Astros Outfield Woes

"That outfield is a problem" -- Mark Vandermeer

It's early in the baseball season, much too early too worry about the Astros' lackluster performance in Colorado. But it is a concern when you go to Colorado -- which is the most hitter friendly park in the Major Leagues -- and can only score one run. It's also a concern when your starting centerfielder (who on most teams, but not the Astros, is the best defensive outfielder on the team) forgets his sunglasses and as a result drops a lazy fly ball that led to runs that effectively put the game out of reach.

Indeed, the entire outfield is a concern. It's probably the worst starting defensive outfield in the bigs: Left fielder Darryl Ward is not just a below average fielder, he is a fat and slow player who has the potential to be a great hitter but is a defensive liability; Richard Hidalgo was an above average fielder when he broke into the league, but his weight gain and bad wheels (knees) have made him an average right fielder at best; and Lance Berkman, who may be a legitimate MVP candidate because of his hitting, is a hard worker who could be an average left fielder but has no real business starting in center, where he is a below average fielder.

The hope of the Astros' brass is that the offense that comes from the outfield (aided by a young pitching staff projected to be strong) will more than offset the occasional defensive lapses. It will be interesting to see if they're right. But for now, I like the comments of the new voice of the Texans and radio sportstalkster Mark Vandermeer (who is an EXCELLENT addition to local sports punditry): "That outfield is a problem."

Yep.

[Posted at 21:41 CST on 04/11/02] [Link]