Well, the Astros have a very good pitching staff. But I think the dimensions (particularly down the left and right field line) alone exclude the field from being anything but a hitters park. I don't agree with the view held by the national media, which seems to be that this park is almost as bad as Coors, but I do think it is a hitters park.
really?? the huge gaps in the outfield are what makes Coors so bad...not the short fences I agree that down left field is short...the rest of the park plays pretty fair though, I think...hell, it's the biggest centerfield in all of baseball...you have to hit it a ton to get it out there. I'd like to see numbers from this season (but i'm too lazy to go find them!)...the astros had good pitchers in 2000, too...but it seems like the homeruns were inflated because they were mostly fly-ball pitchers. Minute Maid seems easily neutralized this season by Astros pitching...
You say that it is the huge gaps in the OF that make Coors so bad, then you go on to say that Astros field has one of the biggest centerfields in all of baseball. We can definitely agree that the homerun distances down each line are short, so if the centerfield is huge, wouldn't that create some big gaps as well? I don't know what the numbers are either, but regardless I still think it is an offensive style park just based on the dimensions alone.
Dotel really reminds me alot of when Rivera was the set up man for Wetland and the Yankees. Back then people used to consider Rivera as one of the best relievers in the game. Although I wouldn't call Dotel "the" best, I would say he is one of the best in baseball and will eventually be a great closer either with the Astros or not. I still haven't given up on Wagner. Eventhough he is not as dominant as he once was, he is still a pretty damn effective closer.
i recognize all that...i just think the park plays pretty fair...i don't think it gives hitters a big edge, that's all. and i would like to see numbers comparing it to other parks this year. but i'm not asking you to take the time to go get the stats that i'm too busy/lazy to get!
:Htownhero, why are you such a hater? It was one person's rather arguable opinion. Dotel has been dominant. For you to accuse any of us of homerism is laughable. The two guys you brought up were from atl's "unsung" bullpen. Dotel is not a middle reliever. He's a set-up man. Learn the difference.
do people still think Minute Maid Park is a hitter's park?? does anyone have any statistics on offensive production in that park relative to the rest of the league?? seems to me astros pitching has shown this year that it's been a great pitcher's park for them...they perform MUCH more effectively at home than on the road. I think its been shown statistically to be the 2nd best hitter's park in baseball. I'm not sure how the calculations are done though. In terms of this year, yeah, the pitching is better at home, but the hitting is monumentally better at home too. The team bats something like 0.290 at home and 0.240 on the road.
Here's how Baseball Prospectus' Michael Wolverton ranks the receivers this year so far, based on Adjusted Runs Prevented. ARP "measures how run expectation changes between the time the reliever enters the game and the time he exits." 27.2 Octavio Dotel, Hou 23.8 J.C. Romero, Min 23.0 Byung-Hyun Kim, Ari 23.0 Chris Hammond, Atl 22.9 Luis Vizcaino, Mil 22.0 Eric Gagne, LA 20.6 Tony Fiore, Min This stat takes park effects into account. Minute Maid Park inflates runs by 4.2%, which is 5th in the NL and 11th overall. (I'm guessing this is just for 2002.) Atlanta's "unsung" bullpen is easily the best overall, with 76.6 ARP. Minnesota is 2nd at 52.7, Anaheim is 3rd at 52.2.
