Having fun Purpura??

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...t_id=1061485&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

CHICAGO -- The Houston Astros aren't leading the league in much these days, but they've pretty much run the table in terms of closed-door meetings.
On Tuesday, manager Phil Garner sat in his office in the visitors' clubhouse at Wrigley Field with general manager Tim Purpura, assistant GM Ricky Bennett and special assistant to the GM Matt Galante for more than an hour. These types of meetings these days are not uncommon, considering the Astros entered Tuesday's game with the Cubs with two wins in 22 road games.

The Astros rank last in the league with a .246 batting average, 160 runs scored, 561 total bases and 158 RBIs. So it's safe to say the higher-ups were not at a loss for conversation topics when they convened in Garner's cramped office.

"We're just trying to look at every aspect of what we're doing," Purpura said. "We're searching for answers that we haven't found yet. I think everybody's working hard to find answers and correct the problems we have to get us back to where we want to be. There's no one answer, and there's no easy answer."

Garner is doing his part in attempting to solve the problem by giving every player a chance to prove he can be an everyday contributor. Todd Self was in the starting lineup for a fourth consecutive game on Tuesday, playing right field and batting second. Mike Lamb was also back in the lineup after a brief hiatus, playing first base and batting fifth.

In Garner's eyes, Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg, Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio are his only starters, by true definition -- players who start day after day after day. Besides those four, the Astros lineup is all about mixing and matching.

"While we're going through this, I'm going to try to use the whole team and give everybody a chance to play a little bit," Garner said.

The skipper is still convinced there are better days ahead.

"Last year, when we lost [Andy] Pettitte and Everett, you would have thought that was a good time to cash in your chips and say, 'We can't win,'" Garner said. "But yet, that's when we got hot and made a great run. Opportunities are out there right now on this ballclub, and we need to step up and start playing like we can.

"We're not this bad. There's no question when you're 2-20 [on the road], no one's that bad. That's where we are. But going forward, we can sure be better in the next 42 games."

Weekend rotation: Roy Oswalt, Ezequiel Astacio and Pettitte are scheduled to pitch this weekend in Milwaukee, but it's hard to ignore the fact that Astacio allowed nine runs over 1 2/3 innings in his last outing.

It's also hard to ignore the fact that Saturday just happens to be the day Wandy Rodriguez would pitch on normal rest, or that the left-hander was impressive in his Major League debut on Monday at Wrigley Field, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings.

As of Tuesday, Astacio was slated to pitch on Saturday. He was also available to pitch out of the bullpen on Tuesday, and the same applies to Wednesday's series finale in Chicago.

Regardless, assuming Pettitte starts on Sunday, either Rodriguez or Astacio will have to come out of the rotation, and moving to the bullpen is not out of the question for either pitcher.

The question is, did Rodriguez earn another start with his debut performance? Purpura spoke about the left-hander's immediate future in general terms.

"I think Wandy's certainly capable of pitching in the big leagues," the GM said. "It's a matter of how he fits on the staff and how can he best be used? He is a developing pitcher, and he has one Major League start. The question is, how do we continue to develop him, either at the Major League level or Minor League level?"

Along with his pitching, Rodriguez was impressive in the other aspects of his game. He made several nice defensive plays, including one from his knees on a tricky bunt. He also logged his first big-league hit.

"Every day, I try to take positives out of what's going on," Purpura said. "We certainly analyze the negatives, but you also have to look at the positives. His performance last night was certainly a positive to me."

Bagwell surgery: Jeff Bagwell's surgery, originally thought to be scheduled for June 2, was moved to June 7. Bagwell will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., for the right shoulder capsule release procedure, which will be peformed by Dr. Richard Hawkins and Astros medical director David Lintner.

Mistaken identity: When the Astros signed Rodriguez as a non-drafted free agent in 1999, they knew they were getting a talented young left-hander with a lot of potential.

Little did they know that Rodriguez wasn't quite as young as they thought, or that his name wasn't even Wandy Rodriguez. The left-hander was one of a slew of Latin American players who were exposed post-Sept. 11, for fudging their ages, and sometimes names, years after they signed with Major League teams.

"When we signed him, he was Eny Cabreja," Purpura said.

Homecoming: Purpura watched plenty of Cubs and White Sox games as a kid growing up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, Ill., and this trip to the Windy City has special meaning, considering it's his first return to his hometown since he became GM of the Astros.

Purpura visited with old college friends and also went to the gravesite of his father, James, who passed away in 1991.

"It's kind of bittersweet," Purpura said of the trip to Chicago. "My dad was a big reason why I grew to love this game. We came here [to Wrigley], we'd go to Comiskey Park. I spent a lot of time at baseball games."

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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I don't get it...

How in the world is Adam Everett not part of the mix and match group. Somehow he's in the same class as Lance and Biggio??? He's batting close to 200... worse than Bogart.

I'm not sold on Everett at all, and send Bruntlett down. I'd like a look at Burke playing shortstop. At least he was hitting .250 while he was up here.

 

OUCH!

 

I agree, his defense has been solid the last few years, but he already has half the errors of last year and his hitting has dropped a good bit .270 to .220. Though everyone's has dropped - except Biggio and Ensberg.

Of course, everyone was grumbling about Everett's hitting last year too, but eventually fell silent once Viscaino took over, because Viz actually hit for average and played solid D too.

I dunno... I think a trade is needed to put the "scare" in some of these players. Lamb or Lane are good trade options.