No future Astros with birthdays today, but several former Astros celebrate ~
OF Orlando Palmiero (46)
Originally drafted by the Angels in the 33rd round in 1991, Palmiero came to Houston as a free agent in January 2004. In 420 games played for the Astros from 2004 to 2007, he hit .258/.332/.356. He won a World Series with the Angels in 2002.
LHP Ramon de los Santos (66)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1972, de los Santos pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.622 WHIP.
RHP Jeff Juden (44)
A first round pick by the Astros in 1989, Juden pitched in only six games (three starts) for Houston in 1991 and 1993 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP before being traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams in December 1993.
3B/1B Phil Nevin (44)
The first overall pick of the draft in 1992, Nevin only played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995 before he was traded to the Tigers in August 1995. Nevin went on to play 12 major league seasons for seven different teams, hitting a cumulative .270/.343/.472 and was an All-Star for the Padres in 2001, a year in which he hit 41 home runs. He managed the Diamondbacks AAA affiliate in 2014.
RHP Anthony Young (49)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 38th round in 1987, this Houston native signed with the Astros as a free agent in January 1996. In 28 games for Houston that season, he had a 4.59 ERA and a 1.740 WHIP.
Manager Brad Mills (58)
Mills managed the Astros from 2010 until his firing in August 2012 with a record of 171-274. Mills was dealt a bad hand with the teams he was given, but he is now a part of the Astros history for better or worse. He was most recently the bench coach for the Cleveland Indians.
A LOOK AT THE ASTROS MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
Showing posts with label Brad Mills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brad Mills. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2015
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Happy Birthday - 1/19
Happy Birthday to ~
1B/DH Japhet Amador (27)
Amador toiled in the Mexican League from 2007 until he was signed in August of 2013 by the Astros. In 104 games for the Diablos Rojos in 2013, he hit .368/.419/.693 with 22 doubles and 36 home runs. In 10 games with Oklahoma City after the signing, Amador hit .302/.302/.302.
Several former Astros are celebrating birthdays today ~
OF Orlando Palmiero (45)
Originally drafted by the Angels in the 33rd round in 1991, Palmiero came to Houston as a free agent in January 2004. In 420 games played for the Astros from 2004 to 2007, he hit .258/.332/.356. He won a World Series with the Angels in 2002.
LHP Ramon de los Santos (65)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1972, de los Santos pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.622 WHIP.
RHP Jeff Juden (43)
A first round pick by the Astros in 1989, Juden pitched in only six games (three starts) for Houston in 1991 and 1993 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP before being traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams in December 1993.
3B/1B Phil Nevin (43)
The first overall pick of the draft in 1992, Nevin only played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995 before he was traded to the Tigers in August 1995. Nevin went on to play 12 major league seasons for seven different teams, hitting a cumulative .270/.343/.472 and was an All-Star for the Padres in 2001, a year in which he hit 41 home runs. He is slated to manage the Reno Aces in the Pacific Coast League for the Diamondbacks organization in 2014.
RHP Anthony Young (48)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 38th round in 1987, this Houston native signed with the Astros as a free agent in January 1996. In 28 games for Houston that season, he had a 4.59 ERA and a 1.740 WHIP.
Manager Brad Mills (57)
Mills managed the Astros from 2010 until his firing in August 2012 with a record of 171-274. Mills was dealt a bad hand with the teams he was given, but he is now a part of the Astros history for better or worse. He was recently moved from third base coach to bench coach for the Cleveland Indians.
1B/DH Japhet Amador (27)
Amador toiled in the Mexican League from 2007 until he was signed in August of 2013 by the Astros. In 104 games for the Diablos Rojos in 2013, he hit .368/.419/.693 with 22 doubles and 36 home runs. In 10 games with Oklahoma City after the signing, Amador hit .302/.302/.302.
Several former Astros are celebrating birthdays today ~
OF Orlando Palmiero (45)
Originally drafted by the Angels in the 33rd round in 1991, Palmiero came to Houston as a free agent in January 2004. In 420 games played for the Astros from 2004 to 2007, he hit .258/.332/.356. He won a World Series with the Angels in 2002.
LHP Ramon de los Santos (65)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1972, de los Santos pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.622 WHIP.
RHP Jeff Juden (43)
A first round pick by the Astros in 1989, Juden pitched in only six games (three starts) for Houston in 1991 and 1993 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP before being traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams in December 1993.
3B/1B Phil Nevin (43)
The first overall pick of the draft in 1992, Nevin only played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995 before he was traded to the Tigers in August 1995. Nevin went on to play 12 major league seasons for seven different teams, hitting a cumulative .270/.343/.472 and was an All-Star for the Padres in 2001, a year in which he hit 41 home runs. He is slated to manage the Reno Aces in the Pacific Coast League for the Diamondbacks organization in 2014.
RHP Anthony Young (48)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 38th round in 1987, this Houston native signed with the Astros as a free agent in January 1996. In 28 games for Houston that season, he had a 4.59 ERA and a 1.740 WHIP.
Manager Brad Mills (57)
Mills managed the Astros from 2010 until his firing in August 2012 with a record of 171-274. Mills was dealt a bad hand with the teams he was given, but he is now a part of the Astros history for better or worse. He was recently moved from third base coach to bench coach for the Cleveland Indians.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Happy Birthday - 1/19
No future Astros, only former Astros with birthdays today ~
OF Orlando Palmiero (44)
Originally drafted by the Angels in the 33rd round in 1991, Palmiero came to Houston as a free agent in January 2004. In 420 games played for the Astros from 2004 to 2007, he hit .258/.332/.356. He won a World Series with the Angels in 2002.
LHP Ramon de los Santos (64)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1972, de los Santos pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.622 WHIP.
RHP Jeff Juden (42)
A first round pick by the Astros in 1989, Juden pitched in only six games (three starts) for Houston in 1991 and 1993 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP before being traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams in December 1993.
3B/1B Phil Nevin (42)
The first overall pick of the draft in 1992, Nevin only played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995 before he was traded to the Tigers in August 1995. Nevin went on to play 12 major league seasons for seven different teams, hitting a cumulative .270/.343/.472 and was an All-Star for the Padres in 2001, a year in which he hit 41 home runs. Most recently, he has managed the Toledo Mud Hens in the Tigers organization.
RHP Anthony Young (47)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 38th round in 1987, this Houston native signed with the Astros as a free agent in January 1996. In 28 games for Houston that season, he had a 4.59 ERA and a 1.740 WHIP.
Manager Brad Mills (56)
Mills managed the Astros from 2010 until his firing in August 2012 with a record of 171-274. Mills was dealt a bad hand with the teams he was given, but he is now a part of the Astros history for better or worse.
OF Orlando Palmiero (44)
Originally drafted by the Angels in the 33rd round in 1991, Palmiero came to Houston as a free agent in January 2004. In 420 games played for the Astros from 2004 to 2007, he hit .258/.332/.356. He won a World Series with the Angels in 2002.
LHP Ramon de los Santos (64)
Signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1972, de los Santos pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.622 WHIP.
RHP Jeff Juden (42)
A first round pick by the Astros in 1989, Juden pitched in only six games (three starts) for Houston in 1991 and 1993 with a 5.87 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP before being traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams in December 1993.
3B/1B Phil Nevin (42)
The first overall pick of the draft in 1992, Nevin only played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995 before he was traded to the Tigers in August 1995. Nevin went on to play 12 major league seasons for seven different teams, hitting a cumulative .270/.343/.472 and was an All-Star for the Padres in 2001, a year in which he hit 41 home runs. Most recently, he has managed the Toledo Mud Hens in the Tigers organization.
RHP Anthony Young (47)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the 38th round in 1987, this Houston native signed with the Astros as a free agent in January 1996. In 28 games for Houston that season, he had a 4.59 ERA and a 1.740 WHIP.
Manager Brad Mills (56)
Mills managed the Astros from 2010 until his firing in August 2012 with a record of 171-274. Mills was dealt a bad hand with the teams he was given, but he is now a part of the Astros history for better or worse.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Thanks, Millsy
On October
27th, 2009 Brad Mills was named the manager of the Astros by, then
owner, Drayton McLane. Mills was here
for 445 regular season games since that day (minus a few suspensions) and the
Astros changed a lot during his term as Skip’, to say the least. The period saw the departure of hometown
players like Michael Bourn & Lance Berkman and the addition of new faces
like Jose Altuve & Jed Lowrie. It
also saw the ownership change, announcement of the league switch for the 2013
season—a trying time for any organization— and the Astros' 50th anniversary. Through
it all, Mills was here, with his trademark positive attitude. Even the 2012 Baseball Prospectus commented
on Mills’ demeanor, saying he has, “…the ability to see the glass as half full
when it’s ¾ empty,” followed by he is, “[a]lways expecting the best….”
I don’t
think anyone was surprised by the announcement late last night that Mills’ time
as manager of the Houston Astros was up, but just the same it’s always a little
hard to say goodbye. Mills led the team
through an extremely rough stretch in their 50-year-long history and by all
accounts he did it with pride and all of his ability. Of course he could have had more wins, maybe
even should have played some position players over others, but these are things
that can be said about any manager.
The point
is, Mills is now part of the Houston Astros’s past and deserves a farewell that
thanks him for his service. His tenure
may not ever be considered as one of the brightest stretches along the team's
timeline, but sometimes all that matters is that a guy was with you when
things were tough. Mills was one of those
guys for Houston. So goodbye, Brad Mills
and thanks for the memories.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Q&A with Mills, Norris and Martinez
The Astros organization was kind enough to allow six of us blogger types access to sit down and ask a few questions of Brad Mills, Bud Norris and J.D. Martinez. It went very well and we have every reason to believe that we will be invited back from time to time.
BRAD MILLS
I asked Mills about how closely the organization watches those players who participate in winter ball. As examples, I used Sergio Perez who pitched 65 innings in winter ball after a full regular season at OKC and Aneury Rodriguez who probably pitched about 50 innings between the regular season, playoffs and the Caribbean Series this winter. He responded, "We keep a pretty good eye on especially the guys that are closer to the major leagues like Aneury. We didn't have any problem with him throwing down there." Since Aneury was healthy going into the off-season, he went on to say, "We wanted him to go down there and continue to throw and work on some things." They didn't watch Sergio Perez as much because he's not as close to the majors.
Mills also talked about Jose Altuve's workload over the winter as Altuve approached 900 plate appearances. He seemed a little annoyed that Altuve worked so hard over the winter, and with a hint of exasperation, he said that Altuve would be getting to Kissimmee early (he was scheduled to arrive on the 13th). I have a feeling that Brad Mills will be instructing the staff at Kissimmee to sit on Altuve until he gets there.
I also asked Mills about Brian Bogusevic. Since he clearly did well hitting against lefties in winter ball (hitting .271), I wanted to know if Mills would play him against left-handed pitchers if he wins a roster spot. In response, he said, "My thinking on that is definitely give him the opportunity to start out ... It would be my wish that I'd put him in the line-up and he'd hit .480 against both righties and lefties." He went on to offer the usual caveat that if a right-hander needs some AB's and the situation is right, he would sit Bogey from time to time, but overall I was encouraged by his assurances.
BUD NORRIS
I asked Bud about any coaches or managers in the minor leagues who he found to be particularly helpful in his development. "Everybody gives you a little tidbit here and there. You take a little bit from each and every one." At Tri-City Don Alexander helped him with his mechanics (Alexander will be the pitching coach at Lancaster this year). He credits Stan Boroski at AA for helping him with his slider. "The slider I still throw today as one of my bread and butters has been the slider I got in AA." And, of course, Bud enjoyed the chance to sit and talk with Burt Hooten (AAA pitching coach) about old school baseball. "With Burt, you had a real opportunity to understand what the old game was and how it was played."
Bud also had encouraging words about RHP Jarred Cosart with whom he's worked out this winter, "I think he has a good head on his shoulders. He has a huge bright side." On Cosart's disappointment on not getting an invite to the big league camp, Bud said, "It's good to see that people want it. It's good to see that they have that burning desire."
J.D. MARTINEZ
I asked J.D. the same question about coaches or managers that had helped him along the way. "I was fortunate. Every major league coach and manager I had was ... really good. It speaks volumes for the organization. He singled out Stubby Clapp (currently Tri-City manager), Rodney Linares (who will manage at Lancaster in 2012), Tom Lawless (now a roving infield instructor) and "Johnny Mo" (John Moses, formerly the hitting coach at Corpus, who is no longer in the organization). "Each one of them I picked something that they helped me with along the way ... Everyone has thrown me one or two things that I still use today. Give equal credit to all those guys."
J.D. showed phenomenal honesty and candor in all of his answers to us. He spoke of early doubts and how he got past those, struggling to keep weight on through the season, how he handles left field at MMP (giving full credit to Dave Clark for repetition after repetition of practice), and his unorthodox batting stance which he was tempted to change because "I feel like I look goofy when I hit." As one of the other bloggers pointed out, there was another Astro with a goofy batting stance a while back; that batting stance got him a statue outside Minute Maid Park.
Next Up ~ Some Final Thoughts on Fan Fest
BRAD MILLS
I asked Mills about how closely the organization watches those players who participate in winter ball. As examples, I used Sergio Perez who pitched 65 innings in winter ball after a full regular season at OKC and Aneury Rodriguez who probably pitched about 50 innings between the regular season, playoffs and the Caribbean Series this winter. He responded, "We keep a pretty good eye on especially the guys that are closer to the major leagues like Aneury. We didn't have any problem with him throwing down there." Since Aneury was healthy going into the off-season, he went on to say, "We wanted him to go down there and continue to throw and work on some things." They didn't watch Sergio Perez as much because he's not as close to the majors.
Mills also talked about Jose Altuve's workload over the winter as Altuve approached 900 plate appearances. He seemed a little annoyed that Altuve worked so hard over the winter, and with a hint of exasperation, he said that Altuve would be getting to Kissimmee early (he was scheduled to arrive on the 13th). I have a feeling that Brad Mills will be instructing the staff at Kissimmee to sit on Altuve until he gets there.
I also asked Mills about Brian Bogusevic. Since he clearly did well hitting against lefties in winter ball (hitting .271), I wanted to know if Mills would play him against left-handed pitchers if he wins a roster spot. In response, he said, "My thinking on that is definitely give him the opportunity to start out ... It would be my wish that I'd put him in the line-up and he'd hit .480 against both righties and lefties." He went on to offer the usual caveat that if a right-hander needs some AB's and the situation is right, he would sit Bogey from time to time, but overall I was encouraged by his assurances.
BUD NORRIS
I asked Bud about any coaches or managers in the minor leagues who he found to be particularly helpful in his development. "Everybody gives you a little tidbit here and there. You take a little bit from each and every one." At Tri-City Don Alexander helped him with his mechanics (Alexander will be the pitching coach at Lancaster this year). He credits Stan Boroski at AA for helping him with his slider. "The slider I still throw today as one of my bread and butters has been the slider I got in AA." And, of course, Bud enjoyed the chance to sit and talk with Burt Hooten (AAA pitching coach) about old school baseball. "With Burt, you had a real opportunity to understand what the old game was and how it was played."
Bud also had encouraging words about RHP Jarred Cosart with whom he's worked out this winter, "I think he has a good head on his shoulders. He has a huge bright side." On Cosart's disappointment on not getting an invite to the big league camp, Bud said, "It's good to see that people want it. It's good to see that they have that burning desire."
J.D. MARTINEZ
I asked J.D. the same question about coaches or managers that had helped him along the way. "I was fortunate. Every major league coach and manager I had was ... really good. It speaks volumes for the organization. He singled out Stubby Clapp (currently Tri-City manager), Rodney Linares (who will manage at Lancaster in 2012), Tom Lawless (now a roving infield instructor) and "Johnny Mo" (John Moses, formerly the hitting coach at Corpus, who is no longer in the organization). "Each one of them I picked something that they helped me with along the way ... Everyone has thrown me one or two things that I still use today. Give equal credit to all those guys."
J.D. showed phenomenal honesty and candor in all of his answers to us. He spoke of early doubts and how he got past those, struggling to keep weight on through the season, how he handles left field at MMP (giving full credit to Dave Clark for repetition after repetition of practice), and his unorthodox batting stance which he was tempted to change because "I feel like I look goofy when I hit." As one of the other bloggers pointed out, there was another Astro with a goofy batting stance a while back; that batting stance got him a statue outside Minute Maid Park.
Next Up ~ Some Final Thoughts on Fan Fest
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Happy Birthday - 1/19
Manager Brad Mills (55)
Managed from 2010 to current with a 132-192 record
Former Astros with birthdays today
OF Orlando Palmiero (43)
Played in 420 games for Houston from 2004 to 2007
LHP Ramon de los Santos (63)
Pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA
RHP Jeff Juden (41)
Pitched in 6 games for Houston in 1991 and 1993
Traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams
3B Phil Nevin (41)
Played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995
RHP Anthony Young (46)
Pitched in 28 games for Houston in 1996
Managed from 2010 to current with a 132-192 record
Former Astros with birthdays today
OF Orlando Palmiero (43)
Played in 420 games for Houston from 2004 to 2007
LHP Ramon de los Santos (63)
Pitched in 12 games in 1974 for Houston with a 2.19 ERA
RHP Jeff Juden (41)
Pitched in 6 games for Houston in 1991 and 1993
Traded to the Phillies, along with Doug Jones, for Mitch Williams
3B Phil Nevin (41)
Played in 18 games for the Astros in 1995
RHP Anthony Young (46)
Pitched in 28 games for Houston in 1996
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
I'm sure you've seen a variation of a quote often attributed to Mark Twain, but which actually came from Benjamin Disraeli, that notes that there are three kinds of falsehoods - "lies, damned lies and statistics." For example, you may see a poll that says only 20% approve of a proposed law that punishes anyone who makes coats out of dalmations, only to find out that out of ten people polled, eight thought that the law didn't go far enough because the law only proposed a fine and not jail time, one didn't understand the question and one was named C. Deville. Technically, only 20% approve, but it was all in how the question was asked and who was being asked. That is an example of statistics being used to deceive.
When I posted my 100 & 100 article a couple of days ago, I had no intent to deceive the reader. I personally thought that 100 line-ups used over 153 games was a bit much, but I specifically declined to editorialize. Well, I got called out. I was basically told that the information was meaningless, that all clubs use this many line-ups routinely, etc. Once I established that my line-up analysis was only for the 1 through 7 positions and that no line-up had been used more than eight times, I was told that the 2011 Phillies had used a comparable number of line-ups. Well, in all fairness, I decided to dig down and see whether or not the two teams were comparable as it pertains to line-up changes. My findings are that not all line-up changes are created equal, in my opinion.
First of all, you can't compare the line-ups directly because Charlie Manuel often used his catcher Ruiz in the #7 spot to start the season (#6 later in the season), but used his other catchers in the #8 spot. So let's look at the #1 through #6 spots during a relatively stable period for both clubs (beginning of the season through 4/28). During this period, the Phillies used 6 line-ups in the #1 through #6 spots, the most popular being used 15 times. During the same period, the Astros used 10 line-ups for those positions, the most popular being used 6 times.
The second difference is injuries. The Phillies started the season with Utley on the DL and the Astros started the season with Barmes and Keppinger on the DL. During the season, the Astros had two back-up position players and a catcher go on the DL while the Phillies had their starting shortstop, starting third baseman, starting center fielder and two catchers all go on the DL. In the cases of Polanco and Victorino, they were each on the DL twice during the season. As you go through the boxscores, you can see how Charlie Manuel is trying to plug holes for injured starters. Yet, you can still see consistency, in my opinion. For example, during one of Polanco's stints on the DL, Martinez is plugged in at that spot for 18 straight games, and Ibanez starts 9 of 10 in place of the injured Victorino at the same spot.
In the meantime, during one ten-day period I looked at, Mills used 9 different line-ups with the following players used in the following spots in the batting order:
Bourn - 1, 1, x, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1
Bourgeois - x, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, x, x
Pence - 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Lee - 4, 5, 4, x, x, x, 4, 4, 4, 4
Wallace - 5, x, 5, 4, 4, 4, x, 5, 5, 6
Hall - 6, x, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, x, 7, 5
Johnson - 7, 6, x, 5, 5, 5, x, x, 6, 7
Barmes - 2, 8, x, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 2, 8
Sanchez - x, 3, 2, x, x, x, 7, 7, x, x
Downs - x, x, 7, x, x, x, x, x, x, x
Towles - x, 7, x, x, 8, x, 8, x, x, 2
Quintero - 8, x, 8, 8, x 8, x, 8, 8, x
How many had forgotten about the whole Towles in the #2 spot experiment? I had.
To be perfectly fair, let's look at the same 10-day period for Charlie Manuel's club since they were in a transition at that point from a starting 4 of Victorino, Polanco, Rollins, Howard to Rollins, Victorino, Polanco, Howard:
Victorino - 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Polanco - 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Rollins - 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Howard - 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Francisco - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, x, 5, 5, 5, x
Ibanez - 6, x, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5
Orr - 7, x, 7, 7, x, x, 7, 8, x, 7
Valdez - x, 7, x, x, 8, 7, x, x, 7, x
Mayberry - x, 6, x, x, x, 5, x, x, x, x
Gload - x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, 6
Schneider - 8, x, 8, 8, 7, x, 8, 7, x, 8
Sardinha - x, 8, x, x, x, 8, x, x, 8, x
As you can see, Charlie uses his starters in the same general positions for days on end and he only sits them occasionally. In a platoon situation, he keeps that position in the same part of the order as he is doing with Orr/Valdez. Could I have picked a 10-day period that was more volatile? Probably, but the above is very representative of how Manuel handled his club this season between injuries. In my opinion.
The final difference? The Phillies are an established team. Within reason, you should be able to move an established player into a different position. The Astros are in a re-building youth mode. In my opinion, players such as Altuve, Martinez and Paredes need to get consistent playing time in a consistent position in the order so that they can develop. Yet Altuve has been used in the 1, 2, 6 and 7 spots; Martinez in the 3, 4 and 5 spots; and Paredes in the 2, 5, 6 and 7 spots. We will never see what these players can really do unless we give them a legitimate chance. And how will you know if Wallace and Bogusevic will ever hit left-handed pitching if you never give them that chance? Again, this is my opinion only.
I don't have access to Elias Sports Bureau to regurgitate stats for me. So I had to go into over 300 boxscores to glean the information and the trends that I saw. Even with all the differences noted above, it still appears that the Astros used about a dozen more line-ups than the Phillies. If Charlie Manuel used Ruiz and his other catchers consistently in the #8 spot in the order and had healthy starters for most of the season as the Astros did, he probably would have used half as many line-ups as the Astros. Again, this is my opinion based on my findings and the trends I saw. In any event, comparing Charlie Manuel's use of his roster with Brad Mill's use of his roster is like comparing apples and kumquats. In my opinion.
I truly do believe that the instability of the day-to-day line-ups is a detriment to the Astros growth and development. I also do not believe that I have attempted to deceive anyone by using lies, damned lies and statistics. If anyone believes that I did, I apologize. And that is not an opinion. It is a fact.
When I posted my 100 & 100 article a couple of days ago, I had no intent to deceive the reader. I personally thought that 100 line-ups used over 153 games was a bit much, but I specifically declined to editorialize. Well, I got called out. I was basically told that the information was meaningless, that all clubs use this many line-ups routinely, etc. Once I established that my line-up analysis was only for the 1 through 7 positions and that no line-up had been used more than eight times, I was told that the 2011 Phillies had used a comparable number of line-ups. Well, in all fairness, I decided to dig down and see whether or not the two teams were comparable as it pertains to line-up changes. My findings are that not all line-up changes are created equal, in my opinion.
First of all, you can't compare the line-ups directly because Charlie Manuel often used his catcher Ruiz in the #7 spot to start the season (#6 later in the season), but used his other catchers in the #8 spot. So let's look at the #1 through #6 spots during a relatively stable period for both clubs (beginning of the season through 4/28). During this period, the Phillies used 6 line-ups in the #1 through #6 spots, the most popular being used 15 times. During the same period, the Astros used 10 line-ups for those positions, the most popular being used 6 times.
The second difference is injuries. The Phillies started the season with Utley on the DL and the Astros started the season with Barmes and Keppinger on the DL. During the season, the Astros had two back-up position players and a catcher go on the DL while the Phillies had their starting shortstop, starting third baseman, starting center fielder and two catchers all go on the DL. In the cases of Polanco and Victorino, they were each on the DL twice during the season. As you go through the boxscores, you can see how Charlie Manuel is trying to plug holes for injured starters. Yet, you can still see consistency, in my opinion. For example, during one of Polanco's stints on the DL, Martinez is plugged in at that spot for 18 straight games, and Ibanez starts 9 of 10 in place of the injured Victorino at the same spot.
In the meantime, during one ten-day period I looked at, Mills used 9 different line-ups with the following players used in the following spots in the batting order:
Bourn - 1, 1, x, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1
Bourgeois - x, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, x, x
Pence - 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Lee - 4, 5, 4, x, x, x, 4, 4, 4, 4
Wallace - 5, x, 5, 4, 4, 4, x, 5, 5, 6
Hall - 6, x, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5, x, 7, 5
Johnson - 7, 6, x, 5, 5, 5, x, x, 6, 7
Barmes - 2, 8, x, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 2, 8
Sanchez - x, 3, 2, x, x, x, 7, 7, x, x
Downs - x, x, 7, x, x, x, x, x, x, x
Towles - x, 7, x, x, 8, x, 8, x, x, 2
Quintero - 8, x, 8, 8, x 8, x, 8, 8, x
How many had forgotten about the whole Towles in the #2 spot experiment? I had.
To be perfectly fair, let's look at the same 10-day period for Charlie Manuel's club since they were in a transition at that point from a starting 4 of Victorino, Polanco, Rollins, Howard to Rollins, Victorino, Polanco, Howard:
Victorino - 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Polanco - 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Rollins - 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Howard - 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Francisco - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, x, 5, 5, 5, x
Ibanez - 6, x, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5
Orr - 7, x, 7, 7, x, x, 7, 8, x, 7
Valdez - x, 7, x, x, 8, 7, x, x, 7, x
Mayberry - x, 6, x, x, x, 5, x, x, x, x
Gload - x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, 6
Schneider - 8, x, 8, 8, 7, x, 8, 7, x, 8
Sardinha - x, 8, x, x, x, 8, x, x, 8, x
As you can see, Charlie uses his starters in the same general positions for days on end and he only sits them occasionally. In a platoon situation, he keeps that position in the same part of the order as he is doing with Orr/Valdez. Could I have picked a 10-day period that was more volatile? Probably, but the above is very representative of how Manuel handled his club this season between injuries. In my opinion.
The final difference? The Phillies are an established team. Within reason, you should be able to move an established player into a different position. The Astros are in a re-building youth mode. In my opinion, players such as Altuve, Martinez and Paredes need to get consistent playing time in a consistent position in the order so that they can develop. Yet Altuve has been used in the 1, 2, 6 and 7 spots; Martinez in the 3, 4 and 5 spots; and Paredes in the 2, 5, 6 and 7 spots. We will never see what these players can really do unless we give them a legitimate chance. And how will you know if Wallace and Bogusevic will ever hit left-handed pitching if you never give them that chance? Again, this is my opinion only.
I don't have access to Elias Sports Bureau to regurgitate stats for me. So I had to go into over 300 boxscores to glean the information and the trends that I saw. Even with all the differences noted above, it still appears that the Astros used about a dozen more line-ups than the Phillies. If Charlie Manuel used Ruiz and his other catchers consistently in the #8 spot in the order and had healthy starters for most of the season as the Astros did, he probably would have used half as many line-ups as the Astros. Again, this is my opinion based on my findings and the trends I saw. In any event, comparing Charlie Manuel's use of his roster with Brad Mill's use of his roster is like comparing apples and kumquats. In my opinion.
I truly do believe that the instability of the day-to-day line-ups is a detriment to the Astros growth and development. I also do not believe that I have attempted to deceive anyone by using lies, damned lies and statistics. If anyone believes that I did, I apologize. And that is not an opinion. It is a fact.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
100 & 100
I try to keep my focus on the Astros minor league system, but with regular seasons over and fall leagues still a couple of weeks away, my mind has a tendency to wander. I was looking into something totally different and got off on a major tangent only to find this.
Not only do the Astros have 100 losses on the season, but as of last night's game, Brad Mills has now used 100 different line-ups in the 1 to 7 positions*. That's ONE ZERO ZERO. Sure, there have been numerous changes in personnel, injuries, trades, promotions, etc. but let's break it down a little further.
The one line-up that has been used most was used a whopping 8 whole times:
Bourn
Barmes
Pence
Lee
Keppinger
Wallace
Johnson
Catcher
Pitcher
Two other line-ups were used 7 times each:
Bourn
Keppinger
Pence
Lee
Wallace
Johnson
Barmes
Catcher
Pitcher
Schafer
Altuve
Martinez
Lee
Bogusevic
Paredes
Barmes
Catcher
Pitcher
Then it drops off to one used 5 times, three used 4 times, six used 3 times and ten used 2 times. And then, get this, there have been 76 line-ups that have been used one time only.
Mills has used the following number of players in each batting position:
1 - 6
2 - 10
3 - 8
4 - 6
5 - 10
6 - 12
7 - 12
I'm not going to editorialize. I'll leave it to the reader to decide what they think of this.
*Please note that I double-checked my work, but if I am off at all, the error will be negligible.
Not only do the Astros have 100 losses on the season, but as of last night's game, Brad Mills has now used 100 different line-ups in the 1 to 7 positions*. That's ONE ZERO ZERO. Sure, there have been numerous changes in personnel, injuries, trades, promotions, etc. but let's break it down a little further.
The one line-up that has been used most was used a whopping 8 whole times:
Bourn
Barmes
Pence
Lee
Keppinger
Wallace
Johnson
Catcher
Pitcher
Two other line-ups were used 7 times each:
Bourn
Keppinger
Pence
Lee
Wallace
Johnson
Barmes
Catcher
Pitcher
Schafer
Altuve
Martinez
Lee
Bogusevic
Paredes
Barmes
Catcher
Pitcher
Then it drops off to one used 5 times, three used 4 times, six used 3 times and ten used 2 times. And then, get this, there have been 76 line-ups that have been used one time only.
Mills has used the following number of players in each batting position:
1 - 6
2 - 10
3 - 8
4 - 6
5 - 10
6 - 12
7 - 12
I'm not going to editorialize. I'll leave it to the reader to decide what they think of this.
*Please note that I double-checked my work, but if I am off at all, the error will be negligible.
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