Astros Retrospective: 2000s

Astros By Decade

2000-2009

Brick Red Uniforms (2000-2009)

The decade started with much promise.  The Astros were coming off three straight years in the playoffs.  They were moving into their new downtown stadium Enron Field (later Minute Maid Park).  But the first year in the new stadium was a difficult one, especially for some of the pitchers, Jose Lima in particular, who struggled to adjust to the much smaller ballpark.  It would take a few years, and a new batch of pitchers, for them to figure out you could be a flyball pitcher in the smaller ballpark if you kept it in the middle of the field.

The Astros fairly quickly recovered, returning to the postseason in 2001, but again bowing out early to the Braves.  A few years later came the big news.  Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens decided to come "home" to Houston.  The Pettitte and Clemens saga is too grandiose to cover here, but they did bring success in the form of the first playoff success in Astros history.  In 2004, Carlos Beltran was the late season acquisition who dominated and nearly pushed the Astros to the World Series.  The next year, after a terrible start and the infamous R.I.P. on the Houston Chronicle, the team got hot and they rode it all the way to the franchise's first ever World Series, despite Albert Pujols' best efforts.  The Astros were swept, but that really was an unjust final tally because they were probably the only team in baseball history that was swept but could have easily won each game if not for a few unlucky incidents.

Then came some of the most difficult years in Astros history.  After a decade of success, Houston fans expected more of the same.  As the team got older, the front office tried to fulfill the "win now" mentality by bring in one over-priced veteran after another (Carlos Lee, Kazuo Matsui, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Moehler, Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, etc).  It was a bad mistake.  The team kept getting worse and the cupboard more bare with all the prospects shipped away.  Within a handful of years they went from one of the best Minor League systems in baseball to the worst.  Something had to be done, and drastic measures had to be taken.

Record:  832-787, .514

Best Year:  2005 (89-73, 2nd of 6, reached World Series)

Worst Year:  2000, (72-90, 4th of 6)

Team of the Decade:

C:  Brad Ausmus (2001-2008)  By all accounts he called a great game and was a real field general behind the plate.  All the veterans respected him.  I always suspected he would be a great manager, and while it has not been all great in Detroit, he still has a lot of time.

1B:  Jeff Bagwell (2000-2005)  One great year, then injuries got the best of him.  It is fun to imagine his entire career in Minute Maid.

2B:  Craig Biggio (2000-2002, 2005-2007)  Some good years here, but not like the 90s.  He moved to the outfield when the Astros signed Jeff Kent for a few years, but he clearly did not have the arm for it.  Still, nothing can take away the thrill of his 3000 hit.

3B:  Morgan Ensberg (2000, 2002-2007)  Had a brilliant year in 2005 (4th in MVP voting), but fell off hard and quick after that.  The quest for stability at this position continues.

SS:  Adam Everett (2002-2007)  Never a great hitter, for years it seemed like the 7-8-9 of Ausmus/Everett/pitcher was an easy 1-2-3, but by many defensive matrices he was one of the best fielding shortstops of the decade.

LF:  Carlos Lee (2007-2009)  Had a great first year, a couple more good years, then became the huge contract nobody wanted.  In some ways he is the epitome of the late-00s, early -10s Astros.

CF:  Willy Taveras (2004-2006)  All of the outfield spots had a lot of turnover in this decade.  I could have gone with Michael Bourn, but Taveras was slightly better in two full years.

RF:  Lance Berkman (2000-2002, 2004-2007) Bending the rules a little bit to get him on the list, but he had to be on here.  Fat Elvis, Big Tuna, whatever you want to call him I loved the guy.  Played all over the outfield and first base, wherever the team needed him.  Had a career trajectory to be an all time great, but stalled in 2009 and will probably end up in the hall of very good.

SP:  Roy Oswalt (2001-2009)  Twenty wins twice, and 19 another year, he is one of the all-time great Astros starters.  Unlucky to have been a rookie the same year as Albert Pujols or he would have won ROY easily.  A great down-home foil to the next two guys.

SP:  Roger Clemens (2004-2006)  It hurts to have him on here, but you cannot deny his importance in the playoff runs in the mid-2000s. 

SP:  Andy Pettitte (2004-2006)  I never liked him, but his 2005 season in particular was too good to leave him off.  My lasting image of him on the Astros is seeing him shout "Oh my God!" from the top step of the dugout when Pujols sent the Lidge pitch into orbit in the 2005 NLCS, which is only funny in retrospect thanks to the next game.

SP:  Wade Miller (2000-2004)  Had some pretty good years, averaging 15 wins over three seasons, then quickly fell off the face of the earth.

SP:  Wandy Rodriguez (2005-2009)  The last surviving member of the 2005 pennant winning team when he was traded in 2012.  He was a good #3 or #4 starter who was forced into being an ace, and did pretty well, when the big guys left.

CL:  Billy Wagner (2000-2003)  Deserves more of a look for the Hall of Fame.  Yes, only 903 innings.  Yes, five teams.  But look at his K/9 and WHIP career records.  At his best he was dominant as any closer.

Notable Performances:

Lance Berkman 2006: .315/.420/.621, 45 HR, 136 RBI, 29 2B, 98 BB, 163 OPS+

Jeff Bagwell 2000: .310/.424/.615, 47 HR, 132 RBI, 37 2B, 9 SB, 107 BB, 152 OPS+

Richard Hidalgo 2000: .314/.391/.636, 44 HR, 122 RBI, 42 2B, 13 SB, 56 BB, 147 OPS+

Moises Alou 2000: .355/.416/.623, 30 HR, 114 RBI, 28 2B, 52 BB, 151 OPS+

Morgan Ensberg 2005:  .283/.388/.557, 36 HR, 101 RBI, 30 2B, 85 BB, 144 OPS+

Roger Clemens 2005:  13-8, 1.87 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 1 CG, 211 IP, 185 K, 226 ERA+

Andy Pettitte 2005: 17-9, 2.39 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 222 IP, 171 K, 177 ERA+

Roy Oswalt 2002: 19-9, 3.01 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 233 IP, 208 K, 144 ERA+

Billy Wagner 2003: 1-4-44, 1.78 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 86 IP, 105 K, 247 ERA+

Brad Lidge 2004:  6-5-29, 1.90 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 95 IP, 157 K, 228 ERA+

Best Trade:

Roger Cedeno, Chris Holt, and Mitch Meluskey to the Tigers for Brad Ausmus, Doug Brocail, and Nelson Cruz (December 11, 2000)

Meluskey got injured and never recovered after a fantastic 2000 season.  Ausmus, in his second stint in Houston, spent 8 years behind the dish and hit one massive playoff home run for the Astros.  That's a good trade.

I thought about putting the Carlos Beltran trade here, but like the Randy Johnson trade he was fantastic but they did not win in the playoffs and he left as a free agent.

Worst Trade:

Billy Wagner to the Phillies for Ezequiel Astacio, Taylor Buccholz, and Brandon Duckworth (November 3, 2003)

Wagner almost had to go after (true) comments he made about management not being willing to pay for a championship.  He remained a good-to-great closer for seven more years.  None of the three pitchers they got lasted more than two years, and none of those years were particularly good.

Another pretty bad one was sending Ben Zobrist to the Rays for Aubrey Huff in 2006.

Best Draft:

2000

            1st round (27th overall) Robert Stiehl - two picks before Adam Wainwright

            2nd round (67th overall) Chad Qualls

            9th round (277th overall) Eric Bruntlett

            19th round (577th overall) Michael Bourn

In another decade of bad drafts, this one at least got them Qualls and Bourn, plus a decent utility player in Bruntlett.

Worst Draft:

2002

It's so bad it's not even worth writing out.  All they got out of it was 35 innings from Mark McLemore (not that one) in 2007.  2003 was also bad since Drew Stubbs, third round pick, did not sign.  2007 was a complete bust as well, but they did not have a pick until the third round.

10 Cloverfield Lane

Fair warning from the start: I cannot write this without major spoilers.  Do not read this if you plan to see this movie, which I highly recommend.

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of Cloverfield.  I like monster movies to begin with, but even the excitement of watching Godzilla or King Kong or whatever monster destroying New York can get played-out.  Cloverfield was different.  It was the first movie I can remember that used an intricate viral campaign to give plenty of very interesting background.  It is probably the best use of "found-footage" in a movie, making it more intimate and "human" than most monster movies.  I especially liked that there was no score, since that would take away from the spectacle, but yet they still got Michael Giacchino to write a fantastic monster movie suite that played during the credits.

There have been rumors of a sequel since even before the first one opened.  There was lots of speculation about what kind of sequel it would be.  Perhaps it would be from the perspective of the military.  Perhaps it would be another found footage film from the guy seen filming on the Brooklyn Bridge (J.J. Abrams rightly pointed out that would ruin the uniqueness of the first).  So when the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane came out of nowhere a couple of months ago, I was immediately intrigued, but I also wanted to be completely surprised, so I avoided anything that might tell me more.

I went last night, opening night, because I wanted to avoid any spoilers, just as you should, too.

My quick, synopsis review: 10 Cloverfield Lane is an exciting thriller that will keep you guessing to the very end.

Starting this movie completely from the perspective of Michelle was a great move, adding to the suspense and leaving the viewer wondering, just like Michelle, what exactly is going on.  In that way, it is fairly similar to Cloverfield since the audience, like the main character, is trying to piece together the clues as to what is happening.

John Goodman is great and scary and really adds something to the experience.  Is he just a paranoid doomsday prepper/conspiracy theorist?  Is he a crazy Criminal Minds-like kidnapper?  Is he right, and honestly trying to do the right thing by saving Michelle and Emmett?  One of the things I love about the movie is that each one of these scenarios can be right, and in some ways we find out they are.

I also thought the clear three-act storyline worked very well.  First act: set up the mystery.  Second act: they seem to come to peace with the situation and are living as a happy family.  Third act: sow seeds of doubt with the ventilation scene.  It's the third act where the movie really excels, with a great slow-burn that leads to a sudden and unexpected explosion and an intense final 15 minutes.

HERE BE SPOILERS:  So, the ending.  First, the killing of Emmett was completely unexpected for me and left me, like Michelle, kind of reeling.  The escape from the bunker was done well.  It was not too easy for her and you really felt like she could fail.  And what I loved about this movie, when she escapes everyone is wondering what really happened out there.  Now, there is a bit of frustration on my part with some of her rather stupid actions after the reveal of the alien spaceship.  But I did love her response to finding out Howard wasn't completely crazy after all.

I am sure some people will complain about the convenience of her escape from the aliens.  By that time, I figured she had to get away and was not going to be too nit-picky about how.  Then the final great reveal: she's going to Houston!  Finally the countries fourth largest city is seen as an obvious major target for an alien invasion.  It doesn't always have to be New York!

So what does all this have to do with Cloverfield?  On the surface, nothing.  I believe Abrams called it a "blood relative."  There are some connections, corporation names, Howard works in satellites and a crashing satellite woke the Cloverfield monster, etc.  It's pretty obvious there will be more to this story to see whether it is a direct sequel, or just part of an anthology of monster movies from a similar universe.  Either way, I'm very interested to see where this goes.

Again, at the end of the day, this is an exciting thriller that grabs hold of the audience and forces them to wonder what is going on and what will happen next.  This is the definition of a good thriller.  Grade: 8/10

Astros Retrospective: 1990s

Astros By Decade

1990-1999

Rainbow Sleeve Uniforms (1990-1993)

Broken Star with Blue BP Uniform (1994)

Broken Star Uniform (1995-1999)

The 1990s started poorly.  The Astros won 75 and 65 games before finally playing .500 ball in 1992.  There was a minor peak in the strike-shortened season of 1994, followed by three more years of just above .500 play.  1997, however, started the new tradition, making the playoffs but going out easily in the Division Series, which they did three times in a row.  This makes the late-90s and early-00s Astros one of the great collections of talent in baseball history to not win a thing, unless you count two playoff wins in four tries a thing.  Since three of those four times were to the Braves, it helps explain why I dislike them so much.

Interestingly, in the 1990s drafts did more harm than good for the Astros.  How can this be?  I don't want to spoil things, but looking at the drafts all the Astros got over the course of the decade was Lance Berkman, Brad Lidge, Morgan Ensberg, and a handful of other middling Major Leaguers.  How did drafts hurt the Astros?  In the 1992 Expansion Draft they lost Willie Blair (not huge), Butch Henry (who had an excellent 1994 season with Montreal), and Ryan Bowen.  We can live with that.  In the 1997 Expansion Draft, they lost Tom Martin, Russ Springer, and Bobby Abreu.  That one really hurts.  Of course the Devil Rays infamously traded him almost immediately to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker, a shocker (ha!) of a trade.  But still, you say, Berkman, Lidge, Ensberg is better than Abreu, Russ Springer, and Butch Henry.  Well I have one more doozy for you.  In 1999, the Astros left Johan Santana unprotected in for the Rule V draft.  He was taken by the Marlins and traded to the Twins.  Now imagine the mid-2000s Astros with a rotation of Oswalt, Santana, Clemens, and Pettitte, and tell me they don't do more than just lose a World Series.

Record:  813-742, .523

Best Year:  1998 (102-60, 1 of 6, lost NLDS 3-1 to Padres)

Worst Year:  1991, (65-97, 6 of 6)

Team of the Decade:

C:  Tony Eusebio (1991, 1994-1999)  There's a whole lot of turnover at this position, but Eusebio stuck on, at least as part time, for the last six years of the decade.  Did you know he set a then-franchise record 24-game hitting streak in 2000, though it was over 45 Astros games?

1B:  Jeff Bagwell (1991-1999)  Was a surprise starter in 1991, promptly won the Rookie of the Year, and the MVP (unanimous) in 1994.  In fact he was maybe one of the few people who benefited from the strike, since he had broken his hand shortly before it and would have lost his MVP.

2B:  Craig Biggio (1992-1999)  The Astros started experimenting with him in the outfield in 1989, and he finally made the permanent move to second base in 1992 to save his legs.  The ultimate team player, and the greatest Astro to ever live.  Of course it could all been so different had he signed elsewhere as a free agent in 1995.

3B:  Ken Caminiti (1990-1994, 1999)  A defensive genius with a good bat (until he went to San Diego, got some steroids, and became a beast).  Unfortunately his drinking and drug problems got the better of him.

SS:  Andujar Cedeno (1991-1996)  Always a weak spot for the Astros, he at least had a few decent seasons before being traded.

LF:  Luis Gonzalez (1991-1995, 1997)  A guy who could hit a little, but never really found a home until his breakout 2001 season in Arizona.

CF:  Steve Finley (1991-1994)  Great defensively, good offensively, and became much better once he left the team.

RF:  Derek Bell (1995-1999)  One of the "Killer Bs", he never quite lived up to potential.

SP:  Shane Reynolds (1992-1999)  Mr. Consistency, never flashy.  The ultimate professional.  All kinds of cliches, but he was a good one and underappreciated.

SP:  Pete Harnisch (1991-1994)  Only four years, but the first three were very good and the last had a bad injury.

SP:  Mike Hampton (1994-1999)  Was good before but made a huge leap in 1999 which lead to a massive contract that saddled a few teams for years to come as he became a precautionary tale of long term contracts for pitchers.

SP:  Doug Drabek (1993-1996)  More of a star for the Pirates, but his 1994 season was fantastic.

SP:  Darryl Kile (1991-1997)  Had a good 1993 season and a better 1997 season, but the rest of his tenure in Houston was pretty rocky.  Unfortunately his life was cut much too short.

CL:  Billy Wagner (1995-1999)  There were other good relievers for the Astros in the decade, but his 1999 season was by far the best and a sign of things to come.  Was naturally right handed but threw left handed because when he was young he broke his right arm and taught himself to throw from the left side.

Notable Performances:

Jeff Bagwell 1994: .368/.451/.750, 39 HR, 116 RBI, 32 2B, 15 SB, 65 BB, 213 OPS+

Craig Biggio 1997: .325/.403/.503, 20 HR, 88 RBI, 210 H, 51 2B, 50 SB, 64 BB, 139 OPS+

Moises Alou 1998: .312/.399/.582, 38 HR, 124 RBI, 34 2B, 11 SB, 84 BB, 157 OPS+

Carl Everett 1999: .325/.398/.571, 25 HR, 108 RBI, 33 2B, 27 SB, 50 BB, 143 OPS+

Doug Drabek 1994:  12-6, 2.84 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, 6 CG, 165 IP, 121 K, 140 ERA+

Mike Hampton 1999: 22-4, 2.90 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 3 CG, 239 IP, 177 K, 155 ERA+

Darryl Kile 1997: 19-7, 2.57 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 6 CG, 256 IP, 205 K, 156 ERA+

Randy Johnson 1998: 10-1, 1.28 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 4 CG, 84 IP, 116 K, 322 ERA+

Billy Wagner 1999: 4-1-39, 1.57 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 75 IP, 124 K, 287 ERA+

Best Trade:

Larry Andersen to the Red Sox for Jeff Bagwell (August 30, 1990)

One of the most lopsided trades in Major League history.  For the Red Sox I suppose it made sense at the time.  They were in a pennant race and needed a reliever badly, Andersen was having one of the best years of his career.  Remember in the Minors Bagwell was a third baseman, and they still had Hall of Famer Wade Boggs.  Carlos Quintana was their first baseman of the future, and he did have a decent couple of years.  Scott Cooper was their other corner infield prospect.  Bagwell had only six home runs, though forty-eight doubles, in two seasons in the Minor Leagues, so they did not necessarily expect the power to come.  Unfortunately for the Red Sox they were swept in the playoffs and Bagwell turned into one of the greatest all-around first basemen of all time.  Looking back it looks horrible, at the time it kind of made sense.

Consider this: their second best trade of the decade (January 10, 1991) was Glenn Davis for Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch, and Curt Schilling.  Schilling sticks around in Houston and that could be the best in franchise history.

One more excellent trade: November 11, 1997, three nothings for Moises Alou.  Alou spent three seasons in Houston, plus lost all of 1999 due to injury, and they were the three best of his career.

Worst Trade:

Kenny Lofton and Dave Rohde to the Indians for Willie Blair and Ed Taubensee (December 10, 1991)

Oh this one hurts.  Imagine an Astros team through the 90s with Lofton, Biggio, and Bagwell at the top of the lineup.  Taubensee, meanwhile, lasted two below average seasons before being traded to the Reds a month into the 1994 season for Ross Powell (who?) and a minor leaguer.

I can't go without mentioning the huge trade with the Padres December 28, 1994.  Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, and two others for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail,  Ricky Gutierrez, Pedro Martinez (not that one), Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley.  The big "gets" were supposed to be Bell and Plantier.  Bell was good for a couple of years, but not as good as Finley.  Plantier lasted 22 games in Houston before being sent back to San Diego.  Gutierrez was better than Cedeno, but that's not saying much.  The biggest loss was Caminiti, but he had kind of hit a  plateau in Houston, and no one could see the (steroid-backed) 1996 MVP  season coming.  In hindsight this is a bad trade, but even at the time I thought it was a bad trade.  And not just because Caminiti was my favorite player.  But I guess we never would have had the "Killer Bs" without Bell, so there's that.

And where do I put the Randy Johnson trade in 1998?  He came over and had the most dominant second half I have ever seen, but the team flamed out in the Division Series because they could not touch Kevin Brown.  Then he was gone.  They gave up Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen, and John Halama to get him.  Garcia and Guillen had very good careers and certainly could have helped the Astros.  At the time it was almost a steal, and still could have been if Randy had signed with the Astros.  Now looking back, they gave up too much.

Best Draft:

1997

            1st round (16th overall) Lance Berkman

            4th round (130rd overall) Eric Byrnes - did not sign

            20th round (610th overall) Tim Redding

           

That's the best they did?  Yep.  Either this or 1998 with Brad Lidge in the first round and Morgan Ensberg in the ninth round.

Worst Draft:

1990

            1st round (21st overall) Tom Nevers - one before Steve Karsay

            1st round (31st overall) Brian Williams

            2nd round (44th overall) Gary Mota

            3rd round (88th overall) Chris Hatcher - never made it to MLB with Astros

            4th round (114th overall) Perry Berry - within next 20 picks: Garret Anderson, Ray Durham, Bret Boone

            10th round (270th overall) Brian Boehringer - did not sign

            23rd round (608th overall) Jason Varitek - did not sign

Williams never really caught on in Houston, starting 29 games with a 4+ ERA and 1.5+ WHIP over four seasons before being part of the trade with San Diego that was a mixed bag for the Astros.  Plenty of other guys taken who came just before other future big leaguers.  Really just a bad draft.

(Dis) honorable mention: 1991:  First round pick John Burke did not sign, and was taken the next year later in the first round, and ended up only pitching 74 innings with a 6.75 ERA.  They then had three more first round picks and three second round picks, none of whom played.  In fact, the only pick with significant time was James Mouton in the 7th round.  Why was this not worse than 1990?  Mouton was slightly better than Williams, and overall the draft was weaker (though the first round featured Manny Ramirez, Cliff Floyd, and Shawn Green).

Astros Retrospective: 1980s

Astros By Decade

1980-1989

Rainbow Uniforms (1980-1986)

Rainbow Sleeve Uniforms (1987-1989)

Now we're talking, this is the team I grew up watching.  The 1980s were the first decade of significant success for the Astros.  They made the playoffs three times, in a decade of amazing parity in all of baseball.  They spent the majority of the first half of the decade in the top half of the league, then started a downturn that lasted into the 1990s. 

As usual, the calling card of the Astros was dominant pitching.  Mike Scott, brought over from the Mets, turned into one of the best pitchers in the league in the middle of the decade.  Nolan Ryan, the first million dollar man, came home and did not disappoint.  Well, maybe his records did, but that was because for some reason they had him on a strict pitch count limit and the bullpen often dropped games for him or the offense did not do enough to back up his effort. 

The Astros made the playoffs for the first time in 1980.  They tied for first place in the National League West, and beat the Dodgers in a one-game playoff to face the Phillies in the NLCS.  The Astros went up 2-1 in the series, and had a 2-0 lead in game four before giving up three runs in the top of the eighth.  They tied it with a run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, in which they promptly gave up two runs to lose it.  Game five in Houston looked like another win as they had a 5-2 lead going into the eighth.  Once again the bullpen failed, giving up five runs.  The Astros again tied it with two in the bottom of the inning, and eventually lost in the tenth.  All of this may have been avoided if not for the devastating loss of J.R. Richard.  While throwing before the game on July 30, he collapsed on the field from a stroke.  He would never pitch again.  After losing in the League Championship Series for the second time in seven seasons in 1986, it would take another ten years for the Astros to return to the postseason with the new crop of talent.

Record:  819-750, .522

Best Year:  1986 (96-66, 1st of 6, reached NLCS)

            Honestly it's a toss-up between 1986 and 1980, the first year the Astros made the playoffs.  I give 1986 the edge because they had a better record and they took the World Series winning Mets to the brink, and probably should have won.  Overall it was probably a better team, though maybe not if Richard had played the rest of '80.

Worst Year:  1982 (77-85, 5th of 6)

Team of the Decade:

C:  Alan Ashby (1980-1989)  The starting or co-starting catcher for basically the entire decade.  His best full season was 1987, when he hit 14 home runs with a .288/.367/.438 slash line.  From all accounts he was also quite good behind the plate.

1B:  Glenn Davis (1984-1989)  The "Big Bopper," probably the Astros' best first baseman until a certain future Hall of Famer showed up.  Had three years of 30+ home runs in the 1980s playing half his games in the Astrodome, not an easy feat.

2B:  Bill Doran (1982-1989)  The starter for most of the decade, and the first constant at the position since Joe Morgan.  Received MVP votes three years in a row, and always had a good BB/SO ratio.

3B:  Phil Garner (1983-1987)  "Scrap Iron" was a tough player who found himself on a number of good teams throughout the years.  He sported one of the great mustaches in Astros history.  Unfortunately his success did not pan out in the dugout.

SS:  Dickie Thon (1981-1987)  One of the great "what if" stories in baseball history, his 1983 season showed just how good he could have been.  A beaning in April 1984 forever changed his career.

LF:  Jose Cruz (1980-1988)  Ask any Astros fan from the 1980s, and one of their fondest memories has to be "CRUUUUUZ" being yelled in the Astrodome, making him one of the most beloved players in franchise history.  He had a tendency to wear his cap loose on the top of his head so it always flew off when he raced down flyballs.  He has been featured a number of times in lists of "could have been Hall of Famers if" he hadn't played in the Astrodome.

CF:  Billy Hatcher (1986-1989)  It always surprises me how short he actually played for the Astros, because it seemed like he was always on the team when I was growing up.  He was the center of a solid outfield in the last half of the decade.

RF:  Terry Puhl (1980-1989)  Superb defender who transitioned from the everyday right fielder in the first half of the decade to the fourth outfielder in the second half when Kevin Bass took over.  He was never a great hitter, but he was good enough to stick around for 15 years.  He also was the first Canadian that I was aware of in the Major Leagues, so there's that.

SP:  Mike Scott (1983-1989)  His 1986 to 1989 stretch is one of the best four years for an Astros starter ever.  Of course the highlight was the no-hitter to clinch the 1986 West Division.  Unfortunately he was only able to make two starts in the playoffs, which cost them a spot in the World Series.

SP:  Nolan Ryan (1980-1988)  The man in Houston for a decade, the most beloved Texan for a generation of baseball fans.  He twice led the league in ERA, once with an 11-5 record, once with an 8-16 record.  This highlights the stupidity of the front office's strict pitch count limit.  People who deride his won-lost record A.) put too much stock in that stat, B.) do not talk about the pitch count, and C.) do not talk about how he pitched for some pretty mediocre teams for his entire career.

SP:  Bob Knepper (1981-1988)  Had three solid years from 1984 to 1986, then a steep decline.  He helped to make that mid-80s rotation probably the best in franchise history.

SP:  Joe Niekro (1980-1985)  The "other" Niekro averaged 16 wins between 1982 and 1984.  He was a relief pitcher for much of the early part of his career and did not become a full member of the rotation until joining Houston, where he proved very durable.

SP:  Jim Deshaies (1986-1989)  Never a great pitcher, he did win 49 games over these four years in Houston.  Perhaps now better known as a broadcaster who likes to come up with odd lineups (a.k.a. the "All Love" Valentine's lineup).  My favorite story was when the Astros were playing the Reds with an outfield of Dmitri Young, Mike Frank, and Chris Stynes; he noted they had a Young Frank 'n' Stynes outfield.  Unfortunately it seems the uptight Cubs fans have not taken to him as much as Astros fans did.

CL:  Dave Smith (1980-1989)  The Astros' first true ace closer, he had some very good seasons in the middle of the 80s.

Notable Performances:

Dickie Thon 1983: .286/.341/.457, 20 HR, 79 RBIs, 28 2Bs, 34 SBs, 127 OPS+

Jose Cruz 1983: .318/.385/.463, 14 HR, 92 RBIs, 28 2Bs, 30 SBs, 142 OPS+

Kevin Bass 1986:  .311/.357/.486, 20 HR, 79 RBIs, 33 2Bs, 22 SBs, 134 OPS+

Glenn Davis 1989:  .269/.350/.492, 34 HR, 89 RBIs, 26 2Bs, 142 OPS+

Mike Scott 1986:  18-10, 2.22 ERA, 0.92 WHIP,  7 CG, 275 IP, 306 K, 161 ERA+

Nolan Ryan 1981:  11-5, 1.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 5 CG, 149 IP, 140 K, 195 ERA+

Joe Niekro 1982: 17-12, 2.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 16 CG, 270 IP, 130 K, 135 ERA+

Dave Smith 1987:  2-3-24, 1.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 60 IP, 73 K, 239 ERA+

Best Trade:

Danny Heep to the Mets for Mike Scott (December 10, 1982)

            They got an ace, and gave up a fourth outfielder.  This is one of a number of good trades during the decade, including those for Bob Knepper and Mark Portugal.

Worst Trade:

Joaquin Andujar to the Cardinals for Tony Scott (June 7, 1981)

            Andujar went from a long relief/spot starter for the Astros to having three very good years out of four plus for the Cardinals.  It would be interesting to see his 1984/1985 added to the Scott/Ryan/Knepper/Niekro pitching rotation.  After the half year in '81, Scott was a well below average center fielder for a full season in '82 and partial seasons the next two years.  The good news is, this was the only really bad trade of the decade, reversing the trend of the previous two.

Best Draft:

1987

            1st round (22nd overall) Craig Biggio

            2nd round (54th overall) Randy Hennis - two picks later Pete Schourek

            12th round (313th overall) Andy Mota - eleven picks later Steve Finley

            16th round (417th overall) Al Osuna

            30th round (781st overall) Darryl Kile

            34th round (883rd overall) Scott Erickson - did not sign

By far the best draft to date, and it would have been even with just Biggio.  Kile made it two All Star players in one draft...29 rounds apart!  The next year wasn't too bad either, getting Scott Servais in the 3rd  round and Luis Gonzalez in the 4th round, plus Dave Silvestri late in the 2nd round, whom they later sent to the Yankees for Orlando Miller, whom they later packaged in the deal to the Tigers that netted Brad Ausmus, Jose Lima, Daryle Ward, and others.  That being said, they completely whiffed with their first two picks (Willie Ansley, one pick before Jim Abbot and three before Robin Ventura; and Mica Lewis).  Oh yes, and they also took Kenny Lofton in the 17th round, which would have put the 1988 draft over the top if they hadn't traded him away in a stupid deal a few years later.

Worst Draft:

1981

           

Not one pick made the bigs.