Astros at a Loss as Time Begins to Slip Away

The Dodgers were hit hard with those 19 suspensions, but consider the state of the Houston Astros. Their bid for a fourth consecutive title in the National League Central is in suspended animation.

Expected to battle the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals in a Grand Central donnybrook, the Astros are down and probably out already.

They trail the Cardinals by 10 games and have one of baseball’s worst records after winning 97 games last year and 102 in ’98.

In fact, they’re on a pace to win 60 games, a depth not even the Colt .45’s of the Houston expansion era reached.

“It’s been a total collapse,” General Manager Jerry Hunsicker said by phone. “Not one part of the club has been consistent. We’ve found a different way to lose every night.”

Some of it stems from the pitchers’ inability to adapt to the Enron Field launching pad.

The Astros are 9-15 at home but just as bad (9-15) on the road. Monday, for instance, they ended a 0-6 trip by blowing a seven-run lead in the ninth inning of a 10-9 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader that included a 6-1 defeat in the second.

Then on Wednesday, playing at home against the Philadelphia Phillies, who are holding onto last place in the NL East, they blew another seven-run lead--this one after only five innings of a 9-7 loss.

Frustrated?

“I’m beyond that,” Hunsicker said. “I’m puzzled more than anything--both with what I’m seeing and how to fix it. Did I over-evaluate the talent or has the talent under-performed? I’m at a loss to explain it. We had high expectations, which makes it all the more difficult.”

The Astros are 1-13 in games decided by one run, 1-5 in games decided by two. They are near the NL bottom in both hitting and pitching, and no one epitomizes the shock more than closer Billy Wagner, who blew only three of 42 save opportunities last year but has botched five of eight as part of a bullpen that is 5-12.

“If anyone was automatic last year it was Billy Wagner,” Hunsicker said. “He’s throwing in the high 90s, but it may be we haven’t given him enough save chances to be consistent.

“The one certainty is that we’ve had enough devastating losses to last a season.”

Another is that the Astros’ winter games are again being examined.

Hunsicker traded run-producing outfielder Carl Everett to Boston for infield prospect Adam Everett and traded Cy Young Award candidate Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell to the New York Mets for young right-hander Octavio Dotel, outfielder Roger Cedeno (who broke a hand Thursday to compound Houston’s problems) and a minor league pitcher.

“I can understand how some people would be angry with those moves,” Hunsicker said. “We’re not in the business of giving away quality players, but anyone familiar with our situation understood it.

“Part was payroll management and part was pending free agency [for Everett and Hampton]. Both indicated they weren’t going to sign until they tested the market [Everett subsequently signed an extension with Boston] and that was a risk we weren’t going to take.

“I still don’t think we can sit here today and say our current situation is the result of missing one or two players.”

Perhaps, but Everett and Bell drove in 174 runs last year and the offense has not fully compensated, although Moises Alou is back and hitting .330, young outfielder Richard Hidalgo has slugged 16 homers, a sound Ken Caminiti has regained productivity, catcher Mitch Meluskey could be rookie of the year and Jeff Bagwell has provided customary power.

A bigger loss than Everett and Bell is Hampton, who went 22-4 last season and took pressure off the rest of the rotation.

The reliable Shane Reynolds is 5-1, but no one has stepped into the Hampton breach, including Jose Lima, who is 1-7 with an earned-run average of 8.19 and counting.

“It was unrealistic to think Lima would win 21 games again, but we thought he would keep us in games, give us a chance to win,” Hunsicker said. “That’s happened very rarely. You start with Lima and Wagner, and the situation has mushroomed from there.”

Mushroomed in various forms, including a barrage of home runs at Enron Field.

“Sure, the new park is a factor that maybe we haven’t adjusted to . . .” Hunsicker said. “[But] there isn’t just one factor. It’s been a total breakdown.”

Bagwell even called a players’ meeting Tuesday and said he was embarrassed to be an Astro the way team was playing.

Some zealots also are questioning Manager Larry Dierker’s leadership, which Hunsicker dismisses. Dierker is signed through 2002, and Hunsicker said, “It comes down to the players. They can make a manager look smart when they win and stupid when they lose.”

Philadelphia Manager Terry Francona knows the feeling. His Phillies have been almost as disappointing as the Astros, and there has been speculation about his status. Francona exchanged lineup cards with Dierker in Houston the other day and couldn’t resist saying, “It’s nice to meet someone even dumber than I am.”

Will the Astros continue to make Dierker look stupid? Is it too late to make a run for a fourth consecutive Central Division title?

“We have the talent and character to do it,” Hunsicker said. “Will we? That’s something I can’t answer, but I’m not willing to concede the year. Teams have come back from bigger deficits, but every loss makes it more difficult. Realistically, time starts to run out.”

The clock is ticking ominously for the Astros.