Charlie Klein
Key Additions:
Matt Lindstrom (RP)
Brandon Lyon (RP)
Brett Myers (SP/RP)
Pedro Feliz (3B)
Key Departures:
Jose Valverde (RP)
Ivan Rodriguez (C)
Aaron Boone (1B/3B)
LaTroy Hawkins (RP)
If only winning a lot of baseball games was down to having the greatest amount of fantastic nicknames on one roster. If this were the case, the Astros would be the unanimous pick for the National League pennant. Such nicknames include Dixie (Roy Oswalt), The Magic Wand (Wandy Rodriguez), El Caballo (Carlos Lee), Big Puma (Lance Berkman), The Redneck Express (Brett Myers) and The Bourn Supremacy (Michael Bourn). I mean this is the team that brought us The Killer B's of Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Lance Berkman.
Unfortunately for the Astros, neither Jeff Bagwell nor Craig Biggio will feature in their starting nine in 2010. That is not to say that their lineup is lacking in terms of power or speed, but merely to state that these are not your uncle's Astros. As such, they really cannot be taken seriously as contenders this season.
There are too many question marks in the starting lineup and in the rotation to legitimately argue that the 'stros will be able to challenge the Cardinals, Cubs, or Brewers for the division title this season. I'll start with the position players. The Astros are planning on entering 2010 with Tommy Manzella as their starting shortstop. While Manzella has had a decent spring (hitting .300 in only 30 at-bats), he has no significant Major League experience of which to speak.
The Astros also begin the 2010 campaign with J.R. Towles behind the dish. Towles has 84 at-bats to his name in three Major League seasons. Like Manzella, Towles is having a good spring, hitting .333 in 36 at-bats. That being said, whether he will be able to produce both behind the plate and in the batter's box remains to be seen.
There are also doubts as to whether or not Lance Berkman can still produce at the levels to which we have all become accustomed to over his lengthy career in Houston. Berkman is coming off a 2009 in which he recorded near career lows in homeruns, runs batted in, and batting average. Carlos Lee remained as much of a horse as ever last season, but his numbers also appear to be in decline.
Not to beat a dead horse, cough, caballo, cough, but it appears that Roy Oswalt's status as a number one starter in MLB appears to be waning. Last season Oswalt was limited by yet another injury and only threw 181.1 innings with a 4.12 ERA. Hardly what one would expect from a number one starter.
Now The Magic Wand was a completely different story last season. He threw for probably the quietest 3.02 ERA in baseball in 2009. Combine that with 14 wins and 193 strikeouts and one has the real ace of the staff.
The rest of the rotation does not do much for me, as we do not know what Brett Myers, a.k.a. the Redneck Express, has to offer as a starter. Bud Norris was decent, although an ERA in the mid four's does not look that great, and Felipe Paulino had an ERA over six last season.
Sorry to be a regular Buzz Killington Astros fans, but the lack of depth throughout the roster makes me leery to say anything involving the words contender and playoffs when I talk about the Astros in 2010.
Projected Starting Nine:
1. Michael Bourn (CF)
2. Kazou Matsui (2B)
3. Lance Berkman (1B)
4. Carlos Lee (LF)
5. Hunter Pence (RF)
6. Pedro Feliz (3B)
7. J.R. Towles (C)
8. Tommy Manzella (SS)
9. Roy Oswalt (SP)
Projected Starting Rotation
1. Roy Oswalt
2. Wandy Rodriguez
3. Brett Myers
4. Bud Norris
5. Felipe Paulino
Best Reliever: Brandon Lyon
Closer: Matt Lindstrom
Predicted Finish: Fourth in the NL Central.
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