By Breedlove
Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com on August 2, 2001.
Before the 2001 season started it seemed the Astro Nation would not have parted with Scott Elarton for anything short of a superstar. Even then it would have to have been the perfect situation. But the organization and its fans soured on Elarton when he suffered through poor mechanics and poor health and turned in a poor performance, and the Astros’ situation was far from perfect.
Now he’s been traded for Pedro Astacio – a great pitching talent for sure, but by no means a superstar. With an optional nine million-dollar pricetag for 2002, Astacio is not in Drayton McLane’s future plans. He is a two-month rental, plain and simple – two-and-a-half if everything goes well. His remaining salary means little to the Astros with the payroll savings they’ve stumbled upon this season. The real cost of his services was the rights to Scott Elarton, the Outlaw who’s spent 2001 in the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.
It was a rapid slide for Elarton, the most promising young pitcher in years for the Houston organization when they snagged the 6’7″ righty in the first round of the 1994 draft. He progressed steadily through the system, finishing every minor league level on a conservative development track that didn’t get him to the show until 1998 because the Astros had starting pitching in spades.
Scott was just 22 when he cracked the roster, working primarily from the pen. Compiling a year and a half of excellent relief work earned him a permanent spot in the rotation by the end of 1999. He had shoulder surgery after a lot of work in a short stretch that season and got off to a slow start in 2000, but he heated up with a vengeance for a floundering Astro nine on its way to 90 losses.
Elarton pitched at least 6 innings in 17 of 18 starts from late June to late September 2000, at least 7 innings in 14 of those 18, for an ERA of 3.39 over that lengthy span and a record of 13-3. For perspective, compare it to Wade Miller’s outstanding first 18 starts this season. Miller went 11-3, had a 3.79 ERA, and threw at least 7 innings in 11 of those 18 games and at least 6 in 15. Elarton’s 2000 has often been labeled a product of run support, but he got much more than he could use in many of his wins and he needed all he got with what the pen did behind him.
The Astros brain trust is well aware that performances like Elarton’s 2000 don’t come from just anyone. He’s been a special player with precocious poise, an intimidating presence, and a willingness to bring the fastball inside on anyone, especially to defend his hitters. Elarton is universally liked by his teammates and will be missed in Houston.
All that and the Astros were still willing to deal their opening day starter. It seems quite possible Colorado would have taken Tim Redding or a minor league arm besides the organization’s prize lefty Carlos Hernandez. After all, they were really just dumping a few million dollars since they are essentially out of the race. The reasons the Astros offered Elarton are clear.
First there is the injury history. Elarton’s already had surgery on his shoulder and he’s currently getting treatment for biceps tendinitis – two separate problems with his right arm in less than two years. His velocity is down, but more than that, there is little life on his pitches right now. Second reason is Scott’s mechanics. They’ve been out of whack almost since the Astros left Kissimmee and there is no Vern Ruhle to set them straight. Pitching coach Burt Hooton is not strong in that department, he’s more of an attitude and strategy guru who is having to learn this part of today’s game on the fly.
But there is another reason for trading Elarton that no one’s talking about – money. This may be a surprise to some, but the Outlaw is due for arbitration after the 2001 campaign. Whatever he’s done this year, his production before that lets him ask for several million a season with a completely straight face. With the questions surrounding his long-term viability, the Astros might have wound up at an arbitration hearing to get the kinks worked out. Drayton McLane’s worst nightmare might have been Elarton returning to the rotation and stringing ten good starts together without the Astros making the post-season – his wallet would really have been over the barrel then.
So believe it or not, at the tantrum-laced behest of an infantile Astro fandom raging for deals at the deadline, gripping over the acquisitions made by the Chicago Cubs when all that matters is whether their pitching holds up, the Astros have convinced Joe Fan that they’ve gone out and spent what it takes to be champion today when it looks like they are actually going to save money. Give them their due – they did get a potential difference-maker in Astacio, a tough competitor with the stuff and stamina to dominate games on his own – but don’t think they raided the vault to do it.
FYI trivia – Scott Elarton was the Astros’ number-one draft pick in 1994. Can you name the Astros’ number-one pick in 1995? Answer at bottom.
Two ballplayers offered recent quotes volunteering themselves for the Hall of Whine. First was another epic chapter in the ongoing Red Messiah saga from Ken Griffey, Jr. With the Reds doing their best to remove all semblance of a Major League franchise through their recent dealings, his Griffness was left with a sour taste in his mouth. He said he couldn’t play with eight guys he didn’t know, that maybe he’d just go home. Classic. If he really felt that way he’d still be a Mariner.
Then there was this beauty from ex-Astro Jay Powell on the change for Elarton going to Colorado: “I’m not sure they are similar (Coors Field and Enron) … but there you pitch in a urinal (Enron) with everything right on the top of you as far as the fences.” Right, Jay, Enron Field is toilet. Makes what you filled it with seem appropriate.
Speakeasy
Here’s the setup one more time. At the end of each Brushback you will find a quote or two with no attribution. Usually they will be from film, sometimes from the world of baseball, and often they will be apropos to the text of the column they follow. Be the first to e-mail this feature’s author via the link at top with the correct attribution and get your name in lights in the next Brushback. Style points are awarded for smooth application of quotes into conversation in the TalkZone.
Last issue’s quote again was:
“My God, it’s full of stars.”
Zone-dweller das was first of many to correctly note this comes from the classic yet boring sci-fi work “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The moving line comes as Dave gets a glimpse inside the obelisk. You are one of life’s winners, das.
Few style points this time as all TZ references seemed forced – subtlety is apparently not the strong suit of many Zone-dwellers. Good work pravata for your spurious bridge of the conversational gap between that quote and bad umpiring. Thanks to all participants.
This issue’s fodder:
“Que pasa there, Pedro?”
“I got no place else to go.”
FYI answer – the Astros’ number-one draft pick in 1995 was Tony McKnight, traded to the Pirates for reliever Mike Williams the same day Elarton was shipped to Colorado.