Well, havent seen one of these threads so I'd thought I'd start one . Here is my opening day line-up: 2B - Biggio (Old guy will pad up his stats at 2B for HOF) CF - Taveras (Until Berkman returns) 1B - Bagwell (Out of respect, really) 3B - Glaus (Instead of pissing away 30 mill on Beltran, I would much rather get this guy for 15-20 mil.) RF - J. Gonzalez (Cheap veteran looking for 1 year bounce back deal) LF - Lane (I still stay he will be a star) SS - Everett (Golden) C - Ausmus (No one better) SP - Oswalt (Clemens will not saddle up again) Rotation: Oswalt Miller Pettitte Backe (SP from Ensberg deal)
2B.. Biggio 3B.. Ensberg 1B.. Bagwell CF.. Beltran(until Berkman comes back) RF.. Lane SS.. Everett LF.. Taveras(or othe FA pickup) CA.. Ausmus/Chavez Rotation Oswalt Pettite Miller Backe Hernandez Bullpen Wheeler Lidge (+anyone who can throw the ball over the plate)
Biggio Beltran Bagwell Berkman Kent Ensberg Everett Ausmus Oswalt Clemens Pettitte Backe (Fill in the Blank 5th starter) I believe your going to see much of the same team, with an improved bullpen. They've got to field a good team
I know this won't happen but this would be my lineup 1B- Baggy 2B- Kent 3B- A. Beltre SS- Everett LF- Biggio CF-Taveras RF- Berkman C- Anything over Ausmus would be an upgrade SP. Oswalt, Pavano,Miller, Andy P, Backe Batting Order Opening Day Biggio Taveras Beltre Berkman Bagwell Kent Everett Catcher????????? Oswalt
This is a joke, right? Houstonians fascination with Brad Ausmus confuses me. He was never a good hitter and isn't the defensive catcher he once was. Does he even catch for Oswalt? I thought Chavez did.
That being said, the first (and maybe only) Houston player that Roger called after he won the Cy Young was Brad... also, Pettite and Clemens both said that the fact that Ausmus was here influenced their decision big-time. If you can find a catcher who's got 30 HR potential, or hits like Tony Gwynn... then he starts everyday. But, with guys like Ausmus and Matheny... their intangibles far outweigh most of the other average catchers in the leauge.
Let me also add to that. Brad is one of the smartest catchers out there. he scouts all the players in the league and knows how to pitch all of them. The guy can call a great game and that's something you don't find in many catchers these days. Everyone wants a big time bat when you really don't need it in a catcher. Sometimes you do need that guy that knows the other team well and knows what to pitch to them.
LF - Biggio SS - Everett 1B - Bagwell CF - Beltran (needs to earn his money and play like he did in the playoffs) 2B - Kent 3B - Ensberg RF - Lane C - Ausmus P - Oswalt W/O Beltran LF - Biggio SS - Everett 1B - Bagwell 2B - Kent 3B - Ensberg RF - Lane CF - Taveras C - Ausmus P - Oswalt Pitching Rotation 1. Oswalt 2. Miller 3. Pettite 4. Backe 5. Hernandez Bullpen Harville (showed improvement) Qualls (pitched well at the end) Wheeler (we all know what he did) Lidge (lights out)
Craig Biggio Carlos Beltran Jeff Bagwell Lance Berkman Carlos Delgado ( Del got it) Jeff Kent Adam Everett Brad Ausmus Belly Itcher Rotation : Roger Clemens Pedro Martinez Andy Pettite Roy Oswalt Wade Miller Jose Lima Brad Lidge
I think Ausmus calls great games. Ask Clemens. Catchers are one of the many important factors in the development of young pitchers.
I believe the entire offseason for the 'Stros is dependant on the largest dominoe, Beltran... If he stays, I think Kent, and more importantly Clemens, will give it one more try to finish what they started this year. If he leaves, I say Clemens sees no reason to come back for more individual honors without at least a chance of team glory, and stays retired. With those two gone, I think Kent and the Stros mutually agree that neither has what the other wants and part ways. So, here is how I would like to see each scenario play itself out... With Carlos Beltran: RF - Taveras (Berkman sub) LF - Biggio CF - Beltran 1B - Bagwell 2B - Kent (Only if Beltran stays) 3B - Ensberg C - Ausmus SS - Everett Rotation Oswalt Clemens (If he stays, Miller must be dealt for payroll) Pettitte Backe Hernandez/Buckholtz (whichever proves himself worthy during Spring Training) Bullpen Lidge Same cast of characters (no room to add badly-needed arms this year with Beltran/Clemens/Kent) Without Carlos (what I would do, for what that's worth): 2B - Burke (no point in bringing back Kent without Carlos on board) LF - Biggio (platoon with Lane after Berkman gets back) RF - Lane (until Berkman returns) 1B - Bagwell (Keeping it warm for Berkman) CF - Finley (keeping it warm for Taveras) 3B - Koskie/Glaus (rather have either than Kent; time to look forward) C - Ausmus (hopefully the master can teach his tricks to Gimenez) SS - Everett (should hold this job for at least another 5 years) Rotation Oswalt Pettitte Miller (Clemens, IMO, won't be back if Beltran and Kent leave, making room in the budget to keep Wade while fielding a VERY good top 3 still) Backe Hernandez/Buckholtz Bullpen Lidge Kline (lefty setup guy becomes realistic w/o CB/JK/RC) Scott Williamson/Eddie Guardado/Whoever (another reliable righty would make the pen formidable, but this is a luxury, not a necessity) Same cast as last year (Wheeler/Qualls/Miceli/Gallo...)
I know everyone says this about Ausmus. But does that make it true? What has Ausmus really done for our young pitchers? Oswalt, Hernandez, and Miller were all studs in minors. So most of the credit for them belongs to our minor league coaches. Tim Redding went from potential front-line starter to out of the bigs from last year to this one. Backe looks nice. Munro, post-surgery Hernandez, and any other scrub starter we've brought up have been horrible. The bullpen looks about right from their talent perspective. Lidge is lights out, and everyone else sucks. Actually, Dotel has been terrible this season. Honestly, there's no one on our pitching staff, except Backe, who has pitched much better than his ability indicate. But for every Backe, there's a Tim Redding. Oh, and Ausmus is TERRIBLE, and I mean TERRIBLE, with his bad. He's this close to being as automatic an out as your typical pitcher. And his defense has been slipping badly in recent years. Here's my "fantasy" lineup for next season, assuming Berkman doesn't miss too much time, and we have a Yankee-level spending limit SS Nomar Garciaparo CF Carlos Beltran 3B Adrian Beltre LF Lance Berkman C Jason Veritak 2B Jeff Kent 1B Jeff Bagwell RF Maglio Ordonez SP - Clemens, Pettite, Oswalt, Pedro, Big Unit My pessimistic lineup would be... LF Biggio CF Lane RF Berkman 1B Bagwell 3B Ensberg 2B Burke SS Everett C Ausmus SP - Pettite, Oswalt, Backe, Hernandez, Buchholtz The second set of lineup looks really, really depressing.
Quick response to justify Ausmus.. guys can do what they do in the minors. Once they come to the majors, it's a different game. Can't say minor league stud-ness transfers automatically. It sure helps, but Ausmus has too. I think people say what they say based on his work ethic, no-nonsense attitude, and preparedness. Things are what they are...no getting around how well he knows every player on the opposing teams and their tendencies. That can often be the difference-maker
Redding was the biggest stud of all in the minors... A good pitcher-catcher relationship may not mean much when a guy has plus stuff, but no pitcher would turn down a chance for Brad to catch him. There are so many guys out there who just "get by" on pure talent alone... Kerry Wood, Jason Schmidt, Josh Beckett, even Roy Oswalt (to a certain extent).... but all these guys have times where they look clueless on the mound, and (preverbiably) explode out there because of a lack of guidance on the field. There's no way Josh Beckett should have the career record he has, with his stuff. Likewise, there's no reason why Kerry Wood has yet to win over 14 games in his career. Granted, I'll say again, if a 30 HR, .300 BA catcher is just sitting out not doing anything but pickin his nose, then you take him by all means over Brad. But, if we're talking Ausmus vs. Chavez.... please.
Well, you aren't very good at it. Beltran is going to get around 15 million a year. The only real point of contention is whether he can sucker a team into signing him for 10 years.
Then why does Oswalt use Chavez? The Astros let Ausmus go once, to give Mitch Melusky of all people a chance, and then were forced to go with backup quality players for a season when Melusky was hurt early. With 2 mediocre catchers (Paul Bako, Tony Eusabio) the ERA remained in the top 3 in the league, despite the loss of Randy Johnson to free agency. 2 of the 3 guys who started both seasons (Hampton, Lima) actually posted better ERAs with Ausmus gone, as did our closer. Scott Elarton (pre-injury) developed into a stud without the benefit of Ausmus's superior skills. There's a productivity line below which a major-league player simply isn't helping his team, regardless of defense. Ausmus has reached that point. And at 35, you can't expect him to improve at this stage of his career.
