http://tinyurl.com/cewmhj STARTING CATCHER: Tony Eusebio STARTING FIRST BASEMAN: Bob Watson STARTING SECOND BASEMAN: Craig Biggio STARTING SHORTSTOP: Sonny Jackson STARTING THIRD BASEMAN: Ken Caminiti STARTING LEFT FIELDER: Terry Puhl STARTING CENTER FIELDER: Cesar Cedeno STARTING RIGHT FIELDER: Lance Berkman TOP PH OFF OF THE BENCH: Glenn Davis THE STARTING ROTATION: Roy Oswalt J.R. Richard Larry Dierker Don Wilson Darryl Kile THE BULLPEN: Dave Smith Billy Wagner Brad Lidge Joe Sambito Ken Forsch RESERVE INFIELDER: Joe Morgan Bill Doran RESERVE OUTFIELDER: Luis Gonzalez Richard Hidalgo RESERVE CATCHER: John Bateman 25TH MAN: Doug Rader =============================================================================== Tony Eusebio: The Astros beloved backup catcher once set the team mark with a 24 game hitting streak. Now seeing he wasn't playing every day, the streak was spread out over 45 games but he was nicknamed "The Astro Clipper" during the streak. Eusebio was inches away from being an Astros postseason hero. The Astros were big underdogs to the Braves in the 1999 Division Series, but they won the opener in Atlanta. Then game 3 went into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, the Astros loaded the bases with nobody out. A single run home would mean a commanding 2-1 lead in the best of 5 series. Enlightened reliever John Rocker got one out and faced Eusebio. He hit one up the middle that seemed destined to go into the outfield for a game winning hit, but Braves shortstop Walt Weiss dove and stopped it. But with only one out and not enough time to turn two, Weiss' had to throw from deep shortstop to home to keep the game from ending. He fired a strike to Eddie Perez, the catcher, to force out Ken Caminiti. If that ball had gone into the outfield or Weiss couldn't get up and throw fast enough, Eusebio would have had a walk off hit. Instead it is listed simply as a fielder's choice. The Braves would get out of the inning, score two and win in the 12th and end the series the next day. Eusebio would homer in that last game. No glory though... just footnotes. Now I should note with both Craig Biggio and Joe Morgan as home grown second basemen, I came thiiiiiiis close to listing Craig Biggio as the catcher. Remember he came up as a catcher and even made the All Star team as a catcher... but I decided not to. Bob Watson: One of the few power hitters to flourish in the Astrodome... if you call 16-18 homers a year flourishing. He is the first person to hit for the Cycle in both leagues. He did it in his half a season stint with the Red Sox. I loved Bob Watson as a Red Sox first baseman and he clearly loved playing in an easy home hitters park. He loved it so much that he went straight to the Yankees. (I'm guessing 1/2 a season under the Yawkeys was just enough, thank you very much!) He scored the 1,000,000th run in baseball history. I'm not sure why that is important but it shows up in every bio about Bob Watson. Truth be told, it would more impressive if HE scored a million runs! Craig Biggio: Last spring I wrote my massive "Hall of Fame or Not" entry. I said about Craig Biggio if he hits 3,000 hits... he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Well he did and he does. He played his whole career for a relatively small revenue team despite chances to split via free agency. He worked hard, switched from catcher to second to the outfield and back to second when it helped the team. He won Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and awards for his community service. And he wound up with Hall of Fame numbers. And after he retired he stayed in the Houston area where he coaches high school baseball. So OF COURSE he wasn't a house hold name nor superstar! WHY WOULD YOU CELEBRATE A GUY LIKE HIM??? (I'll find a way to blame Bud Selig for this! I'm not sure how but I will!) Sonny Jackson: Jackson's rookie season was his best when he batted .292 with 49 steals. He created a dynamic middle infield with Joe Morgan and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated together. He was part of the Topps All Rookie Team along with George Scott and Tommy Helms. He later became a coach under Dusty Baker. Ken Caminiti: The Late Ken Caminiti was a solid third baseman for the Astros from 1989 to 1994, making the 1994 All Star Team. His talents exploded in San Diego where he won the MVP and continued into his second stint with the Astros. He hit 3 homers, drove in 8 runs with a .471 average and a 1.526 OPS in 1999 Division Series. Sadly we now know why he had such an upturn in production. Caminiti, who had faced a career filled with drug and alcohol abuse, was also the first major baseball star to admit he was a steroid user. His admission was the first slight movement towards testing and the attempt to clean up the sport. Caminiti never saw any of the attempts nor the Mitchell Report farce as he died in October of 2004 of a heart attack that some say was caused by his cocaine and steroid abuse. I know I may get some flack for putting him on the list. Maybe I should. Terry Puhl: In my "Robbed of an NLCS MVP" post, I pointed out that Puhl would have won the NLCS MVP in 1980 if the Astros could have held onto a lead. Puhl, a native of Saskatchewan, played in Houston from 1977 to 1989... being part of heart aches in 1980 and 1986... and he was able to be teammates with J. R. Richard, Enos Cabell, Bob Watson and Cesar Cedeno on one side of his career and play with Craig Biggio and Luis Gonzalez on the other side. Is a member of both the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. That covers a lot of ground! Cesar Cedeno: There are so many reasons for Sully Baseball to honor Cesar Cedeno. He had power (3 straight seasons of 20 or more homers when you call the Astrodome your home is impressive!) He had speed (6 straight seasons of 50 stolen bases or more.) He had 5 seasons where he got some votes for MVP. He was a 4 time All Star. But the biggest reason why he is here is when I played little league... I had a Cesar Cedeno glove! Folks, I literally had Cedeno in my hand. Or on my hand. Or maybe my hand was in Cedeno. Either way this is getting strange. Let's move on. Lance Berkman: Who knows what kind of career Lance Berkman would have had if he played in the Astrodome? As a minor league call up he played 2 1/2 months there in 1999. But his rookie season was the Astros first year in the park that was then called Enron. The pitchers may have hated the park as much as Enron shareholders, but Berkman exploded and put up offensive numbers that would have been physically impossible in the Dome. He also has big post season numbers. In fact when Sully Baseball retroactively awarded Division Series MVPs Glenn Davis: I remember I met Robert Wuhl at Catch a Rising Star in October of 1996.We struck up a baseball conversation and tried to stump each other on "Who was traded for whom?" I said "Who did the Orioles get for Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch and Curt Schilling?" Arli$$ was stumped and I told him "Glenn Davis." Wuhl gave that intense laugh and said "WOW! GLENN DAVIS!! What an AWFUL trade!" And it's true, the Orioles were hosed in that deal. But in his hey day, Davis was big a power threat as you can have in the Astrodome and his homer off Doc Gooden in game 1 of the 1986 NLCS resulted in the game's only run. All that being said, Robert Wuhl was right. It was an awful trade for the Orioles. Roy Oswalt: Oswalt is the kind of ace who would have fit in perfectly with the pitching rich Astros during their time in the Dome. His two 20 win seasons plus his 19 win season and three other Cy Young caliber seasons make him one of the legit aces during his 8 years in the bigs. His domination of St. Louis earned him the 2005 NLCS MVP. And to think that his career might have been literally jumpstarted while he was in the minor leagues. Evidently he had shoulder problems that looked serious while in single A ball. But when trying to jump start his car, an electric jolt from his car battery loosened some scar tissue and he hasn't had an issue since. I'm not 100% sure I believe the story, but I am guessing a bunch of pitchers are going to grab their car batteries the next time they have a shoulder problem. J.R. Richard.: In my youth no pitcher was more intimidating or dominating than J. R. Richard. Even an 8 year old Paul Sullivan had a replica Astros jersey with #50 on it. The combination of Nolan Ryan and J. R. Richard promised to be one of the great 1-2 pitching punches in baseball history. Then came the terrible stroke that ended his career and sent him in one of the cruelest spirals in the history of sports. In 1980 he was one of the best pitchers in baseball possibly putting together a Hall of Fame resume. In 1994 he was broke, divorced twice, homeless and sleeping under a bridge near the Astrodome. In the last decade and a half, he has found peace and refuge as a Minister... but man, what a career he could have had and what titles the Astros could have won with J. R. and Nolan pitching every 5 days. I wish I still had that jersey, Larry Dierker: An early star for the Colt .45s and later the Astros, Dierker showed everyone how to win in the Astrodome. He won 20 games for a .500 Astros team in 1969. He threw a no hitter later and made the All Star Team twice. His number is retired by the Astros and he became a color commentator for the team over 4 different decades. As manager of the Astros over five years he lead the team to four division titles... by far the best stretch of postseason play in Astros history. Naturally they fired him after the last division title. Go figure. Don Wilson: Another tragic pitcher in Astros lore, Wilson overcame wildness to become a steady winner and an All Star. For good measure he threw a no hitter against the Braves in 1967. But an accident in his own garage took his life and his son. The 1974 team, the last one he played on, had a staff that included Dierker, Ken Forsch and J. R. Richard. Another what could have been for Astros and their fans. His #40 was retired the season after his death. Darryl Kile: I try my best to write something kind of informative but also hopefully funny with these mini bios for the players. But between the deaths of Ken Caminiti and Don Wilson and the stroke of J. R. Richard, it is hard for me to just let loose and have fun. I just finished writing about the late Don Wilson and I looked down to see who was next... And it's the late Darryl Kile. There is no need to review his stunning death and how it affected and brought together the Cardinals and his former teammates on the Astros. I'll just celebrate a guy who had a no hitter through 6 innings in his major league debut and was lifted because he was on a pitch count... I mean REALLY! And then he threw a no hitter in 1993 against the Mets. He put together a Cy Young caliber season in his last year with Houston and then did what no player should have ever done: He left the Astrodome for Coors Field. He got shelled but became a 20 game winner with St. Louis. OK, OK... no more sad entries! Dave Smith: And here is the late Dave Smith. Oh bloody hell! Former closer Dave Smith died this off season, and from everyone's take on him, he seemed to be one of the most loved players of their division title winning teams. Keeping it positive, Dave Smith was the Astros best reliever during the 1980s. He burst onto the scene in 1980 helping build a formidable bullpen to win the division title. He was a consistent closer and a member of two All Star teams. And evidently loved to show his flowing blond hair off during batting practice. Please please PLEASE don't have any more tragic stories. Billy Wagner: Wagner broke into the scene in 1996 and by 1997 was the full time closer where he logged 106 strike outs in 66 1/3 innings while saving 23 games for the Division Champs. He was a regular in the All Star Game, won a Rolaids Relief Award and ended that strange multiple pitcher no hitter thrown at Yankee Stadium. Has found his fortune playing for the Mets and happiness... if you consider happiness being a part of the 2006 playoff loss, the 2007 collapse and possibly having his career over with major elbow damage. (Hey, compared to those previous entry, this was a positive one! Brad Lidge: After all of these downers, it's nice to see someone who had a HAPPY ending. Unfortunately for Astros fans, his happy ending had NOTHNG to do with Houston. His talent was jaw dropping and his stats backed it up. And he seemed to be on the verge of clinching the pennant for the 2005 Astros and cementing himself as one of the elite closers.... when Albert Pujols took him so deep that I am not 100% convinced the ball has landed. No shame in serving up a tater to Pujols and the Astros recovered 2 days later to win the pennant (with Dan Wheeler closing the series out instead of Lidge.) But Lidge didn't recover. He let up a walk off homer to Scott Posednik in game 2 of the World Series. Posednik had 0 homers that year. Then he let up the World Series winning run in game 4. And he lost the closer job in 2006 and by 2007 I was saying that maybe Lidge needs to get out of Houston and find some peace. Who knew that peace would be found in Philadelphia of all places where he had a perfect season as a closer and struck out Eric Hinske to clinch the World Series. I'm sure Astros fans felt good for him... but wouldn't have minded him clinching for the Astros instead! Joe Sambito: One of the rock solid relievers for the early 1980s Astros, Sambito threw 40 2/3 straight shut out innings from the bullpen. He made an All Star team, got Cy Young votes one year and MVP votes another but his Astros career was derailed by ligament damage. He later returned as a member of the 1986 near World Series champion Red Sox. I wonder if he could have gotten Mookie Wilson out in the bottom of the 10th. (Let it go, Sully... Let it go.) Ken Forsch: Forsch had a few solid years as a starter in Houston and even threw a no hitter. But his lone season as a National Leaugue All Star was as a closer in 1976. I always kept the Forsch's straight by saying "Bob plays for the Cardinals." Imagine my confusion when Bob went to the Astros. Joe Morgen: Sometimes it isn't wise to judge the quality of a trade until some times has passed. When the Astros acquired Lee May, an All Star firstbaseman and Tommy Helms, a one time Rookie of the Year second baseman from the Reds... it was considered to be a STEAL for Houston. All it cost the Astros was Cesar Geronimo, Jack Billingham, Ed Armbrister, Denis Menke and a good hitting, nice fielding second baseman who was a bit of a trouble maker. Well Menke didn't work out for the Reds but Geronimo was the Big Red Machine's starting center fielder, Billingham became a 19 game winner for the Reds, Armbrister had a key World Series moment at the plate in 1975... and that trouble making second baseman became a 2 time NL MVP and a Hall of Famer. Morgan speaks with reverence of his time in Houston and when he was a free agent he came back to the Astros in time for the 1980 NLCS. I'm sure the Astros were happy with Lee May. Bill Doran: Astros fans considered Doran to be their answer to Ryne Sandberg during the 1980s. While that was certainly a stretch, he provided some unexpected power from second (14 and 16 homer seasons in the Astrodome are noteworthy!) Plus he had 20-40 stolen base speed and played the field well. On a team that produced Biggio and Morgan it is tough to get noticed in an "All Time Team" roster. But this fan favorite will get his due respect on Sully Baseball. Luis Gonzalez: Obviously Gonzo's best years were with the Diamondbacks where he flourished as a World Series hero. But is a product of the Astros farm system and had some solid seasons during his two stints in the Astrodome. In 1993, he hit an even .300 with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He returned to the Astros where he helped bring the playoffs back to the Astrodome. He homered twice and drove in 6 runs on July 20th that year. His production tailed off by the end of the year and he was let go. Eventually he became an MVP candidate in the desert. It's safe to say he would never have had a 57 home run season in the Astrodome. Richard Hidalgo: Hidalgo had a nice career over his 7 seasons with the Astros with two gigantic seasons tucked into those years. He tended to be a 15-20 home run hitter with 80 some odd RBI thrown in. In 2000 he smacked 44 homers, 122 RBI, had an OPS of 1.028, batted .314 and got some MVP votes. He went back to normal in 2001 and 2002 before having another big season in 2003. He got kicked around to the Mets, Rangers, to Japan and finally to the Long Island Ducks. He now lives in Florida and tried to build a "Field of Dreams" on his property but was voted down by his neighbors. I would love to get a hold of his plans. I assume they include him planting corn. John Bateman: My decision to not include Craig Biggio as a catcher was to the advantage of John Bateman. The Astros don't have a long tradition of developing great catchers, so guess what? Bateman is on the list! Actually Bateman's 16 home runs in 1966 remain the club record for catchers. And in 1963, his rookie year, he was the Colt .45's team leader in RBI. He had a whopping 59 RBI. I know what you are thinking... 16 homers... 59 RBI.... Obviously a juicer. Doug Rader: When I compile these lists, I often check other people's "All Time" rosters for ideas and to see if there are fan favorites I didn't think of. Doug Rader's name kept popping up from Astro fans listing their favorite players. Now the Red Rooster didn't really have eye popping stats. Granted he had 20 some odd homers three times while playing in the Astrodome, but still I wasn't exactly overwhelmed. But he did win 5 straight Gold Gloves and kept appearing on Astro fan blogs as a fan favorite. So while I was GOING to give this to Morgan Ensberg, but I decided to listen to the fans for this one. Call this a preemptive strike to all of the Astros fans who would post on my comments "Where is Doug Rader???" --

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