It was not a great start to the 2009 Astros in their first week's worth of games. 1-6 is our worst start since 1984, and age/injury concerns are weighing down the optimism even more than would be the case for most clubs.
Using Fangraphs, I'd like to keep track of where the Astros rank against the other 29 teams in some pertinent statistical categories. We may end up seeing nothing unexpected, but I think it's going to be interesting to compare and contrast the teams in MLB. If the Astros seem to make a big jump either up or down in a particular category in any given week, I'll be sure to include that in the post.
Offense:
BB/K:
| 24. | Texas Rangers |
.43 |
| 23. | Washington Nationals | .43 |
| 22. | Minnesota Twins |
.45 |
| 21. | Chicago White Sox |
.45 |
| 20.. | Houston Astros | .46 |
(The Astros 2008 BB/K ratio was .43)
OBP:
| 30. | KC Royals | .275 |
| 29. | AZ Diamondbacks | .282 |
| 28. | Houston Astros | .290 |
| 27. | SF Giants | .301 |
| 26. | Colorado Rockies | .307 |
Hitter Value (in terms of $)
| 30. | KC Royals | -$3.3 |
| 29. | Houston Astros | -$1.5 |
| 28. | AZ Diamondbacks | -$.8 |
| 27. | Oakland Athletics | -$.6 |
| 26. | SF Giants | $.2 |
Pitching:
FIP:
| 27. | Philadelphia Phillies | 5.91 |
| 26. | Cleveland Indians | 5.79 |
| 25. | Houston Astros | 5.62 |
| 24. | Boston Red Sox | 5.60 |
| 23. | Texas Rangers | 5.58 |
Value (in terms of $):
| 27. | Philadelphia Phillies | -$.3 |
| 26. | Cleveland Indians | -$.1 |
| 25. | Houston Astros | $.1 |
| 24. | SF Giants | $1.1 |
| 23. | Minnesota Twins | $1.6 |
Fielding:
Using UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), which is the number of runs above or below average a fielder is in both range runs and error runs combined
| 24. | Baltimore Orioles | -2.1 |
| 23. | St. Louis Cardinals | -.9 |
| 22. | Houston Astros | -.7 |
| 21. | Kansas City Royals | -.7 |
| 20. | Pittsburgh Pirates | -.6 |
The Astros were 5th last season, with a UZR of 42.4