Astros and A's Offer Contrast in Philosophy for 2008
In the 10 years prior to 2007, the Astros made the playoffs six times and advanced to the World Series in 2005. The A's made the playoffs five times in that time span and twice topped the 100-win mark.
Both teams fell on hard time last year. The A's went 76-86 and finished third in the AL West, while the Astros posted a record of 73-89 and finished fourth in the NL Central.
The way the two teams have handled last season's disappointing finish is an interesting contrast in style and philosophy.
The A's went to the Winter Meetings this year unsure if they were going to reload for a run at the playoffs or undergo a full-fledged rebuilding effort. After toying with the idea of signing Barry Bonds and going for the former option, the A's decided to build for the future.
Oakland pulled off two high-profile deals, trading stars Dan Haren and Nick Swisher for a bushel full of prospects. In exchange for Haren and Connor Robertson, the A's acquired Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez from Arizona.
The A's received four of the top 10 prospects in the Diamondbacks' system. The prize was Carlos Gonzalez, an outfielder best known for his tools. He started to turn those into production last year at Double-A, where he collected 52 extra-base hits in 458 at-bats. It will be interesting to see how Oakland, which stresses on-base percentage, will handle a player who drew just 38 walks in 500 at-bats last season.
Brett Anderson is a finesse lefty with excellent control of four pitches, Chirs Carter is a slugging first baseman, Aaron Cunningham is an outfielder who hits for average and has a good batting eye, Dana Eveland is somewhat similar to Anderson but with more pop on his fastball and Greg Smith is another lefty, although he probably projects as more of a reliever than either Anderson or Eveland.
The A's received outfielder Ryan Sweeney, left-hander Gio Gonzalez and right-hander Fautino De Los Santos from the White Sox in the Swisher deal.
Gonzalez went 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA for Double-A Birmingham last season. More importantly he fanned 185 batters (which led all of Minor League Baseball) in 150 innings while allowing just 10 home runs. He is a lefty fireballer on the cusp of the Majors.
De Los Santos went 10-5 with a 2.65 ERA split between two Class-A clubs in 2007. He fanned 153 batters in 122.1 innings and allowed just eight homers. De Los Santos was named the South Atlantic League's Most Outstanding Major League Prospect. He is further away than Gonzalez but has a live fastball and a curve he can throw for strikes.
Sweeney split time between Triple-A and the Majors last season. He is a corner outfielder without great power and is probably destined to be more of a fourth-outfielder type.
With these two deals, the A's essentially gave up on competing for the playoffs in 2008 for the chance to have a stronger team in the future. They basically rebuilt their farm system and imported nine players who have a chance to contribute to the next A's team that makes the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Astros decided to go for a playoff push in 2008.
Houston will open next season with a revamped infield. Joining holdover Lance Berkman at first base will be free agent acquisitions Kaz Matsui and Ty Wigginton (a mid-season acquisition who re-signed with the club) at second and third base and Miguel Tejada at shortstop, who was acquired one day prior to being named in the Mitchell Report.
The Astros also traded closer Brad Lidge to the Phillies for center fielder Michael Bourn and acquired Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde for three players. Houston has made other moves acquiring proven veteran talent such as Darin Erstad and Chad Paronto, to go along with the usual veterans extended NRIs to Spring Training.
The Astros had a solid nucleus of hitters with Berkman, Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee. Tejada should make a nice addition to that but it will come at a cost, as he replaces Adam Everett at shortstop. Everett is probably the top defensive shortstop in the game. Meanwhile, there have been suggestions that Tejada's defense has deteriorated so badly that he needs to move to third base.
Houston should score some runs in 2008, although neither Bourn nor Matsui are on-base machines at the top of the lineup. But the success will fall to the starting pitchers, where the club is depending on Wandy Rodriguez and Woody Williams to be their number two and three starters.
One thing in Houston's favor is that the NL Central is not the most loaded division. It has taken 85 and 83 wins to win the division the past two seasons. Meanwhile, the AL West leader has posted 94 and 93 wins.
Perhaps both clubs made the right decision for their respective fan bases and divisions. But I would rather be a fan of the A's and root for a team that is putting together a solid farm system than a team like the Astros, which is hoping that proven veterans can bring them an 85-win season and a first-round playoff loss.
Published by Brian Joura
Freelance writer for hire. References available upon request. View profile
- MLB Team by Team: 2008 Houston AstrosHouston saw Craig Biggio get his 3,000th hit last year, but had little else to cheer for. Will a new year bring a better result?
- Miguel Tejada Traded to the Houston AstrosThe fire sale begins in Baltimore
Astros Prospect Named Carolina League MVPAt the young age of 21, Mitch Einerstein's future looks bright as he works his way toward the dream of playing Major League Baseball.
- Understading the Moneyball A's in Trades and Free Agencyhow Billy Beane makes the best trades for his team and hwo he picks up free agents deemed as useless to help his team.
- Major League Baseball All-Star Lance Berkman Wants to Star for Christ Lance Berkman is one of the most feared hitters in major league baseball, and in 2006 he hit 45 home runs and set a record for the Houston Astros with 136 runs batted in. He defines success not by his baseball skills,...
- Insider's Guide to Having Fun at Houston Astros Spring Training
- Spring Training 2008: The Atlanta Braves Take on the Houston Astros
- The Ten Greatest Moments in Houston Astros History
- Houston Astros: Fantasy Baseball Team Preview 2008
- The Greatest Baseball Game Ever Played - New York Mets Vs. Houston Astros Game 6
- How to Go to a Houston Astros Game for Cheap
- The 10 Best Players in Houston Astros History
4 Comments
Post a CommentThe Indians had a 3-1 lead in the ALCS last year and couldn't close the deal. I don't think payroll disparity had anything to do with the outcome of that one particular series.
I know, the A's seem to enjoy blowing up their team and trying to win with prospects every three years (see the book "Moneyball"). But the problem is they can't go all the way. Even the Indians ultimately lost to a more expensive team in the Red Sox.
Well that's not entirely true. They kept Eric Chavez. They made an offer that Jason Giambi agreed to from a financial POV but balked because the A's wouldn't agree to a no-trade clause. They paid Barry Zito $8M, they paid big money to Esteban Loaiza, Jason Kendall and Jermaine Dye. The A's spent $78.5M on payroll last year. It's not like they're the Royals ($62.3M), Pirates ($51.4M) or Rays ($31.8M).
While I agree that the A's went the better route than the Astros, I'm not sure that I would enjoy being a fan of the A's or other teams like them. Even when they do build a winner, you know that it's only a matter of time before your favorite players leave to get a better pay day. While few teams can afford to keep all of their good players as they reach their free agent years, The A's and Twins are notorious for not even trying to keep theirs.