Houston We Have A...Franchise? Rebuilding the Houston Astros

[jbdog3]

Game: MLB 13 The Show
Rosters: OSFM Hybrid v2.0 (with one major change-see below)
Sliders: Armor & Swords/Marino's
Team: Astros, w/ 30 team control to veto bad CPU trades

Since being swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series, the Houston Astros have fallen on hard times. Franchise legends, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell retired. Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt were dealt with little in return. Wandy Rodriguez, the last member of the 2005 World Series team, was traded at the deadline in 2012. The Astros have seen their record steadily decline the past 7 seasons, and hit rock bottom in 2012 with a franchise worst 107 losses.

Ignoring the farm system and signing aging free agents, the Astros became the laughing stock of baseball. With no home grown talent in sight, and roster full of castoffs, the Astros were in need of major change.

Enter Jim Crane. Crane bought the Astros on November 17, 2011 and agreed to move the team to the American League after 50+ years as a National League franchise. Crane's first move may turn out to be his best. He hired Jeff Luhnow as general manager in December 2011 to help over haul the Astros organization. Luhnow came over from the St. Louis Cardinals where he helped development one of the strongest minor league systems in the game today.

In one calendar year as general manager, Luhnow stock piled enough young talent to give the Astros a top 10 farm system. With the number 1 pick in last years amateur draft, Luhnow selected Houston high school legend, shortstop, Justin Branham (this was my major roster change). The consensus number 1 pick, Branham has been compared to a young Alex Rodriguez. Luhnow has an eye for talent, and with the right moves in 2013, he could have the Astros back in contention before many experts had previously predicted.

2013 Opening Day Roster
#	PITCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
62	Hector Ambriz	RP	L/R	29	6-2	235
45	Erik Bedard	SP	L/L	34	6-1	200
54	Travis Blackley	RP	L/L	30	6-3	205
68	Jose Cisnero	RP	R/R	24	6-3	228
56	Paul Clemens	RP	R/R	25	6-4	197
55	Rhiner Cruz	RP	R/R	26	6-2	215
50	Josh Fields	RP	R/R	27	6-0	180
64	Lucas Harrell	SP	S/R	28	6-2	210
60	Dallas Keuchel	SP	L/L	25	6-3	202
18	Jordan Lyles	SP	R/R	22	6-4	215
20	Bud Norris	SP	R/R	28	6-0	222
41	Jose Veras	CP	R/R	32	6-6	242
53	Wesley Wright	RP	R/L	28	5-11	183
#	CATCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
15	Jason Castro	C	L/R	26	6-3	216
22	Carlos Corporan	C	S/R	29	6-2	228
#	INFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
27	Jose Altuve	2B	R/R	23	5-5	173
13	Ronny Cedeno	SS	R/R	30	6-0	190
30	Matt Dominguez	3B	R/R	23	6-1	217
9	Marwin Gonzalez	SS	S/R	24	6-1	211
12	Carlos Pena	1B	L/L	35	6-2	225
#	OUTFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
2	Brandon Barnes	CF	R/R	27	6-2	203
14	J.D. Martinez	LF	R/R	25	6-3	219
44	Justin Maxwell	CF	R/R	29	6-5	222
38	Jimmy Paredes	RF	S/R	24	6-3	198
#	DESIGNATED HITTER	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
23	Chris Carter	DH	R/R	26	6-4	244

Top 10 Prospects

1) Jonathan Singleton, 1B, ETA: 2013
2) Justin Branham, SS, 3B, ETA: 2015
3) George Springer, OF, ETA: 2013
4) Jarred Cosart, SP, CP, ETA: 2013
5) Delino DeShields, 2B, OF, ETA: 2014
6) Lance McCullers, SP, CP, ETA: 2015
7) Mike Foltynewicz, SP, ETA: 2014
8) Rio Ruiz, 3B, ETA: 2015
9) Nick Tropeano, SP, ETA: 2014
10) Brad Peacock, SP, ETA: 2013

I plan to play all 162 games. I had to replace Carlos Correa with myself to make things interesting. The Stros are my favorite team, but let's be honest, they are pretty hard to play with. I will probably move any and all veterans and get a bunch of my young talent to the majors around the All-Star game. I will veto any lopsided trades the CPU tries to make, but other than that I am going to allow the CPU to make whatever moves it sees fit. I will not initiate any trades. I put all the players I could on the trade block and will wait for CPU to offer me a trade; then I will negotiate.

My goals are to stay around .500 and develop young talent. I probably won't be buying a PS4 right away so hopefully I can get through a few seasons on 13 to actually see myself and other youngsters develop.

Recap of Game 1 vs. Rangers up next...

[jbdog3]

Game 1 - Rangers vs. Astros

The 2013 season opened up with a lone star state showdown. Once inter-league foes, now division rivals, the Houston Astros welcomed the Texas Rangers to Minute Maid Park.

Pitching Match-up:

Yu Darvish vs. Jordan Lyles

Both starters breezed through the 1st inning, but Ian Kinsler was able to connect with a 2 out, 2-run HR in the top of the 2nd to give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead.

The Astros would score their 1st run of 2013 in the bottom of the 4th on a SF by Carlos Pena, scoring Chris Carter, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the top of the 6th, David Murphy doubled home A.J. Pierzynski pushing the Rangers lead to 3-1.

Yu Darvish struggled with command all night, walking 4 Astros and contributing to 2 PB. In the bottom of the 7th, the Astros were able to load the bases thanks to a single by Jose Altuve and 2 BBs issued by Darvish. Altuve later scored on a PB, trimming the lead to 3-2.

Lyles was pulled in the top of 8th after a strong performance. Travis Blackley relieved Lyles to face the 4 lefties due up (Moreland, Pierzynski, Murphy, Martin). Blackley retired Moreland and Pierzynski to end the top of the 8th.

Pena blasted his 1st HR of the season off Neftali Feliz in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game at 3-3.

Blackley stayed in the game in the top of the 9th to face Murphy, who promptly doubled to left center. New Astros skipper Bo Porter showed confidence in Blackley, leaving him in to face Martin. The confidence was short lived however, as Martin singled to right field scoring Murphy and giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

Joe Nathan came on in the bottom of the 9th to nail down his first save of the season.

After the game, Bo Porter was asked why he left Blackley in after Murphy doubled to lead off the 9th.

Bo Porter: "With another lefty coming up (Martin), I wanted to give Travis another opportunity. Unfortunately, Martin was able to sneak one by Carlos."

Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
Mar 31, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas (1-0)	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	4	11	0
Houston (0-1)	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	3	9	0
W: J. Frasor (W, 1-0) L: T. Blackley (L, 0-1) S: J. Nathan (S, 1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			TEX	HOU

Texas Rangers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Kinsler, 2B	5	1	1	2	0	3	1	.200
Andrus, SS	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	.200
Berkman, DH	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250
Beltre, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250
Cruz, RF	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000
Moreland, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Pierzynski, C	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.500
Murphy, LF	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.500
Martin, CF	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.750
TEAM TOTALS	37	4	11	4	1	7	1
BATTING: 2B: D. Murphy 2 (2) HR: I. Kinsler (1) RBI: I. Kinsler 2 (2), D. Murphy (1), L. Martin (1) GIDP: E. Andrus
BASERUNNING: SB: E. Andrus (1)
FIELDING: PB: A. Pierzynski 2 (2)

Houston Astros
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Altuve, 2B	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.500
Maxwell, CF	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Castro, C	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250
Carter, DH	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	.500
Pena, 1B	3	1	1	2	0	1	1	.333
Dominguez, 3B	2	0	1	0	2	0	0	.500
Martinez, LF	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.333
Paredes, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Cedeno, SS	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333
TEAM TOTALS	32	3	9	2	4	5	1
BATTING: 2B: C. Carter (1) HR: C. Pena (1) RBI: C. Pena 2 (2) HBP: R. Cedeno SF: C. Pena GIDP: J. Paredes
BASERUNNING: SB: J. Altuve (1)

Texas Rangers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Y. Darvish	6.0	5	1	1	4	5	0	1.50
J. Soria (H, 1)	0.2	3	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
N. Feliz (BS, 1)	0.1	1	1	1	0	0	1	27.00
J. Frasor (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
J. Nathan (S, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	9	3	2	4	5	1

Houston Astros
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
J. Lyles	7.1	9	3	3	1	5	1	3.68
T. Blackley (L, 0-1)	0.2	2	1	1	0	1	0	13.50
J. Veras	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	11	4	4	1	7	1

[WaitTilNextYear]

Well, I'm always up for following another Astros chise. It'll be interesting to see what you do with basically stock rosters. No one's been able to stick with a dynasty of that nature yet, though some have tried. Not to sound foreboding or anything. Good luck!

[jbdog3]

Quote: Originally Posted by WaitTilNextYear

Well, I'm always up for following another Astros chise. It'll be interesting to see what you do with basically stock rosters. No one's been able to stick with a dynasty of that nature yet, though some have tried. Not to sound foreboding or anything. Good luck!

I'll be making some moves eventually. Just wanted to get a few games under my belt with original rosters. Astros may have the worst OF I've ever seen. I will definitely be looking to upgrade there and bring up Springer at some point. Although he is pretty awful on the roster set I'm using.

[jbdog3]

Game 2 - Rangers vs. Astros

Pitching Match-up:

Matt Harrison vs. Bud Norris

With his first start of the 2013 season, Bud Norris put on a pitching clinic, allowing 1 ER in 8.0 IP, needing only 93 pitches. Norris struck out 7 Rangers and allowed only 1 BB. Norris wanted to take the mound in the 9th to finish what he started, but Bo Porter decided it was too early in the season to be extending his SP. Jeff Lunhow would love for Norris to keep this up throughout the season; he will be an asset as the trade deadline approaches.

J.D. Martinez led the way for Houston's offense, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Martinez doubled to lead off the bottom of the 4th, later scoring the first run of the game on a Jimmy Paredes ground out. Later, in the bottom of the 6th, Martinez doubled home 2 runs and scored on a Ronny Cedeno infield single, giving the Astros a 4-0 edge.

The Rangers bats were silent most of the night, but were able to scratch across a run in the top of the 7th, to cut the Astros lead to 4-1.

The Astros added an insurance run in the bottom of the 7th on a bloop single by Carlos Pena, scoring Jason Castro who lead off the inning with a BB.

Josh Fields relieved Norris in the 9th, and retired the Rangers in order, giving the Astros their first win of the season, 5-1.

Norris was asked after the game if he could have gone out for the 9th to get the CG.

Bud Norris: "I told skip I was good to go. He didn't want to push me since I hadn't thrown more than 85 pitches in a game in ST. I feel great though; I'll get my CG later in the season."

Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
Apr 2, 2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Texas (1-1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	4	1
Houston (1-1)	0	0	0	1	0	3	1	0	X	5	7	0
W: B. Norris (W, 1-0) L: M. Harrison (L, 0-1)

Texas Rangers
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Kinsler, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.111
Andrus, SS	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	.222
Berkman, DH	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	.143
Beltre, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.250
Cruz, RF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
Moreland, 1B	3	0	1	1	0	1	0	.143
Pierzynski, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.286
Murphy, LF	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.429
Martin, CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.429
TEAM TOTALS	30	1	4	1	1	8	0
BATTING: 2B: E. Andrus (1) RBI: M. Moreland (1)
FIELDING: E: A. Pierzynski (1)

Houston Astros
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Altuve, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.375
Maxwell, CF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.111
Castro, C	3	1	0	0	1	2	0	.143
Carter, DH	3	1	0	0	1	1	0	.286
Pena, 1B	3	1	1	1	1	0	0	.333
Martinez, LF	4	2	3	2	0	0	0	.571
Dominguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.167
Paredes, RF	3	0	0	1	1	1	0	.000
Cedeno, SS	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.286
TEAM TOTALS	32	5	7	5	4	7	0
BATTING: 2B: J. Martinez 2 (2) RBI: C. Pena (3), J. Paredes (1), J. Martinez 2 (2), R. Cedeno (1)

Texas Rangers
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
M. Harrison (L, 0-1)	5.0	4	3	3	4	2	0	5.40
T. Scheppers	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	9.00
J. Soria	1.0	1	1	0	0	3	0	0.00
J. Frasor	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	8.0	7	5	4	4	7	0
PITCHING: WP: J. Soria 2 (2)

Houston Astros
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
B. Norris (W, 1-0)	8.0	4	1	1	1	7	0	1.13
J. Fields	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	4	1	1	1	8	0