KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — New manager, new league, a roster full of new faces and even new uniforms.
The Houston Astros have changed about as
much as a baseball team can change in the aftermath of the two worst
seasons in franchise
history. Whether they can start winning more games after
back-to-back 100-loss seasons is now the big question.
"We've talked about change throughout the
organization, from the time (owner) Jim Crane has taken over the ball
club and all
the hires he has made," manager Bo Porter said Monday before
conducting an informal workout for pitchers and catchers. "This
year (the uniform change) kind of sets the tone because they
visually see things have changed. And when you realize that things
have changed, you first realize that they're never going to be the
same.
"We made these changes because we want guys to understand that we have to play with a different energy, we have to play with
a different focus, we have to prepare differently because we want different outcomes."
After losing 106 games and then 107 last season, the Astros will conduct their first organized spring training workout Tuesday.
Rather than the familiar deep red color scheme, the Astros will have a blue-and-orange look like they had in some of their
early days.
"When I heard we were changing colors, I was hoping this is what we'd go back to," said catcher Jason Castro. "It's given
us a little bit of a facelift, and it's something new and fun for everybody."
Philip Humber, one of the new pitchers brought in to compete for one of two open spots in the Astros rotation, appreciates
the change for the sake of change.
"You come in and get to wear the new
uniforms, but at the same time that's just window dressing; it's about
what we do on
the field," Humber said. "I think that's part of it, but like the
new signs you see around the clubhouse, our focus needs
to be about the process. We're reshaping this organization and
we're excited to be a part of having a chance to start a new
tradition, and hopefully a winning one."
That will take a lot of work, as Porter acknowledged, and it may be a long time before the Astros start making a splash in
the American League.
"It doesn't matter if you're in the American
League, National League, Little League, T-ball, you have to work on the
fundamentals,"
he said. "I am a firm believer that anything that can make you
lose a baseball game is major because when it happens, they're
going to say that was the biggest play of the game."
Right-handers Bud Norris, Lucas Harrell and
Jordan Lyle, who started a combined 86 games for the Astros last season,
are penciled
into Porter's first rotation. Humber will compete with several
newcomers, including Alex White, Erik Bedard and John Ely,
for one of the other two spots.
Bullpen spots are also open, and there will be plenty of competition all over the outfield and at first base, shortstop and
third base. Porter stressed that the competition will go well behind spring training. It's all part of the new attitude.
"I wouldn't say the attitude was bad here," said Harrell, who earned 11 of the Astros' 55 wins in 2012. "It was just that
it wasn't necessarily a winning attitude where they expected to win, and that's what we're trying to change."