Either way, the Astros are in a sticky situation just like last season. They have several young players that are ready for the big leagues. The problem is that very few players come in and perform immediately. I think the Astros slow development is in an effort to mimimize these ML struggles, but you can't eliminate ML struggles. You can't simulate the big leagues no matter how hard you try.

So, Buchholz and Nieve showed what most rookies show. They showed that they belong here, but they aren't ready to perform consistently. In most cases, teams with several young players are out of contention by now and simply deal with the growing pains. We can't with the roster of aging veterans we have. So, we mix and match. Think about it: in what other world would a rookie go down with a 4.40ish ERA? In what world would a pitcher go down with 9 or 8 wins at this point of the year (Buchholz and Wandy)?

It's funny watching the Twins and Tigers in the AL Central. People ask questions like: where in the heck did these guys come from and how long can guys like Joe Mauer, Velander, and the others keep it up? Well, the answer is that they aren't unknown, they are just young players that have finally come of age. Mauer was the number one overall pick for crying out loud. Nobody saw an all-star performance coming?

Buchholz was the number two pitcher in the Phillies system. We got him for a reason. Nieve has been rated among the top arms by Baseball America the last two years. Hirsh and Patten are there now. Albers and Barthmaier aren't far behind either. Hunter Pence isn't extremely high on the Baseball America list, but he is on their radar. They don't become the Justin Velanders or Chris Sheltons by continuing to dominate in AA and AAA. You have to expose them to ML hitting and pitching. Either that or you have to use them as bait for someone that can help. This whole point of "we don't want to deal him because he is too valuable, but we don't want to promote him because he's not ready yet" is bullshit. Which is it Tim?
I'm down with OBP (yeah you know me).