Sunday Morning Astros, etc. Round Up
by Stephen Higdon on Sep 27, 2009 6:15 AM CDT
in Link Dumps
It was brought to my attention tonight that #iamsinglebecause is a top trending topic on Twitter. It hurts my brian less at this point to think about that than continue ponder whether the Astros will surpass 2007's 72 win mark.
- Richard Justice gets creative on his search for the Astros next manager. Usually Justice's hair-brained schemes like this make my head hurt worse than the above scenarios, but I like where his head is at on this one. In fact, I like it a lot. Not necessarily the candidate, just the criterion.
- Footer has some great pictures from the Minor League MVP ceremony from last night. Depressing realization: I am older than some of them. This is a sad age for me.
- JJO has some quotes from Roger and Kolby's night at MMP. I really can't imagine a worse shadow to have live in. Never, and I repeat, never will I complain about any pressure I've ever felt from my parents again.
- BPro is searching for the proper way to evaluate franchise's efficiency and they're offering a new formula. The Astros aren't ranked very highly...shocking.
- I couldn't find anything else interesting, so I told Baseball Reference to give me a random page.
- For those of you have been with TCB since Way Back, I went to the Way Back Machine and took you to happier times. 2005 seems like a life time ago.
Among the comments on Justice’s column…someone seriously suggests Richard Justice for manager of the Astros.
clack - September 27, 2009
uggggghhhhhh
I can just imagine the post game conferences when he’d start spouting off wonky split stats and discussing QS.
Stephen Higdon - September 27, 2009 via mobile
it would be entertaining
to say the least.
Timothy De Block - September 28, 2009
I laugh at the BPro article on payroll efficiency....
Their big adjustment to the previously published payroll efficiency ranking is to give bottom 10 teams credit based on how many extra losses they can achieve so that they can get better draft choices. I understand the point, I suppose. But I think that is the kind of things which would lose BPro credibility among most GMs and front offices. It smacks too much of “let’s intentionally lose so that we can get a higher draft choice.”
clack - September 27, 2009
Worse shadow than Roger Clemens'?
How about
June Lee Oswald (born Feb. 15, 1961), Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald (born Oct. 20, 1963)?
Father: Lee Harvey Oswald
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
Pete Rose, Jr
Pete Rose. Jr bummed around the minors for several years. I saw him play against Birmingham Barons a few times. He was a Barons killer. I felt sorry for him . Pete Rose, Jr – what a shadow and shared name,. From Wikipeida:
In his early years, Rose Jr. met with limited success in matching his father’s rise to baseball stardom, and was often a target of heckling in regards to his father’s legal woes and ban from baseball.
Rose’s best minor league season was in 1997 at Chattanooga, for the Chattanooga Lookouts, at age 27. He hit .308 in 112 games with 25 home runs, 98 RBIs, 31 doubles and 75 runs scored for the Lookouts.
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
Ozzie Canseco
not a father overshadowinfg – but an identical twin brother. Ozzie sloshed around AA ball while his identical twin starred at Oakland. Ozzie was a soiid AA player but couldn’t cut it in the majors.
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
or a new high school coach might say
“So Bobby Bonds was your grandfather?
and Barry Bonds was your father?
Nice to meet you.
You’ll bat third in the lineup.
Glad to have you aboard
By the way, what position do you play?”
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
Maybe it's a plus for Koby Clemens...
I’ve got to think that he had to develop some mental toughness to deal with all the crazy stuff which has been printed about both his father and mother. On the other hand, Koby probably has learned a lot about baseball from his father. And Roger Clemens’ reputation is still high among baseball players…so I suspect his teammates and coaches like to see his father coming to games.
This may sound crazy, but I think Roger Clemens would be a good pitching coach.
clack - September 27, 2009
“BPro is searching for the proper way to evaluate franchise’s efficiency and they’re offering a new formula. The Astros aren’t ranked very highly…shocking.”
In fairness, any such metric that showed the Astros ranking highly would have to be ditched.
BTastros - September 27, 2009
Oh it wasn't meant to be derisive
I completely agree. This is a very, very, very inefficient franchise.
Stephen Higdon - September 27, 2009
I find Ozzie Guillen quotes entertaining.
clack - September 27, 2009
and here's the quote...(accidently pushed the post button early)
The White Sox, like the Astros, have been playing really badly after they left contender status. After the recent Tigers’ win over the White Sox, in which the Tigers scored 12 unanswered runs:
clack - September 27, 2009
I really like Ozzie
but he’s just ranting there. Now they’ll all head over to somebody’s place and watch it there. What are they supposed to do?
ol Pete - September 27, 2009
I’ve noticed that Ozzie regularly calls his players a “piece of sh__t.” That must be one of his favorite phrases. I suspect, though, that it loses a lot of shock value for his players when he uses it so frequently.
clack - September 27, 2009
I watch a repeat of the rant on ESPN last night
I think he meant they were watching the football game while the White Sox were playing .
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
Can't find where this quote was posted in another thread...
That quote just pisses me off. Like the Astros have a lot of players in their system, under 24 years old who have posted an OPS above 1.0.
clack - September 27, 2009
I feel like
Bennett pretty offers the Astros nothing. I can’t think of one quote or decision he’s made that indicate something of value.
Stephen Higdon - September 27, 2009 via mobile
How many decisions do you know of that Bennett has made though?
The Koby decision is actually kind of tough because it’s unlikely he’d stick at the major league level for a full year, and so any team that drafted him would be unlikely to hold on to him. So you don’t want to waste a 40-man slot if you don’t have to. You need most of those spots for guys that you know will contribute to the big club next season.
The other half of that story is the other names who are on the 40-man that won’t be part of the 25-man roster. There are guys necessary for pitching depth like Gervacio, Bazardo, or someone like Paronto. There are other guys who are currently on the roster because they needed to be protected from the Rule 5 like Brad James (my vote for most likely to get kicked off the 40-man island), Brian Bogusevic, and Polin Trinidad. And you’ve got position players who are much closer to the majors and can act as reserves for the major league squad: Jose Vallejo, German Duran.
Further, we’d probably do well to leave a spot or two open on the 40 man heading into December for the purposes of trades or drafting our own guys in the Rule 5.
The decision is complicated by the fact that Koby doesn’t have a clear defensive position (I’ve not been following his transition to catching very closely…maybe someone else has?) and the fact that his offensive explosion came at a notoriously hitter-friendly park. I’m not saying his success was an illusion…I’m just saying it adds some uncertainty as to how well he’ll do in the high minors.
AstroAndy - September 27, 2009
actually, Koby's lack of a clear defensive position probably helps keep
him on a 25 man roster if he is picked in the Rule 5. He can be hidden as a utility player and No. 3 catcher on a 25 man roster. His ability to act as an emergency catcher, pinch hitter, and No. 5 outfielder is a nice way of keeping him on a big league team’s bench. For that matter, I would like the see the Astros let him compete for can kind of role on the 2010 Astros team.
clack - September 27, 2009
I would rather him be on the 40-man and starting at AA
He is still young enough to be considered a prospect, especially after his performance at Lancaster. Hiding a player on the 25-man roster is a great way to halt his development since he’ll rarely get a chance to play. The fact that he doesn’t have a clear defensive position and that he’s blocked at catcher means he also needs time to develop somewhere else before he’s called up. If he posts monster numbers again at AA (preferably as a third baseman!) let him compete for a starting job in 2011.
OremLK - September 27, 2009
AstrosAndy mentioned that he had been lacking at his positions and that is why he was moved to catcher. I read awhile back that his range was below avg at 3rd as well as his glove. His arm is strong which is what allowed him to spend some time there as well as be at least decent at catcher. The problem is that he has 0 future there with Jason Castro already passing him up. And you typically want a defensive type catcher at backup and that isn’t Clemons. With his arm, he probably does have some sort of future as a corner outfielder even with our seamingly good depth in the system there.
With his defense lacking, could 1st base be an option with Berkman playing beyond his current contract in doubt? But in all honesty…though i hate to say this cause i’d like to see him succeed just because the FO seems to not really like him…his defensive inadequecies seem too much and his only chance would be as a DH and no chance for him on our team.
Subber10 - September 27, 2009
First base would certainly be an option
However, even if he’s not so great at third base, it’s possible that 1) he could improve, and 2) his offense could make up for his defensive inadequacies. A good defensive shortstop can go a long way toward disguising bad defense at the hot corner.
OremLK - September 28, 2009
See, I think of a utility player as a guy who’s good at a number of positions, but I was under the impression that Koby has been bouncing around positions because he was found lacking at those positions.
I think it’s probably pretty tough to make the jump from high-A to the majors, even as a backup sort of player. Everth Cabrera pulled it off with flying colors, though, so who knows. I don’t think they’ll have a tough time putting Koby on the 40-man roster this offseason. I think it’s far more likely that the team exposes Brad James or Chad Paronto or even Yordany Ramirez to the Rule 5.
AstroAndy - September 27, 2009
Koby is a blue collar grinder
Bobby Heck said Clemens would have an opportunity to prove himself with a full season in Corpus Christi in 2010.
“There are players that are prospects because of their God-given skill set, who separate themselves because they look different and do things different,” Heck said. “Then there are other guys that are more grinder types, who do have a combination of tools and skills, but they just learn and go through level by level improvement, like Koby. He’s on the radar.”
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
A month or so ago, Ricky Bennett said he had talked to Koby about possibly changing his position from catcher to utility player. Bennett told Koby that this would enhance his value and speed up his ability to get to the ML level. Actually, I’m not sure that strategy is in Koby’s best interests, but who knows?
I wasn’t advocating that the Astros “hide” Koby on the 25 man (there is no reason to do that if he is put on the 40 man roster), but if the Astros are letting a number of young players compete in the spring camp for a postion, Koby should be one of them.
My comment about hiding Koby on a 25 man roster applies to a team which might pick him in the Rule 5 draft, if he is left off the 40 man roster. I think he would be a very attractive candidate to be picked in the Rule 5 draft if he is left exposed. Typically, there just aren’t many, if any, players with those kind of offensive numbers at any level, available in the Rule 5 draft. And catcher is one of the positions which draws a lot of interest, even off the A level, because 3d string catchers can be hidden on the roster more easily. I recall when the Nats selected catcher Jesus Flores out of A ball in 2008. Flores had good offensive numbers at the A level, but the Mets thought they could risk leaving him off the 40 man roster because he wasn’t well developed as a catcher. The Nats picked him, initially used him as a pinch hitter, and he turned into a good back up catcher. He was scheduled to become the starting catcher for the Nats this year, but had injuries.
So, in case I was misunderstood, my main point: don’t leave Koby Clemens off the 40 man roster because you think you can take the risk.
clack - September 28, 2009
I hadn’t realized just how many players had made that jump from the low minors to the majors. And I think your Jesus Flores example provides a very good counter-point to the argument that leaving Koby off the 40-man is not a big risk.
Consider me convinced.
AstroAndy - September 28, 2009
I posted the quote at the end of the Saturday game thread
I got it from this Chronicle entry:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6638986.html
Joe in Birmingham - September 27, 2009
I knew someone put it in a comment somewhere, but I looked just about every place but the game thead when I went back to look for it.
clack - September 27, 2009
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