Wade-Ing into the Houston Astros' Problems: 7 Things the Astros Must Do Now.

Now that the sale of the Houston Astros to area businessman Jim Crane has been approved, the task at hand for the new owner is to begin the recovery from the Astros' historically bad 2011 season. 

While Crane has already spent $610 million and has hinted at things such as uniform changes and “reaching out personally” to season ticket holders, there are seven things Crane can do in the short term to show he’s serious about fixing the Houston Astros. 

7. Find bullpen support for Mark Melancon 

Melancon must have been a revelation to Astros fans and a welcome and pleasant surprise.  No one can honestly say that they expected Melancon’s superb campaign.   His 20 saves may not sound like a lot, but let’s be realistic about the Astros—they won a grand total of 56 games, so in this context, 20 saves is a huge number.  Add to that his eight wins and Melancon had a hand in fully half of the Astros victories. 

As impressive as Melancon’s season was, there has to be some concern, as the entire bullpen itself is suspect. 

Additionally, while Melancon’s overall numbers have been good, his ERA has always been a little high.  To keep from over-reliance on Melancon, bullpen support for must be key part of the offseason.

6. A bat to protect Carlos Lee 

I remember when Lee signed his $100 million deal after the 2006 season, and many predicted he would be wildly overpaid by the end of the contract.  Well, this will be the final season of that contract, and I don’t think anyone could argue he is overpaid. 

Following a bad 2010 season, Lee had a nice 2011 that saw him drive in more runs with fewer at bats.   He still played in 155 games.  The only number that should concern Astros fans is his 18 home runs, but let’s not forget following the All-Star break, the Astros traded both Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, leaving Lee to shoulder the load alone.  

Lee is still a very productive hitter who would be even more productive with protection. 

5. Settle the catching position

The old adage about quarterbacks (if you have two, you have none) applies to the Astros' catching situation.  Humberto Quintero was the guy for the Astros last year, but that’s not much to crow about.  Quintero hit .240 in 79 games—nothing stellar, but Johnny Bench-like compared to the .188 and .184 posted by Carlos Corporan and J.R. Towles, respectively. 

All said, the Astros got 47 RBI all season from the catching position, an abysmal 24 after the All-Star break.  

Defensively, the corps wasn’t much better, throwing out 33 of 162 potential base stealers.  A telling stat was that both Towles and Corporan had numbers close to Quintero in terms of stolen base attempts despite catching nearly 30 fewer games. 

Opposing runners clearly felt that they could run on the Astros.  There was nothing good about the Astros catching corps in 2011.

4. Find a front-line starting pitcher—or something approaching a front-line starting pitcher 

The starting rotation hardly strikes fear in the hearts of opposing teams.  Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, Bud Norris, Henry Sosa and J.A. Happ.  Arguing whether Wandy Rodriguez or Brett Myers is the ace is like arguing which is better—ointment or suppository. 

When it comes right down to it, Wandy (as any Astro fan will tell you) is probably the most frustratingly inconsistent player to come through the Astros system in the last decade (maybe even longer).  His 73-75 career mark is indicative of what Astro watchers have come to expect—one step forward, (at least) one step back; an ERA that shows a bad first inning, followed by a really good second inning, followed by solid inconsistency.  

As for Brett Myers, he demonstrated in 2011 that his 2010 campaign (14-8, 3.14 ERA) was a fluke, as his 2011 numbers were much more in line with his career numbers.    

You may notice I have not mentioned numbers three through five—it’s not an accident.  The Astros really have no one they can look to as a true No. 1—a stop-the-losing-streak, “we have a shot every time they take the ball” kind of guy. 

The Astros have a bunch of “hope he has his good stuff today” guys.

3. Spend some money

One of the things about which Astros fans complain every year is the failure of ownership to spend money.  The argument goes: “The owner wants to keep it all to himself; if they would just spend money, the Astros would be fine." 

The reality for Astros fans, though, is that the Astros have been in the upper half of payrolls every season since 2002 (including 2009 and 2006, when they were in the Top 10). 

But 2011 saw a slide downward and a “fire sale” mentality, as the Astros announced the team was up for sale.  While trimming costs and making the team more appealing to a buyer, the Astros not only trimmed payroll, they also dumped marquee players like Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence in what appeared to be cost cutting. 

For the Astros, perception is reality. 

No one expects Jim Crane to bankrupt himself, but he does need to spend money—and spend it wisely. 

One area where he might spend it? 

2. Rebuilding the minor league system

Thankfully, Crane himself has already identified this, pointing to the Texas Rangers specifically as a model for success—building up the farm system, then filling it with trades and free agents (“making a move,” as Crane recently put it). 

The Astros have had insanely bad luck with their farm system, particularly since the GM-reign of Tim Purpura (see 2007, when the team signed no one through the first four rounds of the draft). 

Ed Wade was hired in large part to reverse this trend, and on the surface he has—there have been far more signings, and Wade has traded star players (Oswalt, Berkman, Pence, Bourn) for prospects.  However, to date, only two of those have made it to the majors—Mark Melancon and J.A. Happ.  

As for the overall performance of farm clubs?  Triple-A Oklahoma City finished last (68-75); Double-A Corpus Christi finished last (25-45); A-Ball Advanced Lancaster (Cal.), next to last (27-43); A-Ball Lexington, last (24-44); short-season A Tri City (Troy, NY), next to last (33-42); Rookie-ball Greenville, next to last (25-43); and Rookie-ball Gulf Coast League Astros, last (20-43). 

Wade may have signed a bunch of draft picks and traded for prospects, but it certainly seems like quantity over quality to this point.

1. Ed Wade has got to go  

This may be one on which Astros fans will have to wait.  Pitchers and catchers report in February and spring training games begin March 2.  With the free agent “season” getting underway, it may just be too late for this season. 

But make no mistake, a big cause of the Astros' current problems are Ed Wade-driven.  Of the problems identified in this column, Wade had direct control over five of them—bullpen help, lineup support for Carlos Lee, a catcher, starting pitching and the farm system—and has made the club worse in each of those areas. 

Bullpen: Wade let Jose Valverde walk after 2009.  Valverde was last seen recording a perfect season for the Detroit Tigers and pitching in the playoffs.

Lineup Protection: Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Lance Berkman—let’s see, that would be three-quarters of a true big four at the lineup, one that could absolutely protect Lee.  Berkman and Pence contributed mightily to their teams’ playoff efforts, and Bourn led the NL in steals for the third year in a row.

Starting Pitching: Roy Oswalt.  A troubling 2011 aside, he went 7-1 with a 1.72 ERA down the stretch for the Phillies in 2010 and was a key part of their starting rotation.  He almost certainly will attract significant attention on the free-agent market. 

Catcher: Wade drafted Jason Castro No. 1 in 2008, and (injury problems aside) he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, compiling a .205 lifetime average in the majors, a .287 minor league average with 16 home runs in 215 games.  Wade has drafted other catchers in lower rounds since, none of whom have panned out.

Minor League system: The drafts aside, Wade traded very good major league players (Berkman, Oswalt, Bourn and Pence) for the following: Jimmy Paredes, Mark Melancon, J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose, Jonathan Villar, Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart, Josh Zeid,  Domingo Santana,  Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu. 

So far, the only one to significantly contribute has been Melancon.  Happ was actually part of the starting rotation in 2011 but will have to dramatically improve over 6-15, 5.35 to justify being a part of the Roy Oswalt trade. 

So, the Astros have a LOT of work to do.  They have lots of mostly self-inflicted wounds to bandage, and very little time for Jim Crane to make his mark. Cosmetic changes like new uniforms are not going to make a difference here.