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| Monday, July 17 | |||||
| Midseason report: Houston Astros ESPN.com | |||||
The Houston Astros (30-57) are the worst team in baseball at the All-Star break. Surprised? If you are, then you're not alone. Houston's complete collapse comes after a 97-win regular season in 1999. Without further delay, here's a look at what has been a disgusting first half for Houston.
First-half MVP: It's not easy picking an MVP from a team that's 30-57 and dead last in its division. First baseman Jeff Bagwell
is the choice here. Experts said Bags would hit 60 home runs in Enron Field this year. Well, he has 23. He's batting .294 with 64 RBI and 19 doubles. Are these Bagwell numbers? Yeah, but in a weird way. We're just used to seeing higher numbers in his team's win column.
Biggest disappointment: Will the real Jose Lima
please stand up? Is it this year's 2-13, pathetic whiner that seems better fit for a wiffle-ball league than the majors? Or is it last year's 21-10 Cy Young candidate that opposing teams feared? We don't know. All we do know is that Lima has struggled in every way this season. Let's go to the numbers. Last year he gave up 30 home runs and walked 44 batters in 246 1/3 innings pitched. This year Lima has given up 29 jacks and 37 base-on-balls in just 106 1/3 innings of work. That's bad, really bad.
Biggest surprise: Getting outfielder Roger Cedeno
and pitcher Octavio Dotel, who last year was being compared to a young Pedro Martinez, justified trading ace Mike Hampton
to the Mets in the offseason. The folding of Lima and closer Billy Wagner
(2-4, 6.18 ERA, nine blown saves) was something manager Larry Dierker could never have imagined even in his worst nightmare. Shane Reynolds
is a mediocre 6-5. Dotel is 1-5 with a 5.61 ERA in 16 starts. Good pitching wins games. Isn't that how the age-old cliché goes? That's why Houston is in the cellar of the NL Central. It's just that simple.
Second-half goals: This is a tough situation for Houston. Should the Astros trade away Lima or Moises Alou? Or even Bagwell? That's up to general manager Gerry Hunsicker. With a brand new stadium to fill and contenders eager to trade away prospects for veterans, he better make up his mind soon. The trading deadline is July 31.
Grade: We told you what we thought of the Astros' first-half performance, now you've told us. Here is what you had to say about what the Astros have to do in the second half. | ALSO SEE Midseason Feedback: Astros MLB midseason reports ESPN.com's All-Star Game coverage Kurkjian: Stories of the first half Ten second-half questions for the AL Ten second-half questions for the NL | ||||
-- This team is too talented to have the worst record in baseball. This team is too talented to be the laughing stock of the league. But they are. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it.