Astros interest in Rudy Jaramillo?

Rangers beat writer T.R. Sullivan drops a little line in his mailbag on the future of Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo:

The Rangers have asked Jaramillo to return as hitting coach. He is unsigned for next year, though, and a contract still has to be worked out. If a new contract hasn't been finished by Oct. 31, Jaramillo is free to speak with other clubs. The Chicago Cubs have fired hitting coach Von Joshua and Jaramillo would be high on their list. The Rays have also dismissed their hitting coach. The Astros are another team that could have interest in Jaramillo.

This is pure speculation on his part (or he would have cited it. He's no Ringolsby.), but if the Astros are interested in a hitting coach with a big-time track record, Jaramillo would be the guy.

McIlvoy's interview with Wade

Captip to Street for the link to an interview with Ed Wade from Tuesday. Some nuggets (and this is all "sic"'ed:

On Dave Clark:
Dave did a fine job. I thought from standpoint of communication and fitting in with group, he did very good work for us. He's a solid candidate going forward.

How many candidates are there?:
I have 3 pages of names, we'll whittle it down to under 10. Guys don't eliminate themselves. Case of us doing our homework and looking at a body of work and to see if he fits the profile of our personalities here.

On Jason Castro:
Castro- would be great if he's ready for opening day we'll probably plan that he's not and be surprised if he is. There are guys knocking on the door that will get opportunities when they get to spring training to show they are ready to perform at this level right away.

On why Manzella/Johnson didn't get an extra-inning game's worth of ABs:
We have interest in Blum and Miggy about coming back, if we shoved them off to get kids a few at bats it sends the wrong message and doesn't pay proper respect. We're not going to make decisions on young guys based on Sept. It was good for them to soak in atmosphere and understanding what environment is all about.

What happens now?:
Get good and stay good. Scouting development has to prevail in process. Will there be rough spots? sure there will be. As we get away from '09 and focus on 2010, we'll work like crazy to get this club straightened out to get off to better start early in season and put pressure on . If we can get on to a good start, the momentum will build, put the pedal to metal and see what happens.

I don't know if Ed was texting his answers, or was all Cabrera-ed, but these were some good answers.

Bourn's OPS increase 8th best

Zach Levine has an interesting blog post on Michael Bourn's improvement from 2008 to 2009:

From the standpoint of sheer increase in OPS, he was one of the best. There were 199 players in baseball who had at least 324 plate appearances (two per game) in both 2008 and 2009, and of those, Bourn had the eighth highest increase in OPS.

In raising his OPS from .588 to .738, that's an increase in .150 points. Not just is that 8th best in the Majors, it's 3rd-highest in the NL, behind Troy Tulowitzki (who led the Majors with a +196, and Carlos Ruiz with a +160.)

Garner: No matter how long the contract you sign, it's a three-year deal

Having been through this before, Phil Garner offers some nuggets for anyone even thinking of wanting to manage a team under Drayton.

Garner:
“Find out what the owner's and general manager's expectations are. And then look at the team and see if you can meet the expectations...

...“It's a great organization. It has a great name. (Managerial candidates) might overlook some things because it's a great organization. It's hard (to) because you have to make an honest assessment. You want to be upbeat about the team. You want to believe and you want a GM on a team to know you're upbeat.

And managers basically have three years to impress Drayton:
...“In this town, a new manager gets a first-year honeymoon period. The second year is a bit harder. Then the third is make-or-break, but that's been Drayton's modus operandi. Everybody knows that.”

So what was wrong with the 09 Astros?
“I don't know this team. I saw several games, but I don't really know this team. Strictly speaking as a fan, I felt the weakness was the pitching.”

GCL Astros - First Basemen

This is the first of what will be many posts breaking down Eddie's Farm, player by player (a couple a day, I suppose), in 2009. First up, the first basemen of the Gulf Coast League Astros. Note, at this level we'll consider players with 75 plate appearances.

Ronald Sanchez
How did he get here?: Drafted, 16th round (2009)
Stats: 5'10", 180 lbs, Bats: Left; Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 18

Season line: 43 games, 164 PAs. 29x138 - .210/.327/.246 - 5XBH-16RBI. 33K:18BB

Splits:
vs. LHP (45ABs): .111/.231/.111, 11K:5BB, 0XBH-5RBI
vs. RHP (93ABs): .258/.373/.312, 22K:13BB, 5XBH-11RBI

Home (50ABs): .160/.288/.180, 14K:7BB, 1XBH-7RBI
Away (88ABs): .239/.350/.284, 19K:11BB, 4XBH-9RBI

Day (127ABs): .220/.327/.263, 30K:14BB, 5XBH-14RBI
Night (11ABs): .091/.333/.091, 3K:4BB, 0XBH-2RBI

Runners on (72ABs): .222/.317/.236, 12K:6BB, 1XBH-16RBI
w/RISP (49ABs): .265/.390/.286, 7K:6BB, 1XBH-16RBI

June (20ABs): .250/.318/.350, 8K:2BB, 2XBH-3RBI
July (66ABs): .242/.398/.258, 11K:4BB, 1XBH-10RBI
August (52ABs): .154/.228/.192, 21K:12BB, 2XBH-3RBI

K/PA rate: 20.1%
XBH/H rate: 17.2%
K:BB ratio: 1.83

Lefties obviously gave Sanchez fits, but July was obviously the high-water mark of Sanchez' short season, hitting .242/.398/.258 before a significant drop off in all offensive lines, and an increase in strikeouts. His K/AB rate jumped from 16.7% in July to 40.4% in August (again, numbers are skewed with such a limited sample size.

Defensively, Sanchez ended 2009 with a .982 fielding percentage, committing six errors in 323 chances.

Kody Hinze
How did he get here?: Undrafted Free Agent
Stats: 6'0", 225 lbs, Bats: Right; Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 22

Season line: 32 games, 128 PAs. 21x103 - .262/.391/.398 - 10XBH-14RBI. 26K:19BB

Splits:
vs. LHP (31ABs): .258/.395/.387, 10K:5BB, 3XBH-2RBI
vs. RHP (72ABs): .264/.389/.403, 16K:14BB, 7XBH-12RBI

Home (49ABs): .224/.400/.306, 13K:12BB, 3XBH-4RBI
Away (54ABs): .296/.381/.481, 13K:7BB, 7XBH-12RBI

Day (101ABs): .257/.379/.376, 25K:17BB, 9XBH-12RBI
Night (2ABs): .500/.750/1.500, 1K:2BB, 1XBH-2RBI

Runners on (48ABs): .208/.322/.375, 13K:7BB, 5XBH-14RBI
w/RISP (40ABs): .175/.286/.300, 11K:6BB, 4XBH-12RBI

July (54ABs): .241/.295/.426, 13K:5BB, 7XBH-9RBI
August (49ABs): .286/.478/.367, 13K:14BB, 3XBH-5RBI

K/PA rate: 20.3%
XBH/H rate: 47.6%
K:BB ratio: 1.37

Hinze had a rough go of it in the early season, regressing a bit and getting sent down from Lexington after hitting .175/.267/.363 in 90 plate appearances. He was much better on the road in 09, and had noticeably better stats in August than in July.

11 of his 31 starts came as a DH, but in his 20 starts at first base, Hinze made two errors in 79 chances for a .990 fielding percentage.

This is the second year in the Astros' organization, spending 55 games in Greeneville in 2008 and hitting .269/.374/.457. The 22-year old should find himself back up in the higher levels of A-ball come 2010.

Scratch Hal Lanier off your managerial short list

Former Houston manager and 1986 NL Manager of the Year Hal Lanier has been named the manager of the Normal (IL) CornBelters of the independent Frontier League.

McTaggart's managerial short list

McTaggart's new new blog post has his short list of eight managerial candidates.

Here they are, with a blurb.

Dave Clark:
Clark could be a terrific manager, but he may not get the opportunity here. Or he might. But I still envision him as a long shot to get the job on a full-time basis.

Ned Yost:
Helped the Brewers return to contender during his a managerial stint in Milwaukee that began in 2003 and ended in the final days of the 2008 season.

Willie Randolph:
Has gone on record and expressed an interest in the job. He was Yankees base and bench coach for 11 years and took over as manager of the Mets in 2005 in his first-ever managerial job.

Jim Fregosi:
He interviewed in 2001 before the Astros hired Jimy Williams and he has deep ties to Ed Wade.

Lloyd McClendon:
The hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers is now available after his team was bounced by Minnesota in a one-game playoff Tuesday.

Manny Acta:
A popular figure in the Astros organizations from his years as a player and a coach in the system, he managed the Washington Nationals for 2 1/2 years.

Eric Wedge:
The 2007 American League Manager of the Year, Wedge is close friends with Jeff Bagwell.

Thoughts?

FanGraphs, on Felipe Paulino

And he should be SP5 next year.

Regard:
He doesn’t always have full command over his pitches and he’s yet to develop a worthwhile third pitch, but the guy has the raw talent. In a little under 100 innings Paulino is walking 6% of the batters he faces while striking out nearly 21%...

...Grumbling about whether Paulino is a future reliever will likely magnify with his large ERA, but I’m unconvinced that a transition should be made prior to next season. Allow Paulino a full season of pitching before writing him off as extremely hittable and incapable of starting in the majors. I mean heck, this same organization gave Brandon Backe 70 starts over the last four years to prove he didn’t belong in the league, and he didn’t have the upside of Paulino.

Trade Rumors' Astros off-season outlook

A run down of financial obligations, with arbitration raises, Tim Dierkes puts the final payroll around $80 million, leaving $10 million-ish to play with.

If contending in 2010 is the plan, the Astros need to upgrade the left side of their infield. Tejada could return and play third base, but he'd presumably want at least $7-8MM a year. The third base market has other interesting names such as Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa, Chone Figgins, Troy Glaus, and Juan Uribe...

...This is an unfortunate time for the Astros to be cutting payroll, because they could contend with the right free agent additions.

The Astros and "wasted outs"

Insider-only article on ESPN today discusses "Wasted Outs," in which a team does something stupid like, (a) Sac bunts, (b) GIDPs, (c) Caught Stealing, and (d) making errors.

The article discusses which of the playoff teams waste the most outs in a reaction to Theo Epstein's charge that J.D. Drew's offensive stats don't matter so much, because he doesn't make any outs.

Let's run the numbers the way the article does, and then compare the Astros to the rest of the National League.

GIDP: 153 (Tejada led the team with 29, Pence had 25, and Lee had 21)
Sac Bunts: 66 (Matsui led the team with 16)
Caught Stealing: 44 (Bourn and Pence combined for 23)
Errors: 78

So that's a total of 341 wasted outs by the Astros in 2009.

Let's get a look at the National League in Wasted Outs (playoff teams in bold, worst offenders in italics)

Team	GIDPs	Sac Bunts	CS	Errors	Total
Nationals	133	64	40	143	380
Mets	144	88	44	97	373
Braves	142	95	26	96	359
Dodgers	141	78	48	83	350
Astros	153	66	44	78	341
Cubs	134	65	34	105	338
Reds	103	100	40	89	332
Rockies	111	76	55	87	329
Padres	131	74	29	94	328
Cardinals	127	68	31	96	322
Marlins	110	70	35	106	321
Brewers	128	58	37	98	321
D-Backs	93	54	40	124	311
Giants	115	67	28	88	298
Pirates	124	60	32	73	289
Phillies	90	55	28	76	249

The article is quick to point out that "saving outs" doesn't translate into winning. There are two division cellar-dwellers in the top four among Wasted Outs. But it is worth noting that the more "disappointing" teams are at the top of the list, and of course, the Astros had the League-worst in GIDP.

Justice: Bring back Blum and Erstad, too

I can't handle it. This is too much. First, championing Moehler's return, and then being in favor of bringing back Blum and Erstad, because they're good at chemistry. (I guess the unspoken implication is that Roy and Lance aren't so good at clubhouse chemistry).

The Astros picked up his $3-million option for 2010 on Tuesday, and it's the right thing to do. In 2007-2008, he was healthy and a very decent back-of-the-rotation starter, going 12-12 with a 4.42 ERA in 26 starts. He didn't get deep enough into games in 2007, but turned in nine quality starts and a 4.56 ERA in 2008...

...Part of what the Astros hope to build for 2010 is a club constructed around pitching, defense and the right clubhouse chemistry. Hiring the right manager is huge beyond words...

...But it's also important to have the right mix of veterans. That means Geoff Blum, Brian Moehler and maybe even Darin Erstad. I'm not sure how much Erstad has in the tank, but if the people in charge think he can produce, he certainly adds something in the clubhouse...

... Now about that rotation. Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez, Bud Norris and Brian Moehler appear to have four of the five sports locked up. In a perfect world, the Astros would be able to count on one more young guy coming through. At the moment, though, there's not a guy you could point to and feel good about his production. The Astros seem likely to attempt to re-sign Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins, but let's hope Drayton McLane is feeling real generous this off-season and will give Ed and Tal enough sawbucks for one starting pitcher...

...One pitcher would dramatically change the shape of the club.

If the Astros don't trust the development of their pitchers, then it's time to make some coaching/instructional changes. They're asking Wesley Wright to become a starter. For Bazardo and Lopez, this was their first taste of Major League action. They didn't come out and go all Porcello on the league, but who's expecting them to? Paulino is still figuring his stuff out, and with an off-season to recap and prepare, two of them ought to be able to replace a Brian Moehler and a Mike Hampton. And if Ed signs Carl Pavano or Brett Myers, I seriously might commit a crime.

New Poll

Wade and Moehler comment

So we get some feedback as, once again, Astros.com outdoes the Chronicle.

Moehler, on his signing:
"I like it here, obviously. I like the direction it's going. Obviously, we didn't finish as strong as we would have liked, but the pieces are in place for us to have a good year, and I'd like to be part of it."

Wade, on Moehler:
"He's given us a solid, workmanlike effort both seasons I've been here. If you take away the bullpen appearances he had last year, his ERA was in the low fours. This year, take away the two starts before he went on the DL with a knee, everything since then -- although it might have gone up at the end -- was in the low four[s] as well. He goes out there and keeps you in games. He's one of those guys you have to see every five days and see what he does for the club. He has a tremendous work ethic and attitude, and that work ethic rubs off on other guys. It was a fairly apparent decision to make, and we wanted to wait until after he had the knee cleaned up to make sure everything went all right with that."

Is that true?

Subtracting Moehler's first two starts of the year, he was 8-10 with a 4.90 ERA/1.47 WHIP. Batters hit .285/.341/.474.

Let's take his last two starts of the year out, as well (and this is a pretty generous statistical evaluation, akin to saying, "Let's discount how he started and finished."):
8-8, 4.25 ERA/1.555 WHIP, and batters hit .277/.332/.458.

There's not a way really to spin this that makes the numbers come up with $3 million (as opposed to a $250,000 buyout) look like a good decision.

Everything's up for grabs. Except the outfield.

JJO's article this morning deals with some of the positional question marks the Astros are facing as they head into the off-season. But there aren't any question marks in the outfield, due to youth and talent, and a bloated contract.

The contact process will likely begin this weekend for the manager search, and what remains of the infield is...bad. We do get an interesting quote from "One Club Official" on Berkman and his level of play since the 2008 All-Star Break. The quote, with a lead-in from JJO:
Moreover, some in the Astros' front office have privately complained that Berkman has received a free pass for his play on offense and defense.

“If he had been playing in any other city, you guys would have ripped his (behind),”
-
Behind the plate, Wade says:
“With Towles and Quintero, I think we have two guys that can go back there and buy us some time until Castro is ready. We'll look at the catching market to see what is there.”
-
And the rotation? Roy is the key:
“I think we're a better rotation than people give us credit for. But a lot of it is going to depend on where Roy is health-wise. We got to hope that he stays dedicated to the exercise program that's been prescribed and he does everything he can to make sure that his back isn't an issue.”

Has the depression subsided? No.

I thought maybe some sleep would help. I thought that a little bit of rest would change the fact that the Astros Offseason of Change and Hope lasted about 56 hours. But it didn't. The Astros have indeed picked up Moehler's option.

Wade:
“We informed Moehler today that we want to pick up his option,” Ed Wade said. “He has the right to decline. We’re optimistic that Brian is going to be back with us next year.”

Here were Wade's options:
1) Pay Moehler $250,000 to find another job next season and open up the rotation to younger, cheaper pitchers
2) Pick up his option, pay him the $3 million, and go into the offseason with a rotation of Roy, Wandy, Norris, and Moehler.

Oh yes (/drippingsarcasm), this was the best decision.

In 2009, Moehler posted an 8-12 record with a 5.47 ERA. In 154.2IP, Moehler gave up 21 home runs, struck out just 91 batters, and walked 51. Batters hit .300 against Moehler in 2009, when the league average was .263. His 1.54 was higher than the 1.39 league average, though he was unluckier than most as the BABIP for the league was .303, and Moehler's was a stacked .325.

Still, FanGraphs put Moehler's value at $4.1 million this year, approximately $1.6 million higher than his salary.

Yet I remain ridiculously angry about this. Was Moehler dealing with a knee injury all year long? Probably. Was he doing the Astros any favors by continuing to pitch? Not really. He put together the most underwhelming series of quality starts that I can remember, rarely made it out of the 6th (He was pulled before the end of the 6th in 15 of 29 starts). He also had eight Disaster Starts, compared to 11 Quality Starts, and his line in September? 6GS, 0-3, 6.37 ERA/1.65 WHIP, 14K:12BB, .303/.366/.508 against.

Where could that $3 million have gone? Anywhere else. LaHawk. Arbitration raises for Bourn or Pence. Can all this be attributed to a bum knee that was fixed yesterday? Maybe. But in an off-season where Ed and Drayton promised to get younger and cheaper, the first chance they had to hold up their end just went right out the window, and on a team where payroll is expected to be "slashed," giving $3 million to Brian Moehler looks like a poor decision.

The mutual option says that Moehler can decline the option and become a free agent, but why would he?

So I guess there is just one SP spot now

All that talk about getting younger and cheaper just got chucked out the window as the Astros exercised Brian Moehler's $3mil option for 2010 (tweets Brian McTaggart).

What will $3mil get you? Seven young, league-minimum pitchers. Or a 38-year old pitcher with bad knees and a fat ERA.

I need to sleep this off. More in the morning.

Chacon released from jail. Take Ed to the Secure Bunker.

Shawn Chacon has been released and will not be extradited to Las Vegas. This would have been one of the first instances in which someone was extradited to Las Vegas, and not extradited from Las Vegas.

Justice: Easy Eddie has a good track record with this manager thing

Justice's blog post this morning has some thoughts about the manager search:

If I had a guess, I'd guess that Dave Clark isn't going to be the manager when the Astros go to Kissimmee in February. Nor will Tim Bogar be the man. Or Ted Simmons or Jeff Bagwell or Craig Biggio.

I'm guessing the Astros are going to hire someone with big league managerial experience. Had the Marlins fired Fredi Gonzalez, he almost certainly would have been interviewed. Bob Melvin and Manny Acta would be excellent choices. Ned Yost and Eric Wedge are out there as well.

GM Ed Wade has a great record at hiring managers. His first hire for the Phillies was Terry Francona, his second Charlie Manuel. Not too many general managers have hired two managers that went on to win the World Series.

Bud was robbed!

Casey McGehee was named the NL Rookie of the Month in September.

Not Chris Coghlan (.382, 6 RBI, 47 H, 10 2B/2 3B)
Not Bud Norris (3-0, 1.57 ERA, 23.0IP, 24K:6BB)

Casey McGehee. Who hit .331 with five homers and 26 RBI.

Okay, the 26 RBI is impressive...

Full Accountability

Back on April 5 I listed my own predictions for how the season would turn out. How did I do?

Well, here's what I predicted:
Cubs: 92-70
Reds: 87-75
Cardinals: 84-78
Astros: 81-81
Brewers: 79-83
Pirates: 60-102

NL East: Mets
NL West: Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Giants

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Indians
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: Rays

WS: Red Sox def Cubs in seven games - the best WS since 2001, and Astros County rejoices.

Obviously, this didn't go so well. I was correct about the Dodgers, and the Wild Card coming from the NL West. I was also correct about the Angels. I was woefully wrong about the Indians, and I didn't even have the 103-win Yankees in the playoffs. I also picked the Cubs to make it to the World Series. That one I'm not so broken up about.

Final Stats - 2009 June Draft

So let's do a recap of the 2009 draft class with the final stats (this is a lead-in to a series on the Minor Leaguers). In bold are the draft class leaders at each statistical category.

We'll start with the pitchers, organized by round (the record isn't very important, but I still threw it in there):

Name (Rd)	Team	Rec.	IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB
T. Bushue (2)	GCL	1-0	22.1	2.42/1.03	19:5
BJ Hyatt (4)	GRV	1-2	19.1	8.84/2.17	15:12
D. Keuchel (7)	TRI	2-3	56.2	2.70/1.08	44:9
B. Walker (8)	TRI	1-7	50	7.92/1.90	39:36
D. Berner (14)	TRI	0-1	6	10.50/2.67	4:5
J. Harper (17)	TRI	0-1	6	9.00/2.17	3:8
JB MacDonald (18)	TRI	8sv	32	2.53/1.34	29:10
M. Jones (22)	GCL	1-2	21.2	4.57/1.85	13:13
R. Donovan (23)	TRI	2-5	33.2	3.74/1.52	28:21
M. Modica (24)	TRI	0-3	31	2.61/1.42	19:13
T. Smink (31)	GRV	1-1	29.1	6.14/1.64	14:7
B. Stines (33)	TRI	3-0	38.1	4.93/1.59	23:17
S. Migl (34)	GRV/TRI	0-0	28.1	6.35/1.80	24:21
R. Rivera (37)	GCL	0-2	15	6.60/1.33	9:3
D. Sarisky (40)	GRV/TRI	2-1	35.1	3.82/1.44	41:13
M. Schurz (44)	GCL/TRI	3-0	29.2	1.52/1.08	37:13
S. Hylander (50)	GCL	4-3	39	3.23/1.15	26:9

Now for the position players:

Name (Rd)	Pos	Team	BA/OBP/SLG	XBH-RBI	K:BB	SB/CS
J. Mier (1)	SS	GRV	.276/.380/.484	20-32	45:30	10/5
T. Nash (3)	OF	GCL	.218/.280/.324	12-20	45:12	1/2
J. Meyer (3c)	3B	GRV	.190/.301/.299	15-27	69:36	1/0
B. Wikoff (5)	SS	TRI/LEX	.280/.327/.333	9-19	30:20	5/7
E. Hernandez (6)	2B/SS	GCL	.295/.336/.396	16-27	28:10	8/2
B. Orloff (19)	2B	GRV/TRI	.165/.250/.196	3-13	11:8	6/0
E. Castro (10)	3B/1B	TRI	.266/.351/.453	21-36	38:26	0/1
D. Williams (11)	C	GRV	.202/.239/.341	9-16	42:4	0/0
J. Goebbert (13)	LF	TRI	.238/.332/.333	15-18	39:22	2/3
R. Humphrey (15)	OF	GRV	.219/.301/.281	7-6	48:14	4/2
R. Sanchez (16)	1B	GCL	.210/.327/.246	5-16	33:18	3/1
B. Kemp (19)	CF	TRI	.259/.367/.300	7-11	31:25	16/3
JD Martinez (20)	OF/DH	GRV/TRI	.348/.399/.598	39-56	44:20	1/0
B. Butera (21)	2B/SS	TRI	.267/.351/.322	11-11	52:23	16/3
N. Stanley (25)	1B	TRI	.230/.308/.354	14-21	45:23	2/2
A. Bray (27)	1B	GRV	.278/.388/.323	6-20	35:28	2/3
G. Wright (29)	OF	GCL	.185/.290/.222	3-7	35:15	4/1
G. Hogue (35)	CF	GRV	.284/.365/.392	13-14	32:16	17/5
S. Barksdale (38)	OF	TRI	.175/.234/.301	8-8	34:8	16/3

This leads us to the Astros County Draftees of the Year. Based on the above, we can say that - for this season only...

Offensive Draftee of the Year: J.D. Martinez
Draftee Pitcher of the Year: Dallas Keuchel

Congratulations!

Ausmus blames 1998 on the schedule

In a Wall Street Journal article on how stupid a five-game opening series is, they have the following statistics:

-The team with the better record wins only 48% of the time.
-100-win teams have won 10 of 19 Division Series

Then this:
Brad Ausmus, a former Houston Astros catcher, said his team's 1998 loss to the San Diego Padres was partly driven by the schedule. The first three games of the series were played over five days, which enabled San Diego to use its ace pitcher, Kevin Brown, twice. San Diego won both games and took the series. "When the schedule allows you to pitch the best pitcher in the league twice in the first three games, I wouldn't say that's the best system for judging who the better team is," says Mr. Ausmus, now with the Dodgers.

Bud?
"I couldn't be happier. When I instituted the wild card, it was controversial. Some were saying, 'He's going to ruin baseball.' But what a great history."

That's, uh, not exactly answering the question. We're not talking about the Wild Card, but making the playoffs more fair.

Any changes in the works?
All the criticism aside, Mr. Selig says no changes are planned to the format. He disagrees with the idea that teams with the best records aren't properly rewarded. He points out that the division winner with the better record during the season gets to play the first two games at home, plus the potential fifth and deciding game. "That's a pretty good advantage," he says.

Everyone can breathe a little easier now...

Go ahead and bring your poker chips out again, it's all clear. Shawn Chacon was arrested at a Colorado bowling alley.

Let me repeat.

Shawn Chacon was arrested at a Colorado bowling alley.

Police received an anonymous tip that Chacon was at the Highland Park Lanes (add that site to your Baseball Vacation plans). Maybe he was hustling to pay back the $150,000 to Caesar's.

It's never as important to the employer as it is to the prospectively employed

This is a fact. So with Dave Clark in Memphis, hanging out and waiting for a call, it's going to be a couple of days before the process gets started.

Easy Eddie says he is going to start making contact with potential candidates by the end of the week. Drayton, Tal, and Ed "may meet" on Thursday to put together a preliminary list, this is less preliminarier than the preliminary list they've been working up for a couple of weeks now.

Wade:
"We're going to meet internally late in the week, probably Thursday and Friday, and review the list of candidates and begin the process of making contact. At this point in time, we've barely scratched the surface. Everybody needs to be in the same room at the same time to talk about who will be involved in the actual interview process from our end."

Drayton:
"Instead of picking a manager out of the air, we're going to see what the Houston Astros need."

Is that how it went with Coop? Personally, I think Superman would be a fine manager. When Matsui grounds into a double play, he can fly around the world backwards and turn back time.

Continue, Drayton:
"It could be probably six weeks or more. You've got a lot of people tied up in the postseason. If one of the candidates involved is with the team in the postseason, you really can't approach them at this time. So you have to be careful with the process. There's no rush. We want to find the best possible manger...

...I think there will be a lot of good candidates. Houston is one of the best five or six teams in baseball, the fourth-biggest city in baseball and has some of the best attendance in baseball. I feel there will be strong candidates because we're a major city and have one of the best baseball fields. Our organization, in the 17 years I've owned the team, has the fifth-best record in all of baseball."

Always be selling.

And the coaching staff, Wade? He apparently spoke to them in New York to let them know where they stand.
"I hope to bring some clarity to that picture sooner rather than later, this week or next week. In some cases, we're going to have to wait to fill some spots until after the manager is in place. In fairness to the guys that have been here, we felt it appropriate to have some type of conversation with them."

Go ahead and add Mike Hargrove to the list

JJO's blog post this morning has breaking news that someone who once managed is interested in managing again.

And Wade told JJO Sunday that Dave Clark remains a serious candidate. Given that Berkman, Oswalt, Bourn, and Pence publicly supported Clark For Manager the day after the letter arrived with the season in it (with delivery confirmation), I would say that Easy Eddie is being very diplomatic...

Moehler undergoes surgery on knee

Brian Moehler underwent successful surgery on his right knee. What was the surgery? McTaggart says it was to repair a torn tendon. JJO says it was to clean up loose particles. Maybe it's the same. I have a degree in history, so what do I know?

Regardless, trainer Nate Lucero says Moehler should be ready for the start of Spring Training. But what does this do to the 37-year old's value? JJO's story says that the Astros can exercise his option (and Moehler can decline), or they can pay the $250,000 buyout.

Wade:
“We're very pleased with what Brian's done for us. But I want to talk to our guys internally before we make any decisions.”

paythebuyoutpaythebuyout

Astros will pick 8th next June

Keith Law has confirmed the Astros will pick 8th in next year's June Draft.

This will be the first time the Astros have picked higher than 10th since 1992, when they had the first overall pick, and nutted that Phil Nevin pick.

"Many other special moments?"

If you get the Astros Blast emails, you got an email thanking you for 2009. With the following line:

The 10th season celebration gave us a great opportunity to take a look back at the most exciting decade in club history while the 2009 team made memories of their own. This includes Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Pudge Rodriguez making MLB history becoming the first set of three teammates to hit their 300th career home runs in the same season along with many other special moments and milestones.

Many other special moments and milestones? Like what?

-Carlos Lee's drive to break Milton Bradley's 140 Lollygags to first base?
-Tejada's push to break Greg Gagne's 842 GIDPs in one season?
-Mike Hampton's attempt to break Dave Dravecky's Most Godawful Arm Injuries Ever?
-Lance Berkman's fight to break Reggie Jackson's Throwing of Managers Under the Bus?

(come on, I know you've got more. Leave a comment.)

McLane vows to get to work

McTaggart's blog post today has some words from Run-DMc:

"It's very disappointing. In December, when [general manager] Ed [Wade] and [director of baseball operations] Tal [Smith] and them were putting things together, we were very positive about the season and thought they would really play well together, and there were some good points. Remember about 60 percent of the way through the season, we were one game from first place and quit playing well. It was a disappointing season. Obviously, the goal is to be playing in the post-season and we're going to immediately go to work."

Prediction Rundown

It's time to provide some online accountability (which is lacking nowadays) and think back to all the predictions that were made about this Astros team.

Spot-On
September 3: Rosenthal predicts Cooper gets fired.
June 9: Keith Law says the Astros will take Jiovanni Mier in the 1st round
April 5: Bruce Jenkins, Ken Rosenthal, Will Leitch, Ken Davidoff, Scott Miller, Danny Knobler, Eric Mack, Adriane Rosen, Baseball Prospectus, Hilton SportsBook, Sporting News, Bucs Dugout, and Blast Magazine all pick the Astros to finish 5th.
April 5: Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, Peter Pascarelli, Chris Singleton all pick the Cardinals to win the NL Central
April 3: Baseball Prospectus says the Astros will post an offensive line of .261/.321/.403 (actual: .260/.319/.400 - holy crap)
March 19: Baseball Daily Digest names Wandy as the Astros breakthrough performer
March 12: Bookmakers at the Hilton put O/U on Astros wins at 74

Close, so here's a cigar
April 6: John Royal, aka "Eeyore," says the Astros finish in 5th place, with a 72-90 record.
April 5: Astros County, Bruce Bukiet, TSN Canada, and The Leadoff Man pick the Astros to finish 4th; Nick DeWitt picks the Astros to finish 6th
January 26: I put the O/U on starting pitchers at 11.5 (actual: 10)
March 12: Coop says he'll need 20 pitchers to get through the season (actual: 22)

Nice pickin', Stevie Wonder
April 27: Baseball Prospectus says the Astros will go 66-96, five games behind the Pirates, 29 games behind the Cubs.
April 6: As does Keith Law
April 5: Jose de Jesus Ortiz and Dan Plesac pick the Astros to finish 2nd; Brian McTaggart picks the Astros to finish 3rd
April 3: San Francisco Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins says, "One of the classiest ballplayers in the business, Darin Erstad, will be invaluable off the bench."
March 26: Coop says the Astros will win 90 games
March 10: Bleacher Report says, "If Houston avoids a 100 loss season, it will be a shock.">

And Richard Justice's February 25 prediction post gets its own look:
-"Eight games under .500 on June 1"
Holy crap, they were 21-29.

-"Cecil Cooper will do a terrific job. By the end of this season, he'll have the support of fans, reporters, players and his front office. He'll get an extension for 2010 and a nice fat raise"
Well, he did get that extension

-"Russ Ortiz will be the No. 2 starter by mid-season. He's healthy for the first time in years and throwing the ball free and easy. He's a proven winner. His signing is going to be one of the smarter ones Ed Wade has made."

-"Mike Hampton will win more games than Randy Wolf"
Hampton: 7; Wolf: 11

-"Felipe Paulino will throw a 100-mph pitch this season. In the major leagues."
This may have happened

-"J.R. Towles is going to be entrenched as the starting catcher by Sept. 1. He may have to start the season in the minor leagues. That's not important. There's no reason he can't succeed. He's a first-rate catcher and on his way to getting his offensive issues figured out."

-"The Astros will have one of the National League's three best bullpens."
The Astros led the NL with 27 blown saves

-"Bud Norris, Brad James, Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella and Brian Bogusevic will be pushing for spots on the big-league team by the second half of the season."
Norris did, and Johnson and Manzella at least got to fly on planes for a month.

-"Kaz Matsui will spend time on the disabled list, but it won't matter. Drew Sutton will fill in nicely."
Whoops.

-"Roy Oswalt will win his first Cy Young Award. Lance Berkman will be the National League MVP."

-"Darin Erstad, David Newhan and Jason Michael will again be invaluable off the bench."

-"Lou Palmisano will be Ed Wade's latest shrewd move from the Rule V draft, joining Wesley Wright and Shane Victorino on an impressive list."
Palmisano never made the Big Club

What does Hoffman's deal do to Valverde?

Trevor Hoffman signed a 1-year $8 million deal, with a mutual option for 2011.

As we all know, each free agent signing helps to define the market for the remaining free agents. In ESPN's Rumor Central section, we see this:

For one thing, the $8 million that Hoffman received has to make guys like Valverde and Rodney smile.

Even though Hoffman had a better year than Valverde (Hoffman: 37 saves, 1.55 ERA; Valverde: 25 saves, 2.33 ERA), Valverde is 10-ish years younger than Hoffman. Valverde made $8 million with Houston this year, will Hoffman's deal push him over the $10 million mark?

Has Drayton called Bagwell and Biggio?

Jon Heyman heard that he did.

Astros owner Drayton McLane called to gauge interest on the part of Astros icons Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio in Houston's managerial job. But for now...they remain just two names on a very long list of possibilities. A person familiar with their thinking said to add Don Baylor and Scott Servais to a managerial list that's reported to include interim Dave Clark plus Al Pedrique, Tim Bogar, Brad Ausmus, Manny Acta and Jim Fregosi.

I hadn't heard Baylor and Servais' names before. But further on we see that Barry Axelrod, agent for both Bagwell & Biggio, "could have interest" in the job, but both are considering the timing of the opportunity.

Later we see this, about Bobby Valentine:
He is leaving his $4 million-a-year job managing the Chiba Lotte Marines for an analyst position at ESPN but would expect to earn a lot closer to the $4 million mark to manage. And the Marlins paid only two of their players -- Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla -- as much as $4 million last year.

With the Astros already paying Cooper around $800K to not manage the team next year, and with a payroll that will be considerably lower than 2009's $107 million, I bet Valentine is out of the Astros' pay scale.

Castro #3 on Cal League prospect list

Baseball America posted their Top 20 California League prospects list today.

Representing Lancaster were Jason Castro (#3). Koby Clemens and Jon Gaston got The Snub.

Moves that worked, moves that didn't

Note: This is a retrospective of moves made in the 08-09 offseason, and during the 2009 season. So you won't find "Signing Kaz Matsui" in the list of Moves That Worked, Moves That Didn't.

Moves That Worked

Trading Pudge for two prospects
Pudge was supposed to be the stop-gap at catcher for two reasons: (1) To allow time until Jason Castro was major-league ready, and (2) to keep Quintero from becoming the full-time starter. It worked alright, but it was clear that Pudge was old, and his effect on the pitching staff was negligible (Wandy originally attributed 09 success to working with Pudge, and then imploded in May/June, and then righted the ship - even after he was gone). So to trade Pudge to the Rangers for anything more than a copy of The Sandlot 3 and some Icy Hot was impressive. To get two prospects out of it is nothing short of amazing. The Rangers acquired him to help with their push for the post-season, but were 14-14 in games Pudge started down the stretch.

The two players the Astros received have done well. Matt Nevarez, a 22-year old RH reliever, only played in 8 games (8.1IP), but had a 0.00 ERA / 0.36 WHIP, four saves, and 13K:0BB. 22-year old infielder Jose Vallejo had limited time with the Astros, but put together a .289/.318/.349 line at Double-A Frisco, and was 7x20 (.350/.350/.500) in seven games at Round Rock.

Signing Chia-Jen Lo
The Astros' first foray into Pacific Rim scouting culminated in the November signing of RHP Chia-Jen Lo. The 23-year old split time between Lancaster and Corpus, where at Lancaster, C-Lo had a 1.78 ERA / 0.91 WHIP in 25.1IP, with a 36:13 K:BB ratio. At Corpus, despite battling injury, C-Lo had a 2.31 ERA / 1.28 WHIP, allowing just one homer in 39IP at Corpus. He'll compete for a bullpen spot in 2010, and will start at Round Rock if he doesn't get the spot out of Spring Training.

Claiming Chris Coste
It may not look like it, but the Coste experiment wasn't such a bad one. Despite posting a .204/.259/.252 line with the Astros, with five extra-base hits in 103 plate appearances, having Coste on the roster allowed Ed Wade the ability to trade Pudge. Making 14 starts behind the plate, and 13 starts at 1B to spell Erstad when Berkman went down, Coste didn't make a single error behind the plate, and only one at first.

Claiming Jeff Fulchino off waivers from the Royals
When the Astros claimed the huge righty off waivers from the Royals last December, he was coming off a season in which he allowed 14 ER in 14IP for Kansas City and a combined 4.87 ERA for Double-A NW Arkansas, and Triple-A Omaha. So I don't know that anyone was expecting Fulchino to throw up a 3.40 ERA / 1.18 WHIP over 82IP for the Astros this year, earning Rookie of the Year honors from the Houston BBWAA. He struck out 71 batters in 82 innings, and has put himself in a position to emerge as an 8th inning option in 2010.

Letting Ty Wigginton walk
The Astros were looking at a hefty little bump from Wigginton's $4.35 million salary in 2008. Instead, Easy Eddie declined to offer him arbitration, and he signed with the Orioles, where he signed a two-year $6 million deal. Wigginton hit .273/.314/.400 with 11HR and 41RBI, but also played below-average defense at 1st and 3rd. The offense was okay, but certainly not worth the $6 million he probably would have received.

Moves That Didn't

Picking up Cooper's option
Obviously, this was a pretty short-sighted move on Drayton/Ed's part. Perhaps this precipitated Cooper losing the clubhouse as the players realized they would likely be dealing with a lack of communication and questionable tactics for two more seasons. And while the Astros were never considered contenders, except for a two-week span in July, Astros players looked like they would rather be anywhere else except on the field in the second half.

Signing Mike Hampton
In 21 starts for the Astros in 2009 in which the Astros were 7-14, Hampton put up a 5.30 ERA / 1.55 WHIP in 112 IP. He allowed 13 homers, and had seven quality starts, compared to five disaster starts, and five starts in which he didn't make it out of the 5th inning. It was a low-risk, high-reward signing, but the Astros paid almost $300K per win.

Trading Jordan Parraz for Tyler Lumsden
The Astros sent Jordan Parraz to the Royals for Tyler Lumsden, a minor-league pitcher who was initially assigned to Round Rock. Except it didn't last. And Lumsden was sent down to Corpus on July 2. Lumsden was another "project pitcher" (see: Fulchino, Jeff) coming off Triple-A seasons in Omaha with ERAs of 5.88 and 7.21, respectively. He came to Round Rock, and put up a 4.42 ERA / 1.91 WHIP in 18.1IP, and 5.15 / 1.72 in 43.2IP in Corpus. And he's 26. Meanwhile, 24-year old RF Parraz ( 2004 3rd round pick) hit .358/.451/.553 for Double-A NW Arkansas, and .298/.358/.426 in Omaha.

Not re-signing Randy Wolf
By all accounts, Randy Wolf was open to coming back to Houston in 2009. The Astros allegedly had a 3-year $29.5 million offer on the table, then the economy tanked, and that offer was pulled. Wolf re-signed with the Dodgers for $5 million, and went 11-7 in 214.1 IP, with a 3.23 ERA / 1.10 WHIP. His 2.76 K:BB ratio was his highest since 2001, and his 2.4 walks/9 were his lowest since 2004. It's doubtful that Wolf would have taken a $24 million pay cut to come back, but it is what it is.

Anything I missed?

So...what happens now?

What the heck will you still read Astros County for everyday? Well, I'll tell you.

-News and rumors (all cited, speculation will be noted when necessary) of the Managerial Search, personnel moves, etc...
-Major League recap with statistical evaluation, comparisons, and projections
-Minor League review, top to bottom, with splits and commentary
-Bray Day, weekly updates from Astros prospect Aaron Bray (each Monday)
-Other miscellaneous shenanigans and ballyhoo.

So check back often. Because at Astros County, there is no off-season.

Bray Day, Volume 3

Aaron Bray was the 27th round draft pick for the Astros in last June's amateur draft. He was also the winner of the Astros County Adopt-a-Player contest. Each Monday, Aaron will write a column for Astros County detailing his off-season. Check the sidebar for archives.

Hello Astros Fans,

Hope everyone had a great week. I know I did, except for Saturday when my Georgia Bulldogs had a chance to take down #4 LSU, but could not capitalize. I know today was the last day of the major league regular season so I can't wait to start watching some playoff baseball. As I mention in every blog I am still in school and behind, but this week I finally caught up and I am looking forward to relaxing. In my four years as an athlete, I think I went to the Library four times, I have a feeling in the next month I will double my trips to the Library. I am looking forward to getting my degree, though. Now for the question of the week.

What was the last day of the season like? Were there any team meetings, did
the manager talk to y'all? Were there hugs? Was there crying? Signing of
yearbooks?

The last day of the season in Greeneville was different from any other last day of the season. I hate to sound negative, but after my first year in the minors I wondered who of the guys I was teammates with would be in Spring Training and who would not be? Would I be going to spring training? Would I play with most of these guys next year? It was different because before it was fun and although it is still fun, it is a job and a business and you never know what could happen.

As for our last day, we had a team cookout that the coaches did for us. They used the money we had to pay our fines with, so paying a fine works out well for us. We did have a couple of meetings to go over certain off-season events, such as workouts and what needs to be gone while were away. As for hugging I think there were a few, but for the most part it was handshakes and goodbyes. Instead of signing yearbooks we signed our cards for each other as a keepsake. But I did enjoy my first season in Minor League Baseball.

Got a question for Aaron Bray? Send an e-mail!

Recap - Men Among Goats

Something Astros County tried with regularity was a Man of the Match and a Goat of the Game feature at the end of each recap (and there were probably ten games all season that didn't receive this).

Today I'll be deleting the full list, but it's worth noting that...

-Lance Berkman led the team with 15 MatchMan awards (Wandy and Tejada had 14 each, Carlos Lee had 10)
-Berkman tied with Tejada for 9 Goats - tops on the team.

That pretty much sums up the season, don't you think? The two players who were supposed to lead this team offensively also led the team in Goats. Just shows how schizophrenic this team was in 2009.

There's a full season recap coming in the next few days.

Astros hand out team hardware

The Houston Chapter of the BBWAA made the following selections for the Astros 2009 awards:

Team MVP: Michael Bourn

Pitcher of the Year: Wandy Rodriguez

Rookie of the Year: Jeff Fulchino

Darryl Kile Good Guy Award: Brian Moehler

Hard to argue with those selections...

McTaggart's glance at the off-season decisions to be made

McTaggart sure has been more prolific than the Chronicle's staff, who - aside from Levine - haven't filed a blog post or a story other than a recap for about four days. In this piece, there's a positional breakdown.

First, Wade on the payroll/free agent issues:
"Our payroll is in all likelihood going to be lower than it was this year. It could be appreciably lower, but we don't know until we sit down and get the actual numbers. Pitching is something we have to pay a lot of attention to. All of us at different points of time have looked at the potential free-agent pitching lists and know that a lot of names that are on that list right now are potentials, in that they won't become real free agents because they'll be retained by their former clubs. We have to be cautious as to how strongly we portray our potential of being out there in the open market. The level of quality is going to be pretty small, which means the values placed on those guys is going to be pretty high."

So that basically means, "Don't go expecting John Lackey in an Astros uniform."

Catcher:
The Astros signed Pudge Rodriguez prior to the start of the 2009 season because of a lack of catching depth and later traded him to the Rangers. They could be facing a similar scenario in 2010 as they await the arrival of first-round Draft pick Castro, who's expected to help at some point next year. Quintero and Towles haven't proven to be worthy of being a starter.

Shortstop:
Manzella made his Major League debut in September, but he didn't get much playing time behind Tejada, who is a free agent in 2010 and unlikely to return to Houston. Manzella is a Major League-ready defensive player, but his offense remains a work in progress.

Third base:
Blum is a free agent and would like to return in 2010, but the Astros have other options. The versatile Keppinger isn't a full-time starter, so prospect Johnson could finally get his chance to prove if he's ready to play in the Majors after a solid 2009 season at Triple-A Round Rock.

Rotation:
There's no doubt the Astros are desperate need for another solid starting pitcher, but the 1-2-3 punch of Oswalt, Rodriguez and Norris isn't a bad place to start. Oswalt only won eight games before his season was cut short with a back injury, but Rodriguez blossomed into a No. 2 starter and Norris was terrific in his debut. Moehler could return via free agency, but youngsters like Paulino and Bazardo will be given chances to win a spot.

Bullpen:
Injuries ravaged the bullpen in 2009, but that allowed the Astros to unearth solid arms in Arias and Fulchino. The back end of the bullpen remains a concern, with '09 setup man Hawkins and closer Valverde free agents and questionable to return. Needless to say, the Astros will be in the market for bullpen help.

Astros players support Clark For Manager

If it's up to Lance and Roy, Dave Clark will be Manager 16.

Roy:
"I think Dave would do a good job. He knows the game well. I think the biggest attribute is he demands a lot from the players. He sticks with what he does best, and I think he would be great for this team."

Berkman:
"I think he's got the right type of demeanor and presence. I like him. I think he would make a great choice. We'll see. I don't know who the other candidates are, but if they ask me my opinion, I would say that Dave would be a great candidate. Nobody in here would have the least bit of problem with him being the next manager. There's an overall demeanor and overall atmosphere a manager helps create, and I don't know that you'll get a real, real accurate read on that until you get a guy in there for a full season, but certainly for the small window of opportunity he's had, he's created a good, positive attitude around here, and guys are responding well to. Even though our record is not great, guys are playing hard. I don't want to say you dread coming to the ballpark, but he definitely has a lively presence about him. That's something as a player you appreciate."

Pence:
I'm rooting for him. He's a great guy. I've played for him before [at Double-A Corpus Christi] and just really like the way he handles everyone, the way he communicates and the way he leads. He's a leader. I'm hoping he gets the job."

Bourn:
"Whether we're up or down, he stays the same and keeps us intense throughout the game. He hasn't forgotten how the game goes. He knows how hard the game is at times. He knows when to do little stuff and he has experience at doing it. He's a good man for the job. I'm not the man to make the call, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the players feel the same way. They like him and respect him and want to play for him, and that's what you want. You want somebody you want to play for. I would want to play for him any day of the week, Sunday through Sunday. Hopefully he'll be back, and we'll look forward to it if he is."

Clark:
"I'm not trying to knock anything that happened before, but I did see more energy and better effort and guys running out ground balls and trying to make every play close -- really just coming out there and having fun. There's just a right way to play the game, that's all. It makes you look good and the organization look good. People pay money to come out and see you play, so give them what they're playing for."

We'll know more about this in the coming days, but I bet the search is going to be ramped up. I imagine Easy Eddie will become a little looser-lipped now that the season's over, but with the Indians - and possibly the Nationals and Marlins - looking for a manager, the Astros are going to be competing for managerial candidates.

Ed Wade knew this wasn't exactly the best team

Telling quotes from Ed Wade in McTaggart's season-closing story on how maybe they had an idea that 1,194 things would have to go exactly right - consecutively - for this team to be competitive:

Wade:
"We knew a lot of things would have to go right, including Roy winning his normal 15, 17, 20 games and Lance having a big year and Carlos [Lee] having a big year. Those types of things didn't happen for us. It was a combination of a lot of different factors."

It's funny, because even though Roy had a down year, he still had 15 no-decisions, meaning he just might have won 15, 17, 20 games. But the offense was so terrible, namely because Lance was hitting well under .200 for the first two months of the season, that Carlos Lee - despite hitting .300 with 26 HRs (two fewer than his mark at G115 in 2008 when he went down with the pinky injury) - couldn't make up the productivity.

Anyhow, Wade, on the pitching:
"Our pitching was a strong as we could make it, probably not strong enough to stand the test of time, so to speak."

Ed Wade knew that this team wouldn't contend, and it's not his fault.

Recap for G162 - Astros @ Mets

Swiftly and mercifully the Astros' season ended not with a bang, but with a whimper, getting swept by the Brooklyn Cyclones New York Mets with a 4-0 loss. It was the Mets' first sweep since May 25-27 against Washington. That's Astros baseball.

Wilton Lopez threw 77 pitches in 5IP, allowing six earned runs to lower his ERA to 8.38 on the year. The Mets' Nelson Figueroa took his 2-8 record, and shut the Astros down with a 4-hit complete game shutout. Let's do the thing, thankfully for the last time until next April.

Lopez: 5IP, 6H/3ER (4 total), 11/22 first-pitch strikes, 7/51 non-contact strikes (5called:2 swinging)
Wright: 2IP, 2H, 2K:2BB, 7/10 FPS, 13/32 NCS (9c:4s)
Gervacio: 1IP, 1H, 3/4 FPS, 3/12 NCS (3c)

Of Lopez' 77 pitches, the Mets only swung and missed two of them, and Wesley Wright threw 50 pitches in an outing for the first time since getting carted out of Wrigley in an ambulance.

The Astros were terrible, again, facing a young pitcher. Bourn, Tejada, Berkman, and Quintero accounted for the only hits, with Tejada flying out to right field in the 9th to leave his hit total at 199 for the season and sole possession of 2nd place in Astros franchise history. Somehow the Astros had five ABs with RISP, and predictably, got nothing out of it. An 0x4 day leaves Carlos Lee's batting average right at .300, making 2009 the fifth straight season in which he has reached the .300 mark.

Geoff Blum ran out to third base after the game ended to give it to Aaron Boone, who made his second start of the season today, a nice gesture. Chris Johnson then proceeded to piss in the third-base hole, while shaking his fists at Dave Clark and the rest of the Astros' awestruck bench (okay, maybe that's not exactly what happened, but the first part is true.)

Man of the Match: Who knows? Let's give it to Aaron Boone.

Goat of the Game: In honor of Carlos Lee's 0-fer (including two hitless ABs with RISP), he gets the final Goat of the season.

Olney doesn't list Astros as a fit for Valentine

Buster Olney's blog post this morning lists some possible destinations for Bobby Valentine. Houston isn't one of them.

The possibilities?
Cleveland (who want to have their manager hired by the end of the World Series): The hiring of Valentine would be something very different, given his history of success and his personality and energy level, and in many respects, he and general manager Mark Shapiro would be a perfect fit: They are both problem-solvers at heart, which is what you need to be to engender success in a small market.


Washington: Valentine would be a suitable caretaker for a team that is easily the worst in the major leagues, at the ground floor of general manager Mike Rizzo's reconstruction -- and Rizzo is building a foundation that must, out of necessity, be built on pitching.

Florida: And if you just assume Loria is a status-quo type of guy, don't forget he fired Joe Girardi after one season in which Girardi was named manager of the year.

Toronto: If, in fact, Beeston agrees with the players that Gaston has become an untenable managerial option for the Jays, Valentine might emerge as a candidate for a franchise that will be seeking ways to reinvent itself and sell itself, while sharing a division with two big-money monsters, the Yankees and Red Sox.

Live in Baytown? Want to learn from Chris Johnson?

Courtesy Brian McTaggart, Chris Sampson is opening the Lone Start Baseball Academy in Baytown.

Menu:
1-hour private lesson: $80
1/2-hour private lesson: $40 (I guess the math is free)

Larry Wade has some hope

The Shreveport Times' Larry Wade has five reasons not so say, "Screw it. Now I'm a Marlins fan."

And those reasons are:

-Tim Bogar. Boston's first base coach will be the Astros' next manager. He will energize the clubhouse and have instant credibility with his players. Bogar has learned from Red Sox skipper Terry Francona, the guy Astros general manager Ed Wade regrets firing when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.

-Michael Bourn. In a season of disappointment, Bourn has given the Astros reason to look confidently ahead. He has been the team's most valuable player this season, and he will be an All-Star in 2010.

-Wandy Rodriguez. He's replaced Roy Oswalt as the team's ace. Rodriguez will be a strong Cy Young contender next season because he has finally learned how to pitch. And few pitchers are tougher at home than Rodriguez, who will give the team an advantage each time he takes the mound in Minute Maid Park. He's almost an automatic quality-start.

-Bud Norris. As a rookie this season, Norris had several impressive outings. Remember his two-hit, seven inning shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals in his debut as a starter? Norris is the real deal.

-Jason Castro. The Astros first-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft will be the team's starting catcher when the 2010 season begins. He's excelled at every level in the minors, hitting an impressive .293 for Double-A Corpus Christi this season. Castro will give the Astros an additional bat and solid presence behind the plate next season. And he will only get better.

Lineup for G162 - Astros @ Mets

Captip, Brian McTaggart:

Your final lineup of 2009:

Bourn CF
Tejada SS
Berkman 1B
Lee LF
Pence RF
Boone 3B
Matsui 2B
Quintero
Lopez P

Congratulations to Aaron Boone, who gets the start at 3B. Want more Boone? Listen to ESPN Radio in the Division Series for color commentary.

Bourn's CSs

So the wife is sick, which means she's still asleep, which means I have plenty of opportunities to think of all sorts of randomness. And this morning, I turn my attention to the 12 times this season Michael Bourn has been caught stealing.

CS1
April 17, Reds @ Astros
Bottom 7th, 2 outs, Astros ahead 1-0
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP reliever Nick Masset/Ramon Hernandez

CS2
May 3, Astros @ Braves
Top 9th, 0 out, Astros ahead 7-5
Picked off 1st by RHP reliever Mike Gonzalez/Brian McCann

CS3
May 9, Padres @ Astros
Bottom 4th, 1 out, tied 0-0
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP starter Kevin Correia/Nick Hundley

CS4
June 1, Rockies @ Astros
Bottom 1st, 0 out, tied 0-0
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP starter Aaron Cook/Yorvit Torrealba

CS5
June 16, Astros @ Rangers
Top 1st, 1 out, tied 0-0
Caught stealing 3rd by RHP starter Kevin Millwood/Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Double play, with a strike 'em out, throw 'em out with Carlos Lee

CS6
June 17, Astros @ Rangers
Top 9th, 1 out, tied 4-4
Caught stealing 2nd by LHP reliever C.J. Wilson/Jarrod Saltalamacchia

CS7
June 19, Astros @ Twins
Top 1st, 1 out, tied 0-0
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP Kevin Slowey/Joe Mauer

CS8
July 10, Nationals @ Astros
Bottom 4th, 1 out, Astros ahead 2-1
Picked off 2nd by LHP Scott Olsen

CS9
July 27, Astros @ Cubs
Top 3rd, 2 outs, Astros ahead 1-0
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP starter Carlos Zambrano/Koyie Hill

CS10
August 1, Astros @ Cardinals
Top 5th, 2 outs, tied 1-1
Caught stealing 2nd by RHP starter Chris Carpenter/Yadier Molina

CS11
September 18, Astros @ Brewers
Top 3rd, 1 out, Astros ahead 1-0
Caught stealing 2nd by LHP starer Chris Narveson/Jason Kendall

CS12
October 2, Astros @ Mets
Top 1st, 0 out, tied 0-0
Caught stealing 3rd by RHP starter John Maine/Omar Santos

Some trends, if you'll allow:
CS with 0 out: 3
CS with 1 out: 6
CS with 2 out: 3

CS with game tied: 7
CS with 2+ run margin: 1

CS by RHPs: 9
CS by LHPs: 3

CS at home: 4
CS on road: 8

CS in Inn 1-3: 6
CS in Inn 4-6: 3
CS in Inn 7+: 3

Tejada sets record, Bourn goes against the grain

In this morning's Chronicle Notes column, we see the following:

-Tejada's 198 hits tie him with Derek Bell for second all-time in Astros history.

In case you're wondering, here are the top 10 hits seasons for the franchise:
1. Biggio, 210, 1998
2. Bell, 198, 1998
Tejada, 198, 2009
4. Cabell, 195, 1978
5. Berkman, 191, 2001
Biggio, 191, 1997
7. Lee, 190, 2007
8. Cruz, 189, 1983
9. Biggio, 188, 1999
10. Cruz, 187, 1984
-
Michael Bourn knew better than to get thrown out at third base in Friday's game, and would have scored on Tejada's single later in the inning.

“I'm aggressive at times. I pick and choose my spots...If you're safe, you're good. If you're not, you hear about it.”

Get your erasers ready to scratch Valentine's name off the list

An ESPN report claims Bobby Valentine is in talks with the Florida Marlins.

At a time when Bobby Valentine has begun the process of talking with teams about a possible return as a manager in Major League Baseball, sources said he is in communication with the Florida Marlins about a possible position with that team -- less than eight months after Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez received a two-year extension.

Personally, I hope this happens. Because if the Marlins drop Fredi Gonzalez eight months after a two-year extension, it makes Drayton & Ed look like Father Time.

Recap for G161 - Astros @ Mets

Man, the Astros really know how to make a crap team look alright. Yorman Bazardo was shaky again, throwing 93 pitches in 4.2IP for a short outing that was made longer by a 2+ hour rain delay. Let's just do the thing, for the penultimate time.

Bazardo: 4.2IP, 5H/3ER, 3K:3BB, 15/23 first-pitch strikes, 19 non-contact strikes (3 16 called:3 swinging)
Gervacio: 0IP, 1H, 1BB, 1/2 FPS, 3/8 NCS (2c:1s)
Wright: 0.1IP, 1BB, 1/2 FPS, 3/5 NCS (2c:1s)
Byrdak: 1IP, 2K, 2/3 FPS, 5/8 NCS (2c:3s)
Fulchino: 1IP, 2H/1ER, 2BB, 2/6 FPS, 3/10 NCS (1c:2s)
LaHawk: 1IP, 2H, 1K, 4/5 FPS, 3/9 NCS (1c:2s)

How did Bazardo throw that many pitches and only last 4.2IP? 17 foul balls. 10 of the 23 batters faced saw 5+ pitches.

Once again, the Astros were bottled up, going 1x7 with RISP (Pence getting the only RISP knock). Only Keppinger and Matsui got 0-fers (0x3, each), and Berkman had the only multi-hit game. Tejada extended his hit streak to 20 games, the most since Willy Taveras had his 30-game hit streak back in 2006. He'll need two hits tomorrow to get his 200th hit of the season. In eight combined plate appearances, Berkman and Lee saw a combined 16 pitches. J.R. Towles saw 23 pitches in 4 PAs.

Towles' second life makes me wonder. If Castro doesn't make the club out of Spring Training in '10, Quintero and Towles may very well be your C1/C2, leaving Chris Coste...uh...some time to write another book.

Man of the Match: Lance Berkman. Two hits, raising his average to .274.

UPDATE: The Man of the Match has been given to Deputy Jason, for staying through a miserable game, one of reportedly 1,000 fans to stay through the delay.

Goat of the Game: Yorman. It's tough to stay locked in (I'm not even playing. I just sit on the couch and pass dry sarcasm with little to no accountability.) However, you're auditioning here, and the Mets aren't very good, and this was pretty bad.

McTaggart: LaHawk for closer

AC has long been a champion of pushing LaHawk to the bullpen, giving him $5 million, and saving $8 million (Valverde's eventual $10 million + LaHawk's $3.5 million - the $5 million LaHawk should get) that can go to...name it.

Now McTaggart is championing the cause.

Which leads us to the setup role, which McTaggart (and I concur) says Fulchino should be able to handle. He also says not to expect Doug Brocail back - something for which we have been preparing you for quite some time.

David Wright sits because Manuel is afraid Bazardo has no idea what he's doing

Hey, remember when David Wright got hit in the coconut? Jerry Manuel acknowledged that David Wright was out of the G161 lineup because of Wright's "phobias" and that he didn't know whether Bazardo was "a control guy."

"Just being careful for a guy coming off a beaning such as he had. It's a different experience for him, a different test. You try to protect that going forward. I'd feel better if he gets through it without a setback."

Lineup for G161 - Astros @ Mets

Captip, Alyson Footer:

Bourn CF
Tejada SS
Berkman 1B
Lee LF
Pence RF
Keppinger 3B
Matsui 2B
Towles C
Bazardo P

Do you think anyone would notice if Chris Johnson drove around the Long Island Expressway all afternoon?

Huh? Free Agent Compensation

Next in the series of "Huh?" is free agent compensation, a topic which has caused some moderate confusion in recent days, and is a timely topic, thanks to Tejada, Valverde, and LaHawk projecting as Type A Free Agents. What does this mean (with some help from Tim Dierkes)

-Players are classified by Type A, Type B, or Type Nada based on the two previous seasons' productivity. Let's use Tejada as the focus of this experiment.

-If Tejada is offered arbitration, declines, and signs with another team (lets just say, for demonstration purposes, that team is the Dodgers), the Astros would receive the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2010 June draft, and get a supplemental pick between the first and second round.

-If Tejada were to sign with the Padres (again, for demonstrative purposes), they would just get the supplemental pick and the Padres' 2nd-round pick. Why? Because the Padres are in the bottom half of the overall standings, and the first 15 picks are protected.

-Now, for Type B players, if a Type B free agent signs with another team, the Astros would only receive the supplemental pick.

-Another possibility to consider is that if Tejada signs with another team before December 1 (the month in which arbitration is offered/declined/spat upon), the Astros would receive the appropriate draft picks

Recap for G160 - Astros @ Mets

Well, that couldn't have gone much worse, huh? The Astros were held to six hits, which is one more than Doug Brocail allowed in the 8th inning of a 7-1 loss to the Mets. Wandy did what's what, getting himself the "quality start," but gave up eight hits, including a two-run homer to Jeff Francoeur. Let's just do the thing:

Wandy: 6IP, 8H/3ER, 3K:1BB, 17/26 first-pitch strikes, 22/72 non-contact strikes (13 called:9 swinging)
Byrdak: 0.2IP, 1H, 2K, 3/3 FPS, 4/9 NCS (3c:1s)
Gervacio: 0.1IP, 1K, 1/1 FPS, 3/3 NCS (1c:2s)
Brocail: 1IP, 5H/4ER, 1/8 FPS, 3/23 NCS (3c)

Nope, that's not a typo. Brocail gave up 4ER in his one inning, needing 37 pitches to get through the 8th inning, with none of them of the "Swinging Strike" variety. How did it happen?

Carlos Beltran: Flyout to left
Francoeur: Single to center
Tatis: Single to right
Santos: Single to right (RBI)
Hernandez: Sac fly to left
Murphy: Pinch-hit homer to right
Pagan: Single to right
Castillo: Flyout to center

Yep, that's eight batters, three outs, and one first-pitch strike to those eight batters on Brocail's part.

And because the offense is predictably terrible, even against John Maine and the Mets, the Astros gave Wandy his 12th loss of the year (putting his record at 14-12, with a 3.02 ERA. Those six hits were spread out among six players, including pinch-hitter Darin Erstad. The other five hits were courtesy of Bourn, Tejada, Berkman, Lee, and Matsui. It takes a lot of factors to make the Mets look good. One of those factors are the Houston Astros. They only had three ABs with RISP (0x3, natch), and Michael Bourn was gunned down at 3rd base, denying him of his 62nd stolen base. And the Astros' one run came in the 4th, when Blum screwed up and grounded out, scoring Berkman.

The Astros seemed to have a good chance in the 5th, with the score tied at 1-1. Matsui reached on a bunt single, and with some grounders, made his way to third, where Bourn left him right there with a swinging strikeout.

Man of the Match: Jeez. This is like congratulating your foot for not smelling as bad as your rear end. I seriously have no idea. 5-8 in the lineup were a combined 1x12. No one did particularly well. How about Wandy, for the quality start?

Goat of the Game: This one goes to Brocail. See above.

Free Agent comp picks

Someone help me out. Why did I think that a Type A free agent got you two picks and a Type B was one?

(This is the blog equivalent of a dunking booth)

Lineup for G160 - Astros @ Mets

Courtesy, Alyson Footer:

Bourn CF
Tejada SS
Berkman 1B
Lee LF
Blum 3B
Pence RF
Matsui 2B
Quintero C
Wandy P

Chris Johnson can't buy a lineup spot.

Olney's Type A Free Agents

Buster Olney's column, he breaks down how getting Type A Free Agent status actually hurts the trade value of a player, as the teams have to give up two draft picks when signing a Type-A (as opposed to one pick for a Type B).

The Astros' Type As, with Olney's commentary from a panel of six executives and player representatives:

LaHawk:
Four of six predicted that the Astros will offer him arbitration. Said one official: "They should offer it to both (Hawkins) and Jose Valverde, but I don't know if they will." Said a player representative: "If they offered arbitration to him, that would really hurt his market, a lot like it did with Cruz. Nobody is going to surrender a draft pick for an older reliever."

Tejada:
Six of six predicted the Astros will not offer him arbitration.

Valverde:
Four of six predicted that the Astros will not offer him arbitration. "They won't devote that much money to paying for a closer," said one official. Another countered: "He'd probably get $10 million or $11 million in arbitration, and so the worst-case scenario would be that you have to eat a little more money than you expected, and the best-case scenario is that you would get draft picks." Said an AL GM: "If they did offer him arbitration, it would hurt him on the market, because there are a lot of bullpen alternatives where you wouldn't have to give up the draft pick."

If you love Valverde, set him free...

Baseball America's South Atlantic League Top 20 Prospects

BA's Top 20 Prospects features Lexington pitcher Jordan Lyles at #6. I'm not a BA subscriber, so...can't tell you much more than that.

Castro "one to watch"

NESN's Prospects to Watch in the Arizona Fall League feature Jason Castro.

He hits for a solid average (.300 in '09 at two levels), but minimal power (10 total home runs). He looks like an above average big leaguer who should be a serviceable fantasy backstop.

Wow! Ringolsby really screwed the pooch on that one.

And now you see why Astros County cites all rumors, and any speculation is duly noted before said speculation begins.

Tracy Ringolsby's unsubstantiated column-filler that the Astros and Diamondbacks were on the market has been refuted by Drayton, and now by Arizona Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick.

Kendrick:
“It’s a complete and total fabrication of the highest order. That’s the last thing on my mind.”

Drayton's net worth

Beneath the customary veneer of Richard Justice's sarcasm, we see a few things about Drayton and the For Sale sign sitting on the Train Tracks.

Now something has come to my attention that might explain why Drayton might be reconsidering whether he wants to own the Astros. I'll just be blunt. Drayton may need money. Forbes is out with its list of the richest Americans, and there was a tough truth in there for Drayton M. McLane Jr. His estimated net worth has declined from $1.6 billion on the 2008 list to $1.45 billion on the 2009 list. At this rate, he'll be broke by 2054. He has actually risen in the rankings, going from 301 to 272, but I'm sure that's no comfort to a bottom-line man like Drayton.

The Forbes article is here.

Kennett, MO coach has jokes!

In today's Daily Dunklin Democrat, there's a story about the flu going around in advance of the Battle of Dunklin County. Of course, this features the Malden Green Wave versus the Kennett Indians.

Except the Kennett Indians are all Tebowed with the flu. How hard is it hitting the team, Coach Kenneth Riedinger?

"Like Albert Pujols hit Lidge..."

If this is true, then this means that Kennett will get traded in a year and a half, run the table in 2012, and then collapse.

McLane: Astros are not for sale

Clarifying Tracy Ringolsby's uncited, unattributed popoff about how the Astros are for sale, Drayton McLane clarifies for MyFoxHouston:

"Nothing could be further from the truth. Our goal is to get the best manager in baseball and move aggressively forward to be a champion in 2010."

My favorite part of this story is MyFoxHouston covering their rear end with fellow FoxSports columnist Ringolsby:
Nationally respected writer Tracy Ringolsby, in his story online Thursday..."

If he keeps doing stuff like this, maybe you can scratch the first two words of his introduction.

J.B. MacDonald has a Money publicist

There's a lot of Astros prospect J.B. MacDonald in the news. Here's the local paper has a story on the young pitcher. Some highlights:

-“Over the next five plus months, I will be lifting weights and trying to find a job to save up some money before I go back. I won’t start throwing again until probably January, and from there I will work to get my arm in shape [in order to be] ready for the beginning of March.

“My end of the year meeting with my pitching coach [Gary Ruby] went well, and all he said was that I pitched well this summer, and they were happy with how I played, and the way I went about my business. He wasn’t sure what my role, or even where I’ll be placed as far as next season goes.

“All in all, I’m pleased with all that’s happened so far, and hope to have a similar experience next spring/summer.”

Chris Coste is an Astro

Chris Coste is a pretty stand-up guy. As a member of the 2009 Phillies, he has a lot riding on the Phillies' run, but he knows he's not a Phillie:

Most of the family is still here. Spiritually and financially, Coste remains at least a half-brother, his half-share of his old team's postseason money riding on the length of its run. His Astros teammates teased him all week that they were going to tackle him if he joined the dogpile when they clinched, but when Lance Berkman made that final out Wednesday night, Coste found himself curiously uninterested.

And when the texts came in from teammates like Clay Condrey and Shane Victorino urging him to join the late-night party, Coste said no thanks.

"I still consider them to be like my brothers," Coste said. "And they would welcome me as if I was still on the team. But it wouldn't have felt right for me. It would have been like walking on eggshells, in a way."

He went back to the team hotel.

Valentine: Just look at my interview notes from 13 years ago

David Barron's TV-Radio Notebook this morning addresses Bobby Valentine's interest in being Manager 16:

"They've heard my spiel (when he applied for the job in the 1990s) without the sushi connotations added to it. So if, in fact, I was something that would strike their fancy, they know what I'm all about."

Hm. That's...abrupt.

I'm sure he just went out to the car to get his wallet

Whoops!

Choker Shawn Chacon is in trouble again, this time for failing to pay Caesar's Palace $150,000, and a felony warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Lee out with sore wrist, should be back today

There is almost nothing of value in today's Notes column, but we can learn something. And we can laugh at something else. Verdict? Valid.

Carlos Lee was out for just the second time this season with a sore wrist. Lee:
“It's just a day off so I can rest my hand. The wrist is a little sore and it hurts when I swing and miss. At times if I miss, it hurts a little. But I've played with it like this and managed to go out there and keep at it for over a month. I think today was a good day to be off so I can finish the season strong in New York.”
-
And in one of the silliest quotes you'll see (really, it's up there with "It doesn't feel pretty good," and "Hump up."), from Dave Clark, on walking the warning track of a new ballpar - like CitiField:
I wanted to make sure that I walked the warning track to see if there's anything that's different or whatever about their ballpark and how the ball is coming off the wall and stuff like that and the ricochet and all that. It's just very important. And Al (Pedrique, the new third base coach) does the same thing. He's asking those same questions. It's very informative information that we get from that.”

As opposed to uninformative information. Which is exactly what this Notes column was.

Now it's Footer's turn to bust on JJO

In JJO's ridiculous post yesterday, he incurred the wrath of Astros County. Now he's incurred the wrath and record-straightening arm of Alyson Footer.

JJO said, of Milo:
Count Dave Clark among the legions happy that the legendary Milo Hamilton, a four-time Hall of Famer who is fighting cancer, will land in New York tonight in anticipation of calling the Astros' weekend series at new Citi Field.

This is alarming, as nobody had heard of this. Footer had this to say tonight:
I'd like to take a quick moment to address Milo's health situation. He recently finished an eight-session treatment to regulate his white blood count, and he will meet with doctors next week to discuss how the treatments went and what's in store for his future. This is not a new development -- Milo has had a chronic form of leukemia since the mid 1970s and his recent treatment was necessitated because of his health history. As Milo explained to me a couple of months ago, this is to prolong his life, not to save it.

A recent blog stated simply that Milo has "cancer," with no explanation of the circumstances surrounding the disease. Technically, yes, it's cancer. But this is not a new thing, as Milo has spent the last 35 years living with his illness.

I hope this clears up any confusion that report may have caused.

Snap.

If Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke made manlove, and one of them had a uterus, and gave birth, it would look like Felipe Paulino

JJO's blog post this evening has this after Paulino's 5IP, 1ER performance:

Tejada:
"He showed today how good he can be in the future for this team," Tejada said of Paulino. "I think he's going to be learning how to pitch. By the power that he has in his arm, I think he just needs to learn how to pitch and learn how to pitch in the big leagues. I think that kid is going to be like Verlander or Greinke later on his career because he throws. He just needs to learn how make the location like the way he did today."

Dave Clark:
"We've always said all along this kid is a work in progress. He's definitely a power arm. We just got to get him more consistent and make him more a pitcher than a thrower and he'll get better. He's got the stuff to definitely (have) the chance to be a No. 2 or No. 3 starter here in the big leagues. That's what we're looking forward toward. His fastball was real good and when he was able to spot it and put it in real good locations he got his outs. Again, we're talking about a guy with a power arm really and truly learning to pitch up here."

Recap for G159 - Astros @ Phillies

Well, the Astros are 17 back with two to play, so time is running out on the Astros season, but a 5-3 win sure does help.

Let's do the thing:
Paulino: 5IP, 6H/1ER, 5K:3BB, 13/24 first-pitch strikes, 28/64 non-contact strikes (14c:14s)
Fulchino: 1IP, 1H, 1K:1BB, 3/5 FPS, 6/11 NCS (3c:3s)
Wright: 1IP, 1H, 2/4 FPS, 5/14 NCS (3c:2s)
LaHawk: 1IP, 2H, 2K, 3/5 FPS, 6/13 NCS (3c:3s)
Valverde: 1IP, 3H/2ER, 1BB, 5/7 FPS, 4/12 NCS (4c)

Congratulations to Felipe Paulino, who scored his first win since June 27. Valverde gave up the 2-out, 2-run double to Pedro Feliz (who was 5x17 with 7RBI). But Paulino's only run came in the 5th - Francisco doubled, and with two outs, gave up an infield single to Rollins, walked Ryan Howard, and another infield single to Ibanez - scoring Francisco.

The Astros only had one 0-fer from the position players (Quintero - 0x3), and multi-hit games from Tejada (2x3, 3RBI, 18-game hit streak, 196 hits, rain in the forecast in NY), Berkman (2x4, 2RBI), and Jason Michaels (2x4). Berkman led off the scoring with a 2-run double, scoring Matsui and Tejada. With Berkman's two RBI, that brings his RBI total to 80. And isn't that surprising, considering Berkman had 10 RBI in April.

Man of the Match: Tejada. Needs four hits in the final three games to get to 200. What, so I can't get sucked into this bullcrap?

Goat of the Game: In 4th Grade I won the Student of the Month. And the next day, I started a two-classroom brawl. True story. That's why I can give Valverde the Employee of the Month at 9am, and give him the Goat at 10:45pm. Of the same day.

Hang on, are the Astros for sale?

Tracy Ringolsby has an update on the bidding for the Texas Rangers, and then a curious side note - perhaps on the availability of the Astros? All of this is after a rah-rah piece about how great the Rockies are.

The bidding for the Texas Rangers appears to have been reduced to groups headed by Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg and former player agent Dennis Gilbert. Greenberg's group has offered current Rangers president Nolan Ryan an equity position with the deal that he would continue to run the team.

Word is two other teams are available — the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks — although there is no indication that there have been any serious talks with a prospective buyer for either team.

Let me know if I misread this...

Lineup for G159 - Astros @ Phillies

Here's your lineup for the series finale with the NL East Champion Phillies

Bourn CF
Matsui 2B
Tejada SS
Berkman 1B
Pence RF
Keppinger 3B
Michaels LF
Quintero C
Paulino P

Carlos Lee gets the night off, J.R. Towles gets to follow up the first multi-HR game of his career by sitting on his rear end.

Employees of the Month: September

Because there aren't any meaningful games in October, we'll go ahead and call it with the Employees of the Month for September. Winners get 10% off in the Astros County store, and a parking spot up front for the month.

Position Player
Miguel Tejada. Making his push for 200 hits by going .363/.387/.549 and getting 37 hits, 12 of them for extra-bases, and seven multi-hit games.

Pitcher
Goes again to Jose Valverde. He had five saves in September for a 1.80 ERA/0.90 WHIP. Opponents hit .152/.237/.242.

Pitch-tipping

Watch Joe Mauer allegedly tip pitches for Jason Kubel against the Tigers (link courtesy Deadspin.)