IBC

C - Hank Conger - FR - 248/317/372 89 OPS+
1B - V. Catricala - AV/104 - 259/321/401 100 OPS+
2b - Howie Kendrick - AV/71 - 275/320/431 104 OPS+
SS - Jimmy Rollins - AV/58 - 268/330/410 97 OPS+
3b - Scott Rolen - VG/56 - 260/315/441 100 OPS+
LF - Alex Presely - VG/103 - 275/324/426 102 OPS+
CF - Starling Marte - CF/RF - VG/214/VG/120 - 279/320/421 100 OPS+
RF - Ryan Ludwick - 100 OPS+

Bench:
Henry Blanco - C -EX - 243/307/388 83 OPS+
Donald Lutz - 1B/LF/RF - AV/133/FR/115/FR/115 262/306/417 92 OPS+
Jose Lopez - 1B/2B/3B - AV/106/AV/120/VG/88 - 268/296/419 95 OPS+
Jimmy Paredes - 2B/3B/SS - AV/234/AV/130/FR/139 - 254/281/376 78 OPS+
Franklin Gutierrez - CF - EX/64 - 248/299/358 82 OPS+
Jeremy Moore -LF/CF/RF - VG/191/VG/133/VG/234 - 235/270/380 76 OPS+
Brent Lillibridge -UTL - AV AT ALL POSITIONS - 230/299/378 79 OPS+

Rotation:
Justin Masterson - 3.71ERA, 12W, 9L, 204.0IP, 65BB, 153K, 112ERA+
Vicente Padilla - 3.88ERA, 4W, 4L, 69.7IP, 22BB, 53K, 97ERA+
Henderson Alvarez - 4.65ERA, 9W, 8L, 155.0IP, 31BB, 89K, 94ERA+
Scott Feldman - 4.68ERA, 7W, 7L, 117.3IP, 37BB, 68K, 97ERA+
Andy Pettitte - ? 4.45ERA, 98ERA+

---------------------
Kyle Lohse - 4.37ERA, 7W, 8L, 123.7IP, 36BB, 75K, 86ERA+
Mike Pelfrey - 4.48ERA, 9W, 10L, 176.7IP, 60BB, 98K, 86ERA+
Ross Detwiler - 4.44ERA, 7W, 8L, 121.7IP, 45BB, 76K, 89ERA+
Tommy Hunter - 4.96ERA, 7W, 9L, 136.0IP, 35BB, 76K, 86ERA+
Anthony Bass - 4.36ERA, 6W, 8L, 119.7IP, 44BB, 77K, 83ERA+

Pen:
CL - Jordan Walden - 3.54ERA, 4W, 3L, 61.0IP, 26BB, 66K, 115ERA+
RH Setup - Louis Coleman - 3.67ERA, 4W, 3L, 61.3IP, 25BB, 61K, 113ERA+
RH Setup - Nick Masset - 3.60ERA, 5W, 3L, 70.0IP, 29BB, 68K, 111ERA+
RH Setup - Kelvin Herrera - 3.90ERA, 5W, 4L, 67.0IP, 19BB, 54K, 106ERA+
LH Setup - Craig Breslow - 3.73ERA, 4W, 3L, 62.7IP, 23BB, 55K, 113ERA+
LH Setup - Jerry Blevins - 4.15ERA, 2W, 2L, 60.7IP, 22BB, 53K, 98ERA+

Cristhian Martinez - 3.61ERA, 3W, 2L, 72.3IP, 17BB, 57K, 109ERA+
Jose Veras - 3.86ERA, 4W, 3L, 63.0IP, 34B, 69K, 105ERA+
Cory Burns - 3.63ERA, 3W, 3L, 57.0IP, 22BB, 52K, 100ERA+
Tanner Scheppers - 4.62ERA, 2W, 2L, 48.7IP, 23BB, 38K, 98ERA+

Inactive:
Josh Donaldson - C - VG - 219/289/357 74 OPS+
Matt Davidson - 3B - FR/131 - 234/296/389 80 OPS+

Cody Scarpetta - P - 5.14ERA, 7W, 9L, 115.7IP, 78BB, 88K, 79ERA+
Rafael Dolis - 5.04ERA, 6W, 9L, 85.7IP, 53BB, 50K, 81ERA+

Yeah, its still ooooglay.. Sea Bass sucks, but at least he'll stop some hits up the middle. My pitching staff is going to need all the help it can get. Since my lineup isn't going to score runs, its best right now to try to prevent runs from being scored as much as possiblet. Sea Bass and Gutierrez are a start.

Astros wrote:and rebuild through shrewd pickups/trades

aka trades with Cleveland

So things have been getting better. Its not like the Astros are a contender.. not in the slightest, but at least we can field a playable squad now. The ML level roster is rounded out, and although some of the talent in the minors is gone, I still feel pretty good about the farm.

Still have Gose, Marte, and Grossman emerging. Have Catricala, Bethancourt, Wojalsifjalksjfajh, Villanueva, and a host of other unranked but intriquing prospects such as Galvez, Jackson, Swanner, Terdoslavich, Hope, etc.

The roster is better balanced. As I said, I would churn some of the talent to be able to field a squad within the IBC rules/guidelines. I didn't want to go into this season trying to tank it.. what fun is that. Fuck that. I hate losing. So even though I'm still going to lose, and lose a lot... I believe I will lose less. I'm not even sure where i'll end up, but I hope its better than what this team ran out last year. Shit, that can't be too hard to improve upon.

We still have some growing/waiting to do on some guys - Gose/Marte should emerge in MLB this year with any luck, or at least take some steps forward. Still going to try to swing deals to improve the squad, but overall I feel a bit better about how things stand then the day I took over. Still have to tinker with some things before opening day, but there's still time.

If you can't hit very well, you better be able to play some D. And the Astros look to bring the leather out this year.

Good D up the middle for the most part(could still improve upon Desmond), Good D on the left side. Only real weak spot is 1b, where it doesn't matter as much. If AV is the worst spot on the diamond aside from 1b, we should be pretty good flashing the leather in Houston.

It was tough to trade Goldschmidt. I wasn't even really entertaining offers for him(and I know I told several other GMs I wasn't moving him, so apologies) but Pat and I got to talking about a deal and it just kind of happened. In any case, tough to trade him - but getting a 2b in his prime and upgrading the spot from an 84 OPS+ to a 104 OPS+, while getting a young closer of Jordan Walden's calibur and a top 10 prospect from the Nationals system was a deal I ultimately had to go with. I put Vinnie Catricala and his 100 OPS+ projection at 1b. A downgrade on the stick side for sure, but an upgrade with the defense. Its still not a contender, but the lineup shouldn't be a bunch of automatic outs anymore going into the season.

Probably going to play the batting order like this:

1. Jimmy Rollins - SS
2. Howie Kendrick - 2b
3. Alex Presely - LF
4. Starling Marte - CF
5. Ryan Ludwick - RF
6. Vinnie Catricala - 1B
7. Jose Lopez - 3b
8. Henry Blanco - C
9. pitcher

Ludwick may not play RF yet, I dont know his defensive projections. All I saw was in the zips spreadsheet he was about a 100 OPS+ bat. Pretty happy to get him at that projection, especially since I think he can improve in MLB playing in the GAB in Cincy.

Now, time to tweak the rotation and bullpen. There's still plenty of work to be done.

Things are looking better in Houston. Still need upgrades in the rotation and lineup, but I have some pretty good upside at most every spot in the lineup. I think Conger can still swing it if given a shot. I like that he's a switch hitter. Lohse while not the greatest pitcher on the planet, I think got a cruddy projection all things considered, but he still helps stabilize a rotation that up until my most recent trade had Anthony Bass in it. I may throw Detwiler in there, or use him in the pen, no sure yet, but he's a lefty so that helps.

Still, obviously, not looking at contention, but making steady progress I think.

Trading Nick Franklin for an injured OF on your bench is looking more questionable - especially with Endy Chavez available.

Mets wrote:Trading Nick Franklin for an injured OF on your bench is looking more questionable - especially with Endy Chavez available.

Really? Where do I begin.

1. Don't have a crystal ball, can't predict injuries.
2. In context, he only got moved to my bench after further trades and a favorable(but at the time very unknown) projection to Marte.
3. They're not even close to comparable defensively(Chavez vs Gutierrez).
4. Nick Franklin may not even stick at SS, and he's blocked at 2b in Seattle by some guy named Ackley or something..
5. Gutierrez had a pretty injury plagued year last year.. and while I dont think he's as good as his '09 year, I don't think he's as bad as his '10 year either. Which means I think he's somewhere in between a 3.0 - 5ish WAR player. Pretty effing good. Borderline all star. Even if he stays at his '10 year level of play, thats 3.0 war, nothing to scoff at.

Bottom line is this. Prospects are prospects. Franklin may never even have a career in MLB, you just don't know for sure. Nothing in the game is guaranteed - at any level. Gutierrez may never have a year like '09 or '10 again. Franklin may never make it. Maybe I like Gutierrez more than others, but I consider him a premium center fielder. I'm sure he'll get a fair amount of playing time on my squad, even in a "reserve" role. And that was a gamble I am more than willing to take on.

I wouldn't undo this trade. In a vacuum I can admit, it probably doesn't look so hot. But in context with where this team was when I took over, I don't think its a fair assessment. This team couldn't have fielded a starting 9 with a rotation or pen, IMO. I had to make some moves. And when I had an opportunity to get a CF who can be the best in the game when not injured, I had no problems dealing what is ultimately, a question mark.

busting your balls dude - you should know better from me.

Recent trade for 2 solid arms in Feldman and Pettitte give the Astros 2 pretty significant upgrades to the back end of the rotation, pushing out Pelfrey and Lohse. Rotation looks "respectable" and "competitive" now. Certainly going to lose our fair share of games in Houston still, but feel really good and happy overall about the lineup, rotation, and pen, compared to where this team was when I took over.

#letsavoid100lossesthisyear