After reading that Pudge and the Astros were again in contract negotiations, I was initially excited. The biggest area of concern on the team, outside of starting pitching was the catching situation. With Rodriguez we would be getting a player who has worked well with multiple pitching staffs, and could stabilize things until Jason Castro gained more minor league seasoning. JR Towles, Humberto Quintero and Lou Palmisano are all replacement level players at this juncture, anyways.
It's then that I went and purused the projections for our new starting catcher. My optimism faded pretty quickly. I realized Pudge wasn't going to be a savior by any stretch. What irks me is that Pudge's skills are fading fast. His extremely high GB% leads me to think that he'll be hitting into a lot of double plays this season. He walks next to never (not that our other catchers walk with any regularity). What's more- what are the odds that Cecil Cooper bats him at the top of our lineup? I would say pretty decent. Pudge will probably still hit for a decent average, which is "perfect" for a number two hitter. I hope to be proved wrong. He has hit well in the WBC, but it's such a small sample size, we really can't glean too much from it.
I would like to think that if Drayton were to give money to a veteran player, it would have been Pedro Martinez. His demands have been in the $2.5 million range for one year. Who's to say if he would've considered pitching for the Astros, but that possibility is almost certainly gone now.
Lou Palmisano's time in Houston is probably over, as players who were selected in the Rule V draft have to stay on the major league 25 man roster or else risk being sent back to their original club. Quintero is the presumptive choice to be the second catcher. JR Towles will have a chance to be the starting catcher for Round Rock. That's fine. He needs more time and showed he can handle hitting AAA pitching in his time last year at Round Rock. JJO likes the signing. I have to question his point that Humberto Quintero can learn under Pudge. That's all well and good, but who expects Quintero to be anything more than insurance for Castro/Towles in the future? He is a veteran catcher, and what we've seen so far is probably what we're going to get from him.
As far as Pudge's "leadership" qualities are concerned- this team is full of leadership/clubhouse/character guys. Berkman, Oswalt, Bloone's Farm, Hampton, Moehler, Brocail, Michaels, Erstad....the list goes on. I don't think the club will benefit from any more leadership, even if the new edition is a catcher.
Ultimately, it's not like his signing impedes anyone's path to the majors, or is a multi year debacle. It's just another million or so dollars the team was more or less forced to spend in order to help hold down the ship until (hopefully) the next crop of youngsters is ready to play on the major league level.
0 recs | 14 comments
We can hope that I-Rod's WBC showing means something.
If he continues with the idea that he has something to prove, he might be better than expected. But more likely he will be better than we’ve got right now, which is the important point. If nothing else, Pudge may improve the aesthetics of the Astros’ games for the fans. Spring training is not indicative of much, but it had begun to look like the Astros might have an embarrassing situation at catcher, which would be frustrating as hell for fans. Personally, I would prefer that Pudge be paired with one of the younger catchers, instead of Quintero. Quintero doesn’t have much future…if someone can learn from I-Rod, why not a younger catcher.
clack - March 16, 2009
i agree with you
on the young catcher point. humberto quintero does absolutely nothing for me.
Evan Hochschild - March 16, 2009
Tim Kurkjian
talking about the signing on ESPN right now. He calls the Astros’ lineup “very strong” with Pudge, which I really doubt.
Not a bad signing. Nothing spectacular, though.
Only_A_Lad - March 16, 2009
I rate this highly favorable
Astros needed an offensive threat. Rodriguez is easily worth the 2 or 3 million he’ll earn this year.
Joe in Birmingham - March 16, 2009
Pudge on ESPN
From his comments (as well as a few other articles) I think it’s pretty clear that Rodriguez signed with Houston because of playing time. He’ll start for the Astros, which wouldn’t be true for any other team that was interested.
Personally, I find the line that ESPN is taking on this (somehow this turns the stros into contenders) pretty laughable. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I’m not happy with the Astros getting a catcher who might do well, but this doesn’t make the Astros contenders in any real sense.
Only_A_Lad - March 16, 2009
1. Pudge’s projections don’t designate him a savior, and his steadily rising groundball percentage is almost the definition of a “trend”. But we should also view his production in terms of where we were before and what options we had available to us going into 2009. There are a lot of stats we can look at, and certainly Pudge, Ausmus, Quintero, and Towles all have their weaknesses. But for the moment, let’s compare wOBA (actual 2008 wOBA listed first, then the low and high 2009 projections from among the various systems):
Pudge: 2008 – .318; 2009 Projection (.299 CHONE – .332 Oliver)
Ausmus: 2008 – .267; 2009 Projection (.268 Bill James – .279 Marcel)
Quintero: 2008 – .256; 2009 Projection (.271 ZiPS – .295 Marcel)
Towles: 2008 – .235; 2009 Projection (.294 ZiPS – .326 Oliver)
2. Although many of us would prefer the Pudge money be spent on bolstering the rotation with a Pedro signing, it’s possible that Pedro isn’t as desperate as Pudge …yet. Depending on how ticket sales and advertising deals go, we may have a bit more payroll flexibility at the end of Spring Training or mid-season (recall that a rehabbed Ben Sheets could be available in the second half, minus draft-pick compensation).
3. Palmisano’s time in Houston may be up, but it could still be the beginning of time in Round Rock or Corpus Christi. The BrewCrew is pretty well loaded up with catchers, and we may swing a cheap PTBNL or inconsequential “prospect” deal for him, just for the depth.
4. I like that this signing perhaps shows that deals with Boras are not necessarily off the table, at least where Wade can seize upon an advantage.
5. The only real downside I see is that it gives the Yankees an extra draft pick this year in between the first and second rounds.
AstroAndy - March 16, 2009
The Yankees didn’t offer arbitration to Rodriguez, so they don’t get anything.
Only_A_Lad - March 16, 2009
Wonderful!
I feel better already.
Thanks Only_A_Lad
AstroAndy - March 16, 2009
Yes!!!!!
Dudes, Pudge and Jeff Bagwell used to be my two favorite players via Backyard Baseball 2000. I followed both the Rangers and Astros in my younger days, and when I was old enough I dedicated myself stricly to the Astros.
It’s all coming full-circle. Plus, this signing can’t hurt. Pudge is still a stud behind the plate, and can’t be worse that the Q/Towles platoon.
Jordan Sams - March 16, 2009
Solid signing....
I like it. The Astros could certainly afford it. They are going to save about 1.1M on Backe. If he doesn’t make the team out of Spring. They also needed some positive buzz with the spring we are having.
Should definitely add some pop to our lineup.
jano4 - March 16, 2009
I like it.,
Positive buzz is always appreciated this spring. AND Roy seems happy, which can only be good.
Joh - March 16, 2009
So... about that pitching situation...
I wonder what the chances are that Wade goes after Pedro. It seems to me that he’d probably rather sign with a team that has a legit shot at making the postseason, but he’d definitely get plenty of pitching opportunities here.
There are plenty of other crappy old pitchers available, though. How about Sidney Ponson?
Only_A_Lad - March 16, 2009
Sidney Ponson...the pride of the Netherlands?
clack - March 16, 2009
that's
Sir Sidney Ponson, to us peons
Evan Hochschild - March 16, 2009
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