In light of the pending switch to the American League, each week TCB is helping you adjust to the trauma, breaking down a particular topic each week...Next up we look at Japanese sensation and Texas Ranger Yu Darvish.

Dervish? I thought that was the name of wandering Islamic pilgrims?
TCB: Darvish. Practice the spelling because you'll get a heck of a lot of use out of it in the next few years.
When will I get to see him/her/it?
TCB: The Astros play the Rangers next on the 15/16/17 June, so they could easily get their first look at him then. After that five or six times a year if we're 'lucky'.
Hideo Nomo or Kei Igawa?
TCB: Most definitely the former rather than the latter. In fact, Darvish may live up to the expectations people placed in Daisuke Matsuzaka before his debut with the Red Sox.
Does he throw the Gyroball then?
TCB: I have tried and failed to dig up one of the most intriguing baseball articles I ever read, describing an American's journey around Japan to confirm this mysterious pitch. Statistically Matsuzaka never really threw what was called the Gyroball in the States. Darvish is purported to throw a Shuuto.
English, do you speak it?

More after the jump.

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Wandy Rodriguez vs Neftali Feliz.

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In light of the pending switch to the American League, each week TCB is helping you adjust to the trauma, breaking down a particular topic each week...Next up we look at a future division opponent, the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle who?
TCB: The Seattle Mariners.
Seattle Slew?
TCB: The place where Frasier Crane's from.
Oh.
TCB: You're obviously still in Kentucky Derby mode from last week.
You mean the team that was the sixth best organisation two years ago?
TCB: Precisely. David Cameron's never going to live this article down, even though FanGraphs organisational rankings are based on a set of criteria. Still, the Mariners bottomed out at 101 losses, barely fewer than the Pirates. Last year they managed 95 losses.
Where did it all go wrong?
TCB: They scored 556 runs last year and 513 the year before. During July 2011 they racked up an incredible 17 game losing streak, scoring at 2.6 runs per game. In a four-game series against the Rangers during that streak, they scored just two runs.
And they're fixing that?
TCB: The Mariners now have a very young core in their lineup, with Kyle Seager, Jesus Montero, Justin Smoak, Michael Saunders and Dustin Ackley 25 or younger. Some or all of that group could pan out, or then again, maybe not.
Any bad contracts?
TCB: Ichiro at 38 is not Ichiro at 28 when he started with the Mariners, but he's eligable for free agency after 2012, and apart from the bagillions its keeping Felix Hernandez in Seattle, the rest of the books are pretty healthy.

More after the jump

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J.A. Happ faces Adam Wainwright as the Astros look to sweep the defending champion Cardinals.

In light of the pending switch to the American League, each week TCB is helping you adjust to the trauma, breaking down a particular topic each week...Next up we look at our brand new home the AL West.

Can't we just stay in the NL Central? I like it.
TCB: No. Things are changing and you have to accept it.
But there are so many things to like. The Cubs, the Pirates, playing teams in your own timezone....
TCB: It seemed the Astros settled into a groove over the previous decade against lesser opposition when beating the Brewers, Pirates and Reds was like shooting fish in a barrel. Now the roles have been reversed.
So we will do OK after the move to the AL West?
TCB: No, we'll probably get slaughtered for the first few seasons, but that's life. The Rangers are a well constructed team, and the Angels are turning into a very big-spending team. Oakland are a bit of a jolly-bag and Seattle are probably due for some wins by now.
So what have I got to look forward to?
TCB: There's Yu Darvish, Jesus Montero, Felix Hernandez, the shade of Albert Pujols and Jered Weaver are among the stars the Astros will face for the majority of their games starting next year. And maybe even mega prospect Mike Trout.

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For game number 16 we look at the night Randy Johnson fanned 16 batters.

If not for a chastening NLDS loss to the Padres, 1998 might have been the Astros annus mirabilis. A very good team in the first half, they caught fire in the second. The team was firing on all cylinders and Randy Johnson was the piece to push them over the edge. They won 102 games that year, a franchise record.

I wonder if Drayton McLane and Gerry Hunsicker acquired him with the idea of signing him to a long-term contract. I would assume so. Even at 35 it would have been a sound investment. He went on to win four straight Cy Youngs in Arizona. As we all know the Astros sent Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama to the Mariners for Johnson. No need to revisit that trade.

If you want to have a look at all 16 of Johnson stirkeouts, then the video can be viewed here as part of the 50 years of Astros history baseball clips. With his low action Johnson continued to clip both sides of the plate with his fastball, mixing in a devastating slider to complete a shutout of the Pirates with what looked like ease.

Other observations: those Pirates uniforms look awful. I also enjoyed Johson's celebration at the end, pumping his fists and then raising both hands to his head. Bill Brown still sounds the same. Brad Ausmus looks about half the Big Unit's height.

Do you know where Johnson's 16 strikeouts place him in Astros history? Find out after the jump.

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In light of the pending switch to the American League, each week TCB is helping you adjust to the trauma, breaking down a particular topic each week...Next up the one that got away, Derek Jeter.

Derek....really?
TCB: Despite being saddled with his first name, the clean cut American is one of the most recognisable athletes out there today, even if he is creaking at 38. However at first glance he is leading the Yankees in HR, hits, batting average and slugging percentage in this young season.
Wow 12 all-star appearances and five gold gloves. What a superstar!
TCB: Yes, about that...
Why should Astros fans care?
TCB: Jeter may have been an Astro in the first round of the 1992 draft the last time Houston had the first overall pick, if not for...
Drayton McLane?
TCB: Bingo. That or George Steinbrenner and a vast global conspiracy.
Who'd we get instead?
TCB: Phil Nevin.
Better than Chris Burke though?
TCB: Yes, but he spent only 18 games of a solid career with the Astros.

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In light of the pending switch to the American League, each week TCB is helping you adjust to the trauma, breaking down a particular topic each week...First up, it's the Junior Circuit itself.

Man does it feel good to start the season.
TCB: Have you been following offseason developments?
Once the Astros series is done I don't look at baseball news again till Spring Training begins. I basically hide under a rock for six months.
TCB: Ah (adjusts collar nervously).....
Double switches and sac bunts are what I live for.
TCB: Um, yes. About that. The Astros are moving to the American League in 2013.
You're kidding me.
TCB: Nope.
But we put up a fight?
TCB: Fans wrote letters, but it felt inevitable from the start. Lance Berkman called it extortion after the fact, and had to apologise.
Who's to blame for this travesty?
TCB: Bud Selig or Maury Brown. Or basic mathematics.
How do you figure that one out?
TCB: 15+15=30. Having equal leagues has squared a circle with playoff expansion, something MLB has been looking at for a while.
What's to compensate us for the destruction of 50 years of history?
TCB: A cool $50m and a new owner.

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So I sauntered over to Jeff Bagwell's baseball reference page to look up his OPS+. Instead I find to my surprise that Jeff Bagwell has entered the Hall of Fame. See for yourself.

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In a post for FanGraphs, Paul Swydan looks at the curveball in 2011. Roy Halladay, Craig Kimbrel and Doug Fister are the three that get the attention, but Wandy Rodriguez and Livan Hernandez are two who also receive some mention.

Rodriguez threw 221 more curveballs than any other pitcher, a crazy amount, while Hernandez's has an insane amount of movement. In fact Rodriguez's CB% has continued to rise year-on-year since 2007, up from 26.8 that year to 37.2 in 2011.

He also notes that:

Rodriguez's value was down a little overall last year, and he didn't grade out particularly well in either swinging- or called-strike percentage. Furthermore, his overall strike percentage of 51.72 was more than one standard deviation worse than league average. As a result, he will have to rest outside of the top three for this season.

Interesting stuff though. Rodriguez's curveball has gotten constant attention since he established himself as a solid rotation option in 2007. Hernandez may or may not make the rotation out of Spring Training.

So prospect afficionado Kevin Goldstein has his top 101 prospect list up at Baseball Prospectus, not behind a paywall thank goodness. We have seen enough to expect Jonathan Singleton, Jarred Cosart and George Springer to feature, but in what order?

Surprisingly Goldstein obviously is not hung up on Cosart's deficiencies as many people are. Given the salivating over Jarrod Parker when he was traded from the Diamondbacks to the A's, to find Cosart ahead is surprising at 48. Even more surprising is Springer at 49. People said he was the second best college bat behind Anthony Rendon in the 2011 draft class, but all has been quiet since he was drafted, as far as the national press goes. Singleton slides down to 73, but two ahead of Anthony Rizzo, now with the Cubs.

Jordan Lyles was #59 last year, with Delino DeShields was #82 (ouch, still a long way to go Delino).

Next on your calender is Marc Hulet from FanGraphs who will likely tear the franchise apart in the coming weeks.

So this morning, trawling through mlbtraderumors I see that Jeff Luhnow has basically stated that Wandy Rodriguez is an important part of the Astros future plans, and will likely stay with the club for 2012, either to Stephen Goff directly, or to the general media. But is that what he actually said?

"Wandy's got value to us," Luhnow said. "There's no question about it. Right now, I look at our roster, and he's an important piece of it. There's no reason to think about this team without him. He's not only been an Astro, but he knows the guys here. He knows the staff. He's going to win some ballgames for the club.

Hmmm....and:

"At this point, he's definitely an important part of our plan."

At this point in time Rodriguez is going to start the year as an Astro. Nailed on. When even the biggest teams cannot find payroll space for Roy Oswalt, there is no reason to believe there is a market for Rodriguez. That is not to rule out a market developing for him at the non-waiver trade deadline in July. To say that he is 'likely' to stay with the Astros for the entirety of 2012 speaks of a knowledge of what teams may or may not offer for him in July.

Think about it.

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My first reaction was a bit of a groan, when I heard from Ken Rosenthal that the Astros had signed Livan Hernandez, formerly of the Washington Nationals. Never fear, this is a minor-league contract and is a solid punt into the grass by Jeff Luhnow.

A bit of quick statistical analysis shows at age 37, Hernandez may still have it. In his last two seasons, Hernandez has wildly different ERA's, 3.66 in 2010, 4.47 in 2011, but these are down to a rise in BABIP and a few extra home runs. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) has actually been steady as a rock, checking in at 3.95 and 3.96 over the last two seasons.

More to follow after the jump.

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