Dunn And His Long Term Contract

[Heath]

Oh man.. ok, I will try this one more time for those of you that are obviously on the Kentucky side of the River.

obviously you failed geography. I'm on the Ohio side of the river.

Biggio, Bagwell and Ausmus.... Thats it Heath. No one else is even close to Social Security.

So, that's umm...like your heart and soul of your team.

Clemens is important, but he isnt the Astros can win without him. I have every faith that he will return in May. But even if he doesnt this team can win.

I disagree. I think Pettitte is lost without him. I think Brad Lidge is going to have shell-shock issues until the All-star break. Roy Oswalt throws hard and one bad pitch and his arm is shot. If you are also thinking the Wandy Rodriguez is the answer, I'm not sure I want to know the question.

As far as career years go.. I dont know anyone but Ensberg that had a career year. The rest of the team played below average offensively.

Tavares played better in the majors than he did in the minors. Jason Lane finally hit someone else besides Reds pitching. Berkman's going to start to be pitched around after they realize how much Preston Wilson's gonna strike out.

I think the worse thing that happened to Astros was getting swept in the Series. Now, you've got Bagwell issues, because like every other veteran superstar, he isn't sure if he wants to retire.

BTW - the Cardinals still are the team to beat. IMO.

[pedro]

Astrobuddy,

Don't forget, you're on the Kentucky side of the river yourself.

[Astrobuddy]

Biggio, Bagwell and Ausmus are no longer the heart and soul of the Astros.

Bagwell will either play and contribute or he will retire. Its that simple.

Biggio is still a

Yea, I guess you are right.. Pettitte and Oswalt suck.

Ignorant fans have been saying that about Oswalt for years and his arm hasnt come off yet. He will get his 18-20 wins with a sub 3.50 ERA like he does every year. Get used to it. You will be getting beat by Oswalt for years and years to come.

Pettitte is LOST without Clemens??? Based on what? I guess when Dunn and Learns are no longer playing together Dunn will fall apart.

Berkman has had a pretty good career without having anyone behind him. They will pitch to him and he will get his numbers.

Wilson will strikeout just like Adam Dunn does but not hit as many homers or walk as much , but with a few more Sac flies, either way he will be productive if he stays healthy.

I actually kinda agree with you on Lidge, except that IF he has good outings early all will be forgotten.

I also agree with you on the Cards being the team to beat in the division. But thats on paper and right now. The Astros are done dealing and the Cards are pretty set. That can change. The Astros arent that far behind the Cards, but they are the reigning NL Champs and until they are beaten they are the Favorites IMO.

[Astrobuddy]

pedro.. funny stuff and you are correct. Some people just dont have a sense of humor. YOU apparently do. It is refreshing.

[smith288]

I think pedro's funny and I am a conservative.

[RFS62]

I think pedro's funny and I am a conservative.

He is a pretty funny guy. And now he's made a new buddy.

[KronoRed]

Oh man.. ok, I will try this one more time for those of you that are obviously on the Kentucky side of the River.

Cute.

[westofyou]

pedro.. funny stuff and you are correct. Some people just dont have a sense of humor. YOU apparently do. It is refreshing.

My dad could kick Pedro's dad's rear too.

[RFS62]

My dad could kick Pedro's dad's rear too.

He must be very flexible.

[Heath]

He must be very flexible.

Something was mentioned about Gumby......

[Heath]

Cute.

C'mon Krono you can do better

[KronoRed]

C'mon Krono you can do better

Nah, I'm from Kentucky you know..we're all slow and dumb apparently

[Scrap Irony]

Houston has only to wait for Dunn to take the major league minimum salary as a free agent in his triumphant return to his home town state.

Because everyone wants to go home again, right?

Right, Astrobuddy?

Right?

_______________________

As to age, Biggio and Bagwell, if healthy and signed, will play. Period. Garner starts his veterans. If Bagwell does intend to hang it up, your Astros have:

Tavares CF
Career year? Possibly. Never hit that well in the minor leagues. Perhaps he finally "gets it", but history is littered with fleet phenoms who refuse to walk and have one good year finding holes with punch and judy bats. (Hell, the Reds have one of those on their roster right now in Tony Womack.)

Lane RF
An injury risk that hits well at home and poorly on the road. (298/886 v. 239/750.) Some pop, some speed (though that has diminished with injuries). Oh, and did I mention his career 327 OBP?

Biggio/ Burke 2B
Great player with a solid season, but his 2004 looked bad. He's on the wrong side of 40. How much longer does he have? If not Biggio, the 'Stros have Chris Burke, who I happen to like. However, he's also from the wrong side of the river and is apparently too stupid to ever play baseball for a fine, fine team like your Astros. Too, it's not like he's lit the world on fire (and he's had ample oppotunity) in the major leagues.

Morgan Ensberg 3B
Yeah, Ken Caminiti had a career year, too. What of it? Great year. Very. very poor in the playoffs. He's never been close to that kind of year before. Can he repeat? Perhaps. Smart money isn't on it.

Lance Berkman
Solid All Star level player with an injury past. He's by far the best hitter on a poorly constructed offensive team. Not only are the injuries worrisome, but you will also see, as the Astros come back to earth, pitchers pitch around him. This could lead to struggling.

Preston Wilson LF
He's not horrid, but if Wilson is a centerpiece of your offensive strategy (and he is in Houston land), then you're in trouble. In the bandbox that is Minute Maid, he'll still hit a fairly high number of dingers, but his OBP will continue to drop. And it's extremely low (325) already.

Brad Ausmus C
Ausmus is a fine catcher and a black hole offensively. And he's getting old. Not a good combination for a guy with a rather large two-year contract.

Adam Everett SS
He's another punch and judy hitter (though with better pop than either Ausmus or Tavares) with one good offensive season. His glove is truly outstanding, but his bat is very poor.

If you're counting with me at home (those in Houston may need to take off their shoes at this point), that's three very poor offensive players, two more with OBP questions, two with injury concerns, two with age concerns, and two with career year concerns.

That, in short, is a lot.

As for the pitching, let's assume both both Oswalt and Pettite make it through the season without injury. (I know that hasn't happened yet, but bear with me.) Backe as a third starter is not more than adequate and there are two huge question marks at the back end of the rotation. (Granted, I'd take the Astro starting staff over Cincinnati's every day for an eternity, but that's another post. For today, I'm covering the questions of the Astros.)

As for the pen, Lidge's complete meltdown in the offseason is more than worrisome. He imploded. Donnie Moore, Mitch Williams imploded. Can you tell me what happened the year after each of those stalwart closers (both were All Stars in their respective years) blew up? Both pitched horribly. Beyond horribly. Can Lidge come back? It's certainly not a sure thing at this point.

As for the other relievers, yes, they had fine years. Most teams that go to the playoffs have fine bullpens in place. Houston's pen enjoyed career years by no less than five players. Even if half come back down to earth, that means the pen is verage at best.

Questions? You bet there are. Of course, I am from Kentucky and what do we really know about anything anyway?

[Astrobuddy]

Scraps.. all I can say is "wow". But basically, what you wrote is S crap)

Dunn isnt signing anywhere for the league minimum. But nice try at humor.

Here is a list of your mistakes..

1) Bagwell will not play and take up a roster spot. He is done.

2) Willy T has hit that good in the minors. In fact he skipped AAA. He will get better ans learn to manage the strike zone better. It was not a career year. It was just his 1st.

3) Jason Lane.. INJURIES?? Based on what??? 2005 was his 1st full season in the bigs but not because of injuries.

4) Biggio didnt have a bad year and 2005 was Burke's 1st full year in the Bigs. Whre did he get his ample opportunity in the majors?

5) Ensberg... Late bloomer that is the real deal. Had a wrist injury in the playoffs that effected his swing.

6) Berkman.. has never NEVER had an injury past, DO YOU JUST MAKE THIS CRAP UP? He is not just a solid All-Star, he is forging towards a HOF career. Top 5 hitter in the NL.

7) Wilson.. hitting in an offensive ballpark , but his OBP will go down? I doubt it. He aint Pujols, but he will hit .270, 30, 90-100 with a .350 OBP. Thats just fine and an offensive upgrade no doubt. Here is the guy with an injury concern and you dont even mention it. UNREAL.

8) Ausmus... great pitcher's catcher. Ausmus was signed for 1 reason, Clemens.

9) Everett... Not a punch and judy hitter at all. He just doesnt hit. When he does he hits for doubles.

If YOU are counting at home you will see that Pitching and Defense win. The Astros have both and the offense will be better than 2005 when they won the NL pennant. The Reds have offense but NO pitching or defense.

Oswalt and Pettitte made it thru the 2005 season without injury. Pettitte's elbow is fine and Oswalts hamstring is fixed. No worries.

The bullpen is one of the best, although Lidge is a question. How will he handle it? We are all 2 months away from finding out.

Questions... yep.. every single team in MLB has em and always have. Some less than others. The Astros will once again be one of the best 5 teams in MLB. Can you say that about the Reds?

I wonder if you just sat down and made all that crap up or do you really believe it ? Either way, that was just sad and showed no real effort at trying to keep from looking like a very un-intelligent fan.

[pedro]

You're really pushing your luck Astrobuddy. I'd tone it down a little if I were you.