LAKELAND, Fla. – The Houston Astros have a plan. It sounds complicated, but isn't. Their smart guys seek smart ways to get good players or to make their own players better, and one day we'll find out whether the plan worked. That's about it.

In the meantime, a 107-loss team will be fed to the American League in general and the American League West in particular, places where plans often – but not always – arrive at media conferences in black limousines.

The observation has been made that the Astros will pay their full roster about what the New York Yankees will pay Alex Rodriguez, which sounds inequitable. In reality, however, the Astros and Rodriguez are likely to have similar effects on their division races in 2013.

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The Astros that will cover the ground between what the organization is now and what it will be in general manager Jeff Luhnow's plan are, granted, no-names. I use the term because Luhnow did the other day before an exhibition game against the Detroit Tigers. Also, because at the start of camp, rookie manager Bo Porter had the names removed from the backs of all the jerseys. The 25 chosen to play against the Texas Rangers on March 31, the start of the regular season, will have "earned" back their names.

Those who didn't must choose between "Bagwell," "Biggio" or "Puhl."



Luhnow has been GM for a little more than a year and Porter his field manager since late September. Luhnow is bright, somewhat bookish, knows his baseball and wears a ballcap with some authority. Porter is a pure baseball guy capable of a fierce glower and a gracious smile, sometimes inside the same sentence. After years of job interviews and near misses, he has gotten his first shot. Predictably, then, little about this will be easy. Few expect anything from these Astros, who have undergone a thorough strip-down/reorganization, leaving the projected big league roster heavy in nuances like upside, promise and geez-I-hope-this-works.



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The reviews for '13 haven't been especially kind, ranging from forecasts of 100 losses, 120 losses, and total implosion on opening day. Luhnow nods, grins, shoulders the assessments and believes in the plan. Porter does all that except maybe the smile. He has a roster to insulate, young men to direct. There's a way to do this no matter the names on the backs of the jerseys. You know, if they had them. The challenge is big. The players are raw. The expectations couldn't be lower.

Asked the other day about a player and his chances to make the club, Porter said simply, "Anybody who's in camp has a chance to make the 25-man roster."

Even, you know, that one guy, that outfielder who's never played a full season at Double-A? That guy?

"He in camp?" Porter asked with feigned curiosity. "He's in camp, right?"

The questioner, now suddenly unsure, nodded. Porter nodded back.

"He's got a chance," Porter said flatly.





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It's kind of cool like that. Porter says in four words what he can say in exactly four. In danger of five, he used a contraction. No wasted coddling. No circuitous explanations. Play the game, forget about the rest. Forget, in particular, what most people seem to think about the Astros and the coming buzz saw. Or season.

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