http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/neyer/story?page=AstrosQuestion-030606 Very cool article. He has his all time lineups for all ML teams. His book looks interesting also. The only two selections I disagree with are Hampton (Dierker instead) and Smith (Wagner instead).
my disagreements: 1. i'd have wagner as my all-time closer... 2. no way in the world starting pitcher number 1 would be mike freaking hampton. no way. the guy was the #1 starter for the astros maybe one year he was here...he was sent down in the middle of one year...he never pitched a memorable playoff game (that i can remember anyway)...he simply was not nearly as dominant over any period of his career as mike scott was. 3. i'd find a way to get bill doran on this team!! maybe as a player/coach?? bat boy?? anything!!!
We need to find a spot for Jose Lima too, since Hampy is on there. I would kill to see Jose try to explain "Lime Time" to Doug Rader.
Lima was better than Hampy. And for just a couple of seasons, uhmm, Mike Scott. Freaking Cy Young. I would have 1. Nolan Ryan 2. Mike Scott 3. J.R. Richard 4. Don Wilson
i was thinking about that...if we're talking about players AT THEIR BEST and not just merely as a function of longevity with the team...i'd have to pick Kile over Hampton (i think) and hampton over reynolds.
My disagreements 1) Terry Puhl was a fine player, but I'd put Berkman over him even though Berkmen has played mostly other fields. 2) I'll solve MadMax's problem by playing Biggio at catcher. You gotta get Doran in the game. 3) Wagner definitely. 4) I'd have to put Mike Scott as a starter. He might not have been awersome for very long. When he was awesome, everyone accused him of cheating.
Definitly the worst All-time list out of the Oilers, Astros, and Rockets compared with other teams in their leagues. This list makes me sad.
Now for the all-time Astros roster of players that had the best years of their career on other teams (criteria is that they basically started out with Houston, thus pitchers such as Robin Roberts and players such as Eddie Matthews don't qualify): Catcher - Jerry Grote 1st Base - Nate Colbert 2nd Base - Joe Morgan SS - Dennis Menke 3rd Base - Ken Caminiti Left Field - Bobby Abreu Center Field - Kenny Lofton Right Field - Rusty Staub DH - John Mayberry SP (no particular order) Jerry Reusse Mike Cueller Jack Billingham Curt Schilling Freddy Garcia RP Dave Giusti Mike Marshall Feel free to disagree
Remember, Terry Puhl has the ALL-TIME leading fielding percentage for outfielders who played over 1000 games .
Ya might think I'm crazy...but what about Kevin Bass??? I loved that dude! Ahhh Lima.....I miss his rally-cap*sniff*
The list will look a lot better as Oswalt, Miller, Berkman, and Ensberg play more years. And don't forget Kent. Put Biggio at C and Kent at 2b.
Alright, I'm projecting a bit, but here's what my team would look like: CF - Cedeno 2B - Biggio 1B - Bagwell LF - Berkman RF - Cruz SS - Dickie Thon 3B - Rader C - Ashby Util IF - Doran, Reynolds, Glenn Davis Util OF - Puhl, Bob Watson, Jimmy Wynn C - Ausmus Not a bad lineup at all. Rotation: Richard, Scott, Ryan, Wilson, Oswalt Bullpen: Wagner, Dave Smith, Dotel, Joe Sambito, Larry Anderson
I agree with most of Neyer's picks except I would replace Hampton with Dierker and Smith with Wagner. Other SP's that deserve mention: Mike Scott, Joe Niekro, and a really underrated RP in Joe Sambito
It is hard to compare players I did not see (Rader and Wilson), but I would have Caminiti and Mike Scott on my team. I would replace Smith with Wagner, Ashby with Biggio (cheating a little bit), Biggio with Doran. When I hear JR Richards, I wish I could turn back time and have a healthy Richards on a team with Nolan Ryan and Mike Scott. They could have set strike out records that could stand a lifetime.
2 words: CHARLIE KERFELD. Mike Hampton?!?!? He doesn't even go on my list, much less #1. I'd have a hard time not putting JR Richards #1. He was just so dominant. I've got no problem putting Scottie there either. Doran would be my 2nd baseman. I'd put Biggio as my catcher. Wagner over Smith for sure...especially after Wagner broke his record this weekend. Hard to believe Wagner was originally supposed to be a starter.
