Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Part 2 of 4 - Are We Getting Any Better?

For Part 1 of this analysis, go here.

Based on a look at the historical make-up of the AAA and AA Astros teams, I was able to determine when drafted players are most likely to make it to those levels on average.  Obviously there will be over-achievers like J.D. Martinez that will zoom through the system and there will be younger players like Javaris Reynolds that may very well take a bit longer, but on average this is when most of the drafted players got to or are projected to get to those levels:

AAA
2002 – 1997 to 1999 drafts
2003 – 1998 to 2000 drafts
2004 – 1999 to 2001 drafts
2005 – 2000 to 2002 drafts
2006 – 2001 to 2003 drafts
2007 – 2002 to 2004 drafts
2008 – 2003 to 2005 drafts
2009 – 2004 to 2006 drafts
2010 – 2005 to 2007 drafts
2011 – 2006 to 2008 drafts
2012 – 2007 to 2009 drafts
2013 – 2008 to 2010 drafts

AA
2002 – 1998 to 2000 drafts
2003 – 1999 to 2001 drafts
2004 – 2000 to 2002 drafts
2005 – 2001 to 2003 drafts
2006 – 2002 to 2004 drafts
2007 – 2003 to 2005 drafts
2008 – 2004 to 2006 drafts
2009 – 2005 to 2007 drafts
2010 – 2006 to 2008 drafts
2011 – 2007 to 2009 drafts
2012 – 2008 to 2010 drafts

In looking at these projections, starting in 2012 in Corpus Christi and starting in 2013 in Oklahoma City, Bobby Heck will have to own those teams in terms of performance as his own draft picks work their way up the food chain.

But as you well know, no minor league team is made up completely of draft picks.  This led me to look at the historical make-up of the minor league teams to see if I could find any factors there that impacted performance of the system as a whole.

These percentages are based on the approximately 24-29 players on any given team in any given season who got the majority of the IP, AB’s and games played.  It does not include every player listed on the roster for the entire season.  Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.  “Other” includes free agents, waiver claims, players obtained by trades and non-Latin NDFA’s.  I did not include the GCL team as it only started in 2009 or the DSL team for obvious reasons.



Some observations based on this table:

The 2007 draft class (highlighted for your convenience) quickly fizzles out.  In particular you can look at Salem/Lancaster for an illustration of this.  Each year in High-A, the draft class from two years prior is the largest group until 2009 when the 2008 class was pressed into early service.

The poor draft classes from 2002 forward take a toll on the AA and AAA teams as well.  In 2007, 52% of the primary players on the Round Rock team were players who had been drafted.  The average of drafted players from 2008 to 2011 was 32%.  In Corpus, drafted players made up 60% and 70% of the primary players on the 2007 and 2008 teams, and then averaged 48% in 2009 to 2011 (with a slight uptick in 2011).

There are probably other observations that can be taken from the table, but I will leave that to the reader at this point.  In summary, the 2002 through 2007 draft classes have had a definite negative impact on the farm system, but that impact is starting to fade as the new players make their way through the system.

In Part 3, we will look at age, injuries and other factors that have impacted the farm system.

Winter League Recaps

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Aguilas over Estrellas 3-1
Brian Bogusevic was 1-4 with a double and a run scored for Aguilas.  Mickey Storey pitched one inning with one walk and one strikeout for Estrellas.

Escogido over Gigantes 7-0
Jimmy Paredes came in to pinch hit for the Gigantes team and stayed in at second base and was 1-2.  Also for the Gigantes, Erick Abreu pitched a third of an inning with two hits, two runs, one walk and one strikeout and Enerio del Rosario pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit and one walk with a strikeout.

Toros over Licey 1-0
*Anderson Hernandez was 2-4 for Licey.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Lara over La Guaira 12-8
*Oswaldo Navarro came in to pinch hit and was 1-1, WITH A GRAND SLAM!!!  That's what I call a pinch hit!

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Ponce 9-5
*Robinson Cancel went 2-4 with an RBI and a strikeout for Ponce.

Carolina over Mayaguez 3-2
Enrique Hernandez was 0-4 for Carolina, while Xavier Cedeno pitched two innings with one hit and one strikeout to earn his second save.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/30

RHP Agapito Barrios (18)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Panama, Barrios pitched for the DSL Astros in 2011.  In 13 games started, he pitched 58.2 innings with a 3-4 record, a 4.60 ERA and a 1.398 WHIP.  His ERA dropped to 3.63 after the All-Star break.  And he's just turning 18.

RHP Jonnathan Aristil (25)
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Aristil came to Houston from Colorado as a part of the Matt Lindstrom trade.  In 2011, for Corpus Christi (plus 1.0 IP at OKC), Aristil had a 6.08 ERA with a 1.624 WHIP.  He is currently pitching in the Dominican winter league.

Tweet of the Day


brandon meredith
No shave November comes to an end

brandon meredith
The question to keep the mustache or to not??

Bonus Tweet of the Day


Kellen Kiilsgaard
When I first got my license, turned my music up, put the car in reverse and went right thru the garage door.
~~~~~~
Presumably, that was before he got into Stanford.

Roster Moves - 11/29

C Carlos Corporan was signed to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

Also, Astros Bullpen Coach Jamie Quirk is leaving to accept a bench coach position with the Cubs.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Part 1 of 4 - Are We Getting Any Better?

Where is the Astros farm system in terms of rebuilding?  That seems like a fairly straightforward question, but it turns out that there are so many factors involved that, in my analysis, one thing led to another and to another and to another.  I’m still not sure that I know the answer to the question, but I think I now have a better understanding of the system as a whole.  Read on to be frustrated and encouraged, often simultaneously.

2011 was not only a bad year for the Astros major league club, it was also a bad year for the Astros minor league teams as a whole.  How bad?  Out of 30 farm systems, this is how we ranked as a whole in six areas:

Win Percentage – 30 out of 30
ERA – 30 out of 30
WHIP – 30 out of 30
BA – 18 out of 30
OBP – 19 out of 30
SLG – 23 out of 30

It's nice to see that we're not dead last in the hitting categories, but the rankings are not exactly encouraging.  When I saw those numbers, I questioned whether or not we were actually getting any better.  I sensed that we were, but if so, what could explain this.  Here is part of what I found.

Knowing that it takes several years for players to work their way through the system and knowing that the Astros drafts were almost universally panned from 2002 through 2007, I went back to look at the attrition rate at three years and at five years out, what prominent players, if any, came from that class and who remains in the Astros system from that class.

2002
53% out of system in three years
70% out of system in five years
Still in system - None
Notable players – Mitch Talbot

2003
68% out of system in three years
88% out of system in five years
Still in system – None
Notable players – Jason Hirsh, Josh Anderson

2004
52% out of system in three years
82% out of system in five years
Still in system – Brad James (free agent) & J.R. Towles (free agent)
Notable players – Hunter Pence, Ben Zobrist, Troy Patton, Drew Sutton, J.R. Towles

2005
63% out of system in three years
78% out of system in five years
Still in system – Brian Bogusevic, Brandon Barnes, Koby Clemens (free agent)
Notable players – Brian Bogusevic, Tommy Manzella

2006
64% out of system in three years
86% out of system in five years
Still in system – Sergio Perez, Jimmy VanOstrand, Bud Norris, Chris Johnson
Notable players – Bud Norris, Chris Johnson

2007
79% out of system in three years
91% out of system in five years
Still in system – Collin DeLome, Kyle Greenwalt, Colton Pitkin
Notable players – None

Let’s carry this forward and look at Bobby Heck’s first two drafts

2008
44% out of system in three years
Still in system – 18 players (3 in majors)
Notable players (to date) – Jason Castro, Jordan Lyles, J.B. Shuck

2009
50% out of system in three years
Still in system – 18 players (1 in majors)
Notable players (to date) – J.D. Martinez, Dallas Keuchel

I think it is safe to argue that the farm system bottomed out in 2007 and that we are still feeling the repercussions from those earlier bad drafts in terms of depth in the system.  Because of that, I will be using 2007 as the starting point in the next portions of my analysis.

I will leave you with one last stat in this part of my analysis – average win percentage of Astros farm system teams, as a whole.

From 2002 to 2006 - .525 Average Win Percentage
From 2007 to 2011 - .427 Average Win Percentage

In Part 2, we will look at the historical make-up of the farm teams and how that may reflect the strength of the draft classes and other circumstances.

Winter League Recaps

Most of the teams had the day off.  Only two games to report on.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Licey over Estrellas 3-2
*Anderson Hernandez was 1-5 with an RBI for Licey, while Henry Villar pitched a third of an inning and gave up one hit, no runs and no walks.

*Free Agent

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Magallanes over Carcas 10-4
Jose Altuve went 1-5 with two strikeouts, and Gabriel Garcia pitched one inning, giving up no hits, no runs and no walks for Magallanes.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

Per a tweet yesterday evening, Brandon Barnes is headed out to play in the Australian League.  When I find his information, I will add him to the appropriate roster.

In case you missed it, I posted cumulative stats through 11/27 yesterday for all Astros players in the Winter League.  Two more Astros players showed up in the Dominican - RHP Jose Cisnero and RHP Mickey Storey.  They have been added to the rosters and to the cumulative stats.

Happy Birthday - 11/29

Former Astros with birthdays today

LHP Pedro Martinez (43)
Pitched in 25 games for Houston in 1995

LF Mike Easler (61)
Pitched in 26 games for Houston in 1973 to 1975

SS Jason Alfaro (34)
Played in 7 games for Houston in 2004

Happy Birthday - 11/28

Okay, so I got a little confused on dates over the holidays.  This should have been posted yesterday.  Oops!

Former Astros with birthdays today

1B/OF Jim Fuller (61)
Played in 34 games for Houston in 1977

RHP Pedro Astacio (43)
Pitched 28.2 innings for Houston in 2001, going 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.186 WHIP

Tweet of the Day


Austin Wates
Back on my offseason diet game... Man-plan + beast mode + crazy amounts of quality food = not dying after 100+ games

Monday, November 28, 2011

Cumulative Winter League Stats

Here are the updated cumulative stats for all Astros players on rosters for the Caribbean Winter League teams through 11/27.  If there are no stats, the player hasn't been in a game yet.  For now, I am including those players who played for the Astros in 2011 but are now free agents as some of those players may still end up re-signing with the Astros at some point.  I will mark the free agents with an asterisk on the stats table and in the recaps.





*Free Agents

WTH 25-Man Roster - Starting Pitcher

As posted over the weekend, we were able to narrow down the pool for Starting Pitcher candidates, including those with fewer innings (Adrian Houser) and those coming off the DL (Vincent Velasquez), etc.  Now that the field has been narrowed, we are going to vote for our third Starting Pitcher (the fourth & fifth will also be coming from this list).

This is not an easy vote.  Cosart and Houser probably have the best stuff of all of these guys, but Cosart has three years on Houser.  Clemens and Oberholtzer are probably ready to go today while Nick Tropeano, Kyle Hallock and Luis Ordosgoitti have me excited for what may come.  Ross Seaton is a workhorse and is only 22 at Corpus so look for improvement this season.  And what will a healthy Velasquez be capable of?

With all that said, here are the 2011 stats for the players.  Look them over and vote.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Caribes over Aragua 2-1
Sergio Perez got the start for Aragua and went three innings, giving up two hits and five walks with four strikeouts.

Caracas over Lara 5-4
Joe Thurston was 0-3 with a walk and *Oswaldo Navarro was 1-1 in a pinch hit appearance for Lara.

La Guaira over Magallanes 6-5
Sergio Escalona retired his one batter faced for La Guaira.  Jose Altuve was 1-4 with an RBI double and a strikeout.

Zulia over Margarita 7-3
Arcenio Leon pitched two-thirds of an inning for Zulia, giving up a run on two walks.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Toros over Estrellas 5-2
Wander Alvino pitched a third of an inning for Estrellas, retiring his one batter with a strikeout.

Gigantes over Aguilas 9-5
Brian Bogusevic was 3-5 with a 2-run home run and scored two runs for Aguilas.

Licey over Escogido 5-2
*Anderson Hernandez was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk and scored a run for Licey.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Ponce over Mayaguez 6-4
*Robinson Cancel was 1-4 with a solo home run, a walk and a strikeout for Ponce.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/27

Only former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Dave Giusti (72)
Pitched for the Colt 45's in 1962 & 1964 and for the Astros in 1965 to 1968
47-53 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.284 WHIP in 913.1 IP

C Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (40)
Played in 93 games for Houston in 2009
Traded to the Rangers for Matt Nevarez and Jose Vallejo

Tweet of the Day


Josh Zeid
Just crushed some orange chicken. Tomorrow starts my offseason workout program.

No Announced Roster Moves Today But ...

With a h/t to @farmstros, Baseball America is showing that Wladimir Sutil was signed by the Diamondbacks system.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

WTH 25-Man Roster

There is no winner this week in the WTH 25-Man Roster as we were only trying to whittle down our choices for Starting Pitchers.  Top vote getters included Jared Cosart, Paul Clemens, Brett Oberholtzer, Adrian Houser and Vincent Velasquez.  Also receiving votes were Tommy Shirley, Tanner Bushue, Ruben Alaniz, Luis Cruz, Edison Frias, Christoper Lee, Zachary Grimmett and Brandt Walker.  All of these pitchers will join our runners-up from the previous rounds of voting and will make up the pool from which we will chose our final three starting pitchers.  (For more information on the WTH 25-Man Roster, go here.)

Coming Monday - We will vote for our third Starting Pitcher.

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Magallanes over Lara 12-2
Jose Altuve was 0-3 with a sacrifice fly RBI and Federico Hernandez was 1-1 with an RBI in a pinch hitting appearance for Magallanes.  David Martinez got the start for the Magallanes team, pitching 4.1 innings with five hits, no runs, two walks and five strikeouts.  Joe Thurston was 2-4 with a double and *Oswaldo Navarro was 0-2 for Lara.

La Guaira over Caracas 4-3
Sergio Escalona retired his one batter faced for La Guaira.  *Wladimir Sutil was 1-3 with a walk and scored a run for Caracas.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Gigantes over Licey
*Anderson Hernandez was 1-4 with a triple, a walk and scored a run for Licey, while Sammy Gervacio pitched 0.2 innings with one hit (and allowed two inherited runners to score) and Henry Villar pitched one inning with one hit, no runs, one walk and a strikeout.

Aguilas over Toros 5-2
Brian Bogusevic was 1-3 with an RBI double, a walk, two strikeouts and scored a run for Aguilas.

Estrellas over Escogido 3-2
Jorge de Leon pitched a third of an inning and gave up one hit and one walk for Escogido.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/26

RHP Victor Mesa (18)
A non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic, Victor pitched in 11 games (25.2 IP) for the DSL Astros in 2011, going 2-0 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.480 WHIP.  After the All-Star break, his ERA was 1.98 and he had a WHIP of 1.171.  All of this was done at the ripe old age of 17.

Former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Jeff Fulchino (32)
Jeff pitched for Houston from 2009 to 2011.  In his first season with the Astros, he was a very effective part of the bullpen, going 6-4 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.183 WHIP.  Unfortunately, he was never able to recapture that effectiveness on the major league level for Houston and was selected off waivers by the Padres in September.  He is currently a free agent.

RHP Mike Mendoza (56)
This is the way to get a cup of coffee.  Mike pitched one inning in one game in the majors and it was perfect.

Tweet of the Day


brandon meredith
Ha ha ha look at me sophomore year in college...

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Winter League Recaps

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Carolina 9-7
Roberto Pena came in to pinch hit and went 1-1 and scored a run for Caguas while Luis Cruz pitched three innings and gave up eight hits, six runs (5 earned) and a home run with three strikeouts.  For Carolina, Carlos Corporan was 1-2 and scored a run; Rene Garcia was 1-1 with an RBI double and a walk; and Enrique Hernandez came in to pinch hit and stayed in to play third base and was 0-2 with an RBI (reached on a fielding error) and a strikeout.

Mayaguez over Ponce 4-0
*Robinson Canel was 0-4 with a strikeout for Ponce, and Adalberto Flores pitched one inning and gave up a solo home run.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Gigantes over Aguilas 5-4
Brian Bogusevic was 1-3 with a solo home run and two walks for Aguilas, and Jonathan Villar came in to pinch run and stole a base.

Licey over Escogido 5-0
*Anderson Hernandez was 0-3 with a strikeout and a walk for Licey.

Estrellas over Toros 11-1
Henry Sosa pitched 4.1 innings for Estrellas, giving up five hits, one run, two walks and a home run with four strikeouts and a wild pitch.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Margarita over Magallanes 11-5
Jose Altuve was 0-2 with an sacrifice fly RBI, a walk, a strikeout and an error (his 10th) for Magallanes, and Gabriel Garcia pitched two-thirds of an inning with one hit and one strikeout.

Caracas over Lara 7-3 in 11 innings
*Wladimir Sutil came in as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning and went 0-1 for Caracas.  Joe Thurston was 2-6 with a strikeout and two GIDP's for Lara.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/25

3B/2B Jimmy Paredes (23)
Originally from the Dominican Republic and signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 2006, Jimmy Santiago Paredes (awesome middle name) came to the Astros organization in the Lance Berkman trade in 2010.  In 93 games at Corpus, Jimmy hit .270/.300/.426/.726 before being promoted to Houston where he hit .286/.320/.393/.713.  After spending only a few weeks playing at the hot corner in the minor leagues, Jimmy took over as the starting third baseman in August.  He is currently playing in the Dominican winter league and has been playing most of his games at third base with an occasional start at second.

LHP Kilby Pena (19)
Born in Salem, Massachusetts and signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 2009, Pena only pitched in 6 games for the GCL Astros in 2010 with poor results.  He did not pitch at all in 2011 which probably means injury issues, but I haven't been able to find any further information about him.

Former Astros with birthdays today

1B Rafael Batista (died October 25, 2008 at age 62)
Played in 22 games for Houston in 1973 and 1975 with a .280 BA

RHP John Johnstone (43)
Pitched in 9 games for Houston in 1996

RHP Octavio Dotel (38)
Pitched in Houston from 2000 to 2004
22-24 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.169 WHIP and 42 saves over 449 IP

Tweet of the Day


Jordan Comadena
At the mall....great time to people watch. People are crazy...gotta find that deal!!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Caracas over Aragua 6-1
*Wladimir Sutil was 2-4 with a two RBI double and scored two runs in Caracas' win.

Margarita over Magallanes 4-2
Jose Altuve went 1-4 with a double, two strikeouts and scored a run for Magallanes.  His batting average has now dropped to .396.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE & PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE had the day off.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/24

1B Jesse Wierzbicki (23)
Originally from Georgia, Wierzbicki was drafted in the 24th round in 2011 out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  In his first season with Greeneville, he put up some good numbers, batting  .265/.368/.444/.802 with 12 doubles, a triple, five home runs and three stolen bases over 162 AB's.  I look forward to seeing what he will do in a full season next year.

One former Astro with a birthday today

RHP George Throop (61)
Pitched in 14 games for Houston in 1979

Tweet of the Day


Jason Bourgeois
Give back! Thanks for the photo

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Winter League Recaps

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Gigantes over Licey 5-3
*Anderson Hernandez was 1-4 with an RBI for Licey, and Henry Villar pitched 1.2 innings and gave up one hit, no runs and no walks.

Aguilas over Toros 5-1
Brian Bogusevic was 0-3 with a walk, two strikeouts and scored a run for Aguilas.  Jonnathan Aristil pitched 2.1 innings with no hits, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts for Toros.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

La Guaira over Magallanes 8-7
Sergio Escalona finally made an appearance in Venezuela last night.  In two-thirds of an inning pitched for La Guaira, he gave up one hit, no runs and one walk.  For Magallanes, Jose Altuve had yet another good night going 2-5 with a double, an RBI, a strikeout and scored a run while Gabriel Garcia pitched a third of an inning with a walk and a strikeout.

Lara over Aragua 6-2
Joe Thurston was 2-5 with two RBI's and scored a run in Lara's win.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Carolina over Ponce 4-2
Enrique Hernandez was 0-4 with a strikeout for Carolina, while Xavier Cedeno pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no hits, no runs, no walks, one strikeout and earned the save.  Adalberto Flores pitched one inning for Ponce with one walk and one strikeout.

*Free Agent

Tweet of the Day - Happy Thanksgiving


Jake Buchanan
Man life goes by fast, but I still love my friends that make life last

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Methinks someone is home for the holidays and is tripping down memory lane.  I give you Young Bud!

Bud Norris

Bud Norris
Got that Nolan Ryan leg kick. Ha

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Winter League Recaps

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Lara over Magallanes 10-9 in 11 innings
Joe Thurston was 2-6 with a solo home run and two strikeouts, and *Oswaldo Navarro was 0-1 with a strikeout for Lara.  Jose Altuve was 2-6 with a triple and scored two runs for Magallanes.  Andy Van Hekken got the start for Magallanes, pitching 4.2 innings with eight hits, four runs, one walk, four strikeouts and a home run and Gabriel Garcia pitched 0.2 innings with two hits, one run and one strikeout and was charged with the loss.

La Guaira over Aragua 6-4
Sergio Perez pitched six innings with eight hits, three runs, one walk and five strikeouts.  He was in line for the win, but was the victim of a blown save.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Licey over Aguilas 5-4
*Anderson Hernandez was 4-4 with a triple, two RBI's and scored a run for Licey.  Brian Bogusevic was 1-3 with two walks and a strikeout for Aguilas.

Toros over Escogido 4-0
Fernando Abad got the start and the win for the Toros, pitching five innings with one hit, one walk and four strikeouts.  Jorge de Leon pitched 1.2 innings for Escogido and gave up one hit.

Estrellas over Gigantes 10-5
Wander Alvino pitched to two batters giving up a hit and a walk for Estrellas.  Jimmy Paredes came in to pinch hit and stayed in as a DH for the Gigantes.  He was 2-2 with a double and scored a run.  Erick Abreu pitched one inning for Gigantes, giving up two hits, one run, two strikeouts and a home run.

PUERTO RICO

Ponce over Caguas 9-6
Adalberto Flores retired his one batter for Ponce.

Happy Birthday - 11/23

Former Astros with birthdays today

RHP John Anderson (died December 20, 1998 at age 69)
Pitched for the Colt 45's in 1962

OF Colin Porter (36)
Played in 24 games in Houston in 2003

Tweet of the Day

Bud Norris

when we gunna get another pic of Movember!!! Lol. Hope all is well 5 0
~~~~~


Jimmy VanOstrand
Here you go brother! Sorry I've been slacking on the pics #80'sbaseball
pic.twitter.com/iyLQP7gx

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Winter League Update

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Gigantes over Estrellas 6-0
Enerio Del Rosario pitched two-thirds of an inning with no hits, no runs and one walk for the Gigantes.  For Estrellas, Wander Alvino pitched one-third of an inning and also had no hits, no runs and one walk.

No other games in the Caribbean Winter Leagues on Monday.

Here are the cumulative stats for all Astros players on rosters for the Arizona Fall League or Caribbean Winter League teams through 11/21.  If there are no stats, the player hasn't been in a game yet.  For now, I am including those players who played for the Astros in 2011 but are now free agents as some of those players may still end up re-signing with the Astros at some point.  I will mark the free agents with an asterisk on the stats table and in the recaps.



Happy Birthday - 11/22

OF Drew Muren (23)
Drafted in the 22nd round in 2011 out of Cal State Northridge, Muren put up a respectable  .257/.376/.324/.700 batting line for Tri-City.  But in looking at the numbers more closely, Muren got stronger as the season went on, hitting .237 Pre All-Star and .327 Post All-Star.  And this lefty hitter not only held his own, but actually hit better (.300) against LHP's than against RHP's (.241).

Former Astros with birthdays today

OF Joe Gaines (75)
Played for the Colt 45's in 1964 and the Astros in 1965

LHP Wade Blasingame (68)
Pitched for Houston from 1967 to 1972

RHP Oscar Villarreal (30)
Pitched for Houston in 2008

Tweet of the Day


Jiovanni Mier
"only person holding you back in life, is yourself"

Roster Moves - 11/21/11

Technically, this is from 11/11 but MiLB just posted it on Monday.  And technically, you already know the gist of it.  But technically, MiLB lists LHP Garrett Bullock (TCV) and RHP Danilo del Rio (GRN) as having elected free agency, not as having been released as reported by Baseball America.  So I wanted to get that straight ... technically.

Monday, November 21, 2011

WTH 25-Man Roster - Starting Pitchers (Narrowing Down our Choices)

As posted over the weekend, CF George Springer convincingly won the tenth spot on the WTH roster.  Also receiving votes were Austin Wates, Emilio King, Teoscar Hernandez, Jay Austin and Brandon Barnes.

This week we're not going to vote for a final spot on the roster, but we're going to narrow down some of our choices for Starting Pitcher.  There are quite a few pitchers who haven't been included in a poll yet because they didn't pitch enough innings last season to qualify or they were on the DL all season.  I would like to give some of those players a chance to compete with some of the others that received votes in earlier rounds.  For example, Vincent Velasquez (DL), Adrian Houser (min. IP) and Jared Cosart will be included in this list.  We'll put the high vote getters from this list up against the runners-up from prior votes (Nick Tropeano and Kyle Hallock for example).

I know it sounds confusing because it is!  All you really need to know is this.  Vote up to five times for those pitchers you would like to see make it to the next round for a final vote.  With all that said, here are the 2011 stats for the players.  Look them over and vote.

Winter League Recap

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Magallanes over Margarita 3-1
Jose Altuve was 3-4 with a run scored and a stolen base for Magallanes.  David Martinez got bumped up to play at the higher level of Magallanes and I had missed his first appearance.  On 11/15, he pitched three innings with one hit, one walk and a strikeout.  In yesterday's performance, he went five innings and gave up three hits and two walks with two strikeouts to get the win for Magallanes.  He also had a 0.00 ERA at the lower level.

Caracas over Zulia 6-1
*Wladimir Sutil was 1-2 with a walk for Caracas.  Arcenio Leon pitched two innings for Zulia with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.

La Guaira over Lara 5-4
Joe Thurston was 2-3 with two RBI's, a walk, a strikeout and scored a run for Lara.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Aguilas over Licey 6-5
Brian Bogusevic was 1-4 with two strikeouts and scored a run for Aguilas.  *Anderson Hernandez was 1-5 with two strikeouts for Licey.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Carolina 5-4
Carlos Corporan was 0-4 for Carolina while Xavier Cedeno pitched one inning with no hits, no runs, no walks and one strikeout.

Mayaguez over Ponce 8-6
*Robinson Cancel was 0-5 with a strikeout for Ponce.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/21

Only former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Gary Wilson (57)
Pitched in 6 games for Houston in 1979

IF Tripp Cromer (44)
Played in 12 games for Houston in 2000 & 2003

Tweet of the Day


Dallas Keuchel
Saw the sunset in Scottsdale, AZ and saw the sunrise in Tulsa, OK. straight drive through after winning the AFL championship.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

WTH 25-Man Roster

The tenth player selected for the What the Heck 25-Man Roster was CF George Springer who elected by a wide margin.  Also receiving votes were Austin Wates, Emilio King, Teoscar Hernandez, Jay Austin and Brandon Barnes.  (For more information on the WTH 25-Man Roster, go here.)

Coming Monday - Let's narrow down the candidates for our next Starting Pitcher.

Final Arizona Fall League Update

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Salt River over Surprise 9-3
After getting absolutely clobbered (we're talking mercy rule clobbered) by Surprise on Thursday, Salt River came back strong and never trailed Surprise in this game.

The scoring got started in the top of the second.  Jason Castro reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases.  Goebbert was the next batter and drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly RBI.  In the top of the 4th, Castro hit a one-out stand up double down the left field line but was stranded there.  In the top of the 7th, Goebbert singled and came around to score small-ball style with a sac bunt, a single and a fielder's choice bringing him home as he showed off his base-running skills.  David Nick of the Diamondbacks organization was the hero of the day with a bases loaded triple that broke the game wide open.  Josh Zeid pitched 0.1 inning issuing a walk, a single and getting the final out of the 7th on a flyball out.  Surprise threatened in the bottom of the 9th but ultimately left the bases loaded.

Castro - 1 for 4 with a double, a strikeout and a GIDP
Goebbert - 1-3 with a sac fly RBI and a run scored
Zeid - 0.1 IP with one hit and one walk

How did our Astros do overall in the AFL?

Jay Austin - .311/.385/.444/.829 over 11 games
In the games I watched on gameday, Austin seemed to have good plate discipline which showed as he only recorded nine strikeouts to six walks which is a very good sign for him.  Eleven games is a very limited sample size, but it was against some of the best players out there.  My hope is that it will instill confidence in Austin that will help him out next season.

Jason Castro - .289/.404/.316/.720 over 12 games
Castro started out extremely slowly at the plate but he really picked that up his last few games.  But that isn't nearly as important as him knowing that his ACL has healed to the point that he can not only function but excel behind the plate.  Again, it is a confidence thing that should serve him well going into spring training.

Jake Goebbert - .247/.301/.412/.713 over 22 games
From all accounts, Goebbert was well-liked for his defensive abilities in left field.  He started out very slowly at the plate, but was hitting .300 over his last 10 games.  He had six doubles, a triple and two home runs and stole two bases.  His main issue was strikeouts.  He had nineteen strikeouts to only seven walks.

Kody Hinze - .268/.362/.463/.825 over 22 games
Hinze had the opposite problem from Goebbert.  He started out fairly well but seemed to fade over the last few games.  He had only 5 hits in his final 21 at-bats.  He ended up with four doubles, four home-runs and eighteen RBI's

Josh Zeid - 2-0 with an ERA of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.667 over 15 games
Josh settled down nicely after a terrible start.  In his final 10 appearances he had a 3.46 ERA with a 1.385 WHIP.  Having seen him pitch in a couple of games now, it is apparent that he has the stuff but his control is questionable at times.

Jason Stoffel - 0-1 with a 6.85 ERA and a 2.143 WHIP over 14 games
Jason never really got it together at the fall league.  He gave up far too many walks (21 over 18.1 IP) and just wasn't effective.

Dallas Keuchel - 3-2 with a 5.08 ERA & 1.306 WHIP over 7 games (6 starts)
Keuchel had two bad games and five good games.  In his five good games, he had a 2.70 ERA and a 0.850 WHIP.  And if anyone doubts his control, consider this.  He had 22 strikeouts and one walk.  I think that's all I need to say.

Winter League Update

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Aguilas over Estrellas 7-1
Brian Bogusevic went 3-4 with two RBI's, a stolen base and scored a run for Aguilas.  Henry Sosa started for Estrellas and pitched 4.1 innings, giving up six hits, four runs, one walk and three strikeouts.  He was charged with the loss.

Gigantes over Escogido 9-1
Jimmy Paredes came in to pinch hit and went 0-1 for the Gigantes.

Toros over Licey 3-2
*Anderson Hernandez was 2-5 with a double, two strikeouts and scored a run for Licey.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

La Guaira over Lara 10-0
Joe Thurston was 1-4 and *Oswaldo Navarro was 1-2 with a strikeout for Lara.

Magallanes over Margarita 3-0
Jose Altuve went 2-3 with an RBI, a caught stealing and an error (his 9th).

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Ponce over Carolina 6-2
*Robinson Cancel was 0-3 with a walk and scored a run for Ponce, while Adalberto Flores pitched 0.2 innings and walked two.  Rene Garcia was 0-1 with a walk for Carolina.  Carlos Corporan came in to pinch hit for Garcia, stayed in to catch and went 1-2.

*Free Agent

No Birthdays Today

Transactions from this date (November 20th)

1996
St. Louis signed Delino DeShields (senior) as a free agent

1999
Astros signed Jose Vizcaino as a free agent

2007
Astros signed Geoff Blum as a free agent

2009
Astros signed Jose Valdez as a free agent

Tweet of the Day


Josh Zeid
And we win!!!!!!!! are 2011 champions!! !!! !

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Fall and Winter League Updates

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

This is the last day for Arizona Fall League action.  Salt River (22-16) will take on Surprise (26-10) in the Championship Game to be aired on the MLB Network at 2:00 CST.  Jake Goebbert has been announced as being in the starting line-up.

WINTER LEAGUES

First a couple of tidbits.  Koby Clemens went AWOL down in Puerto Rico and is now barred from playing in the Puerto Rican, Venezuelan and Dominican Leagues.  The last game he played in was on November 9th which happens to be the same day that Wilson Ramos was kidnapped.  That could just be a coincidence, but I personally doubt it.  Secondly, apparently Brett Wallace has been released by Escogido.  The last game he appeared in was on November 13th and he is no longer listed on the Escogido roster.  UPDATED TO ADD - Here is a link from Wednesday that confirms that Wallace was released.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Carolina 2-1 in 12 innings
Luis Cruz pitched four innings giving up three hits, one run and four walks with four strikeouts for Caguas.  Carlos Corporan was 1-4 with a walk and Enrique Hernandez was 0-1 and committed an error for Carolina while Xavier Cedeno pitched 1.1 innings with one hit and one strikeout.

Mayaguez over Ponce 1-0
Robinson Cancel was 0-2 with two walks for Ponce.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Caribes over Magallanes 3-1
Jose Altuve was 0-4 for Magallanes and Gabriel Garcia pitched 0.2 innings giving up no hits, no runs and no walks.

Zulia over Margarita 1-0 in 10 innings
Arcenio Leon faced two batters and issued walks to both of them for Zulia.

Caracas over Lara 9-5
*Oswaldo Navarro was 2-3 with a walk and scored a run, and Joe Thurston was 1-3 with a walk for Lara.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Aguilas over Escogido 3-2
Brian Bogusevic was 0-3 with a walk for Aguilas.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/19

Only one former Astro with a birthday today

RHP Aurelio Monteagudo (died November 10, 1990 at age 46)
Pitched in 10 games for Houston in 1966

Tweet of the Day


Josh Zeid
Championship game at 1 pm (3 ET) tomorrow on for the .

Roster Moves - 11/18/11

Houston signed RHP Lance Pendleton to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.  In addition, RHP Paul Clemens was added to the 40-man roster before tonight's deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft.  Clemens was just listed (yesterday) as the #5 prospect in the Astros system by Baseball America.  The story is here.

I'm somewhat surprised that Houston did not choose to protect Kody Hinze, particularly since he just participated in the Arizona Fall League.  When the Rule 5 draft rolls around on December 8th, I will be particularly interested in Kody Hinze and, as to the AA level of the Rule 5 draft, RHP Dayan Diaz.

The 40-Man Roster now stands at 38 which gives the Astros some flexibility in picking up someone along the lines of Aneury Rodriguez or Wesley Wright, both Rule 5 picks from past seasons.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Final Score

Bud Selig 3000 over My Heart 0

I've got nothing to add to everything that's been said in the last twenty-four hours about the Astros going to the American League.  Even though I knew it was coming, I am numb and I am tired and there is really nothing left in the tanks right now.  So, talk amongst yourselves and be good to each other.  We're all we've got right now.

Baseball America's Top Prospects

Buried in the angst of the AL move, this came out from Baseball America regarding the Astros top prospects.  I haven't even had the time or energy to read the full report yet.  Enjoy!

Fall and Winter League Updates

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

Surprise over Salt River 12-2
Do we really have to talk about this one?  They actually pulled the mercy rule after seven.  Kody Hinze was the only Astros position player to participate and he went 0-3 with a strikeout.  Jason Stoffel pitched 1.1 innings with one hit, one walk, a strikeout, a wild pitch and a hit-by-pitch.  Josh Zeid continued his streak of effective outings despite a wild pitch of his own as he pitched one inning with one hit and two strikeouts

This was the end of the regular season.  The championship game will take place between these two games on Saturday.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Magallanes over Caracas 7-2
After two hitless games, Jose Altuve is back to normal with a 3-5 night in which he scored a run for Magallanes while *Andy Van Hekken pitched 3.2 innings with five hits, two runs, a walk and four strikeouts.

Lara over Caribes 3-2
Joe Thurston was 1-2 with a double, two walks and a run scored for Lara.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Toros over Estrellas 8-6
Jonnathan Aristil pitched 0.2 innings, giving up three hits, three runs and a walk for the Toros.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Ponce over Mayaguez 4-2
*Robinson Cancel was 2-4 with a run scored for Ponce.  Angel Sanchez was 0-2 for Mayaguez.

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/18

OF Travis Buck (28)
One of the newest Astros, Buck was signed by the Astros last week to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.  In parts of five seasons in the majors with Oakland and Cleveland, Buck had a .246/.320/.408/.727 batting line.  In 2011, he was .256/.366/.421/.787 in the minors.

Former Astros with birthdays today

RHP Gil Rondon (58)
Pitched in 19 games for Houston in 1976

C Luis Pujols (56)
Played for Houston from 1977 to 1983

RHP Jeff Heathcock (52)
Pitched in 56 games for Houston in 1983, 1985, 1987 & 1988 with a 3.76 ERA & 1.190 WHIP

LF Steve Henderson (59)
Played in 42 games for Houston in 1988

C Eddie Tucker (45)
Played for Houston in 1992, 1993 and 1995

RHP Tom "Flash" Gordon (44)
Pitched in 15 games in 2002 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.105 WHIP

Tweet of the Day

So it's not really a tweet, but I just love the bio of the newest Astros blogger on the block.
~~~

Roster Moves - 11/17/11

According to Baseball America:

CC
RHP Erick Abreu has been re-signed

LAN
SS Miguel Arrendell has been released

TCV
RHP Joan Belliard has been released
LHP Garrett Bullock has been released
LHP Travis Smink has been released
SS Jacke Healey has been released

GRN
RHP Danilo Del Rio has been released
RHP Mark Jones has been released
1B Ronald Sanchez has been released

GCL
RHP Pedro Gomez has been released

I don't think that there are any great surprises with any of these moves.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fall and Winter League Updates

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

Phoenix over Salt River 12-7
The good guys may have lost but the Astros players had a very good day as they scored four of the runs and batted in six of the seven runs.  Jake Goebbert was 1-4 with three strikeouts and a stolen base.  Jason Castro was 3-5 (all singles) with a strikeout, scored a run and made a fielding error.  He has hit batting average up to .289.  Kody Hinze was 0-3 with a walk and a run before going into his last at-bat.  With two outs in the ninth, he hit a three-run home run.  But the stand-out for Houston was Jay Austin who went 3-5 with a double, a triple, three RBI's (two of them with two outs), scored a run and had one strikeout.  In his last two games he is 6-10 and is now hitting .311.

The Astros hitters have been in a groove in the month of November.  In the last 10 games, they are collectively hitting .361 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run, eighteen RBI's and have scored eighteen runs.  It is an excellent time for them to be peaking with only one game left before the Championship Game on Saturday.  Today's game will be a preview of the big game as Surprise and Salt River face off for one more regular season game before meeting each other Saturday.

As a side note, I was looking at the pitcher's stat page yesterday and I saw that Dallas Keuchel leads all Arizona Fall League pitchers by a wide margin in SO:BB ratio.  In 28.1 innings over 7 games (6 starts), he has 22 strikeouts and one walk.  That's a 22:1 ratio folks - not too shabby!

Today's Game
Salt River (22-15) vs. Surprise (25-10) at 1:35 CST

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Toros over Gigantes 1-0 in 11 innings
Fernando Abad got the start for the Toros, pitching five innings with three hits and five strikeouts.  Jimmy Parades got another start at third base for the Gigantes and was 0-4 with two strikeouts.

Estrellas over Licey 1-0
*Anderson Hernandez was 1-4 for Licey.

Escogido over Aguilas 3-2
Brian Bogusevic was 0-4 with a strikeout and two GIDP's for Aguilas.

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

La Guaira over Magallanes 13-2
Jose Altuve was 0-3 with a strikeout for Magallanes.

Aragua over Caracas 3-1
*Wladimir Sutil was 2-3 with an RBI and a strikeout for Caracas.

Lara over Margarita 7-0
Joe Thurston was 1-3 with two walks, a strikeout and scored two runs for Lara.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Mayaguez 9-3
Angel Sanchez was 1-4 with an RBI for Mayaguez.

Ponce over Carolina 5-2
*Robinson Cancel was 2-4 with an RBI and scored a run for Ponce.  Carlos Corporan was 1-4 with a strikeout for Carolina, while Xavier Cedeno pitched 1.1 innings with two hits and one run (no earned runs).

*Free Agent

Happy Birthday - 11/17

IF Scott Moore (28)
Moore, the newest member of the Astros family, was just signed on Tuesday with an invitation to Spring Training.  Drafted out of a Long Beach, California high school in the first round (8th overall) by Detroit in 2002, Moore has spent most of his career (923 games) in the minor leagues with a total of 80 games in the bigs.  In 2011, he had a batting line of .295/.380/.444/.823 with the Iowa Cubs, hitting .345 after the All-Star Break.

Former Astros with birthdays today

LHP Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams (47)
Pitched in 25 games for Houston in 1994
Here's a "video" with still photos showing his crazy buried head wind-up and his fall-off-the-mound delivery.  About 45 seconds in, you can see him in all his full mulleted glory wearing Astros gear.

RHP Bruce Von Hoff (68)
Pitched in 10 games for Houston in 1965 & 1967

RHP Dan Osinski (78)
Pitched in 3 games for Houston in 1970

RHP Jim Mann (37)
Pitched in 21 games for Houston in 2001 & 2002 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.207 WHIP

Tweet of the Day


Astros County
Selig isn't going to like it when the Astros win the World Series in 2012 for the NL, and win it again in 2013 for the AL.

Roster Moves - 11/16/11

C Carlos Corporan was removed from the 40-Man Roster, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Oklahoma City.  He can chose to become a free agent.

The 40-Man Roster now stands at 37 in advance of the Rule 5 draft.  I still believe that Houston will protect Kody Hinze, particularly after showcasing him in the Arizona Fall League.  And I've noted previously that I would take a good long look at protecting Dayan Diaz after his comeback from injury that caused him to be named an Organizational All-Star by MiLB.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Fall and Winter League Updates

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

Salt River over Scottsdale 4-1
Dallas Keuchel got the win after pitching four innings in relief with five hits, one run and six strikeouts.  Here's the story (although they don't mention that the second time he faced Bryce Harper, he struck him out).  Jason Stoffel also pitched an inning and gave up one hit and one walk with three strikeouts.

The only Astros position player to participate in today's game was Jake Goebbert.  He went 1-4, reached on a fielder's choice, scored two runs and had two strikeouts.  Despite the 1-4 day, Goebbert has hit .391/.416/.565 over his last six games with four doubles, six RBI's and has scored eight runs.

Today
Salt River (22-14) vs. Phoenix (13-22) at 1:35 CST

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

Lara over Magallanes 3-2
*Oswaldo Navarro was 1-4 and Joe Thurston was 2-4 with a double and a caught stealing for Lara.  Jose Altuve was 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout for Magallanes and Garbriel Garcia pitched 0.1 inning with one hit and one strikeout.

La Guaira over Caracas 7-3
*Wladimir Sutil was 0-2 with two sacrifices.

Two other games in the Venezuelan League have not been posted yet.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

Aguilas over Estrellas 4-0
Brian Bogusevic was 0-4 with a walk and two strikeouts for Aguilas.

Licey over Toros 10-9
*Anderson Hernandez was 0-3 with a walk, a strikeout and scored a run for Licey.

Gigantes over Escogido 4-1
Jimmy Paredes started at third base and went 1-4 and scored a run for the Gigantes.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

Caguas over Ponce 2-0
Adalberto Flores retired his one batter as he pitched 0.1 inning for Ponce.

Mayaguez over Carolina 6-2
Angel Sanchez was 0-5 with a strikeout for Mayaguez.  Carlos Corporan was 0-3 with two strikeouts for Carolina while Enrique Hernandez came in as a pinch runner, scored a run and went 0-1 as he stayed in the game at third base.

*Free Agent

Tweet of the Day


Steve A.
to clear up any confusion, the were moving to AL no matter who the owner is or was going to be. to blame this on crane is folly.
~
Couldn't. Agree. More.

Happy Birthday - 11/16

C Jordan "Funky" Comadena (26)
If you managed to miss this article by Zachary Levine or this Q&A by Astros County or if you don't follow Funky on Twitter (@Funky2414), you have missed getting to know one of the good guys.  Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009 by none other than Jimmy Wynn, Comadena had a breakout year of sorts at the plate.  Used in a limited role at Lancaster, he managed to hit .295/.389/.432/.881 over a very sporadic 95 AB's.

If you follow him on Twitter, you will find him friendly, engaging, and always willing to answer any questions.  As a matter of fact, I asked him via twitter to tell me something "non-baseball" about himself for his birthday write-up and he responded right away.  In addition to working out and getting ready for the spring, he told me that he is in the planning stages for his wedding to fiance Alicyn to take place next November 10th in Normal, Illinois.  "It will be a big wedding and quite a few fellow Astros will hopefully be attending."  I'm sure there will be.  Everybody likes Funky.  Like I said before, he's one of the good guys.  Just don't say anything bad about his Steelers.

RHP Steve Martin (24)
Drafted out of Texas A&M in the 37th round in 2011, Martin pitched out of the bullpen for the Greeneville Astros this season with an ERA of 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.375.  However, against right-handed hitters, he had a 2.87 ERA and a 1.277 WHIP.  And in July, in 8 of his 16 appearances, Martin was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, a 0.923 WHIP and a 0.98 BA against.

I tried to get in touch with Steve for a brief interview, but I was unable to get his contact information.  I wanted to find out more about this.  Maybe next year.

Former Astros with birthdays today

LHP Rob Mallicoat (47)
Pitched in 51 games for Houston in 1987, 1991 & 1992

RHP Dwight Gooden (47)
Pitched in 1 game for Houston in 2000

SS Julio Lugo (36)
Played for Houston from 2000 to 2003

Roster Moves - 11/15/11

Houston signed IF Scott Moore to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.  Most recently with the Iowa Cubs, he had good numbers in 2011.  Zachary Levine has the story here.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Soapbox - Demonizing Jim Crane

It seems that demonizing Jim Crane is all the fashion on twitter, the blogs and the fan sites these days.  "Run him out of town on a rail."  "Tar and feather him."  What many people seemed to have missed is this.  THE ASTROS WERE GOING TO THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WHETHER JIM CRANE BOUGHT THE TEAM OR NOT.  The die was cast a long time ago.

Drayton McLane has always done everything that Bud Selig told him to do.  He closed the roof during the World Series in 2005.  He allowed a home game against Chicago to be played in Milwaukee in 2007.  Heck, it's only been the last couple of years that McLane has paid over slot in the draft.  With that in mind, do you really think that, had the deal with Jim Crane fallen through, McLane wouldn't have agreed to appease Bud and make the move?  Do you really think an owner that would allow "Sweet Caroline" to be played during a game against the Red Sox IN MINUTE MAID PARK really gives a big whoop what the fans think?

Well, you say, Jim Crane didn't have to agree to the move.  Of course he did.  If he wanted to buy the team, he had no choice.  Bud Selig has the power and he wasn't ever going to let the ownership deal come to a vote unless Jim Crane agreed.  You can call it extortion.  You can call it morally bankrupt.  You can call it unfair.  But Bud Selig never had any intention of approving Jim Crane OR ANYONE ELSE unless they agreed to the AL move.

That doesn't mean that you don't have a right, as an Astros fan, to be angry or frustrated or upset or depressed (although if you never sent a letter or e-mail or made a phone call protesting the move, maybe you don't have that right after all).  I've already been through the 5 stages of grief.

But there were only going to be two possible outcomes to this situation.  Either Jim Crane was going to be approved and the Astros would go to the American League.  Or Drayton McLane was going to retain ownership and the Astros would still go to the American League.  So, the real choice is do you want an owner who knows and loves baseball or an owner who has become totally disengaged and doesn't care anymore?  Those were your only two choices, thanks to Bud Selig - that's who you should be demonizing.

Jim Crane hasn't even been approved yet.  Other than getting George Postolos involved, we really have no idea what his plans are.  How about we give him a little time and see what happens.  He may turn out to be a terrible owner.  He may turn out to be the best owner the Astros have ever seen.  I suspect that he will fall somewhere in between, but let's at least give him a chance.  The good news is that the Astros can finally emerge from the purgatory they've been in since May and we should be able to see some real direction.  At least I hope so.

Finally, for those of you who intend to abandon the Astros over the move to the American League, I have a little unsolicited advice.  You're only punishing yourself.  Baseball will go on with you or without you and despite Bud Selig.  If you liked Jose Altuve, Bud Norris, J.D. Martinez and Jordan Lyles yesterday, you'll still like them tomorrow.  If you love Houston today, warts and all, as I do, you will still love Houston tomorrow.  Give it a chance.  But, Mr. Crane, no more "Sweet Caroline" please.

Off Soapbox ----------->  Exit Stage Right