The Astros have released outfielder Charlton Jimerson and pitcher Kelly Wunsch. Jimerson was 6 for 23 (.261 avg) this Spring, but, he whiffed an amazing 12 times! He’s had problems with striking out his whole professional career and didn’t seem to have much of an upside so the Astros decided to just cut their ties with him.

Wunsch was so awful in the only game he pitched that the Astros’ brass decided they had seen enough! He only pitched 1/3 of an inning and he gave up 2 hits, walked a batter and allowed 2 runs (both earned). He will likely hook on with some team and pitch in the minors because he’s lefhanded, but that’s the only thing he’s got going for him at this point in his career.

Phil Garner has done the best managing of his career for the Houston Astros. In his three seasons with the Astros, Garner has compiled a 219-179 (.550) record and he’s 13-13 (.500) in the post season and got the Stros to the 2005 World Series. In 14 seasons as a major league manager Phil Garner has never won a Division Title and he’s compiled a record of 927-981 (.486).

The Astros need Brad Lidge to prove that he’s not the pitcher he was in 2006 or the Astros are in trouble this season. 30 year old righty Brad Lidge still has the nasty stuff that made him an effective closer in 2004 and 2005 so the problem is between his ears. He was 1-5 with 6 holds, 32 saves, a 5.28 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP in 78 games for the Astros in 2006. Batters only hit .238 (righties .201) against Lidge last season and he whiffed an amazing 104 batters in only 75 innings! Still, Lidge walked too many batters (36) and he gave up too many homers (10) in 2006. If he can improve on the walks and homers he will return to the dominating closer he once was….but that’s a huge if.

29 year old righty Dan Wheeler has really turned into a solid set-up man in Houston the last three seasons. He was 3-5 with 24 holds, 9 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 75 games for the Astros in 2006. Batters only hit .221 against Wheeler (righties .183) and he whiffed 68 batters in 71.1 innings which showed what kind of stuff Wheeler has. He is a great set up man and the Astros will be better with him in that role, but, if Lidge continues to melt down Wheeler will replace him at closer.

28 year old righty Chad Qualls has turned into a good pitcher for the Astros. He was 7-3 with 23 holds, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 81 games last season for the Astros. Batters only hit .242 against him last season and he only walked 28 batters in 88.2 innings for the Astros in 2006. Look for Qualls to have another good season for the Astros this year.

33 year old lefty Trever Miller had a good season for the Astros in 2006. He was 2-3 with 12 holds, 1 save, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 70 games for the Astros in 2006. Miller held batters to a .225 batting average last season and he only walked 13 batters while whiffing 56 in 50.2 innings. Look for Miller to have another solid season for the Astros in 2007.

30 year old righty Dave Borkowski looks like he has the inside track on being the mop-up man in Houston. He was 3-2 with 1 hold, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 40 games for the Astros in 2006. Look for him to have similar numbers in 2007 for the Astros if he makes the team.

38 year old Rick White is battling for the long job in the Astros bullpen. He was 4-1 with 7 holds, 1 save, a 5.15 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 64 games for the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies. Batters hit .293 against White last season so he will have to do a better job of missing bats to make the Astros in 2007.

35 year old righty Brian Moehler is also in camp trying to win a job with the Astros. He was 7-11 with a 6.57 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP in 29 games (21 starts) for the Florida Marlins who play their home games in a gigantic stadium. Batters hit .325 (lefties .351) against Moehler last season and he gave up a whopping 19 homers in 122 innings. If he makes the Astros pitching staff the Astros are in trouble.

The Astros got rid of Astacio despite the fact that he was pitching good this Spring. He pitched in 7 games and was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He struck out 7 batters and only allowed 8 baserunners in 8 innings this Spring. He was immediately claimed by the Texas Rangers so the Astros will be reminded often if they made a mistake.

The Astros needed catching depth in the organization so they traded young Wade Robinson to the Nationals for Ardoin. Ardoin played in 40 games for the Baltimore Orioles and the Colorado Rockies last season and he hit .196 with a .238 slugging %. He’s never been much of a hitter but he’s a good defensive catcher. He will likely start the season in AAA and come up to the Astros if anyone gets hurt ahead of him.