The Houston Astros entered the offseason needing to restructure their starting pitching.
In a NL Central division featuring the Chicago Cubs, Houston must also compete with Milwaukee and a refurnished St. Louis team. At this point, the Astros no longer resemble the 2005 World Series team. Instead, they have spiraled downward into a second-tier team, hoping to once again discover success. Houston’s front office lacks the aggression to pursue top-notch free agents.
General Manager Ed Wade's decision-making skills has depleted a promising minor league system and caused chemistry issues in the clubhouse. After accepting the GM position before the 2008 season, Wade immediately changed the make-up of the Astros.
Wade traded several talented, young players on two occasions just to get one player back in return. The Astros gave the Baltimore Orioles the majority of their starting pitching prospects for shortstop Miguel Tejada. Baltimore jumped at the opportunity of trading Tejada.
Once the Astros completed the trade, they received a star player who misrepresented himself about his age and faced steroid allegations. Tejada’s disappointing first season with the Astros symbolizes the front office’s inability to make the right decisions.
Also, more prospects were shipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for closer Jose Valverde. Entering spring training last season, Wade had faith that inconsistent RHP Shaun Chacon would be the answer to the pitching rotation. When Chacon was dismissed from the team after punching Wade, the Astros finally made a solid trade in July, 2008 with the San Diego Padres for LHP Randy Wolf.
Ultimately, a team can go out and spend a substantial amount of money on offense, but it still comes down to pitching. The teams who have the best starting pitching and bullpen will always beat the best offensive teams.
Right now, the Astros desperately need starting pitching. By trading all of their minor league prospects a year ago, Houston has no chance of obtaining Jake Peavy in a trade from the Padres. Roy Oswalt does rank as one of the top starting pitchers in baseball and luckily the Astros have locked him down to a long-term contract.
After Oswalt, the starting rotation fails to intimidate opposing teams.
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