Why Cecil Cooper is Hurting Your Fantasy Team

I love passion. So rather then talk about the concept just read the answers that Lisa from The Astros Dugout has to the questions I asked her below about the Astros players and especially the one about the manager. That's a fan. She does this sort of thing everyday at her blog.

FBHS: Lance Berkman is playing like the great Lance Berkman we've all come to know and love. Yippee. Anything different in the last month or so compared to what he was doing in April and May? Is he going to keep going or is there another slump ready that we don't see yet?

AD: ALL baseball players have slumps, even the great Pujols. Lance's problem is that his slump was highly visible because it came in April. He sat out the San Diego series at home May 8, 9 and 10 and returned to the lineup on the 12th. For the rest of the month, he went 19/62 with 13 BB, 4 HR, 1 triple and 4 doubles, for a .306/.456/.556/1.012 line. He continued essentially the same line in June: .318/.436/.625/1.061 and into July (1-6): .400/.550/.600/1.150 (and yes, I know - small sample size for July...)

I have no idea why he struggled so much in April and I have no idea what he did, other than rest, to turn it around after the three games he sat out. I've looked carefully at his stance and swing from several April games and from several June games and I can't see a difference, but he says that he is NOW seeing the ball well. Your guess is as good as mine.

Of course I expect him to have some slump some time because it is what baseball players do. I certainly don't think that he is in decline in any way. He has even started successfully stealing bases again. Confidence breeds success


FBHS: Our friend Wandy Rodriguez took a big step down in June from the pedestal he was pitching from in April and May. He gave up 11 home runs last month compared to just 1 in the seasons first two months. This can't be just a case of bad luck and good luck right?

AD: Actually, I think it probably is, uh, chance. I HATE the word "luck" as applied to baseball players. It wasn't likely that Wandy had somehow reduced his homer rate to 1 in 68 innings; he then had a couple of bad games in which he didn't locate his curveball well and got hammered. I do think that he is a very good lefty with a wicked curve, one of the top 10 leftys in the NL and I expect his numbers to end up reasonably close to those he posted last year.


FBHS: From what I gather, you aren't the leader of the Cecil Cooper Fan Club.

AD: No, that honor goes to whichever Astro would care to designate himself as such.

If you'd like to go on a rant about how Cecil doesn't bring out the best in one of his players go right ahead!

AD: ONE of his players? How about ANY of his players!!!!!

There just really isn't anything good to say about the man's ability to manage. He obviously has a lousy relationship with the players and is a poor communicator. He talks behind players' backs to the media, and sometimes flat out publicly disrespects even his stars without first discussing matters with them. He doesn't want any young players on the team - he had no choice about Michael Bourn last year or Felipe Paulino this year, or they would have been gone, like Maysonet. He prefers ANY lousy veteran, even Jason Smith, to any young player, no matter how well he performs. He has absolutely NO idea how to handle a bullpen or when to pull a pitcher - both starters and relievers don't respect him. He has absolutely no idea when to send a runner and when not to. The team percent caught stealing (omitting Michael Bourn) is over 50. He systematically and routinely removes Carlos Lee in late innings unless the Astros are losing by 2 or fewer runs (and Lee not expected to bat in the 9th) and replaces him with Jason Michaels (neither a faster runner nor a superior fielder) or Darin Erstad, BOTH hitting well below the Mendoza line, and the absence of Lee's bat has cost the Astros dearly and neither one has saved so much as a single run, or even a single play. He doesn't have the faintest idea when it is a good idea for a non-pitcher to sac-bunt.

I could go on, but what for? I almost hope that my team starts losing, and losing badly so that Drayton will finally fire the guy. He is, without question, so bad that he just about makes me miss Jimy Williams. For all his faults, at least Jimy was great at teaching and integrating young players.

If you are going to ask me if he is Trey Hillman bad, I'm going to have to think on that one for a while...