Following the Astros

An ode to Alex

Richard — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:45:23 +0000

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/7/27/2297524/alex-anthopoulos-reminding-us-that-we-could-do-our-job-better

This is the man who brought you — well, sent you — Brett Wallace.

Carlos Lee Countdown Clock

Richard — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:29:30 +0000

This is a link to the Carlos Lee Contract Countdown Clock.

What inning is it?

Richard — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:08:55 +0000

This is a comment I made on Tom Tango’s blog, Inside the Book:

"I was happy to see Simmons take on the issue. Two minutes, maybe 2:15 to allow four 30-second commercials, between half-innings seems completely reasonable. If baseball does everything television wants, television will render the game unwatchable.

"It seems to me that it’s very much in baseball’s interest to have a typical game end in less than 2 1/2 hours. Teams hate home games on school nights, which I can understand. Who’s going to take the kids on a school night if you won’t get home before 11?

"What eats the time? Commercials and pitching changes. And Jorge Posada."

The Bagwell effect

Richard — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:27:35 +0000

Jeff Bagwell has been the hitting coach for 17 games now, and you might have noticed that the Astros are winning more often. They’re also scoring more, including 18 runs last night in St. Louis.

More important to winning is that they’re punching up some runs every night. Scoring 18 in a game is great, but the best record you can get in one game is 1-0. I look at how often a team scores 5 runs or more, which is usually enough to win.

Pre-Bagwell, the Astros scored 5 runs in 30 games out of 89, or 34 percent. Since Bagwell, they’ve managed to do that 11 times in 17 tries, or 65 percent. And they have won 11 times in 17 tries.

It’s too easy to say Bagwell’s the cause. For one thing, the Astros have made some other changes. But it’s a good development no matter who’s responsible.

A totally new team

Richard — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:59:24 +0000

First things first: Roy Oswalt was a terrific Astro, and Lance Berkman may have been the best Astro. I guess you’d have to put Biggio first and Bagwell second, but I have always liked Berkman and I wish him well.

However, suddenly the Astros are a rebooted franchise with only one obvious millstone — the sad contract of Carlos Lee. I don’t know if they have the parts to make it work, but finally they’ve given up hope that the ’05 Astros can compete in 2010 and beyond.

Even with the $19 million owed to Lee next year and the following, they can manage to put a functional team on the field. So you can move me out of the “hopeless” camp and into the “hopeful” one.

A quick reply to Richard Justice

Richard — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:35:03 +0000

You can say Carlos Lee doesn’t hustle, or he’s a loser, or whatever, and I have never liked him enough to defend him as a player. But there was a very predictable performance line on the table for Lee and the Astros should have known what it was.

All he has done is follow the path of Jim Rice, George Bell, Dante Bichette — guys whose abilities were always overrated and then faded at age 33. Lee’s great fortune was to be in the right place at the right time when Drayton offered him $100 million.

There are many people who can be blamed for offering that contract. None of them are named Carlos Lee. And no amount of huffing and puffing is going to make him a better player for the next 2 1/2 years.

Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman: a tale of two Astros

Richard — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:57:02 +0000

This is a comment I made on the Crawfish Boxes:

Not a Carlos Lee fan, but his performance throughout his Astros career has been entirely in line with what a person would have predicted when he was signed. He has hit steadily for three seasons, played a poor left field and now has reached the falloff stage. It’s going to be expensive, but the Astros offered the contract. I don’t like the player and didn’t like the signing, but there’s really not much to be done about it.

As far as I can tell, Berkman was saying he might be able to help the team more as a trade offering than by actually playing for the team, and under those circumstances he would consider making himself available for trade. He’s right about that, and I absolutely defend him for saying it.

Outside observers like to criticize players for two things: wanting to play for a winner instead of the town team, and wanting to play in a particular place even if they don’t win. You’ll recall Fred McGriff got hammered in the media a few years ago when he declined to be rented out to the Cubs for a few months to stay in Tampa Bay.

I’d hate to lose Berkman, but he’s been a great Astro, productive and interesting and seemingly a good guy. If he took one last one for the team to speed up the rebuilding process, I’d admire him for it.

Carlos Lee in 2012 — I say 100 at-bats maximum

Richard — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:34:39 +0000

Guy hits one game-winning homer and starts talking about three years into the future. Sheesh. My prediction: Carlos Lee will have fewer than 100 at-bats in 2012.

Lee considering retirement after 2012

from Houston Astros News
Left fielder Carlos Lee, who’s in the fourth year of a six-year, $100-million deal, said Thursday he will strongly consider retiring when his contract expires.

What would an Astros panic look like?

Richard — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:09:58 +0000

This is weird. If you’re not panicking, that means you’re giving chances to younger players. Towles isn’t killing it, obviously, but 47 at-bats doesn’t quite qualify as a chance. Towles, age 26, might hit sometime, and Kevin Cash, age 32, is never going to hit. Humberto Quintero, 31, is never going to hit. It would be one thing if the team was bringing up Jason Castro.

The other thing here is: Look, the season is done. This is a luxury now, 136 games to learn more about who can play and who can’t, to showcase players who might be worth trading, that sort of thing.

Astros demote catcher Towles to Corpus Christi

from chron.com Sports
The Astros demoted catcher J.R. Towles to Class AA Corpus Christi .

Brad Mills may know how to manage

Richard — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:53:52 +0000

Look, the Astros are going to be awful this year, but I am still liking some of what I’m seeing. This is a good example. Mills is making a smart decision here by giving Manzella a day off. Here’s why:

–People learn in different ways, and Manzella gets to learn by watching. Even watching someone mess it up can be helpful.
–It gives Matsui a chance to play. Players can’t stay sharp if they play all the time, but they can’t stay sharp if they never play, either.

The interesting decision of the year is going to be what happens with Carlos Lee. There is no ray of hope there even though he has dinked out a few hits lately, including a triple. The question to me is not whether he’s on the Jim Rice/George Bell path, but how far down it he is. And yet the Astros are obligated to send him more than $50 million over the next three years. That’s going to leave a mark.

Mills has Manzella observe, then serve

from Houston Astros News

Houston Astros Manager Brad Mills believes you can learn a lot by watching. He hopes shortstop Tommy Manzella did just that before entering the game in the eighth inning on Saturday.