93 ERA during the second half of this season... and with the collapse of Marquis, and Weaver being inconsistent, him and Carpenter were basically the only guys keeping the Cardinals afloat. All that being said... he might not pitch all that well here in our ballpark. We need to target lefties, or sinker/groundball specialists.
Maybe so. At worst, though, Suppan is a solid #3. Add him in with Oswalt and Pettitte and we've got a pretty good rotation. Get Clemens back at some point and we've got probably the best rotation in the game.
Its good... but I still wouldn't consider him a specialist. I'll give a ton of credit to Dave Duncan... he gets the most out of pitchers who may have marginal talent, or those who need a fresh start.
Semantics. Is Andy Pettitte a "groundball specialist"? Not much difference b/t him and Suppan. There's about 10 starters every year who have a ratio ~2:1, they don't grow on trees (much easier to find relievers). Over the past couple years, there aren't many guys who keep the ball on the ground as consistently as Suppan. Even fewer of those guys - like maybe 2, Suppan & Miggy Batista - are decent pitchers & are available this offseason (and Suppan's better). No idea if he'd entertain leaving STL though. Agreed on Duncan.
My offseason wishlist: 1. Carlos Lee or Soriano 2. Trade Ensberg for at least Scott Linebrink maybe a blue chipper but Linebrink would be a good pickup alone. Hell, get someithing please. 3. Trade Lane or keep as a utility outfielder for late inning defensive purposes or sometimes pinch hitting. 4. Bengie Molina. Ausmus use only 2 of 5 days. 5. Starting pitching: any of the following combo: Zito, D-Train, Schmidt, Woody. Bring back Petitte and/or Rocket if he still wants to play. 6. Tejada only if Lee or Soriano options fall through ... AE is the best defensive SS in baseball and that fact ALWAYS keeps us in games alone. So I am kind of torn on this one but the Stros must put much punch into our lineup or else even competing in our division will be a mirage IMO. Cincy and Milwaukee are very much improving. 7. Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez for PH and spot outfielder. His experience would be invaluable and a very good late inning option.
I would hate to see your christmas list as a child. If the Astros pulled off that offseason, I would get season tickets in a heartbeat.
Here is a good, related read from AstroDaily: Fixing a hole. One of the most glaring weaknesses on the Astros last season was a slugger to hit behind Lance Berkman, giving Houston a 1-2 punch to anchor the offense. Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane fell off, Preston Wilson struggled and Aubrey Huff showed only occasional power. In retrospect, it was amazing Berkman hit as well as he did and that teams still pitched to him. There are several candidates who might fill that spot next year and here I will attempt to break down the likely candidates from most desirable (in my opinion) to least: Andruw Jones - CF Atlanta Braves Vernon Wells - CF Toronto Blue Jays Alex Rodriguez - IF New York Yankees Manny Ramirez - LF Boston Red Sox Miguel Tejada - SS Baltimore Orioles Alfonso Soriano - OF Washington Nationals Carlos Lee - LF Texas Rangers Gary Sheffield - RF New York Yankees Jim Edmonds - CF St. Louis Cardinals Moises Alou - OF San Francisco Giants Luis Gonzalez - LF Arizona Diamondbacks Jeromy Burnitz - OF Pittsburgh Pirates Follow the link fro more stats.
on-base plus slugging (OPS) and obstruction (OBS) (at least that's the only thing google turned up for obs lol)
