With a 76-86 record the Houston Astros finished in fourth place in the National League Central. They did not spend one day in first place, and at their lowest point they were 17.5 games off the divisional lead. They got their manger fired, even though they seemed to get better as the year went on. They wound up with a 45-33 record against their five divisional rivals, but went just 3-12 in inter league play and played pretty poorly against the better team in the NL.
The offense is bad; they managed to score just 611 runs which was the second lowest number of the 16 NL clubs. They hit just 108 home runs the lowest HR figure, and collected just 1,348 hits the third fewest in the National League. Their team batting average was just .247, and Astros batters struck out 1,025 times the least out of all NL teams. Of course they also drew the fewest walks as well with just 415.
The news is a little better for the pitching staff. Their staff ERA was 4.09 tied for 9th among the NL clubs. They struck out 1,210 batters and issued 548 walks. Of course they did give up the fifth amount of hits with 1,487, and only one of their starting five pitchers had a winning record, and most of the bullpen struggled. Of course when the offense doesn’t score a lot of runs, it puts the pitching staff in a very bad spot.
So far in the off season the Astros have been busy looking for new ownership, and there seems to be a lot of suitors, but little has happened on the free agent front. They have signed lefty pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith but he struggled last year with the Seattle mariners. It seems the Astros are in neutral till new ownership comes aboard and creates a new plan.
Related Links:
- Houston Astros news and notes
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com
