What do they do? I'm hoping for a true centerfielder as well as a notable upgrade at 3B or SS. The realist in me knows that Drayton will play it cheap and they will enter camp with the slowest outfield in baseball (Ward, Berkman, Hidalgo) with Ensberg and Adam Everett playing infield. Has anyone heard any rumors regarding the 'Stros?
I heard they signed Brian Hunter and Greg Zaun. Hunter is a real speedy outfielder that we've already traded away once and I doubt he's going to start unless the Stros are totally serious about upgrading the defense and keeping Daryle Ward on the bench. Zaun is a lefty hitting catcher so that puts another lefty on the bench but I think Eusebio is still under contract so we're locked into carrying three catchers now I guess.
Brian L. Hunter isn't good anymore. Gregg Zaun is better than Eusebio, though that says little. Engsberg is a good talent, might as well see what he's made of.
There's a rumor on the CBS Sportline web page with a deal of Jason Lane and Dotel for Omar Vizquel. http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/feature/0,1518,4494385_52,00.html
Hunsicker would have to be drunk and high to make that trade. Dotel alone is worth waaaay more than Vizquel.
Agreed! Despite thier slowness in the outfiled, I am still comfortable with a Ward, Berkman, Hidalgo platoon. I hope the signing of Hunter means that we finally forget about Glenn Barker. Speaking of which, the Astros could probably use a better baserunning coach, given their inability to steal last year and the number of times Barker and Lugo made r****ded plays on the basepath (from what I hear ole Jimmy Williams wont have any of that). Offensively the Stros need two things: a) Speed - the Astros became painfully slow on the bases last year. They dont know how to manufacture runs and part of it is because of their inability to get runners in scoring position (RISP's), especially in the playoffs b) Clutch performers - I still think that Bagwell is clutch. Every year he puts in solid performances. Come playoff time, though, its hard to hit when the players before you arent doing their job and getting on base (which they should be because pitchers dont want to face Bagwell). We saw this year that Bags can actually perform in the playoffs (even despite the lack of runners on base) and I think a few more clutch performers would be helpful On pitching, the Astros need a few things: a) Just go into the season with a set rotation and a set bullpen. Its hard to go into every game not knowing exactly whos going ot pitch when. I realize injuries lead to a lot of that, but to see how different their closing day pitching lineup was from their opening day one, and to still win the division is amazing. The same can be said about the bullpen. Who knew that Dotel would perform at the level he did. Unfortunately, everybody but management could predict the utter failure of Jay Powell followed by Mike Jackson. Regardless, a little bit more stability as far as pitching is concerned could/should lead to 5-10 more wins a year. b) An extra starter/reliever - I'd feel more comfortable with an extra starter or reliever. As far as CBS SPortsline is concerned, I much prefer their mention of the Astros interest in Burkett. Rotation thus far seems to be Miller, Oswalt, Reynolds, Hernandez (hopefully)....and someone else??? I think that Villone/other Villone-like guy could make solid middle inning relief appearances, leaving the rest to Dotel and Wagner. Defensively, the Stros generally perform well, with Ausmus the cornerstone as far as that is concerned. Hopefully Ward's bat makes up for his seemingly lesser defensive skills (although Alou was known to daze off a time or two). Mainly, I think/hope that there is just a new and different attitude in the clubhouse this year. Dierker wasn't intense enough for me, Jimmy Williams should be. I see the Astros in the playoffs again next year, but my crystal ball sees them losing in the playoffs once again (hopefully the can at least win 2 games in a series!)
I'm the biggest Astro fan I know, but I'm nowhere near optimistic. I'm not saying you re-sign Alou, but you can't lose the leading hitter in the NL and act as if it won't affect production. I'm not convinced Darryl Ward is all the organization believes he will be...and they easily have the worst defensive outfield in the major leagues next year. Hunter is a joke of a leadoff hitter at this point of his career...he'll be a minor improvement over Glen Barker, which isn't saying a whole lot. I still haven't heard anything positive about Carlos Hernandez's injury. I definitely would not trade Dotel...Vizquel has seen his best days. Let's find out if the Carl Everett trade was for naught and give Adam Everett a shot at SS.. though I'm not convinced that's gonna work out real well. Most importantly...I don't think there will be a different attitude. I think the veteran players run the show here, new manager notwithstanding. I don't see the Astros in the playoffs next year. I do see the Cards running away with the division, particularly after grabbing one of the best closers in the business. The Cards improved dramatically with that addition...the Astros have taken a step back.
no way dotel leaves houston, fat chance but my goal is sign johnny damon to play cf and ill be happy, we will be in the playoffs next yr but damon would be a perfect fit in houston, good leadoff man, great speed, left handed can play cf. i want visquel but we have prospects galore, send em greg miller or nannini or something its obvious cleveland is rebuilding
dvauthrin -- it would appear the astros aren't even making attempts at damon. i agree..he's first on my wish list too. but mclane appears to be cutting salary. probably because he's losing so much money in that brand new ballpark that averaged 40K/game in 2000 and around 35K/game last season.
i know i dont run the team but i dont even mind losing alou if we sign damon because we were too righty power oriented, but your right mclane prob wont sign him, although i think we should be going for it now, the nl is ours for the taking
i'm not sure the NL is ours for the taking... i think the Cards are going to be very, very good this year. I hope I'm wrong because the Cards rank among my 5 least favorite teams in all of sports!
madmax, what i mean is this isnt the early 90s were the braves were the team to beat, st louis is the big threat i agree but we should be going for it
Here's an article from Astros.com about the players they refused to offer arbitration to. http://astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ho..._id=hou_20011207_arbitration_news&team_id=hou 12/7/2001 10:00 pm ET Astros decline salary arbitration Sever ties with remaining free agents By Alyson Footer astros.com HOUSTON -- Approximately two hours before Friday's 11 p.m. CT deadline, Houston Astros General Manager Gerry Hunsicker announced that the club would not offer salary arbitration to any of its remaining 10 free agents. The list includes: Moises Alou, Pedro Astacio, Kent Bottenfield, Vinny Castilla, Tony Eusebio, Mike Jackson, Scott Servais, Ron Villone and Mike Williams. Bill Spiers was technically also a free agent, but he retired following the conclusion of the 2001 season. The other three -- Orlando Merced, Jose Vizcaino and Doug Brocail -- have re-signed with Houston. Because players who are not offered salary arbitration by their former clubs before Friday's midnight ET deadline cannot be signed by that team until May 1 of next season, Hunsicker's announcement ultimately ends all nine players' associations with the Astros. "We made a decision not to offer salary arbitration to anyone who did not fit into our plans for next year," Hunsicker said. "Although there are varying degrees of risk in a player accepting arbitration, we didn't feel any risk involving this group of free agents was warranted." A few weeks ago, Hunsicker revealed that the club would not pursue Castilla or Alou, so Friday's announcement does not come as a surprise in that regard. However, there was still question whether the Astros would try to bring back Astacio or Eusebio, along with Villone and Williams. Hunsicker struggled with the decision to part ways with Eusebio, who was selected by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 1985 and played his entire 15-year professional career -- eight on the Major League level -- in the Astros organization. "I would like to single out Tony as a player who has played his entire career in this organization and has rendered loyal service for a long time," Hunsicker said. "It was especially difficult in making this decision but there is a business side to this industry and this decision was strictly that. "We certainly wish him well, as we do the rest of the group."
And here's an article about his plans with free agency. It doesn't look like Damon is in his plans. http://astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ho...ticle_id=hou_20011210_molony_news&team_id=hou 12/10/2001 8:00 pm ET Value shopper Hunsicker faces tough task By Jim Molony MLB.com BOSTON - With $43.325 million earmarked for just nine players next season, it would seem Houston General Manager Gerry Hunsicker will have a difficult time keeping the 2002 payroll at around $63 million. Hunsicker, however, doesn't think he will have trouble making budget even though he has less than $20 million left to spend on the other 16 players he needs to fill out his roster. "Not at all, in fact I've got two slots left on the club, two relief slots left and I'm on target I would say budget wise," Hunsicker said. "We're not going to be going out and signing somebody to a multi-million contract, but I'm very pleased with what we've been able to accomplish so far." With four division titles in five years of Hunsicker's watch, it would be foolish to bet against the GM's pulling off putting together yet another championship roster at budget. Hunsicker has always found a way to make it work, though he's never had this much money promised to so few players. Jeff Bagwell ($11 million), Craig Biggio ($8 million), Shane Reynolds ($7.725 million), Richard Hidalgo ($6 million), Brad Ausmus ($5 million), Jose Vizcaino ($1.7 million), Gregg Zaun ($1.15 million), Brian Hunter ($1 million) and Doug Brocail ($750,000) are signed for next year. Closer Billy Wagner, who made $5 million last year, is due a big raise. The Astros have a number of returning players who, though not free agents, will make more money in 2002 than they did in 2001, including Lance Berkman, Wade Miller and Daryle Ward. Signing Wagner to a multi-year extension is the priority. The left-hander's 2002 salary could eat up between $7 and $9 million of the Astros' 2002 budget. Hunsicker isn't concerned. "We're much farther ahead than we were last year at this time as far as putting a team together and I expect to have another contending club on the field next year," Hunsicker said. Hunsicker doesn't rule out the possibility of a trade but characterizes the chances of Houston making a deal at the winter meetings as a long shot. "It's not a good year for us to be involved in trades," Hunsicker said. "I think our club fits together well, we don't have any excess parts, we're certainly not in any position to trade pitching. Some years trades make more sense than others, this is a year where trades don't seem to make a whole lot of sense for us." The Astros have already signed second baseman Vizcaino, catcher Zaun, outfielder Hunter and right-hander Brocail. The Astros are also eyeing a few free agent relievers, including right-hander Josias Manzanillo and left-handers Norm Charlton and Dennis Cook. The Astros had previously considered David Weathers, but the right-hander's asking price has risen in the wake of Todd Van Poppel's three-year, $7.5 million deal with Texas. That contract has also raised the bar on other free agent relievers, including Manzanillo, who is being pursued by at least six teams including Houston, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. With the cost rising and the number of free agent options dwindling Hunsicker may not be able to find the relievers he is seeking. "Ideally I'd like to have at least one left-hander in those two slots," Hunsicker said. "Obviously we don't have any lefties in our bullpen other than our closer (Billy Wagner)." "I won't say I'm optimistic (he would find two relievers) but I would say there are some options out there."
The NL is St. Louis' to lose. The Astros will be lucky to win 90 games. I think we win 85 next year. The talent level has gone down, without a doubt, from last year's team.
85 games please the cards are good but dont fool yourself the stros have one hell of a farm system itll be a tight race and 90 plus wins is likely im not denying alou and castillas presence wont be missed
Dream on guys. The Astros are looking at 80-85 wins tops. You don't lose a hitter and fielder of Alou's caliber and still expect to play at the same level as the previous year without replacing him with someone of equal or greater talent. Maybe there is someone in the farm system as I don't keep up with those things, but those gems in baseball are few and far between. Ausmus is making $5 million??? Unreal!!! The Astro's are going to be hard pressed to put a legitimate contender on the field next season and figuring Houston's track record for fan support, I'll be suprised if they average 30K throughout the whole season. Sorry to sound so glum, but that's the life of sports in H-Town. Look at the Rockets. The fans aren't familiar with the players and aren't showing up. The same can probably be said of the Astros, although Biggio and Bagwell are still in the lineup due to loyalty factors.
Rocketspimp: You're listening to the drama, and not looking at the facts. 1. Alou is 35 years old and hadn't played anything close to a full season since 1998. 2. Jason Lane is an Astros uber prospect in AA. He might be ready, though the conventional wisdom is that he's a year away. Then again, that was the story on Albert Pujols as well. Lane has more power than Alou and is a better fielder. 3. Daryle Ward ain't too bad. He doesn't take enough walks, but he's got a crap load of power. The Astros organization likes him a lot. Not a great fielder... but then, neither was Alou. 4. NO player is worth the kind of wins you seem to think Alou was. The difference between a good and average player at agiven position isn't normally more than 3-5 games or so. Given the fact that the Astros can expect (a) A full year of Roy "Cy" Oswalt (b) Fewer injuries with pitchers- it's RARE to have an injury stricken year like last (c) Further development from wonderful young studs Oswalt, Miller, Hernandez, Rodriguez, and Berkman (d) A better year from Richard Hidalgo: Hidalgo played his worst ball ever, last year. Odds are, he'll return to form. He hasn't lost anything and started playing like his old self toward the end. All of those things *easily* swamp the loss of Alou. The Astros will be better than last year. Of course, if Drayton doesn't pony up the cash for Berkman and Oswalt in a couple of years, you have my word: I won't watch another Astros game until baseball's financial structure is fixed.
uh pimp, im sorry man but 80-85 wins my butt, alou was a good player ill agree, but ward is a very fine hitter and as haven mentioned jason lane in triple A this yr is a fantastic prospect plus our outstanding young staff has another yr under its belt and you lost all credibility with biggio and bagwell are in the lineup for loyalty reasons, they both had solid seasons last yr, in fact bagwell underperformed for awhile, plus dotel/wagner gives us an awesome 8th/9th inning combo, i agree we arent perfect but we are a damn good team still and yes i echo haven about roy and lance-if they arent retained i will be pissed off at MLB, because its ridiculous
