With the Astros sitting 13 games behind first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central, fans have stopped paying attention to the standings. They’ve long since given up on the Astros, and for good reasons.
The Astros (42-57) have the fourth-worst record in the major leagues. They’ve lost 10 of their last 15 games, and the situation doesn’t look promising with their next three series coming against Los Angeles (NL), San Diego, and Atlanta, teams at least five games over .500.
Simply put: The Astros are a mess and fans aren’t going to waste their time tracking the standings. But Astros general manager Tim Purpura and skipper Phil Garner will continue to keep an eye on the standings. After all, their jobs depend on them.
With the Astros on track for their worst season since 1991, Purpura and Garner should both be on the hot seat. That depends, however, on whether you believe team owner Drayton McLane, who thinks otherwise.
"As far as I’m concerned, there’s no speculation (about firings)," McLane told the Houston Chronicle on June 17. "We sure wish the team was playing better. We all sat this morning for over an hour and talked about the team and what prospects we have of improving and how we can move the lineup to enhance that and get players responding better, but as far as concerns for their jobs, no."
If Purpura and Garner were smart, they’d take that vote of confidence with a grain of salt. Owners change their minds all the time. McLane could decide he wants to shake things up if the Astros continue to falter.
In all likelihood, Garner will be the first to go. Managers are usually the first ones to go in this business, so it won’t be a surprise if Garner is fired a few weeks from now or after the season ends.
Garner has come under fire from the media this season because of his managerial skills, which are average at best. He also lost points by deciding to stick with floundering players such as Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane early in the season.
Unfortunately for Garner, his mistakes were magnified even more because of a flawed roster. From pitching to hitting, the Astros have holes.
Pitching has the most holes. Outside of starter Roy Oswalt (9-6, 3.80 ERA) and reliever Brad Lidge (2-1, 2.04 ERA, 39 appearances), the Astros’ pitching staff is mediocre. Before Monday’s 10-2 loss to Los Angeles, the Astros’ 4.60 team earned-run average ranked 23rd out of 30 major league teams.
The offense has shown signs of life in recent weeks, but it’s not perfect. The Astros’ 430 total runs before Monday ranked 22nd in the major leagues.
These statistics reflect more on Purpura’s inefficiency as a general manager than Garner’s. Purpura hasn’t made any significant moves to improve the team. He’s mostly stood pat, hoping the problems would fix themselves, but that hasn’t worked.
Purpura will have a chance to make some moves before the July 31 trade deadline, but it’s unlikely the Astros will do something bizarre such as blow the roster up. McLane has made it known he doesn’t plan to rebuild by trading off valuable commodities for prospects. That means Oswalt and Lidge, two of the Astros’ biggest trade bits, won’t be shipped out at the deadline.
So for now, Purpura and Garner will simply sit and watch the standings, praying the Astros start playing better. McLane will be watching, too.
