It’s time for Astros to become sellers

[KFDM COOP]

It’s time for Astros to become sellers

Gabriel Pruett

The Orange Leader

It has been quite a while since I have had the time to compose a column concerning the national sports world.

When I sat down to think of one I first picked up the sports page and the NL standings where the first thing to catch my eye.

Our “hometown†Houston Astros were 24-33 heading into Wednesday’s game in Colorado and 7 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 7 1/2 games are really not indicative of how bad the Astros are playing this season.

Houston has scored just 231 runs this year which ranks them 26th out of the 30 MLB teams and 14th out of the 16 NL squads.

The Astros have hit just 47 homers which ranks 22nd out of the 30 teams and 11th in the NL.

Those are some pitiful numbers folks and since the Astros only bat .246 as a team, 26th in the MLB, it is amazing they are considered a professional baseball team.

This time of the year is when teams start to decide if they will be buyers or sellers before the upcoming trade deadline.

Instead of the Astros pulling off a trade for a Carlos Beltran or Preston Wilson, Houston needs to be sellers this year.

In my eyes there are just three players on the current roster that cannot be traded and they are Carlos Lee, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence. The Astros can keep Craig Biggio just because of sentimental reasons.

Now I know I did not put Lance Berkman up there but if a team offers say two young, starting pitchers for the guy — pull the trigger.

Berkman is a great player but I would take two great pitching prospects for a guy who seems to be headed down the same path as Jeff Bagwell.

That would be a long career highlighted with some above average numbers but nothing to show for it.

Berkman right now is leading the team with 45 strike outs and batting .238 with just six homers.

Morgan Ensberg should have been traded a few years ago and trading someone like Adam Everett would not bring much back.

A lineup decision should be made the day Biggio gets his 3,000th hit because Mark Loretta deserves to be the starting second baseman.

Loretta is just one of three Astros who is currently batting over the .300 mark, the other two are Pence and Lee.

What the Astros really need is a little attitude on the roster, a guy like Manny Ramirez or Carlos Zambrano.

Houston should consider a manager like Ozzie Guillen or Lou Piniella, someone who would throw a few players under the bus a time or two to fire things up.

These days it seems like the Astros are not surprised when they lose and shrug it off a little to easily.

Bring in a Guillen-type character who will make some players responsible for their poor play.

I thought Phil Garner would be this type of guy but he has not been so far.

Garner got thrown out of the game on Tuesday but I would rather see Garner throw out some players from time to time and call them out a few times.

This “Good Guy†image is nice and all but it only seems to make Houston look good instead of being a great team.

So when the trade deadline has past, lets home this is the year the Astros finally take out the trash instead of keeping it.

[bobcatfan]

Gabe, i just read your article, and i totally disagree with pretty much everything you said, and heres why:

    In your article, you say the astros should be sellers, yet the only player or bargaining chip you offered up is Lance Berkman.  We are not trading Lance Berkman (In other words, Drayton Mclane wont and shouldnt), i know he's had the worst 2 months of his career, but he will not keep this up.  He's had 2 extra base hits the past 2 games and is hitting the ball the other way which is a good sign.  I promise you in a month from now he will be back on track and be over this slump.  Our offense is bad right now, but i think when your best hitter has played so bad, that is why the numbers look like they are.  Once Berkman gets going, with Lee, Pence, and Loretta hitting + Scott being more consistent i expect the astros to pick up the pace offensively.

    So, if we arent trading Berkman, who else on this team has any value? Lane, Ensberg, Everett, Burke, Loretta, Woody, Jennings(if we dont think we can resign him)?  We arent trading Burke, he is our starting 2nd basemen next year.  We arent trading Jennings or we will look like complete fools for the rockies trade, we will try to resign him.  So that leaves Loretta as the only guy of any value, Ensberg being 2nd.  And what are you expecting teams to give you in return?  You arent getting a grade A prospect for Loretta so whats the point.  The only guy who you didnt mention in your article that we could trade to get a good prospect is Brad Lidge and the way hes pitched i'm not so sure the astros want to  do that right now.  Not only that, when you trade off a Brad Lidge, you have to replace him with someone in the bullpen and i really dont want to mess with our bullpen.  So to sum it up, after the top guys on our roster we dont have anything thats enticing to other clubs that would return a top prospect.

    You also mentioned we should go out and get a guy like Guillen or Pinella, both of which are in Chicago.  Just ask Chicago fans right now how thats going.  Pinella has already alienated himself from the players, and everyone is already saying hes a bad fit for the Cubs.  And Guillen's act is getting old with the White Sox, everyone's patience has worn thin with him.  His profanity laced tirades are not working like they did just a year or two ago and are looking bad on the franchise.  I know Guillen won a championship his first year, but look at the pitching staff and bullpen he had, along with a very solid lineup top to bottom.  Garner makes a few questionable moves here and there, but he's not the problem, and bringing in another manager would not make the astros starting hitting better all the sudden.  The baseball manager in my opinion is a little overrated anyway because the players win and lose games not the manager.  And getting Carlos Zambrano is a horrible idea.  Forgetting the fact he is probably pitching with arm problems, his price tag is way high and will command a near 100$ salary next year.  Do you really think we need a guy like Zambrano who punches his teammates in the dugout and clubhouse, i'll pass.....

    You cannot bury the astros just yet, its way too early.  On their 10 game losing streak they lost TWO games in the standings, because the Brewers couldnt take advantage.  If that tells you anything, it should tell you that nobody is running away with the division.  If you've watched the astros the past 3 years you'd know they are a 2nd half team, they do this every year.  The only thing different this year is our pitching is the least experienced of any of those years.  But Oswalt is Oswalt, Jennings has looked good, Sampson has been a nice surprise, and Wandy has had a few bad games here and there but has really pitched well.  So if those guys can keep it up, with our strong bullpen and our lineup of Lee, Pence, Berkman, Loretta, Scott scoring more runs i think, we should keep grinding and get back to .500 and make a run at the Brewers.  Keep the faith in the astros, i'm not saying its a lock they'll come back for sure, but we still have a good shot, dont give up on them just yet....

 

 

[Gabe]

I really just mean this team needs a lil flare like a Zambrano, Guillen or Pinella..Someone to spice things up at times..Yes a few got kicked out the other night but I mean when they go on a 5 game losing streak - someone needs be a lot more vocal than what our good guys do.

[Guest Diva]

Gabe, Gabe, Gabe....you KNOW my Hottie is more than enough spice for the team!

[bears99]

[glow=red,2,300]beeninnikes you should really stop caring all together about the astros, move on, they are done, its almost football season, and we have softball to hold us over till then, ha ha[/glow]