Houston Astros dynasty

donkeyrhubear8 · 10-11-2002, 01:19 AM

The other day on here someone asked for a dynasty started for the Dodgers, Astros, Tigers, Reds, Rockies or Marlins. Someone else already grabbed up the Dodgers, so I started a Houston dynasty last night. Here's the pertinent information leading up to the regular season (I apologize for the length; that’s what happens when I wait a day to write).

HOUSTON (AP) — After a disappointing season that ended with the Astros 13 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 11.5 games out of the wild card spot, Houston owner Drayton McLane fired GM Gerry Hunsicker on Wednesday and replaced him with Levi Chronister.
McLane, who was resting at home in Temple after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, said Hunsicker’s vision for the team was no longer in line with his own.
“Gerry did a fine job for many years here,” McLane said, “but I really think it’s time to take this team in a new, younger direction.”
Young’s the opperative word, as Chronister is just 23, making him “old” enough to be the son — or even grandson — of most of his new counterparts around the league.
“I’ll grant you that he doesn’t have a lot of experience,” McLane said of his new hire, “but we sat down for a few hours two or three times last week and he really wowed me with his ideas for the future of the Astros. I think he’s just what this team needs to be competitive for many, many years.”
Not wasting any time showing off his ideas, Chronister made 10 trades and signed 18 free agents in his first day in the office.
“I know this isn’t what most baseball fans or members of the media are used to,” Chronister said, “but there’s a new sheriff in town, and I’m going to run this team a bit differently than any GM you’ve seen.”
Chronister said he made most of his moves for three reasons — to trim payroll, to get the team younger and to remove problem players from the locker room.
During an interview with MLB.com last week, Hunsicker said coping with the team’s $60 million payroll next season would be difficult because “on the surface it would appear that we've got some money available but in reality, there is a natural escalation of salaries, both with players on multi-year contracts, like Bagwell and Wagner and Berkman, in addition to some of the arbitration eligibles.”
Chronister entered his new position primed to take care of this problem and looking to do so by finding cheaper, younger players, whether they be ready for the majors or still prospects.
“Following Billy Beane’s lead with the A’s, I wanted to find some talented youngsters who could help lead this team into the future,” Chronister said. “I wanted guys I could wrap up in long-term contracts early in their careers and show why they should want to stay here for a long time.”
Chronister also had little time for players who have criticized Astros manager Jimy Williams, such as OF Richard Hidalgo and MR Nelson Cruz.
“Hunsicker told MLB.com last week that he had talked to Hidalgo and the situation was taken care of,” Chronister said. “I know talking can do a lot, but I believe in action, not words.”
The new Astros GM did agree with Hunsicker on one item. The former general manager said in the same interview that Cruz would be better off in another uniform next season, and in his first official act as GM, Chronister made the following trade with Florida:

Marlins get: Cruz, Hidalgo, CL Billy Wagner and SP Shane Reynolds
Astros get: 2B Luis Castillo, OF Preston Wilson, SP Brad Penny, 1B Adrian Gonzalez and SP Josh Beckett.

“Richard and Nelson have problems, they’re gone,” Chronister said. “It’s that simple. If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here.”
Chronister added that it was a difficult decision to trade his closer, but that the youth brought over in the trade was too good to pass up.
An even tougher choice for Chronister was whether to deal 1B Jeff Bagwell, but just moments after getting off the phone with Florida GM Larry Beinfest, Chronister pulled the tigger on the following deal:

Cardinals get: Bagwell, SP Dave Mlicki and MR Wilfredo Rodriguez
Astros get: LF Albert Pujols and SP Rick Ankiel

It appeared Pujols would play third or replace Bagwell at 1B until uber-prospect Gonzalez was ready to man the position, as the corner outfield spots were filled by Lance Berkman and Daryle Ward, but Chronister threw a wrench into that assumption real quick.
After signing free agents CL Jeff Shaw, MR Rod Beck and 3B Russ Davis to one-year deals, Chronister completed the following deal with the MLB offices on behalf of Montreal:

Expos get: Berkman, Wilson, Davis, Shaw and SP Carlos Hernandez
Astros get: SP Javier Vazquez, OF Vladimir Guerrero, MR Scott Stewart and SP Zach Day

“Getting Vazquez gives us a dominant 1-2 punch in the rotation with Roy Oswalt,” Chronister said, “and Vlad is better and cheaper than Berkman, so it was something of a no-brainer there.”
Reportedly, Shaw was less than pleased with the deal, as he had spent much of the season telling the Expos he had no desire to play for them.
“I know it’s kind of a jerk thing to do,” Chronister said, “but Shaw didn’t put a no-trade clause in his contract and I can’t worry much about whose feelings I might hurt if I’m going to aim this team in the right direction.”
After dealing off many of the team’s hitters, Chronister signed OF James Mouton, 2B Quilvio Veras, C Tony Eusebio and OF Chad Allen to one-year deals. He also signed MR Todd Erdos to a similar contract.
Having somewhat solidifed the batting order, the Astros GM then focused on the pitching staff in his next two deals, the first of which included fan favorite 2B Craig Biggio:

Reds get: Biggio, Beck and MR Doug Brocail
Astros get: SP Chris Reitsma and MR John Riedling

Diamondbacks get: MR Octavio Dotel and MR Todd Erdos
Astros get: CL Byung-Hyun Kim, CL Jose Valverde and SP Mike Gosling

“Trading Biggio pained me almost as much as dealing Bagwell,” Chronister said, “but we’d already picked up Castillo, who is younger, faster and cheaper, so keeping Bigs didn’t make any sense.
“I feel we’ve picked up five quality pitchers in these two deals, three of whom can help us next year and two of whom we can move slowly up through the minors.”
Noticing a few holes in the Astros minor league system, Chronister signed OF Dante Powell, C Brian Johnson, 1B Danny Peoples and OF Mark Sweeney to minor league contracts. He also signed Gerald Williams and Brady Anderson to one-year deals as backup outfielders.
Chronister looked to the mountains for his next deal, bolstering the bullpen and middle of the infield:

Rockies get: SS Julio Lugo, Sweeney, SP Tim Redding and MR Greg Miller
Astros get: SS Juan Uribe, UT Brent Butler and MR Denny Stark

With Brad Ausmus behind the plate and second and short now well covered in both the starting lineup and the bench, Chronister looked to centerfield as the final piece of the Astros up-the-middle defense in a trade with Cleveland:

Indians get: OF Jason Lane
Astros get: OF Grady Sizemore, SP Ryan Drese and OF Milton Bradley

“The Indians were desperate for any outfielder who was ready for the majors,” Chronister said. “Lane barely fit the bill, but he was good enough for them to offer up two-thirds of our future outfield.”
Chronister next signed MR Rusty Meachem, who approached the Astros last week about a deal but was turned down by Hunsicker.
“Gerry had the right idea at the time,” Chronister said, “but with all the wheeling and dealing I had planned, another reliever in the mix wasn’t a bad idea.”
Chronister proved his point in the next trade:

Brewers get: Meachem and Drese
Astros get: MR Luis Vizcaino

Four more free agent signings — 3B Mike Benjamin, SP David Cone, MR Steve Woodard and OF Chad Curtis — followed the trade with the Brewers.
With a rotation and bullpen now pretty well set, Chronister looked to his last two weak spots on the field — third base and center field — in his next transactions, calling up newly made friends to get what he needed:

Marlins get: 3B Jose Vizcaino, SP Wade Miller, 2B Keith Ginter, MR Hipolito Pichardo and Anderson
Astros get: 3B Mike Lowell, MR Armando Almanza, SP Allen Baxter and 2B Josh Wilson

Brewers get: Castillo, Cone, Woodard, Benjamin and Curtis
Astros get: 2B Ron Belliard, OF Alex Sanchez and OF Christian Guerrero

“I’m thrilled to get Lowell to play third,” Chronister said. “I’ve been following his career since his days with the Yankees and I think he can be a great player for us in the middle of the lineup and the left side of the infield.”
The second deal with the Brewers united the Guerrero cousins on a major league team for the first time.
“I’m very pleased to create something of a famliy reunion,” Chronister said. “It wasn’t in my plans, but the Brewers basically offered him as a throw-in, and I couldn’t resist saying yes to such a talented young outfielder.”
After nearly 30 transactions, Chronister finished yesterday feeling pretty good about the Astros team he put together in less than 24 hours.
“I know it doesn’t look much like your father’s Astros,” Chronister said, “or even your last year’s Astros, but I promise that this squad, if it stays healthy, will be better than any of those past teams.”

Mrexbaseball · 10-11-2002, 01:39 AM

this was added to the site...i need that email tho

donkeyrhubear8 · 10-11-2002, 02:15 AM

Here's how my major league roster and batting order ended up, along with some minor league players to keep an eye on for the future.

Batters
C —_Tony Eusebio, Brad Ausmus
1B — Daryle Ward
2B — Ron Belliard
3B — Mike Lowell
SS — Juan Uribe
LF — Albert Pujols
CF — Alex Sanchez
RF — Vladimir Guerrero
IF — Brent Butler, Quilvio Veras
UT — Geoff Blum
OF — Gerald Williams, Chad Allen

Pitchers
SP — Javier Vazquez
SP — Roy Oswalt
SP —_Brad Penny
SP — Chris Reitsma
SP — Josh Beckett
MR — Luis Vizcaino
MR — Scott Stewart (L)
MR —_Dennis Stark
SU —_John Riedling
SU — Armando Almanza (L)
CL —_Byung-hyun Kim

Batting Order
1. Sanchez
2. Belliard
3. Pujols
4. Guerrero
5. Lowell
6. Ward
7. Uribe
8. Eusebio

Notable Minor Leaguers
SP — Rick Ankiel (AAA), Zach Day (AA), Allen Baxter (A), A. Pluta (A), Mike Gosling (A)
CL — Jose Valverde (A)
C — J. Buck (A)
1B — Adrian Gonzalez (AA)
2B — Chris Burke (AA), Josh Wilson (A)
SS — Adam Everett (AAA)
3B — Morgan Ensberg (AAA)
OF — Grady Sizemore (AA), Milton Bradley (AA), Christian Guerrero (A)

donkeyrhubear8 · 10-12-2002, 03:46 AM

I've simmed through May and have reports written for both of the first two months, but I'm currently at work and can't post them to my site (http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.html). Try the site some time tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon if you'd like you see how the Astros are doing. You can also check www.geocities.com/ootpdynasty as I will have a link to my site there as well, under Astros Current.

donkeyrhubear8 · 10-12-2002, 06:38 AM

Well, my university site won't allow my *.html files to show up, so I have to do everything as *.txt files. Therefore, the new link for my reports is http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.txt

donkeyrhubear8 · 10-13-2002, 05:10 PM

Well, the Astros are pretty much out of the running for the NL Central at the end of July, but they're still fighting for the wild card spot. I've updated through July and will be updating August this afternoon or evening. Check out http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.html for the full reports.

10-11-2002, 01:19 AM	#1
donkeyrhubear8 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 17	Houston Astros dynasty The other day on here someone asked for a dynasty started for the Dodgers, Astros, Tigers, Reds, Rockies or Marlins. Someone else already grabbed up the Dodgers, so I started a Houston dynasty last night. Here's the pertinent information leading up to the regular season (I apologize for the length; that’s what happens when I wait a day to write). HOUSTON (AP) — After a disappointing season that ended with the Astros 13 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 11.5 games out of the wild card spot, Houston owner Drayton McLane fired GM Gerry Hunsicker on Wednesday and replaced him with Levi Chronister. McLane, who was resting at home in Temple after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer, said Hunsicker’s vision for the team was no longer in line with his own. “Gerry did a fine job for many years here,” McLane said, “but I really think it’s time to take this team in a new, younger direction.” Young’s the opperative word, as Chronister is just 23, making him “old” enough to be the son — or even grandson — of most of his new counterparts around the league. “I’ll grant you that he doesn’t have a lot of experience,” McLane said of his new hire, “but we sat down for a few hours two or three times last week and he really wowed me with his ideas for the future of the Astros. I think he’s just what this team needs to be competitive for many, many years.” Not wasting any time showing off his ideas, Chronister made 10 trades and signed 18 free agents in his first day in the office. “I know this isn’t what most baseball fans or members of the media are used to,” Chronister said, “but there’s a new sheriff in town, and I’m going to run this team a bit differently than any GM you’ve seen.” Chronister said he made most of his moves for three reasons — to trim payroll, to get the team younger and to remove problem players from the locker room. During an interview with MLB.com last week, Hunsicker said coping with the team’s $60 million payroll next season would be difficult because “on the surface it would appear that we've got some money available but in reality, there is a natural escalation of salaries, both with players on multi-year contracts, like Bagwell and Wagner and Berkman, in addition to some of the arbitration eligibles.” Chronister entered his new position primed to take care of this problem and looking to do so by finding cheaper, younger players, whether they be ready for the majors or still prospects. “Following Billy Beane’s lead with the A’s, I wanted to find some talented youngsters who could help lead this team into the future,” Chronister said. “I wanted guys I could wrap up in long-term contracts early in their careers and show why they should want to stay here for a long time.” Chronister also had little time for players who have criticized Astros manager Jimy Williams, such as OF Richard Hidalgo and MR Nelson Cruz. “Hunsicker told MLB.com last week that he had talked to Hidalgo and the situation was taken care of,” Chronister said. “I know talking can do a lot, but I believe in action, not words.” The new Astros GM did agree with Hunsicker on one item. The former general manager said in the same interview that Cruz would be better off in another uniform next season, and in his first official act as GM, Chronister made the following trade with Florida: Marlins get: Cruz, Hidalgo, CL Billy Wagner and SP Shane Reynolds Astros get: 2B Luis Castillo, OF Preston Wilson, SP Brad Penny, 1B Adrian Gonzalez and SP Josh Beckett. “Richard and Nelson have problems, they’re gone,” Chronister said. “It’s that simple. If you don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here.” Chronister added that it was a difficult decision to trade his closer, but that the youth brought over in the trade was too good to pass up. An even tougher choice for Chronister was whether to deal 1B Jeff Bagwell, but just moments after getting off the phone with Florida GM Larry Beinfest, Chronister pulled the tigger on the following deal: Cardinals get: Bagwell, SP Dave Mlicki and MR Wilfredo Rodriguez Astros get: LF Albert Pujols and SP Rick Ankiel It appeared Pujols would play third or replace Bagwell at 1B until uber-prospect Gonzalez was ready to man the position, as the corner outfield spots were filled by Lance Berkman and Daryle Ward, but Chronister threw a wrench into that assumption real quick. After signing free agents CL Jeff Shaw, MR Rod Beck and 3B Russ Davis to one-year deals, Chronister completed the following deal with the MLB offices on behalf of Montreal: Expos get: Berkman, Wilson, Davis, Shaw and SP Carlos Hernandez Astros get: SP Javier Vazquez, OF Vladimir Guerrero, MR Scott Stewart and SP Zach Day “Getting Vazquez gives us a dominant 1-2 punch in the rotation with Roy Oswalt,” Chronister said, “and Vlad is better and cheaper than Berkman, so it was something of a no-brainer there.” Reportedly, Shaw was less than pleased with the deal, as he had spent much of the season telling the Expos he had no desire to play for them. “I know it’s kind of a jerk thing to do,” Chronister said, “but Shaw didn’t put a no-trade clause in his contract and I can’t worry much about whose feelings I might hurt if I’m going to aim this team in the right direction.” After dealing off many of the team’s hitters, Chronister signed OF James Mouton, 2B Quilvio Veras, C Tony Eusebio and OF Chad Allen to one-year deals. He also signed MR Todd Erdos to a similar contract. Having somewhat solidifed the batting order, the Astros GM then focused on the pitching staff in his next two deals, the first of which included fan favorite 2B Craig Biggio: Reds get: Biggio, Beck and MR Doug Brocail Astros get: SP Chris Reitsma and MR John Riedling Diamondbacks get: MR Octavio Dotel and MR Todd Erdos Astros get: CL Byung-Hyun Kim, CL Jose Valverde and SP Mike Gosling “Trading Biggio pained me almost as much as dealing Bagwell,” Chronister said, “but we’d already picked up Castillo, who is younger, faster and cheaper, so keeping Bigs didn’t make any sense. “I feel we’ve picked up five quality pitchers in these two deals, three of whom can help us next year and two of whom we can move slowly up through the minors.” Noticing a few holes in the Astros minor league system, Chronister signed OF Dante Powell, C Brian Johnson, 1B Danny Peoples and OF Mark Sweeney to minor league contracts. He also signed Gerald Williams and Brady Anderson to one-year deals as backup outfielders. Chronister looked to the mountains for his next deal, bolstering the bullpen and middle of the infield: Rockies get: SS Julio Lugo, Sweeney, SP Tim Redding and MR Greg Miller Astros get: SS Juan Uribe, UT Brent Butler and MR Denny Stark With Brad Ausmus behind the plate and second and short now well covered in both the starting lineup and the bench, Chronister looked to centerfield as the final piece of the Astros up-the-middle defense in a trade with Cleveland: Indians get: OF Jason Lane Astros get: OF Grady Sizemore, SP Ryan Drese and OF Milton Bradley “The Indians were desperate for any outfielder who was ready for the majors,” Chronister said. “Lane barely fit the bill, but he was good enough for them to offer up two-thirds of our future outfield.” Chronister next signed MR Rusty Meachem, who approached the Astros last week about a deal but was turned down by Hunsicker. “Gerry had the right idea at the time,” Chronister said, “but with all the wheeling and dealing I had planned, another reliever in the mix wasn’t a bad idea.” Chronister proved his point in the next trade: Brewers get: Meachem and Drese Astros get: MR Luis Vizcaino Four more free agent signings — 3B Mike Benjamin, SP David Cone, MR Steve Woodard and OF Chad Curtis — followed the trade with the Brewers. With a rotation and bullpen now pretty well set, Chronister looked to his last two weak spots on the field — third base and center field — in his next transactions, calling up newly made friends to get what he needed: Marlins get: 3B Jose Vizcaino, SP Wade Miller, 2B Keith Ginter, MR Hipolito Pichardo and Anderson Astros get: 3B Mike Lowell, MR Armando Almanza, SP Allen Baxter and 2B Josh Wilson Brewers get: Castillo, Cone, Woodard, Benjamin and Curtis Astros get: 2B Ron Belliard, OF Alex Sanchez and OF Christian Guerrero “I’m thrilled to get Lowell to play third,” Chronister said. “I’ve been following his career since his days with the Yankees and I think he can be a great player for us in the middle of the lineup and the left side of the infield.” The second deal with the Brewers united the Guerrero cousins on a major league team for the first time. “I’m very pleased to create something of a famliy reunion,” Chronister said. “It wasn’t in my plans, but the Brewers basically offered him as a throw-in, and I couldn’t resist saying yes to such a talented young outfielder.” After nearly 30 transactions, Chronister finished yesterday feeling pretty good about the Astros team he put together in less than 24 hours. “I know it doesn’t look much like your father’s Astros,” Chronister said, “or even your last year’s Astros, but I promise that this squad, if it stays healthy, will be better than any of those past teams.”

10-11-2002, 01:39 AM	#2
Mrexbaseball Major Leagues Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 471 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	this was added to the site...i need that email tho

10-11-2002, 02:15 AM	#3
donkeyrhubear8 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 17	Here's how my major league roster and batting order ended up, along with some minor league players to keep an eye on for the future. Batters C —_Tony Eusebio, Brad Ausmus 1B — Daryle Ward 2B — Ron Belliard 3B — Mike Lowell SS — Juan Uribe LF — Albert Pujols CF — Alex Sanchez RF — Vladimir Guerrero IF — Brent Butler, Quilvio Veras UT — Geoff Blum OF — Gerald Williams, Chad Allen Pitchers SP — Javier Vazquez SP — Roy Oswalt SP —_Brad Penny SP — Chris Reitsma SP — Josh Beckett MR — Luis Vizcaino MR — Scott Stewart (L) MR —_Dennis Stark SU —_John Riedling SU — Armando Almanza (L) CL —_Byung-hyun Kim Batting Order 1. Sanchez 2. Belliard 3. Pujols 4. Guerrero 5. Lowell 6. Ward 7. Uribe 8. Eusebio Notable Minor Leaguers SP — Rick Ankiel (AAA), Zach Day (AA), Allen Baxter (A), A. Pluta (A), Mike Gosling (A) CL — Jose Valverde (A) C — J. Buck (A) 1B — Adrian Gonzalez (AA) 2B — Chris Burke (AA), Josh Wilson (A) SS — Adam Everett (AAA) 3B — Morgan Ensberg (AAA) OF — Grady Sizemore (AA), Milton Bradley (AA), Christian Guerrero (A)

10-12-2002, 03:46 AM	#4
donkeyrhubear8 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 17	I've simmed through May and have reports written for both of the first two months, but I'm currently at work and can't post them to my site (http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.html). Try the site some time tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon if you'd like you see how the Astros are doing. You can also check www.geocities.com/ootpdynasty as I will have a link to my site there as well, under Astros Current.

10-12-2002, 06:38 AM	#5
donkeyrhubear8 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 17	Well, my university site won't allow my .html files to show up, so I have to do everything as .txt files. Therefore, the new link for my reports is http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.txt

10-13-2002, 05:10 PM	#6
donkeyrhubear8 Bat Boy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 17	Well, the Astros are pretty much out of the running for the NL Central at the end of July, but they're still fighting for the wild card spot. I've updated through July and will be updating August this afternoon or evening. Check out http://people.ku.edu/~usul/astros.html for the full reports.