Div. Wild Total
NL Central W L Title % Card % Postseason %
Cubs 95.3 66.7 52.0 10.0 62.0
Brewers 86.4 75.6 22.9 10.4 33.3
Cardinals 80.1 81.9 11.6 6.5 18.1
Reds 79.4 82.6 10.4 6.1 16.4
Astros 66.6 95.4 1.9 1.2 3.1
Pirates 64.5 97.5 1.3 0.8 2.1
Courtesy: Baseball Prospectus
Just thought I’d throw this up there. Surpassing (hopefully soon) low expectations, your 2009 Houston Astros.
**DQ Insert***
Just for comparisons sake:
0 recs | 5 comments
Only the Cardinals and Astros surpass expectations
Cardinals added some major parts mid-season that spirited them way ahead of the the division.
Astros still can finish ahead of Cubs, Brewers and Reds (and Pirates). (Query: If Astros finish second, can (or will) Astros fire Cecil Cooper?)
As disappointed as the Astros fans are, the Cubs and Brewers fans must be devastated seeing their post-season expectations shattered.
Joe in Birmingham - September 6, 2009
I’m probably not the only Astros’ fan who has some torn feelings about the Astros making a late season splurge. As a fan, I am programmed to want the Astros to win as many games as possible, and in the end, I would like to see the Astros advance in the standings.
But the bittersweet part of that outcome: (1) Like you say, it might save Cooper’s job, which would be bad for future teams; (2) the Astros’ draft position would be worse; and (3) the Astros might fall out of the 15 worst teams and thereby lose the ability to sign Type A FAs without losing a draft pick.
clack - September 6, 2009
Houston Astros
When will this owner realize he has to pay for good players? He has let every great player coming up go. I’m sick of the Cardinals and Cubs kicking their ass. The Express is even foundering. I believe Nolan Ryan and his involvment with Texas should have been with Houston and maybe this would change things.
lwj1215 - September 6, 2009
There are a lot of things wrong with your post
Strike One. Drayton does pay well for good players. This is why he signed Roy Oswalt to a record-breaking contract back in 2006. It’s why Berkman has been making $14,500,000.00 every year since 2006, and will make the same amount next year and will make $15,000,000.00 if he comes back for 2011. It’s why Drayton signed off on the Tejada trade. And Carlos Lee’s 6-year, $100,000,000.00 contract is not just paying for a good player, but overpaying for a good player. And further, the Astros were one of only 9 teams that started this season with player payroll over $100,000,000.00.
Strike Two. Roy Oswalt = Homegrown. Lance Berkman = Homegrown. Brad Lidge = Homegrown. Wandy Rodriguez = Homegrown. Hunter Pence = Homegrown. The problem isn’t that we let them go, it’s that guys who should have made a bigger impact ended up fizzling out (sometimes spectacularly): Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Chris Burke. MAybe you’re talking about Ben Zobrist, but if you are, you’re wrong there, too.
Strike Three. First, Nolan Ryan was involved with Houston for years. In 2004, he signed a 5-year personal services contract with the Astros and essentially served as an adviser to the team. Second, only a very tiny part of the Rangers’ current success could be attributed to Nolan Ryan’s work since he went up to Arlington as the president of the Rangers. Most of that success is due to the smart drafting and trading by the GM that was there before he arrived. Nolan did have an effect on the farm system by changing the way their minor league system treats pitch counts. However, the Astros have also examined and changed the way that pitch counts are used with their young pitchers as well, so it’s not clear that Nolan would have had a different effect in our system.
So, three strikes, you’re out. Although I agree with you that it makes me sick to see the stros get their asses kicked by the Cubs and Cards, and that it’s a shame that the Express is having a hard time.
AstroAndy - September 6, 2009
clap. clap. clap. clap clapclapclapclapclapclap
Evan Hochschild - September 6, 2009
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of The Crawfish Boxes to post a comment.