Houston Astros 2002 Season Previewby Paul Wysard The club's administration has gone into court to seek removal of "Enron" from Enron Field. The argument is that the name is bad for business and public relations, given the collapse and corporate conspiracy, but no one has to tell that to past and present employees of the energy giant. This season, the Astros will have more assets than their former patron, but not enough to finish ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central. Last Spring, I underestimated this team, reckoning that Moises Alou and Craig Biggio were well past prime and being unaware of how good young starters Wade Miller and Roy Oswalt were to be. It's not likely Oswalt (14-3, 2.73) will show that kind of winning percentage again, but Miller (16-8, 3.40) should contribute similar numbers. Enemy scouts are impressed with both youngsters, but the rest of starting group is iffy. Shane Reynolds (14-11, 4.34) can't seem to shake injuries and journeyman Dave Mlicki (11-11, 6.17) continues to give up the long ball. There is cautious optimism that young southpaw Carlos Hernandez can fill out the rotation. I keep waiting for the 36-year-old Biggio to seriously show his age, but except for steals, which have declined 75% over the past two seasons, he remains an offensive force. He gets on base, scores runs (118) and can still hit it out (20 hr). Jeff Bagwell will continue his steady march toward the Hall of Fame, coming off yet another year of 100+ rbi, runs, and walks. His average dipped a bit (.288) and he hit only 39 homeruns, but what manager wouldn't welcome those numbers?. In years gone by, Biggio and Bagwell were often two of three "Killer Bees." Now there is a younger "B" joining them in a new trio - outfielder Lance Berkman (.331, 34, 126, with 110 runs scored and 92 walks). Everything points to hitting stardom for him. Alou has departed for Wrigley Field, becoming even more protection for Sammy Sosa, but that is for someone else's preview. Back in Houston, younger slugger Daryle Ward will try to replace him. He hit 20 homers in 264 at-bats in 2000, so the potential is evident. He is a liability as an outfielder, but left field is the only viable slot open for him, and local fans are hoping he can work into it. The left side of the infield is also too questionable for a team with pretention to contention. At third, Chris Truby, who has held the job for a while since 2000, will try to outdo rookie Morgan Ensberg, who hit well in AAA. At short, Julio Lugo is of some value on offense, but cost the team at least one of the losses in last Fall's Divisional Playoff with errors. He will pushed by gloveman Adam Everett. And finally, there is centerfielder Richard Hidalgo. A big year in 2000, including 44 homers, was followed by overweight and underperformance last year. A major rebound is imperative for him. Houston will battle Chicago and Cincinnati for second, not first, in the Central.
The Way We Were The third member of the original "Killer Bees" was outfielder Derek Bell. In the later '90s, he annually combined with Biggio and Bagwell for the kinds of numbers they reached in their highwater season, 1998: .300+ as a group, with 358 runs, 307 rbi, 76 homers, 82 steals. While the other two have prospered, Bell, although the youngest, has fallen on hard times. Drifting from the Mets to the Pirates, he free-fell to .173 in only about 50 games in 2001. His attitude has also reportedly soured and despite a salary of several millions, he is on the cusp of being out of baseball. How and why does this happen? We don't always know the answers, but we do know such breakdowns have been - and will ever be - part of the game. The TDA photography squad was able to catch the Astros at Miller Park last year: The Astros in Milwaukee Ten Years Ago...Our Astros Preview from April 1992, by Karl Raymonds: Strengths: This is a team that's growing up together, and its strength is its relative cohesiveness and the fact that all those '91 rookies have a major league season under their collective belt. Jeff Bagwell looks to be a durable, good-hitting first baseman, and that Pete Harnisch is a classy-looking pitcher. Caminiti and Biggio are veterans by now, but I sure hope they stop moving them around. One guy you don't hear too much about is Casey Candaele (his mother was a big star in the Women's League back in the '40s.) They finally gave him some playing time at second and he had a good year, but Biggio is there now. Knowing the Astro's brain trust (?) they will probably go with Yelding or Anthony or Simms over Casey in right. I like the look of young Cedeno, Ceasar's son, an all-time Houston favorite. Steve Finley (CF) is a good punch hitter. Luis Gonzalez should benefit by moved-in fences. Weaknesses: Anywhere you look, there are young kids starting out. They make a lot of dumb plays and the pitching staff reminds me of what Cactus Jack Garner said about the Vice Presidency. Outlook: Closest competition is probably the Giants, who did well in ST, so they will probably finish last again, although playing much better. Perspective: I have followed them since-the old Colt 45 days, and this is the first club to interest me since the division champs of '86. Although young, Howe has made it clear that mistakes allowed last year's green recruits won't be tolerated this season. Month-long road trip may sink their chances for bettering last year's record (55-107 on road in '90-'91.) Leave feedback on our message board. | |||||||||||||||||||