Bleacher Report - Houston Astros

MLB 9s: Houston Astros—Jeff Bagwell, Jimmy Wynn, Alan Ashby In Top Team

Ash Marshall — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:56:02 -0500

One question, hundreds of answers: Which Astro had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Major League baseball has been asking fans this same question in an effort to choose each team's best-ever collection of stars.

They are calling it MLB 9s.

Scroll down to find out why Lance Berkman doesn't make the cut, why Dickie Thon should be remembered as a Hall-of-Famer whose career got cut short, and why Craig Biggio was so much more than just "Mr. Hit By Pitch".

Here I have separated the contenders from the pretenders in an effort to pick my dream Astros lineup, based on their one career year. Have your say by commenting below or by voting on the MLB site here .

My other MLB 9s you might want to check out are:

Diamondbacks , Braves , Orioles , Red Sox , Cubs , White Sox , Reds , Indians , Rockies , Tigers , and Marlins.

Catcher: Alan Ashby (1987)

Ashby may seem a strange choice considering he never had a single season where he got 400 at-bats, but his contributions were solid regardless of the fact that he gave up almost a third of his playing time to backups Ronn Reynolds and Mark Bailey.

Ashby hit 14 home runs in the 1987 season, batting .288 with 63 runs batted in, and 53 walks.

Only two other Houston catchers have hit more home runs in one season (John Bateman, 17; Joe Ferguson, 16), while Ashby’s 63 RBI rank third all-time.

Highlight Game: June 10, 1987 vs. San Diego. Ashby snapped a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a grand slam off Padres starter Storm Davis.

Ashby finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and five RBI, and the Astros won 10-1. It was Ashby’s third and final grand slam of his career.

Competition: There’s not really a right or wrong answer here, because of the apparent parity between Astros’ backstops through the decades.

Sure, there are better or worse catchers in terms of their contributions to the team over their career, but in terms of single-season efforts, there is really little to separate them.

Bateman’s 1966 season was comparable—17 home runs, 70 RBI, 39 runs—and more recently Mitch Meluskey was serviceable with 14 bombs, 69 batted in, and a .300 average.

First Base: Jeff Bagwell (1994)

Bagwell stormed to the 1994 National League MVP, leading all batters in runs (104), runs batted in (116), total bases (300), and slugging percentage (.750).

His .368 batting average was second only to Tony Gwynn and his 39 home runs was bettered only by Matt Williams of the Giants.

Just three years after winning the Rookie-of-the-Year award, Bagwell won his first Silver Slugger award and was also selected for the All-Star team.

His .368 batting average and .750 slugging percentage is the most by any Houston first baseman.

Highlight Game: June 24, 1994 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers. Bagwell hit three home runs in an impressive 4-for-5 showing which saw him drive in six runs.

In the sixth inning, Bagwell pulled Ramon Martinez deep for a solo shot to deep left field. Later in the inning after the Astros had batted around, Bagwell tagged Rudy Seanez for a three-run blast the opposite way, lining a ball to right field.

Competition: Bagwell had a number of fine seasons, so this is more about him than anyone else. He hit 47 home runs in 2000, walked 149 times in 1999, and stole 31 bases in 1997.

Even in the six years between 1994 and 2000 though, the game had changed, as shown in his OPS+ statistics (a measure of on-base and slugging percentages which take into account league averages). The 213 OPS+ he recorded in 1994 is the best of his career and comfortably the most by any Houston first baseman ever.

Lance Berkman hit 45 home runs and batted .315 in 2006, but other than him, there is very little real competition. Glenn Davis? Bob Watson? Not likely.

Second Base: Craig Biggio (1998)

A life-long Astro, Biggio had a number of stellar seasons in Texas. None were better than his 1998 campaign when he batted .325, hit 20 home runs and stole 50 bases.

Biggio led the NL with 51 doubles and he was selected to his fifth consecutive All-Star Game.

He ranked fourth in the National League for runs scored (123), second in hits (210) and stolen bases, and fourth in runs created (142).

Highlight Game: May 22, 1998 vs. San Diego. In one of just two multi-home run games of his ’98 season, Biggio went deep twice against the Padres.

He hit a lead-off home run against Pete Smith to tie the game at 1, and he snapped a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with a two-run shot down the left-field line off Donne Wall.

Biggio finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBI.

Competition: Both Joe Morgan and Bill Doran were mere batting average points away from seriously challenging Biggio.

Morgan’s .256 average destroys the fact that he swiped 40 bags or scored 87 runs, while Doran’s 1987 season just fell short with a .283 average, 16 homers, 31 steals, and 79 batted in.

Jeff Kent’s power season of 2004 was right in the mix too, but I decided to go with Biggio’s more rounded production.

Third Base: Morgan Ensberg (2005)

Remember when Morgan Ensberg was good? Yeah, I know, it’s hard for me too.

2005 was the best season of Ensberg’s relatively short career which saw him play four full seasons for the Astros.

He shone in ’05 though, hitting 36 home runs, recording 101 runs batted in, and a .557 slugging percentage.

He finished fourth in the NL MVP race, won his one and only Silver Slugger award, and was named an All Star.

He ranked in the top 10 in several offensive categories, including home runs, slugging percentage, walks, and total bases.

Highlight Game: May 15, 2005 vs. San Francisco. Proof that Ensberg was a dangerous hitter, the third baseman took the Giants yard three times.

Jeff Fassero, Jeremy Accardo, and Jason Christiansen all saw pitches to Ensberg leave Minute Maid, as the slugger finished 4-for-4 with five RBI. The Astros won the game 9-0.

Competition: Enos Cabell’s 1977 season stands out to me because of the threat he represented on the base paths. Sure, guys like Ken Caminiti and Sean Berry batted in the .280s with 16 or 17 home runs, but none of them could match the speed Cabell had.

His 42 steals is the most by any Astros third baseman ever.

Shortstop: Dickie Thon (1983)

1983 was Thon’s real breakout year. Having hit just three home runs in his previous 300 at bats over the course of his first four seasons, Thon exploded with 20 long balls and 79 RBI.

His 20 home runs are still a franchise record for a shortstop.

He batted a respectable .286 and stole 34 bases, ranked inside the National League top 10 in hits (177, seventh), total bases (283, fourth), triples (nine, fifth), and extra-base hits (57, eighth).

He was selected to the All-Star Game as Ozzie Smith’s backup, won his first Silver Slugger award, and finished seventh in the MVP voting.

Seen by some as a future Hall-of-Famer, Thon’s career was cruelly blindsided just five games into the ’84 season when he was hit in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball.

Highlight Game: Aug. 10, 1983 vs. San Diego. Dickie Thon sent the 12,605 fans in the Astrodome home happy, snapping a 3-3 deadlock with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 14th inning.

The home run off Luis DeLeon was the first walk-off of his career, giving the Astros a 4-3 victory.

Competition: Denis Menke supplies the competition to Thon with his 1970 season.

All Star Menke drove in 92 runs and batted .304, hitting 13 home runs and scoring 82 times. His RBI tally is the most by any Astros shortstop ever.

Outfield: Jimmy Wynn (1969)

Wynn was never a megastar by today’s standards, or even by 1960s standards, but his 1969 season is the best ever by any Astros’ outfielder in my opinion.

Wynn was a fierce hitter with a great eye and above-average speed, making him a threat both at the plate and on the base paths.

He hit 33 home runs, scored 113 times, and swiped 23 bases, all while leading the National League with 148 walks.

Wynn was one of what is known today as a “three true outcomes” hitter—he would hit a home run, walk, or strikeout, as can be seen by his 33-148-142 line.

Not a gap hitter—he recorded just 17 doubles—his .436 on-base percentage and .943 OPS more than made up for a rather pedestrian .269 batting average.

Highlight Game: July 8, 1969 @ San Francisco. Wynn had his third multi-home run game of the ’69 season, going 2-for-3 with two home runs, two walks, an intentional walk, and three runs scored.

Richard Hidalgo (2000)

Hidalgo had a career year at the turn of the millennium, setting career highs in home runs (44), RBI (122), and stolen bases (13).

He ranked second in the National League with 89 extra-base hits and fifth in the NL with 355 total bases.

His 44 home runs and .636 slugging percentage are highs by any Astros’ outfielder, while his 122 runs batted in rank fourth behind Lance Berkman and Moises Alou.

Highlight Game: April 4, 2000 @ Pittsburgh. On Opening Day at Three Rivers Stadium, Hidalgo hit a grand slam off Jason Schmidt in the sixth inning to give the Astros a commanding 5-0 lead.

Schmidt walked the bases loaded, offering free passes to Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Moises Alou. Hidalgo—sitting dead red on a 3-1 count— took his fastball yard.

Carl Everett (1999)

Everett may lose some votes based entirely on his short tenure in Houston, but his final year playing in the NL is worthy of mention.

He hit 25 home runs, stole 27 bases, and batted .325. His .587 slugging percentage was eighth best in the National league, and his 14.6 at bats per home run was good enough for a spot inside the top 10.

His 108 RBI was also a career high. Not bad considering he only played 123 games.

Highlight Game: June 20, 1999 vs. Montreal. Everett went 2-for-4 with six RBI and two home runs, including a grand slam off Ugueth Urbina.

The Astros won 11-3. extending their lead in the NL Central to 6.5 games ahead of the Reds.

Competition: The two ‘big’ outfield names that I chose to leave off this list were Lance Berkman and Moises Alou.

Both had fantastic seasons in their own right, but the depth of talent within the Houston outfield was just too great.

Take Alou’s 2000 season as an example. He had five more runs and six more RBI than Everett. He batted 30 points higher, but had 24 fewer steals and four fewer runs.

They are obviously just different batters. The 30-point average difference is not as great as it sounds though. If Everett had recorded just one more hit—one infield hit or bloop single—each week, he would have batted .357—two points more than Alou.

As for Berkman, as important as he has been to the Astros during his 11 years at the club, I honestly don’t think you can argue that he has had a substantially better year than any of the three guys I chose.

Pitcher: Tom Griffin (1974)

Griffin was about as good as they get for Houston pitchers swinging the bat. He leads all Astros’ pitchers with more than 30 at-bats in a season for slugging percentage (.456)

In 1974 he hit two home runs and five doubles, going 20-for-68 on the year, with eight RBI and 11 runs. He only grounded into one double play.

Highlight Game: July 14, 1974 vs. Chicago Cubs. Very minor but I’ll mention it anyway, because Griffin went 2-for-2 with a home run and a double, helping Houston beat the Cubbies 7-6.

Competition: Astros’ pitchers can’t hit. It’s simple. Very few pitchers can post solid numbers against even the lower tier of Major League hurlers, even if they were a position player in college.

Dave Giusti is the only pitcher with three home runs in a season, while Mike Scott is the only one to record double-digit runs batted in more than once.

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UFC 105: Couture Invents Cage'n'Pray and Coasts To Victory

Jason Eisenhorn — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:06:08 -0500

UFC 105 really displayed the depth of talent coming out of England and showed that the UK is here to stay in MMA.

My favorite match was Ross Pearson and Aaron Riley. Pearson showcased a level of energy and diversity in his striking that most fighters rarely attempt. The flying knee that split Riley's head open will surely be making Ross' highlight reel and shows that he is the real deal.

Speaking of flying knees, Matt Brown used his knee bone to get the only win over a British fighter in the main card. Great back-and-forth on display.

Bisping showed true testicular fortitude after being dropped early in the first round. Showing spectacular ground defense, Bisping used his hips to dull any edge that Dennis Kang might have had on the ground. Bisping then came out like a demon in round two and powered through Kang for the TKO.

You may not like "The Count" but you have to respect his skills.

Mike Swick and Dan Hardy delivered, but in less of a brawl than expected. Lots of vicious clinching and even a take-down in round three. Hardy earned his win with the better hits. I can almost see Hardy pulling a "Terror Serra" on GSP and swarming him with punches. Also, coming out to Cock Sparrer rocks!

I think Hardy won some fans with this fight.

Randy Couture has just invented Cage'n'Pray.

Basically laying on Vera the entire fight, while doing little else, I knew Randy would take the W as soon as Bruce Buffer said the word "unanimous." Octagon control rears it's ugly head. I can see why the judges gave the fight to Couture, but I don't think Randy really won the fight in any significant way. The trend of scoring big bouts for big names, while rewarding the efforts of stalling really needs to end.

Brendon Vera didn't win the fight though. "The Truth" sent the 46-year-old to his back in round two with brutal body kicks and a knee, but didn't follow through enough in the closed guard to finish the fight.

Much like his coaches, I'm sure many fans want to scream their heads off and beg Vera not to suck so much.

The biggest surprise was that Randy could only get Vera on his back once. "The Natural" never displayed the power or energy that makes one a dangerous fighter. He retreated to the cage to lay on Vera in an almost cowardly fashion. Clinching Vera wouldn't have been a bad thing if Couture could have hurt him, gassed him, or transitioned into some serious ground and pound. But Couture did none of these things.

Other than some punches at the start of the third round, Couture did no damage to Vera.

Much like Jake Shields last weekend, Couture retreated and was rewarded by inexperienced judges. Cage'n'Prey is born and the Couture hype train chugs on to another UFC fight.

UFC 105 was a strong card, but one could argue it was ruined by the main event. Sloppy, slow, and boring in the extreme, lets all hope that Tito and Griffin can pull an epic fight out of their board shorts next week at 106.

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Houston Astros' Michael Bourn Joins Elite Gold Glove Group

Denton Ramsey — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:20:53 -0500

Michael Bourn is now amongst the cream of the crop in terms of MLB defensive talent.

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Bourn was named as a Gold Glove winner; and he’s the first Houston Astros outfielder to win the award since Cesar Cedeno (1972-1976).

According to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart , Bourn is also the first Astros player to win a Gold Glove since Brad Ausmus took home the honors in 2001, 2002, and 2006.

“It’s a good honor,” Bourn told McTaggart. “I was excited when I heard the news. I was looking around at the people that were also named as Gold Glove [winners] and it was a really good list of players to be around. I’m amazed by it and excited at the same time.”

Amazed and excited are probably understatements after the super season the speedy outfielder had this past year.

“He [Bourn] covers a tremendous amount of ground, is a great athlete, and has great instincts and never takes anything for granted,” Astros general manager Ed Wade told McTaggart. “We’re fortunate to have him, and I’m happy that his peers have recognized him for what I assume will be many Gold Gloves.”

Astros’ fans are hoping Wade is assuming correctly; in addition, Bourn was named the team’s MVP and led the National League with 61 stolen bases last season.

“I always take pride in my defense,” Bourn said. “That’s just something I do. I like to work on my all-around game, not just defense.”

So far, so good.

Keep up the solid work, Bourn. Fans and writers alike can’t wait to watch you shine with speed in 2010 and beyond…

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

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Carlos Lee: Plan-C for Losers of the Bay and Holliday Sweepstakes

Jeremiah Graves — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:44:19 -0500

Houston, you have a problem.

Your ballclub is bad, really bad.

The Astros, a perennial contender for much of the last decade, have fallen on hard times.

From 1994 to 2006, Houston was one of the most competitive clubs in the National League.

During that twelve-year run, the Astros finished lower than second-place just once, in 2000, when the club played sub-.500 baseball for the first time since ’92.

The club made the playoffs six times in that stretch and won the National League pennant in 2005 before falling to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.

As it stands, 2005 was the Astros last trip to the postseason.

Since that magical October, the franchise has been backpedalling into obscurity in the NL Central.

Owner Drayton McLane is largely to blame.

That may be a hard pill to swallow given the Astros have been one of baseball’s most successful franchises since he became owner, but those days are quickly fading in the rearview mirror.

Even during the club’s successful run, McLane bullied his general managers and has all-too-often relied on an aging roster of overpaid stars. It seems that McLane’s formula has finally come back to haunt him.

Despite possessing great young players like Michael Bourn, Tommy Manzella, and Hunter Pence the average age of the ballclub is slightly more than 31 years old.

To put it in perspective, the closest team in the NL Central age-wise is Milwaukee at 29.65 years old, a number which figures to go down significantly now that Braden Looper and Mike Cameron—35 and 36, respectively—are no longer with the club.

The Astros are old and overpaid, and until McLane allows general manager Ed Wade to move the contracts of his aging, yet still-talented, veterans, the club is going nowhere.

The obvious solution would be to trade the likes of Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, and Carlos Lee while they still have trade value.

As such, I’ve decided to take a look at the man who is probably the most valuable of the three, Carlos Lee.

(For an overall look at Houston’s future, check out this article by Jesse Mostiff, BleacherReport’s Featured Columnist for the Milwaukee Brewers.)

Carlos Lee is one of baseball’s premier left fielders.

Offensively, that is; with the glove, not so much.

Lee is a career .291/.344/.503 hitter who can almost always be penciled in for 25-30 home runs and 100-plus runs batted in.

Lee, 33, has also shown an ability to play in markets of all-sizes, as the Astros are his fourth big-league club.

He’s also spent time with the White Sox (1999-2004), Brewers (2005-2006), and Rangers (2006) before signing a six-year, $100 million deal with Houston prior to the 2007 season.

Lee has three years and roughly $55.5 million remaining on his contract. As such, he’s really only in play for big market clubs willing to absorb an $18.5 million hit in each of the next three seasons.

Despite the limited trade partners, he still could find a home with whichever team loses out on signing top free agents, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday.

Holliday, 30 on Opening Day, is obviously the cream of the crop as he’s defensively the best of the three and still shows some speed on the bases. Going against Holliday, however, is the fact that he didn’t do much to impress during his short stint in the American League earlier this season.

Bay, 31, comes in a close No. 2 on this year’s market. Unlike Holliday, he has come up big in both leagues and is considered by many to be a more complete player than Holliday.

And then there is Lee.

Lee has plied his trade in both leagues and been successful in every stop along the way. His speed on the bases has dwindled significantly in recent seasons, and with it he’s lost some of his outfield range.

Any team that’s looking to sign Bay or Holliday will admit they’re willing to sacrifice some defense for the offensive prowess those players bring, and Lee would fit the bill in that regard.

Dollar figures for Bay and Holliday are only estimates right now, but it is believed that Scott Boras is looking for “Mark Teixeira money” for Holliday.

Teixeira’s monster eight-year, $180 million deal paid him $20 million this year and he’ll earn another $20 million next season. After that, he will make $22.5 million per season for the six years that follow.

Depending on which rumors you believe, Bay is believed to be looking for a five-year deal with a base salary falling anywhere in the $15-$20 million range.

With that in mind, Carlos Lee offers an intriguing Plan-C for clubs that ultimately lose out on the Bay/Holliday sweepstakes.

Lee also offers a measure of flexibility that neither Bay nor Holliday can match.

Rather than getting bogged down to a long-term deal, any team that acquired the slugger would only be on the hook for three years.

He will probably be overpaid at $18.5 million for the next three seasons, but he’ll offer production comparable to both Bay and Holliday at—what figures to be—a lower price.

Lee has a full no-trade clause that doesn’t expire until the end of 2010, but one would have to assume Lee would accept a trade to a big-market contender that would give him a realistic shot at winning a World Series.

Many clubs meeting that description have been linked to both Bay and Holliday.

When it’s all said and done, only two clubs will land a top free-agent left fielder, and that’s when McLane needs to let Wade open up trade talks.

Despite the big money another club would be taking on, the Astros could still expect to receive at least one top prospect in any trade, in addition to mid-level prospects to help replenish a farm system that has grown relatively thin in recent years.

Additionally, depending on how desperate the loser(s) of the Bay/Holliday sweepstakes is/are, the Astros could potentially receive a package of multiple top-tier prospects, in addition to the obvious payroll relief that trading Lee would provide.

In the end, the Astros may—and probably will—go with the status quo and continue to rely on aging veterans like Lee, Berkman, and Oswalt long beyond the point when they could reap a major return.

There is, however, an opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and move all three to clubs willing to pay big bucks over a shorter time period than most free agents will command.

The Astros can—and should—restock the farm system now, save some serious coin, and prepare for the next stretch of great Astros baseball.

The opportunity is there, but the window is closing.

Houston, it’s time to fix the problem.

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