FanGraphs has some charts and graphs for your perusal regarding the Lindstrom trade:
Lindstrom is still an attractive asset despite his down year. His ground ball tendencies are great for a reliever, as it suppresses the home run ball. He has a live fastball, averaging over 96 MPH. The questions for Lindstrom are if he can find his control and lower his BB rate as well as if his crazy home run suppression will return...
...In addition, the Astros farm system is, simply put, not good. Bono had decent numbers (3.62 FIP) in A ball at age 20 and has a very high ground ball rate, but doesn’t seem to be highly acclaimed by scouts. Bryan didn’t walk a single time in 105 ABs in rookie ball, and that lack of plate discipline will not play in the majors.
The Marlins didn’t get much for Lindstrom, and although he was unproductive and is aging, at 30 years old, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to just give up on...
...However, Lindstrom probably won’t cost Houston too much, and as such an intriguing player at such a low cost, this move makes a lot of sense for Houston.
Alright, so the math wasn't that hard.
And, just to throw it out there, Bill James projects Lindstrom to get a little closer to his 2008 numbers:
4.76 ERA/1.57 WHIP, 7.76 K/9 : 4.41 BB/9 and a .277 BAA.
(Captip to the Crawfish Boxes for the link)
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
