Houston, We Have A Problem

There was absolutely no mystery that the Houston Astros were going to struggle this year.

Everyone knew that they would most definitely hit 90 losses and make a good run at 100.

Nobody figured that Houston would be this bad though.

(Though this is from 2012, it’s pretty indicative of the Astros)

As we take stock of baseball’s landscape at the quarter pole, Houston is approaching dangerous territory: being historically bad.  The worst record in AL history is owned by the 2003 Detroit Tigers with a 43-119 record.  Through 40 games, the Astros are 10-30. At this pace, they would finish with a 41-121 record.  Why are they this bad?  It’s a combination of several factors, including their talent level, their roster makeup, and struggling with hitting and pitching.

Houston has a flush farm system, with potential talent at each level.  The only drawback?  None of it is ready for baseball at the Major League level.  With the exception of Jose Altuve and a few other players, Houston largely fields a team that would have to work to beat AAA teams.  The talent they have is two to three years away, but fans are going to be very disgruntled if they have to sit through another few years of 100-loss baseball.  In addition, Houston’s roster is not made for baseball in the American League.  In the National League, where pitchers hit and small ball is more widely used, having top of the lineup speed and ability like Altuve is crucial to fielding a winning team offensively.  In the AL where power prevails over everything else offensively, the Astros are an ill fit, as they really have no middle of the order masher to consistently bring in runs. LF Chris Carter leads the team in homers with 9, but he also leads the team with a whopping 58 strikeouts.  He’s easily on pace to obliterate the previous record of 223 by Mark Reynolds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0_b9aW6hx4

The Astros are collectively bad at all three phases of the game.  They are undisciplined and underachieving at the plate, posting a .245/.301/.393 line. They don’t hit for average, they don’t get on base, and they don’t hit for power.  Combine that with amassing 400 strikeouts (by far the highest in all of baseball, they average 10 strikeouts a game) and you have the makings for a terrible offense.  Their pitching isn’t any better. Houston’s pitching staff has a combined 5.81 ERA, which is a full run worse than any other team in MLB (Second-worst Toronto has a 4.79 ERA). They also rank dead last in hits allowed, earned runs allowed, home runs given up, walks allowed, and batting average against.

(Ed: The Astros are selling very good seats, down the third base line and behind home plate for the Kansas City series for about $65.  Which, even for a AAA team is fair.  But their seats in the nosebleeds are going for about $26.  Which is about what the same seats go for in Yankee Stadium.  We have a word for that in Brooklyn, “Disgraziata”)

Houston, we have a problem…historically bad baseball on the horizon.
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