What to expect from a former Rockies player is always an enigma since the mile-high air does strange things to the flight of a baseball. Taking a crack at the mystery, the Astros hope Tuesday’s acquisition of Pedro Astacio will replace a hole in the rotation left by ailing ex-ace-to-be Scott Elarton.
Astacio’s home/road splits over the last three years give some idea of the disaster Denver does to a pitcher:
Year Home Road ---------------- 1999 7.16 3.60 2000 6.54 4.05 2001 7.12 4.26
Since 1999, the Rockies and their opponents have scored about 14.46 runs per game at Coors Field and 8.89 runs per game elsewhere, an inflation rate of about 63 percent. When you factor this into Astacio’s 5.23 ERA over that span, you get a park-normalized ERA of 4.06, not bad in this era. Next comes Enron Field, which is no picnic for pitchers but pales in comparison to Coors.
Despite pitching in such a fearsome home environment, Astacio posted innings pitched totals of 196, 232, 209, 202, and 211 from 1996 to 2000, averaging almost 33 starts per season over that span. Astacio turns 32 in November, so he has some mileage.
In February 1998 Astacio signed a contract that included a $1-million signing bonus, $3 million in 1998, $5.6 million in 1999, $6.1 million in 2000, $6.6 million in 2001, and a $9-million club option with a $1-million buyout in 2002. The Astros-Rockies deal reportedly involved cash from Colorado to Houston.
Elarton was once the future anchor in the Astros rotation. The Astros refused to deal him for Roger Clemens in 1998, although that may have had more to do with the Rocket’s contract restructuring demands than Elarton. After rotator cuff surgery in October 1999, he bounced back to win 17 games in 2000 for an abysmal club. But the 25-year-old’s 2001 performance was more reminiscent of Jose Lima than last season’s No. 1 starter.
Astacio faced domestic violence charges in 2000, so the Astros hope he stays out of trouble. He joins a roster stocked with countrymen from his native Dominican Republc. Elarton returns to his home state of Colorado. If the Astros get the quality Astacio has shown on the road through at least 2002 and Elarton recovers from his recent bout with biceps tendinitis, the trade should work to the advantage of both teams and pitchers.
The Astros also made a deal with the Pirates Tuesday in order to bolster their bullpen. Speculation arose that the Astros would be seeking Pirates starter Jason Schmidt, who was dealt to the Giants Monday. Instead they acquired closer Mike Williams, who converted 22 of 24 save opportunities and posted a 3.64 ERA for the 2001 Bucs.
Williams adds yet another flamethrower to a bullpen that includes former closer Mike Jackson, would-be closer Octavio Dotel, and the present occupant in the closer’s role, Billy Wagner. Williams has struck out 43 batters in 41 innings this season and struck out 71 batters in 72 innings in 2000. Williams turned 31 Sunday and saved 23 games in 1999 and 24 games last year.
Loading down with that kind of muscle should give the Astros lots of options in the late innings, although out of that quartet only Wagner is a lefty. The Astros might also be angling to soften the blow if they cannot hold onto Wagner in years to come. Too bad the Astros failed to acquire Williams earler: he converted two saves against them last weekend.
In return the Astros surrendered 24-year-old minor-leaguer Tony McKnight. With the Astros McKnight went 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 2000 and 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA in three games in 2001. At New Orleans this season McKnight was 9-5 with a 4.76 ERA. The Astros were apparently keener on other young pitchers, like Wade Miller, Roy Oswalt, and Tim Redding, than they were on McKnight.
For those on the Daryle Ward or Moises Alou watch, Ward remains with the club, and, given Astacio’s potential salary in 2002, owner Drayton McLane might not be willing to retain Alou’s services next season, batting title or not. Alou might be the biggest test for McLane yet: he hits like a Hall of Famer when healthy, he says he wants to stay in Houston, and fans and his teammates appear to want him to stick around. It will not be pretty if he walks.
That aside, the Astros have strengthened both their rotation and their bullpen for the division race. If the monster offense can perform a bit more consistently, they have set themselves up nicely to make a run at the Cubs, who presently lead them by 4.5 games. Compliments to General Manager Gerry Hunsicker on a pair of quality transactions.