(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
He once famously joked that while attending Rice University on a baseball scholarship, he majored in Eligibility. Now, he probably majors in Batting Practice.
The Texas-born Hunter Pence, whom I like to think will be the next great Astro, isn’t launching a lot of home runs but is doing well with his batting average. I am relieved to see that Michael Bourn is now the team’s regular lead-off hitter, replacing Kaz Matsui.
Nothing against Matsui, but having a low batting average and on-base percentage is one of the last things you want in a lead-off man. I doubt lead-off legend Rickey Henderson would be entering the Hall of Fame if he were known as an easy out.
When Henderson wasn’t blasting home runs or getting hits, he was working the count and drawing walks. Granted, he griped a lot about called strikes, but I very seldom saw him swing at bad pitches. Perhaps Matsui could improve his chances by employing Hughie Grant’s adage, “Hit or be hit.”
Not trying to be a sadist, but Craig Biggio used that very well. The point is to get on base. And once you’re on base, make the pitcher concentrate on you and let his thoughts drift away from Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Berkman, etc.
After all, how often have we seen a pitcher give up an extra-base hit because he spent too much time focusing on a base runner?
As far as getting Houston’s hitters to overcome their hitting struggles against guys like Carlos Zambrano, St. Louis Cardinals pitchers and longtime nemeses like Kevin Millwood, what’s the solution?
Yes, I know hitting a fastball is arguably the toughest thing to do in professional sports (something ESPN’s Rick Reilly, who thinks baseball’s boring while getting excited over golf, should keep in mind), but I think it boils down to making good, solid contact and fouling off close pitches that you don’t want to hit but can’t afford to take.
Or maybe Houston should employ something former manager Hal Lanier once did in the late 1980s: make the team take batting practice after a game if they don’t accumulate at least five hits.
Humiliation can be a good motivational tool, but I suspect the Players’ Union would gripe. Maybe it’s the hitting instructor. I hope Sean Berry can turn it around, something former hitting instructor Gary Gaetti (whom I like a lot) and others weren’t able to do.
Or perhaps Berry should enlist in Hampton as an assistant hitting instructor. Why not? For a pitcher, he’s an excellent hitter.
And, of course, as we saw a few weeks ago, playing well defensively includes not just great pitching, but heads-up defense. We recall that catcher Pudge Rodriguez accounted for two opponents’ runs through throwing errors. When I looked at the box score, I like to joke he drove in two runs—for the other team.
Finally, Houston needs to build up its depleted Minor League system. People think it’s a trite expression, but it really is true: in this era of high salaries, injuries, egos, free agency, and dealing with sports agent hemorrhoids like Scott Boras*, you need depth in the Minors.
Remember when the Atlanta Braves owned the National League? One of the secrets to their success was unbelievable depth in their farm system.
So hopefully Houston can do just that with the Triple-A Round Rock Express (a town located on I-35 north of Austin for you non-Texans), the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks on Texas’ Gulf Coast and other farm teams.
At the risk of eating crow (thank goodness I’m not a vegetarian), I don’t see this as the Astros’ year. Maybe they can turn things around, but I don’t think they have the tools yet.
With my luck, come October, I’ll be proven completely wrong.
And to be honest, I certainly hope so.
* After the Carlos Beltran debacle, I doubt McLane will ever even attempt to do business with Boras again. I know from the book Moneyball that Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane even told his people not to bother drafting anyone represented by Boras.
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