Winless City
How bout them utility players! Baseball Tonight dismisses the Astros entireinfield
The Houston Astros — still the only winless team in baseball, if you haven't heard — aren't being laughed at. They're being pitied.
ESPN's Baseball Tonight analyst Tim Kurkjian revealed on a recent show that a scout told him that the Astros' entire infield is made up entirely of "utility players." If you're unfamiliar with baseball jargon, utility players are the guys who come off the bench and play one or two days a week (at most) for decent major league baseball teams. It's hard to argue with the scout either.
Could Geoff Blum start for any other major league team? Heck, Blum might not be start for a number of Triple A squads. Yet, the career .250 hitter has started six of the Astros' eight games.
Blum is not in the lineup for this afternoon's game at St. Louis. But look at the infield starters: Pedro Feliz at first base, Kaz Matsui at second, Jeff Keppinger at shortstop and Chris Johnson at third. There is not a frightening hitter among them (at least not to the opposition). If you think about it, is it really any surprise that the Astros have scored the fewest runs in baseball by a landslide (Houston has put up 14 runs in eight games, the next-lowest-scoring team, Cleveland, has 26 runs).
When Kurkjian, one of the most respected and measured voices in the games, is all but dismissing the Astros' chances of avoiding 90-plus losses in mid April, there's not much counter argument. New manager Brad Mills must be wondering if he'll get his first W before May.
