I think this game is obviously enough evidence that the Astros will be the best team in the league this season, and the Yankees will definitely suck. Oh, and Keith Ginter will be MVP.
Lol, I think its safe to say Ginter will at least be on the opening day roster. Great game. Should be an exciting year for the Stros.
I saw Everett, Ginter, Lane and Ensberg playing in Venezuela, so this is a "semi-scouting report" on each of these players, based in his perfomance in Venezuela: * Everett: This guy is an excellent ball player, he can hit, is good defensively and hustles in every single play. I really like the way Everett play the game, and I think sooner or later he´ll become Astros shorstop. * Ginter: Didn´t really show much in Venezuela. Because he´s a power hitter, he saw a lot of breaking pitches and that really hurt him, having a high number of SO. But when he hit the ball, he crushed it. He was DH most of the time, and played in 1B and LF in some games, so I don´t know if he can play 3B. He has been IF in the minors, but he didn´t play in the infield in Venezuela. One positive about him is his work ethic. He always worked before games in his swing, taking extra batting practices trying to get out of the slump, but unfortunately he couldn´t. * Lane: This guy was amazing. He was a .300 hitter, with power, above average on defense, and most important, he´s a clutch hitter. He´s one of my favorites for ROY award. Along with Hidalgo and Berkman, these should be one of the most feared outfielders in the National League in a couple of seasons. * Ensberg: Played here a couple of years ago, he just didn´t stop hitting all season. He hit around .300, with power, and is really good defensively at 3B. I hope this could help you.
I certainly hope this is true, but didn't Ginter have a pretty good spring last season only to be left at AAA, where he struggled? The guy has shown a lot more power than I thought he had from 2B, which is not a typical power position. I hope he makes the roster too.
Barring injury or trade, I don't see Ginter making the opening day roster. The infield will probably be Bagwell, Biggio, Ensberg, Everett, Lugo, Vizcaino and Truby. I have never been enamored with Truby and it would not surprise me to see him NOT make the team. If Bagwell's shoulder isn't ready for opening day, then Truby may open the season as the first baseman, platooning with Merced. Ausmus and Zaun will catch. Berkman, Hidalgo and Ward will start in the OF with Hunter and Merced in reserve. This leaves room for 11 pitchers which teams tend to keep at the start of the season. Unless you drop off one of the infielders, this leaves no room for Ginter or Lane this year. Once Everett proves he can hit .240, then Lugo becomes expendable and they'll probably move him or Vizcaino. I'd rather see them keep Lugo than Jose since Lugo can adequately play all 3 OF positions as well as 2b and SS.
I think they'd be better off keeping Lugo than Viscaino too, but not because of his versatility. I don't think there's anything special about being able to play the OF - if Darryl Ward can do it, anyone can. Heck, Chuck Knoblauch made a seamless transition from horrible 2B to subpar LF. I think Viscaino should be dropped off the active roster because he's a below-average hitter with zero pop. Lugo can hit for a little power so he's more of a threat off the bench, and he's much younger too. And if the Everett experiment fails, I think Julio's the better starting candidate. Jason Lane is ready, now: he's already 25 or so and I don't think he has anything left to prove in the minors. I'd like to see him get a good number of at-bats in the OF rotation (Lance is the only player I wouldn't take out of the lineup for any circumstances).
The Astros have a lot of days off (4) in the first month of the season. There is no need to carry 11 pitchers for the first month. Ginter should make the opening day roster.
I have read that Jimmah Williams likes Vizcaino because the Astros have a lot of latino players now, and Vizcaino is one of the few players left that speaks both Spanish and English well, so he can provide some vet leadership to the young ones who speak poor English(Hernandez, Dotel, etc). Last season, Castilla and Alou could both help in this area, but they are gone now. I think it was on Astrosconnection.com that I read this, so it might just be hearsay, but it seemed the Astros management feared that the English speaking and Spanish speaking players might slowly gravitate into their own groups, or "cliques" if you will, and the Astros wanted to avoid this if they could.
