It seems they are just going through the motions (not everyone) and is it time to move pieces that can net prospects in return? Poll is the vibe you get from the team not the owner or manager.
I don't know. I doubt it. The reality is probably just that they simply aren't that good. They were predicted to be a 73-75 win team and as a whole, that's about what they've been this season. It's a flawed team. A lot of fans probably overrated what the offense was reasonably capable of going into the season. Combined with a lot of team playing over their heads to start the season, it probably created unreasonably high expectations. But it doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't trying or are mailing it in. But for their future, yes they should sell off, at the very least, the non-oswalt/berkman parts of their team if they can this season.
I agree with most of what you said but I see a team that has multiple players who don't run out ground balls or pop ups. I see a group that lacks strong leaders and a team that just makes mental error after mental error. I thought this team would win about 80 games because I thought the roster was a little better than the one we had last year and I was on the record saying I liked all the moves minus the Tejada trade due to it being one day before the report.
I'd agree with the assessment that we're simply not a great team. Take a look at our pitching staff for example. Aside from an anomaly in Moehler's season, there's not much to look forward to on our pitching staff. Hell, even Oswalt's had an up and down season and he's our absolute ACE. I am disappointed in our offense though, it seems like they really don't try. Seriously, how is this team scoring 1-2 runs a game for the last 502 games? Pence, Lee, Berkman, Tejada? That lineup should be producing WAY more than they currently are. Ok, everyone minus Berkman. Then again though you could easily say the players we acquired this offseason have been a HUGE disappointment (for the most part) (1) Michael Bourn A good lineup begins and ends with a good leadoff hitter. Bourn is simply not that hitter (whether he will be is up for debate) yet. He's got an average of .223, an OBP% of .280 , a SLG % of .300. The end result? A complete bust this year, which thus = the entire lineup suffering from more pressure. Maybe Chacon should have strangled Bourn as well the way he's batted in the leadoff spot this year. (2) Shawn Chacon The guy ends up being the surprise of the season, pitching fairly well and then after a couple of starts just loses all sense of the strike zone and starts giving up runs left and right. The result? A demotion to the bullpen, strangling your GM, and getting a nice boot off the team. (3) Darrin Erstad. The only real positive player we acquired last offseason. (4) Oscar Villereal? I'm tempted to just leave this as "enough said", but I'll elaborate lol. What... in...the... **** happened to this guy? I remembered there being a lukewarm reaction when we traded Josh Anderson for him, but the general consensus was that he could help us a lot in the pen if he put up similar numbers as he'd put up in his first full season in the majors. 2003: 86 games, 98 IP, 28 ER, 10-7 record, 6 HR given up, and a 2.57 ERA 2004: doesn't count, injured. 2005: also doesn't count, injured. 2006: 58 games, 92.1 IP, 37 ER, 9-1 record, 13 HR given up, and a 3.61 ERA again... not a bad 2nd full healthy season. 2007: 51 games, 76.1 IP, 36 ER, 2-2 record, 6 HR given up, and a 4.25 era not a half bad 3rd full season (healthy) either. it's a 4.25 era, but that's nothing that's just absolutely out there. 2008: 35 games, 37.2 IP, 21 ER, 1-3 record, 12 HR given up, and a 5.02 era Seriously... what in the hell happened here? We go from a pitcher that looks like an innings eater with some very respectable seasons and then he becomes the home run king when he gets to Houston? Decent acquisitions: (1) Kaz Matsui Above average acquisitions: (1) Darren Erstad
i understand it would never happen because our owner doesn't really understand baseball, but roy oswalt's value will never be any higher than it is right now. never.
Actually, it makes perfect sense. All three catchers have an OPS in the mid .500s. Bourn is in the same range, with a .280 OBP out of the leadoff spot. Matsui is at a .670 OPS (Biggio/Burke range) with a subpar OBP, in addition to constant injuries. The Astros have had marquee names on offense before, but have been inconsistent due to lack of OBP at the top of the order and black holes at multiple spots. The players have been shifted, but the results are the same. Yes, I acknowledge that Pence and Tejada have been disappointments, but it's not fair to tie the offense exclusively to those four. A big part of structuring this season's team was around the premise of having a more complete and balanced lineup, and the failures of Bourn/Towles/Matsui are critical as well. As for the initial post on quitting, that's hilarious. I've said it a million times, but unless you're in the clubhouse on a daily basis, you're in no position to comment about "strong leaders" and who they may or may not be. And every team in the history of baseball has guys who aren't going all-out on a routine grounder to second. The bottom line is that this team just isn't all that good, and that's the result. They're trying, but the talent is what it is.
Tejada has been bad since the first month of the season, he's hitting like Adam Everett. He just had a monster first month making his averages seem not bad. Combine that with zero walks and basically he's on par with guys like Bourn, Pence, Towles, etc. We have 2 great hitters and then every one else is below average.
TheCat, I'm curious about the OBP for a leadoff man. I know Bourn is the worst player of all time, but what's a decent OBP and an above OBP for a leadoff man generally?
lead-off batter is overrated, the only time when it helps is the 1st inning. After that, the #1 hitter is likely to be a different player.
In the modern era, the average OBP for a hitter is around .340. For a top of the order type, you want around .360 or so, to give you a rough estimate. With all we joked about Biggio's OBP, it seemed unfathomable that the Astros would go backward out of the leadoff spot, but that's exactly what they've done (Bourn's .280 vs. Biggio's .285). Unreal.
while the leadoff man only is guaranteed to lead off the 1st inning. He will hit in front of the 2-5 hitters (the best hitters on the team) the entire game. That's why his obp is important-even if it's not to lead off the inning.
In the National League, the lead-off batter needs to come through after the pitcher ahead of him got through making a sacrafice bunt to move runners into scoring position.
Astros pitchers have 12 sacrifices in 87 games this year. You certainly should want a competent batter in the leadoff spot, but don't factor something that happens once every 7 games into any kind of decision.
Erstad really needs to start in center field over Bourn, he's just a total bust this season and has way to many mechanical issues at spotting pitcher's pitches. Pence has been pretty terrible this season as of late too.
guys that should be on the block: loretta oswalt lee erstad and just about everyone else not named pence, or berkman. this team will continue to suck for the next 3 years if we don't trade for prospects... and even if we do, it'll still suck for at least another season.
Not sure the demand is too high for a $15 mil/year or whatever he makes DH that happens to stand in left field. I'd imaging if Loretta had any value he would have been traded a long time ago.
