Astros Old and New Aiming to Win Now

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The story is as old as baseball itself.

When managerial jobs come open, more often than not there are strings attached. Some would call them nooses.

First-place teams seldom need new managers. Also-rans frequently do.

Jobs are generally vacated by the firing of the previous guy or by his resignation when things haven't gone well. And if things don't go well for the new hire, well, as they say, managers are hired to be fired.

That's what makes Brad Mills' spot as the first-year manager of the Houston Astros special. Sure, he's picking up a team that finished 17 games out of the running in the National League Central last season. But it's a team with talent that should not be overlooked.

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With a starting rotation anchored by Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, an offense built around Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence and Lance Berkman and an already well above-average defense upgraded with the addition of Pedro Feliz at third base, the Astros are anything but a bunch of second-division stiffs.

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Since last year, the team has cut payroll and raised expectations, not an easy trick in 21st-century baseball.

"We have a lot of reasons to feel good here," said Mills, who spent the last six seasons serving as bench coach under Terry Francona with the Red Sox. "I don't see this as the usual rebuilding situation. It's been fun to come here and see what we have going for us."

General manager Ed Wade's payroll has gone from $105 million last year to $93 million this time around. Most of the money goes to Oswalt ($15 million), Lee ($18.5 million) and Berkman ($14.5 million). By mathematical necessity and baseball practicality, the team has gotten younger.

"Last year we had the oldest Opening Day roster in baseball," Wade said. "We had to get younger. It's not always easy, but we're going to be counting more on younger guys this year."

While that's absolutely true, Wade and Co. are trying to strike the right balance between old and young. All of which has put Berkman, the switch-hitting first baseman, into the spotlight heading into 2010.

Berkman was part of the Astros' Killer B's along with Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell. Both of the others retired having worn only a Houston uniform in the big leagues. Berkman, 34 and with 11 years in an Astros uniform, would like to be able to make the same claim when he hangs them up, but he's in the final year of his contract. There is an option for $15 million for 2010, but it's not at all clear that the Astros will be able to see their way clear to picking it up.

Berkman certainly doesn't know which way things will go. He's a Texan who's lived in Houston since playing for Rice University, so staying put is his preference.

"They have an option on me for the next year," Berkman said about the stress of playing for a chance to stay at home. "It may come down to a situation where if things don't go well this year and they don't pick up my option, I probably won't be back."

Wade doesn't see it in nearly as dire terms.

"There's no reason [Berkman] can't be 100 percent certain of returning," Wade told FanHouse. "Lance is a good player with a good history here. He's a switch-hitting first baseman with power. We'll address our options and so will he, but everybody here would like to have him back past this year and for the rest of his career."

Oswalt is signed through 2011 with an option for 2012, and Lee's contract runs through 2012 (no option).

The restructuring of the roster will take place around those three. The Astros lost closer Jose Valverde from last year, and the club's success (or lack of some) in finding someone to close out games will spell out just how competitive the team can be in the National League Central.

Brandon Lyon will get the first chance to be the closer, but the club has Matt Lindstrom in reserve, and both Mills and Wade have said they could see a situation where Lyon and Lindstrom could share the closing duties.

For the moment, Lyon, who had six wins, three saves and a 2.86 ERA in short relief with the Tigers a year ago, is taking it slowly after having a cyst in his right shoulder drained in January. The Astros say they have every reason to believe Lyon will be good to go come April, but Lindstrom is not without questions of his own.

He had two very good years in the Marlins' bullpen in 2007 and 2008 with ERAs of 3.09 and 3.14, but things went a little haywire last year, his ERA spiking to 5.89 although he racked up 15 saves. He sees last season's ERA as an anomaly. And he sees 2010 as an opportunity for himself, for Lyon and, if things break right, for both of them.

"It's all about getting together and trying to form a bullpen combo at the end," Lindstrom said. "I'd like to be the guy to pitch the ninth, but if it's Brandon, I'll be hoping he can get the job done."



Offensively, the Astros have a pretty good idea of the kind of production they'll get from Lee, Berkman, Pence, and to a lesser degree, Feliz, who had 12 homers and 82 RBI for the Phillies last year and who could find the coziness of Minute Maid Park much to his liking. What Wade, Mills and Co. don't know is how the rest of the lineup will respond.

Center fielder Michael Bourn came of age in 2009 with a .295 average, and if he and second baseman Kaz Matsui can set the table, the middle of the lineup will be the beneficiary.

One player who will get particular scrutiny will be rookie shortstop Tommy Manzella. He got just five at-bats last year in Houston but hit .289 at Triple-A Round Rock. Scouts love his defensive upside, but it's not clear if he has the bat to hit in the big leagues.

"This is a land of great opportunity for young players now, where it wasn't last year," Wade said.

He was talking about Manzella, but the same might also be true for catcher Jason Castro, a former first-round draft pick. Castro, taken with the 10th overall pick in 2008, is being given a chance to battle J.R. Towles, another up-and-comer from the minor-league system, for the right to start behind the plate.

The rotation was buttressed by the addition of Brett Myers, who was 4-3 with the Phillies, mostly as a starter, but who will be given a chance to start regularly. He had 25 wins with sub 4.00 ERA in 2005-06, but his ERA has been north of 4.00 each of the last three seasons and his win totals have suffered.

"With the pitching staff we have here and the club we put on the field, it's a good mix," Mills said. "I didn't come here to put my imprint on this team. What I came here to do was to hopefully create circumstances where the players can play to their peak abilities.

"We have a ways to go yet, but we're in a situation where we can do some things that will make our fans smile."

The downside of that philosophy is that if that if expectations aren't met or exceeded, it may be time to start breaking up the veteran nucleus of the team.

And that would have the very real possibility to end Berkman's dream bid to spend his entire career in Houston.