It seems as though Ed Wade is doing his best to ruin the Houston Astros' chances of competing for the playoffs before they even play one game.
Like most other analysts, I thought the Phillies got the better of the Brad Lidge/Michael Bourn trade, though Wade has always been obsessed with the idea of a speedy guy at the top of the lineup. But his latest move is just mind blowing.
The Astros reportedly have agreed with free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui on a three-year contract worth $15 million.
Maybe Wade thought he was signing Hideki Matsui. Three years and 15 million dollars for Kaz Matsui? I can think of a number of reasons why this is going to turn out to be a disaster for the Astros.
1. Kaz Matsui has a career OBP of .325. Before he went to the hitters paradise that is Coors Field, his career OBP was .314. Atrocious is a word that comes to mind when I look at those numbers.
2. At first glance, Matsui's numbers for 2007 look decent enough, .747 OPS with 32 stolen bases. All one has to do is look at his home/road splits to see how much Coors Field pumped up his numbers. On the road, he put up .249/.304/.333. Yes, you are reading that right, on the road Matsui produced an OPS of .637 that would make Abraham Nunez proud.
3. Matsui's only decent attribute is his base stealing ability. He is 32 years old. Hmmmm, I wonder what age does to baseball players that rely on speed?
With Bourn and Matsui at the top of the lineup, I imagine there will be quite a few instances this year when the Astros #3 batter is up with two outs in the first inning.
Like most other analysts, I thought the Phillies got the better of the Brad Lidge/Michael Bourn trade, though Wade has always been obsessed with the idea of a speedy guy at the top of the lineup. But his latest move is just mind blowing.
The Astros reportedly have agreed with free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui on a three-year contract worth $15 million.
Maybe Wade thought he was signing Hideki Matsui. Three years and 15 million dollars for Kaz Matsui? I can think of a number of reasons why this is going to turn out to be a disaster for the Astros.
1. Kaz Matsui has a career OBP of .325. Before he went to the hitters paradise that is Coors Field, his career OBP was .314. Atrocious is a word that comes to mind when I look at those numbers.
2. At first glance, Matsui's numbers for 2007 look decent enough, .747 OPS with 32 stolen bases. All one has to do is look at his home/road splits to see how much Coors Field pumped up his numbers. On the road, he put up .249/.304/.333. Yes, you are reading that right, on the road Matsui produced an OPS of .637 that would make Abraham Nunez proud.
3. Matsui's only decent attribute is his base stealing ability. He is 32 years old. Hmmmm, I wonder what age does to baseball players that rely on speed?
With Bourn and Matsui at the top of the lineup, I imagine there will be quite a few instances this year when the Astros #3 batter is up with two outs in the first inning.
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