The Astros as we all know are in a bit of a bind. Management wants to reduce payroll and presumingly go with a younger lineup, the problem with this is that the Astros have one of the worst farm systems in baseball, and the weakest part of the system lies at the upper levels. So throwing out a lineup  that looks a lot like the one the folks at Round Rock saw all of last year is not likely to keep you competitive. Now blowing up the team and starting all over has become a rising sentiment by astros fans the past couple of months, but the problem with this strategy is we are past the stage where rebuilding is the smart thing to do. First of all are star players will no longer net the same return as they are all pretty much coming off down years, and second of all we have a huge contract that can not be moved in left field. My beliefs are that the astros should try to put together the best team possible, each year while abiding within their salary means, sacrificing draft picks, or trading away players from the 08 class or beyond weakening our system even further. 

With these challenges in mind here are three options I would look at in addressing each of the Astros needs. 

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