Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Dear Santa… Please Bring the Astros a compass for Christmas.
My head is currently bleeding profusely from the scratching I’ve been doing since Sunday afternoon.
In the winter of 1998, Brad Ausmus was overrated veteran surplus that could be moved because the catcher of the future, Mitch Meluskey, was ready to step in (at the minimum salary) and take over the catching duties. Ausmus was traded to the Tigers for absolutely nothing, spread out over 6 easy players.
In 1999, Ausmus got himself an All-Star Game appearance by virtue of being the backstop that sucked the second-least in the American League. Meluskey’s shoulder blew up after about 20 games or so and he was lost for the season.
In 2000, nothing went right for Astros’ GM Gerry Hunsicker. Nothing except the one decision he made 2 seasons ago. Ausmus had slumped to being regarded as a defensive specialist who would find strong challenges in fights with paper bags. Meluskey was still making the minimum salary, but hit over .300 with 14 homers. Not only that, but he made the Def Jam Comedy Hour seem like the Jim and Tammy Faye hour in comparison to his rapid-fire F-Bombs.
So here we are in the winter of 2000. Brad Ausmus is the “new” catcher for your Houston Astros and “the Future” is looking for a home in Auburn Hills…or maybe 8-Mile.
And to this trade, the dozens of Astros fans who are still Astros fans offer a collective, “What the”?!?…
Once again, Gerry Hunsicker has taught those of us who complain almost annually about the Astros lack of off-season activity to watch out what we wish for.
From the people who brought you Octavio Dotel and Roger Cedeno for Mike Hampton and Carl Everett for Adam Everett and Greg Miller, we have Cedeno, Meluskey and Chris Holt for Ausmus, former Astro, Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz. (Unfortunately Nelson has zero relation to Jose Cruz…so they can’t even claim nostalgia…although who’s going to be left in Enron to notice?!?)
Last year, the Astros were saving money and getting younger. This year the Astros are actually taking on payroll and getting older. They aren’t by any stretch a team who is contending and this deal makes zero sense for a team that is rebuilding.
If I’m Jeff Bagwell, I’ve already put in a call to my pimp/agent in the hopes of being elsewhere by Spring Training. Hey Jeff, if you were waiting to see the “direction” of the team, there’s a small problem. There is no direction.
This “management style” evidenced by the latest Ausmus deal shows that someone in the front office thinks the Astros are going to contend for something. Hunsicker has long trumpeted his own decision to have Tim Bogar and Chuckie Carr join Craig Biggio and Ausmus on field and emphasize defense up the middle as the deciding factor in the 1997 Division Title.
It looks like the Astros are trying to make history repeat itself by digging up Ausmus and signing Jose Vizcaino. However, this isn’t a team on the brink of success like it was in 1997. This is a team of disillusioned veterans and over-eager, under-experienced youngsters. It’s also a team with no starting pitching 4 out of every 5 days. Conveniently, Hunsicker and staff have failed to address that particular matter, and have failed to even consider the free-agent options not named Hampton. I applauded not committing to Darren Oliver and Juan Guzman last year. I can’t say the same about the apparent ignoring or indifference towards Denny Neagle, Ismael Valdes and others.
And so the Astros are going to spin worse than a wobbly ceiling fan between being a contender and being a rebuilding team. What happens at that point is pure unadulterated Cub-like mediocrity. The only direction is in a never-ending circle.
Sadly, if the Astros have any real direction for 2001 and beyond that’s what it appears to be.