Day 21: Houston Astros

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Houston Astros

2007 Regular Season Record: 73-89

Cost per Win: $87,759,000 / 73 = $1,202,178 per win

2007 Season Recap: The Astros had a season that was mostly a transition year where they were just trying to find their place and identity in the NL Central. Overall they finished the season 12 games back in the NL Central which was one of the worst divisions in baseball. Both offensively and defensively the Astros had a down year. They had the NLs 12 best team batting average with a .260 average and were 13th in the league in runs scored. The pitching didn’t pick up the slack for the poor offense either. As a staff they managed a 4.68 ERA and had a batting average against of .273 which ranked 12th in the NL for 2007. The one thing I did find interesting though for a team that had such a bad season is that the Astros made very few moves during the season. So either they really aren’t trying or they thought that their personnel was good enough to be successful in the future. They quite obviously changed their mind in the offseason and pulled off one of the bigger trades in December of 2007.

The Astros regular starting lineup actually didn’t perform that badly offensively they just didn’t have any amazing offensive performances. Their team leader in batting averages was Carlos Lee with a .303 average; he was second on the team with 32 home runs and led the team in RBIs with 119. The team leader in terms of home runs was Lance Berkman who had 34 home runs. The offensive numbers fall off for the rest of the lineup in terms of RBIs and runs but the Astros did get a good addition from Hunter Pence the rookie center fielder that was added to the roster on April 28th. Pence played in 108 games and earned himself a .322 batting average, 17 home runs, and 69 RBIs. Pence is one of the young Astros that looks to have a strong future if he continues to develop.

The Astros actually had a healthy pitching staff most of the year. The Astros had 3 starters with 31 or more starts but of those starters Roy Oswalt was the only one with more than 9 wins. Oswalt led the team with 14 wins and the next highest win total came from Wandy Rodriguez with 9. The closer situation for the Astros was confusing most of 2007. Brad Lidge started the season as the closer and was then demoted from that role for a period of time then put back into the closers role. Overall he finished with 19 saves which led the team but it was his lowest total since 2003. None of the relievers really had an outstanding year with only one pitcher with an ERA under 3 and that was Dennis Sarfate who only had 8.1 innings pitched in 2007 after being acquired from the Brewers in September, he only allowed 1 run in his time with the Astros which gave him an ERA of 1.08.

One big piece of news that happened just recently was that Miguel Tejada was traded to the Astros from the Orioles in exchange for 5 players including Luke Scott and Dennis Sarfate. I don’t think this was a good move for the Astros but it is nice to see them trying to improve the team over last year. Sarfate was a quality arm to lose and Luke Scott has always been a reliable performer. The true quality of this trade will be revealed in the next 2 or 3 years, especially with the steroid rumors around Tejada after the Mitchell Report was published.


Key Free Agents: 3B Mike Lamb, 2B Craig Biggio; Biggio is a big loss because he was always a solid lead-off hitter and gave the team a lot of experience. He is officially retired now but he has earned it after playing his entire 20 year career in Houston. Lamb is also a notable loss especially when the Astros don’t really have anyone to replace him. The losses in the Tejada trade are probably greater especially with the loss of a young arm and a quality veteran outfielder.

Offseason Needs: The Astros have started to fill a lot of their off-season needs and have already signed 9 free agents; 3 relief pitchers, 1 starting pitcher, 3 second basemen, and an outfielder. In addition they resigned Brad Ausmus who was always been a consistent performer for the Astros. Most of the Astros holes have been filled now it is just a question of whether they got the right guys to fill those holes and whether they are worth the money.

Prediction for the 2008 season: I think Houston is in big trouble in 2008. I don’t see them achieving a better record. Tejada is a big name but his power numbers have been declining and it is yet to be seen what effect the Mitchell Report will have on him. I realize there are a lot of new pieces in Houston and it’s very possible that if the right mix is achieved they could have success. I don’t think this success is going to happen though because half the season will be spent trying to achieve the right mix and by that time the Astros will be in a hole in the division race that they won’t be able to climb out of. The Brewers are looking far too strong going into 2008 to have too much of a late-season slide which leaves the Astros out of the playoff race by a long ways and could possibly leave them with more questions than answers going into 2009