This team still feels a year or two away, but there is a bright future in Houston.
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Houston is just an odd team right now. Solid starting pitching, good speed, a strong ability to get on base … but very little power, a horrendous bullpen, and some very unsettled positions, at least at present.
THE OFFENSE
The most important thing is how young this team is. Only Jorge Posada (36) and Jim O’Rourke (29) are on the far side of the magic age of 27, and and George Brett and Jim Wynn (23), Carlos Correa (22), and Pete Hill (19) are well under it.
#What’s Going Right
Jeff Bagwell, Carlos Correa, and Tony Gwynn all have OPS over .900, although Gwynn’s has fallen since an earlier flirtation with a .400 BA. Bagwell looks to be on the very edge of stardom, but it is Correa, who is slashing 326/404/553, who may be the biggest surprise.
Jim Wynn has 27 HRs, second on the team to Bagwell’s 28.
Jim O’Rourke has bounced back from a disappointing first season, slashing 258/362/500 in a super-utility role.
Mention must be made of Paul Goldschmidt, who has 8 homers in under 100 PAs, making the most of his limited chances.
#What’s Not Going Right
Jorge Posada struggles offensively, with an OPS under .750. Not horrific for a backstop, but not good.
Pete Hill continue to show power, but his .765 OPS won’t cut it in a WBL OF. BUT, Hill is 19, so you could also see this as part of what’s going right.
George Brett and Craig Biggio both continue to show flashes of great talent, along with long periods of low production. But with the departure of HR Johnson, the team seems committed to each of them for the future.
Andrés Galarraga bounced down from an excellent first season, earning himself a trip to AAA.
THE PITCHING
A real challenge: there are some truly top end performances here in Ramsey and Clemens, and then a lot of potential. And lets not even discuss the bullpen.
Some of the same comments as with the position players: Oswalt is the aged veteran of the crew at 27, so this is a very young staff (and that doesn’t even account for teenage phenom Leon Day at AAA).
#What’s Going Right
Toad Ramsey is putting together one of the best seasons in WBL history, sitting at 13-9 with a a3.19 ERA and 217 strikeouts. The knuckleballer has been absolutely dominant, with a 6.6 WAR on the mound so far.
Roger Clemens has been excellent, matching Ramsey in wins with a very impressive 3.60 ERA of his own.
Andrew Chafin has been excellent in the bullpen, as have (in very limited action so far) Jim Kern and Roberto Osuna (Kern is a special surprise, after being torched last season).
Ice Box Chamberlain seems to have recovered from injury, posting a 3.41 ERA over his 7 starts.
#What’s Not Going Right
Roy Oswalt and Stephen Strasbourg are just frustrating, mixing good outings with horrible one, with both of them posting ERA’s over 6.00.
The bullpen has been quite poor, especially since Tug McGraw–fairly effective as a closer–hit the DL.
John Franco and Chafin are the only arms left from the start of the year, with Brad Lidge, Kent Tekulve, and Billy Wagner all having moved back to AAA (and, in Tekulve’s case, out of the system entirely).
THE FARM SYSTEM
TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
This is a strong system, at least on the field. In the OF, César Cedeño (who was OK in the WBL earlier in the season), Kirby Puckett (who wasn’t), Shin-Soo Choo, and Von Joshua all have some promise.
3B Edgar Martínez may be the best bat in the system, and SS Travis Jackson clearly has WBL talent. Add to that C Will Smith–who may replace Posada as soon as next season–and you have a decent amount of talent.
On the mound, it’s a little more spare, but Vida Blue and Leon Day are still teenagers as is Ice Box Chamberlain. Additionally, at least a couple from the group of Bret Saberhagen, Bill Harper, Carlos Rodón (part of the HR Johnson trade), and Rick Wise should emerge as WBL rotation starters.
WHAT’S NEEDED
The Colt 45’s just need to continue to develop, especially on the mound.
Storylines to Watch
Key Questions from Spring Training
- Can the bullpen perform? Some indications (McGraw, Chad Qualls, and Andrew Chafin‘s performance last year in small samples) are positive; others not so much (the size of those samples, Kent Tekulve‘s challenges). In a word, no. Although, McGraw should be back soon, and he, Chafin, and the newly-acquired Sparky Lyle do give Houston as good a trio of lefties as you can want.
- Who emerges at C? Evidently, nobody. Currently, it rotates between Posada, Craig Biggio, and O’Rourke, but the latter two are really not catchers. Look for Will Smith here next season.
FEATURED SERIES
Houston heads to Homestead to start the week for a four game series.
Projected Starters
Houston’s starter listed first.
Ice Box Chamberlain (2-3, 3.41) @ David Price (3-6, 5.33)
Toad Ramsey (13-9, 3.19) @ Doug Drabek (4-5, 5.04)
Roger Clemens (13-8, 3.60) @ Billy Pierce (9-7, 5.07)
Roy Oswalt (6-8, 6.44) @ Juan Marichal (8-11, 6.10)
I mean, a sweep is not out of the question. But both of these teams are just so inconsistent, I would say a series split is the most likely outcome.
Game One
David Price‘s debut start for Homestead gets to wait a little while, as Doug Drabek gets the nod for the Grays against Ice Box Chamberlain.
Paul Goldschmidt drove in a run with a single in the top of the first but Willie Stargell tied it up in the bottom of the frame. Chamberlain struggled with his command, surrendering a solo shot to Rick Reichardt, then hitting both Owen Wilson and Honus Wagner. But he settled down and got out of the inning without further damage.
The bottom of the 5th saw Josh Gibson–already with 2 doubles on the day–go deep for his 35th homerun, extending the lead to 5-1.
The Colt 45’s closed to 5-3 in the 6th, chasing Drabek from the mound with 2 outs on an RBI groundout from Carlos Correa and a seeing eye single through the left side from Goldschmidt.
Tony Gwynn brought the Colt 45’s within 1, and then, in the top of the 9th and facing the newly-aquired Robb Nen, Jim Wynn launched one out of the park to tie the game. Then Gorman Thomas hit his 4th homerun in 15 at-bats and, out of nowhere, Houston had a 7-5 lead. Nen couldn’t make it out of the inning, and when the smoke cleared, the Colt 45’s had a 4 run lead, 9-5.
Craig Biggio, Gwynn, and Goldschmidt each had 3 hits for Houston while Gibson had 4 hits and 3 RBI’s for the Grays in a losing effort.
HOU 9 (Osuna 2-1) @ HOM 5 (Nen 1-1, 1 BSv; Price 1 H; Friend 1 H)
HRs: HOU – Wynn (28), Thomas (4); HOM – Reichardt (34), Gibson (35).
Box Score
Game Two
Game two will see the stellar Toad Ramsey face off against Homestead’s Billy Pierce.
After a Tony Gwynn double, Jeff Bagwell drove in his 90th run of the year with a single in the top of the first. Jim Wynn followed with his 29th homer of the year, and the Colt 45’s staked Ramsey to a 3-0 lead.
But this Grays team is hard to put away: Rick Reichardt hit a 2 run shot, making it a 1 run game.
Houston seemed to have Pierce’s number, though: Pete Hill and Jorge Posada hit back to back homers in the 2nd, and Jim O’Rourke singled in another run in the 4th, extending the lead to 6-2.
Back to back doubles from Andrew McCutcheon and Judy Johnson made it 6-3, but that was really it. Houston scored some more, notably on Posada’s second drive of the game, but the outcome had already been secured for Houston.
HOU 10 (Ramsey 14-9) @ HOM 3 (Pierce 9-8)
HRs: HOU – Wynn (29), Posada 2 (11), Hill (8); HOM – Reichardt (35).
Box Score
Game Three
Bartolo Colón will take the ball for the Grays in game 3, opposed by Houston’s Roger Clemens as the Colt 45’s look to take the first 3 of the series.
Josh Gibson took Clemens deep in the bottom of the 1st, and Roberto Clemente did the same in the 2nd for an early Grays lead. Meanwhile, Colón was dealing, allowing no runs and 3 hits over 5 innings.
Clemens had to exit with back pain after 5, relieved by Dock Ellis.
Homestead added 2 more on an Andy Van Slyke bomb in the 8th, but the story was Colón, who took the mound in the 9th with a 3 hit shutout. He walked Craig Biggio with 2 outs, but got Tony Gwynn to fly out to LF to preserve the shutout and, more importantly, the victory.
With the shutout, Colón lowered his ERA on the year to 0.45 over 20 innings.
HOU 0 (Oswalt 6-8; Blue 1 H; Kern 1 H) @ HOM 4 (Williams 10-11)
HRs: HOU – none; HOM – Gibson (36), Clemente (21), Van Slyke (24).
Box Score
It was good news for Houston after the game, as Clemens is expected to make his next start.
Game Four
Roy Oswalt will try to get the Colt 45’s the series win, but Cliff Lee, making his first start since his injury, will try to even it up for Homestead. Both teams have minor league franchises deep in the thick of it and hence have not yet benefitted from the full roster expansion.
Oswalt has struggled all year, laboring to a 6-8 record and an ERA in the mid 6.00’s.
Paul Goldschmidt drove in a run in the top of the first, but the score was evened at 1 when Judy Johnson scored on a passed ball. The Grays surged ahead, 4-1, on a 2 run shot from Goose Goslin and a solo homer from Andrew McCutcheon in the 2nd.
A bad throw from McCutcheon allowed a run to score for Houston in the 5th, halving the lead to 4-2, Homestead.
Oswalt couldn’t make it out of the 5th, as a walk to Willie Stargell and a single by Mike Epstein prompted Houston to turn to young Vida Blue out of the pen.
Goldschmidt chased Lee with a game-tying shot into the right field stands in the 6th, and his relief, Bob Friend, allowed a deep shot to George Brett, giving the 1 run lead back to Houston at 5-4. Johnson went yard in the 6th, and we were all tied once more, 5-5.
McCutcheon’s second error of the day allowed Ice Box Chamberlain (on as a pinch runner) to score the go-ahead run in the 7th as Casey Stengel celebrated his return from a rehab assignment with a slow bouncer up the middle that the Grays’ CF let go under his glove.
Jim Wynn added a homerun, and–perhaps more importantly–Tug McGraw and Sparky Lyle closed the game out, offering hope for some stability at the back end of the Colt 45’s bullpen.
HOU 7 (Blue 1-0; Lyle 1 Sv; McGraw 1 H; Osuna 4 H) @ HOM 5 (Friend 5-10)
HRs: HOU – Goldschmidt (9), Brett (14), Wynn (30); HOM – Goslin (7), McCutcheon (19), Johnson (6).
Box Score
Houston took the series, putting themselves in prime position to overtake Kansas City for the Division lead. It was a strong performance: power, starting pitching, and most importantly, a bullpen that may be finally coming together at the most important time of the year.
