Ken Davindoff of Baseball Insider judges each team in the majors on their offseason success.  He groups the teams into 4 categories: winners, winners with downside, losers with upside, and losers. Care to guess where the Astros rank?

If you said losers you are correct!

Davindorf: “Losers: 3. Houston: Despite some internal lobbying, GM Ed Wade wouldn’t even consider a one-year deal for Andy Pettitte”

Andy Pettitte? Really? That’s the reason why we are “losers”?  Would our rotation be that much more stable with another aging hurler?

I guess it was a short column and he couldn’t go in to detail.  If he could have I imagine he would have said that GM Ed Wade was handcuffed by the economic situation facing the Houston Astros instead of the whole Andy Pettitte bit.

Losers? Maybe.  We lost 2 key components to our second half push last season in IF/OF Ty Wigginton and SP Randy Wolf.  However, our pitching staff would still be considered suspect even with Wolf so I think the fact that we swapped Mike Hampton for Randy Wolf isn’t a big deal, as long as Mikey can stay healthy. He likes it!

And Ty? Well, you got me there.  Defensively he wasn’t real sharp but his missing bat is gonna hurt.  I think we start the season with a Blum Boone platoon (poet and didn’t know it) and, if Chris Johnson keeps up his Spring Training Numbers for the rest of March and continues to do well in AAA, he will be our 3rd baseman come June.  Maybe sooner.  Once this occurs, I think the Wiggy Wolf loss is gonna sting less.  Guess we will see.

Also, if Wade can have success with his Rule 5 draftees as he has in the past, Houston’s offseason could turn out better than people currently think.  Lou Palmisano and Gilbert De La Vara are both making a push to make the club out of Spring Training.  And if they can repeat Wesley Wright’s success of last season and make this club better, props to Ed Wade.

Of course, that is a lot of “ifs.”  As of now, Houston’s offseason looks unproductive, but the results of this season will be the true testimony to the clubs offseason moves.

There are some rumors out there that some teams are inquiring on the availablilty of Mark Loretta and Darin Erstad. In my opinion I wouldn’t mind giving up either or both of those guys if we got some pieces that could help us next year. It would take a miracle for the Astros to turn things around this year, although it is possible, so I would like to see some young guys come in for our veteran players.

I have also seen some stories about the Angels scouting Miguel Tejada. I don’t know if there is much truth to that rumor, but it would be odd to see Wade give up on Tejada so soon. Of course, the Angels are loaded with prospects, and getting some of those instead of paying Tejada’s hefty contract could be nice. I still like all the intangibles that Tejada brings to the team.

Some other good news is that Ed Wade has said that the team has put an offer on the table for first round pick Jason Castro. It would be nice to get him signed and in the minors. The guy I really hope we can sign is high school pitcher Ross Seaton. I think he is a great prospect, and from what Wade is saying, both sides want to work a deal.

Our first round pick in 2005, pitcher Brian Bogusevic out of Tulane, has been converted to an outfielder. He got sent down to Salem from Corpus Christi to work his way up. He just could never get it going as a pitcher. Brian was surprised by the move, but evidently the front office has been thinking about making the switch for awhile. So far so good though, as he went 1-1 with an RBI and a walk in his first appearance as an outfielder.

Since his arrival as GM, Ed Wade has never been one to wait to make his moves. I would bet that we could see some minor trades in the next week or so, so stay tuned!

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We hope you take part in our discussions and leave comments voicing your opinions.  It should be another exciting year for the Houston Astros as well.  Can the Astros get back on top of the Central Division in the Nationall League and compete with the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs?  Lets us ks know what you think!