Friday's Three Astros Things

Let's talk some Friday Astros baseball as we prepare to take on the Commies from Cincy...


1) Should Houston go after Brandon Inge? - Um, no.

I know it's probably tempting to talk about replacing Chris Johnson with a name like Inge, especially after he was released by the Tigers on Thursday. But, it's really not practical for a lot of reasons.

For one, he's not a good player. Look up his Baseball Reference page. That's not going to play very well, batting below the Mendoza line for more than about 20 plate appearances.

The other reason is he doesn't have a lot of upside. I can see Houston bringing in veteran-y players if they can be flipped for more later on. But, to add a guy like Inge, they'd have to cut ties with Chris Johnson or find a playing time jam in the minors. No one wants that.

I know, I just pulled a Strawman on you guys. Set up a fake argument only to knock it down. What can I say? It's been a slow week...

2) What's MLB doing well, not so well - Maury Brown (who I know not a ton of you like right now) has some interesting thoughts on what MLB is getting right right now and what it can improve upon. Some of his points are of interest to Astros fans everywhere. Points like:

Figure Out How to Deal with Local TV Rights Revenues Overturning the Economic Disparity Cart – The difference is amount of money in the deals. Clubs with small television territories and/or small Designated Market Areas (DMA) are not going to garner deals of the magnitude we are currently witnessing.

MLB Advanced Media – This may be the smartest thing that the owners collectively decided to create.

You should really check out both articles, but I picked these two out in particular, because they're very much in the Astros interest. Houston's RSN was big driving factor in why the Astros sold for as much as they did last summer and should bring in some nice revenue in the coming seasons.

However, it's nothing like what the Dodgers and Angels will be raking in out in L.A. Since Houston will be competing directly with the Angels soon, it's in their best interest for baseball to get this sorted sooner rather than later. But, I doubt baseball actually does anything with it, so...

The flip side of that coin is how good MLB has done with its Advanced Media department. The minds that brought us Pitch F/X and much of the online content that helps us follow major league baseball now are crucial. Being in a press box, I can tell you it makes life much easier to have something so interactive to refer to when writing a story. When I wondered what pitch someone was thrown on an at-bat, I simply had to look at Gameday. When I'm covering a high school game? I have to make sure to catch the player after the game and remember to ask him about that play, hoping he can tell me what he saw. Don't I wish every game had Pitch F/X...

3) Yes, Astros have trade value. No, moves will not be made soon - Lastly, let's close with this post from MLB Trade Rumors, again touting Brett Myers trade value. The upshot here?

Depending on Myers' performance, the evolution of the trade market and Luhnow's willingness to absorb salary, the Astros could acquire anything from a marginal minor leaguer to a legitimate prospect for their closer.

Well, yeah. That can describe virtually any situation for any trade ever. It's all about how much salary is involved and how a player is doing. Even then, if no teams are looking for a closer, there's not going to be much demand for him.

But, it's so, so early in the season. Trades like this won't necessarily happen until June at the earliest. Right now, teams probably want to get through the draft first and then worry about trading guys away. Plus, contenders might want to make sure they're going to, you know, contend before trading away prospects. Think Myers might fetch back Will Middlebrooks? Make sure the Red Sox aren't headed for a losing season first.

I know I don't have to tell you this, but I'm not keen on talking trades again this season like we did two years ago. I'd like to just enjoy this team for a bit. We've got plenty of time to create scenarios to send Myers away.