Porter to emphasize fundamentals this spring

HOUSTON -- Astros manager Bo Porter believes that if the club can improve its fundamentals, it can exceed expectations heading into 2013. Porter said Wednesday the club needs to improve its defense, baserunning and situational hitting this year, and he plans to be a stickler on fundamentals when the team hits Kissimmee, Fla., in three weeks.

“Those are all things we will make a point this spring and we will expect those things to get better next season,” he said.

Porter said he plans to change the mindset of the club when it take the fields at Osceola County Stadium next month. It has been an offseason full of change, beginning with his hiring in September to playing in a new league and wearing new uniforms. Porter hopes the results on the field change as well.

“When things change, you have to first accept the fact they’ll never been the same,” he said. “As things change throughout the organization, with the uniforms, ballpark structure, ownership group, new manager, everybody comes in with an open mind and realizes things are different and they are different because we’re headed in a different direction.”