Hi. Everybody!
The Pecan Park Eagle just got back late last night from a four-day trip to the 43rd Annual Convention of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) in Philadelphia, but more on that little expedition, starting tomorrow. First we need to catch up on baseball in our backyard. For today, here’s Bill Gilbert of the Rogers Hornsby Chapter of SABR and his July monthly report on the 2013 season of the Houston Astros. …
Astros Hit Bottom in July
By Bill Gilbert
The Astros picked up their first July win on July 3 and closed out the month with an 11-0 win over Baltimore on July 31. However, they only won four games in between resulting in a 6-18 record for the month, the worst in the major leagues. The Astro finished the month with a record of 36-70, five games behind the Miami Marlins in the “race” for the worst record in baseball and the first pick in the 2014 draft.
Despite the overall poor performance, there were some bright spots. Three of the prospects obtained in earlier trades achieved some success in the majors. Pitcher, Jarred Cosart, one of the prospects in the Hunter Pence trade, was promoted in July and made 3 strong starts. (1-0, 0.86 ERA). Pitcher, Brett Oberholtzer, obtained in the Michael Bourn trade, made his first start on July 31 in the 11-0 win over Baltimore. Jonathan Villar, obtained in the Roy Oswalt trade, has become the regular shortstop since his promotion after the All-Star game, and has added some excitement with his defense and speed (5 stolen bases including a steal of home).
The Astros rank near the bottom in most offensive and defensive categories as shown below:
Offense Astros MLB Rank
Runs/Game 3.82 26th
Batting Average .236 29th
Slugging Average .377 29th
Strikeouts 995 30th
Pitching
Runs/Game 5.28 30th
ERA 4.89 30th
Defense
Fielding Pct. .961 26th
Double Plays 122 1st
The numbers above suggest that the pitching has been worse than the hitting but not by much. The Astros are not considered to be a strong defensive team but they rank first in turning double plays. This is at least partially due to so many runners on base.
The Astros picked up several more prospects by trading Bud Norris, Jose Veras and Justin Maxwell prior to the July 31 deadline. While this trade could be helpful in the future, it will likely further weaken the team for this year with the loss of their best starting pitcher, their closer and a productive outfielder.
The Astros minor League teams continue to do well. All four full-season teams are at least 13 games over .500 and the three short-season teams are also over .500.
The Pecan Park Eagle 
August 5, 2013 at 1:45 pm |
What about attendance numbers at the Astros games ?,
has partial local TV coverage added or subtracted fans from the stadium. ?
August 5, 2013 at 1:52 pm |
According to the attendance figuresvpublished by Bseball Reference, the Astros attendance is holding up pretty well–not too far off from last year’s totals.