Playing Pepper 2009: Houston Astros

As the players start getting themselves ready for another season, I thought it'd be a good idea to do the same.  I contacted a blogger for each major league team and posted them five questions.  This is the result.  You can find the tentative schedule of teams here and today's main post is right here.

Since the NL Central came into being, two teams have dominated the landscape—the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros.

Some of the best memories for Cardinal fans have come against the 'Stros, what with the epic Game Seven of the 2004 NLCS and Pujols' shot against Lidge in '05.  And there's been controversy as well, when you think of the '01 co-champs/wild card debate.

Neither the Astros nor the Cardinals have been to the playoffs in the last two years, however, so while the personal rivalry is still there, the stakes haven't been as high.  James of Astros County and I got together and talked about our teams.  My portion can be found here, his answers are after the jump.

C70: Besides Roy Oswalt, what one pitcher can you rely on for a quality game?

AC: Ummmm....That's an excellent question. Wandy Rodriguez was solid last season when he wasn't hurt—with a 2.99 ERA at home. But basically it's Roy on Sunday and pray for four days of rain.

C70: Will J.R. Towles be the catcher and, if so, will he improve on 2008?

AC: No and I hope so. I think the problem with Towles was that he was rushed. He had one game in September 2007 (against St. Louis. Sorry.) where he got eight RBI and was then crowned the heir to Johnny Bench's throne.

But he just couldn't put it together, so there are probably three options at catcher ahead of Towles: Humberto Quintero, Toby Hall, and Rule 5 pick Lou Palmisano. But Towles will only be 25 this season, so it's not like he doesn't have any chances at starting.

C70: Would the fan base accept Roger Clemens if he wanted to make a return?

AC: I doubt it. It's the same old story with Clemens that, if he had done what Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi did and just said he was sorry (even if he didn't mean it), things would have been different. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't believe that.

But if I am representative of the Astros fan-base—which I like to think I am—then I feel a little embarrassed about drinking the Clemens Kool-Aid and then things turning out the way they have over the last couple of years.

C70: What's the general opinion about Astro management and ownership?

AC: Well, trading for Miguel Tejada the day before the Mitchell Report came out was something of a stunner. I am privy to absolutely no inside information and I knew Tejada would be in the Mitchell Report.

Currently, I think the general attitude is bewilderment.

The farm system is the worst in the Majors—which is an indictment of previous management.

I think the Astros are trying to be cautious in the economic climate, but when we hear that Jake Peavy would approve a trade to Houston or Ben Sheets would come to Houston and we get Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz...it's confusing.

Still, Ed Wade had a track record in Philadelphia of success—he just got fired before he could get some credit for it. So I'm pretty happy with management, but ownership has taken some well-deserved lumps.

The problem is that the Astros were really the first team to come out and say, "Look, the economy is awful, we're making some cuts." Now that just about every team—minus the Yankees—is saying the same thing, it's easier to understand. But for a few weeks we were led to believe that the only team operating in the same economy as everyone else was the Astros.

C70: What's the biggest problem facing the Astros going into spring training?

AC: It has to be the rotation.

The bullpen is as solid as any team.

The heart of the lineup looks good on paper—Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, and Tejada somewhere in there. Michael Bourn, simply through the law of averages, has to play better. Kaz Matsui shouldn't be dealing with a cracked anus (yeah, I said it).

But as I mentioned, the rotation currently is Oswalt, Rodriguez, Mike Hampton, Brian Moehler, and Brandon Backe. Backe will be a couple of years removed from Tommy John surgery in '09, so everyone is expecting—or at least hoping—for a turnaround for him. But the rotation doesn't exactly inspire dreams of playing in October.

Thanks to James for his input and I expect we'll hear more from him when the Cards and Astros get together this year.  As he says, that lineup still worries you, but the rotation has some hitters chomping at the bit to get up to the plate.