Record and Standings
Record W L ----------------- April 12 12 May 14 13 June 15 12 ----------------- Total 41 37
Unlike the first two months of the season, in June the Astros played reasonably well the second half of the month. They stood at .500 on June 15 but subsequently won nine of 14 games.
The Astros managed to leapfrog St. Louis and Milwaukee in the standings in June but continue to chase the surprising Cubs:
Tm W L Pct GB 1-Run Div ------------------------------------- Chi 46 33 .582 ---- 14-8 23-17 Hou 41 37 .526 4.5 12-12 20-13 StL 40 39 .506 6.0 6-12 21-18 Mil 39 39 .500 6.5 3-12 22-25 Cin 32 47 .405 14.0 11-11 19-26 Pit 29 49 .372 16.5 9-10 14-20
The Cubs and Astros have dominated their divisional foes. While the Astros have broken even in one-run games, the Cubs have thrived. What a difference a year makes: through the first three months of last season, the Astros were 3-17 in one-run games.
The Astros went 2-1 vs. Los Angeles, 1-2 at Colorado, 2-1 at Texas, 1-2 at Minnesota, 1-2 vs. Texas, 3-0 vs. Colorado, 2-2 vs. Cincinnati, 2-1 at Arizona, and 1-1 at Milwaukee in June.
In July the Astros play 15 more intradivision games, including a four-game home set with the Cubs and a five-game road series, including a doubleheader, against the lowly Pirates.
The schedule: two at Milwaukee, three vs. Arizona, three at Kansas City, three vs. San Diego, three vs. Cleveland, two vs. St. Louis, four vs. the Cubs, two at St. Louis, five at Pittsburgh, and one vs. the Mets.
The Astros had a winning month at Enron Field, posting an 8-5 home and 7-7 road record in June. For the season the Astros are still a better road than home team:
Record W L ----------------- Home 18 19 Away 23 18
The Astros and their opponents continue to hit for a higher average and more home runs per 100 at-bats and score more runs per game at Enron than on the road:
Venue Avg HR% R/G --------------------------- Enron .278 4.65 5.80 Elsewhere .268 4.32 4.89
By way of comparison, or lack thereof, here are the numbers for the Rockies and their opponents:
Venue Avg HR% R/G --------------------------- Coors .312 4.59 7.01 Elsewhere .250 3.41 4.61
Pitching and Fielding
The Astros finally closed the books on Jose Lima, shipping him to Detroit for Dave Mlicki. Unfortunately, before he was traded almost the only difference between Lima and Scott Elarton in June was the quantity they pitched:
Pitcher W L IP ERA ------------------------- Lima 0 0 6.3 8.53 Elarton 0 4 37.0 8.27
The Astros should be concerned about Elarton, who now boasts a 4-8 record and 6.77 ERA in 2001.
While the rotation as a whole has struggled, the bullpen still ranks in the middle of the league:
Pitchers ERA Rnk W L Avg OBP Slg ----------------------------------------------- Starters 5.36 14th 30 26 .284 .340 .488 Relievers 3.83 7th 12 11 .248 .323 .406
Here are the pitchers in June and on the season as starters or relievers:
----June---- --Starting-- Starters W L ERA W L ERA --------------------------------------- Oswalt 4 0 2.73 4 0 2.73 Reynolds 3 2 3.11 8 6 4.65 McKnight 0 0 4.91 0 0 4.91 Miller 2 1 5.12 10 3 3.75 Redding 0 0 6.75 0 0 7.94 Elarton 0 4 8.27 4 8 6.77 Mlicki 0 0 11.57 0 0 11.57 Bottenfield 0 1 14.85 2 5 6.85
The top of the rotation has been solid with Wade Miller, Shane Reynolds, and Roy Oswalt. The Astros could benefit immensely if Tim Redding works out and Elarton turns around.
----June---- ---Relief--- Relievers W L ERA W L ERA --------------------------------------- Dotel 4 1 2.37 4 2 2.13 Wagner 0 1 2.84 2 3 3.00 Cruz 1 0 4.20 1 1 3.86 Jackson 0 0 6.30 1 1 4.01 Slusarski 0 1 9.00 0 1 9.00 Villone 0 0 81.00 0 0 81.00
Octavio Dotel, Billy Wagner, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Jackson give the Astros a decent if inconsistent foundation in the bullpen. In June, with Wagner’s trip to the disabled list, Dotel converted one of one and Jackson converted four of six save opportunities. The bullpen as a whole has 23 saves in 36 opportunities.
The Astros rank 14th in the league in home ERA and eighth in road ERA.
Leatherwise, the Astros are fourth in the league in fielding percentage at .984. The Astros have permitted just 34 stolen bases in 65 attempts, a kill ratio of 47.7 percent. Only the Cardinals at 51.1 percent have done better in the National League.
Batting and Baserunning
June was Moises Alou month, as the right fielder batted .369 with 12 home runs, 22 runs, and 26 RBI. Not to be outdone, Lance Berkman contributed by batting .362 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, 22 runs, and 28 RBI. For June and on the season:
------June------ -----Season----- Starters Avg OBP Slg Avg OBP Slg -------------------------------------------- Ausmus .161 .257 .242 .201 .269 .280 Bagwell .257 .352 .505 .273 .389 .525 Biggio .330 .410 .623 .308 .396 .500 Castilla .281 .326 .517 .276 .321 .490 Lugo .276 .345 .329 .266 .318 .399 Berkman .362 .420 .686 .354 .459 .688 Hidalgo .288 .364 .521 .275 .352 .498 Alou .369 .411 .767 .364 .406 .647
After coming out of his hole in May, Brad Ausmus dove right back into it in June. Jeff Bagwell continues to struggle by his standards. If Bagwell gets hot ahead of Berkman and Alou, the offense should enjoy a healthy boost in run production.
Craig Biggio’s rehabilitation advanced considerably last month, and Richard Hidalgo started to break out of his first-half slump. Julio Lugo’s OBP is still subpar at or near the top of order, but Vinny Castilla has been a welcome improvement over his predecessors.
Bench Avg OBP Slg ------------------------------- Merced .286 .357 .571 Eusebio .282 .349 .500 Vizcaino .275 .331 .325 Ward .254 .315 .492 Hayes .200 .293 .240 Barker .105 .280 .105 Pinch Hitters .230 .350 .420 Pitchers .108 .143 .149
The Astros have found a serviceable role player in Orlando Merced. Assuming Tony Eusebio’s left hand improves after being hit by a pitch last month, the Astros might want to consider starting him more and sitting Ausmus out of the line-up.
Situationally, the Astros are hitting about as well with runners on base as without, but their performances with runners in scoring position and in close-and-late situations could use improvement:
Split Avg OBP Slg -------------------------------- None On .273 .339 .473 Runners On .275 .364 .472 RISP .251 .351 .420 RISP, 2 Outs .221 .349 .404 Close and Late .247 .341 .457 Bases Loaded .308 .326 .628
Individually, Biggio leads the team with a .340 batting average with runners in scoring position, while Charlie Hayes, Jose Vizcaino, Bagwell, Berkman, and Alou are all above .300.
Vizcaino’s .409 batting average in 22 close-and-late at-bats is best on the club, and Daryle Ward, Alou, Berkman, and Merced are all above .300. Bagwell has a hideous .179 batting average in close-and-late situations.
The Astros continue to attempt stolen bases seldom and poorly. Their 29 successes in 58 attempts represent a net loss in runs. In June the Astros were successful eight times and caught nine times.
Minor Leagues
With Oswalt and Redding now in Houston uniforms, some of the best of the farm system has already arrived. At AAA New Orleans, Chris Truby is attempting to play himself back into the major leagues, but he faces tough competition from Morgan Ensberg. Keith Ginter is struggling a little, and Adam Everett has shown only slight improvement with the bat:
Player Avg OBP Slg ------------------------- Truby .333 .382 .599 Ensberg .300 .391 .588 Ginter .274 .367 .484 Everett .249 .346 .382
Outlook
At 41-37, the Astros are on pace for 85 wins, which almost certainly will not win the division if the Cubs continue to excel. The good news is that the Astros are not buried 10 games behind the Cardinals at this point, which is what one might have expected being just four games over .500 near midseason.
Perhaps reshuffling the deck through trades and promotions might spark the Astros to make a run at the Cubs in July. Looking up at one team in the standings sure beats looking up at five, which is where the Astros were at 27-51 through the same number of games in 2000.