If Blum and Vizcaino can produce their same results 3rd base will be fine. I hope they concentrate on one more starter, and a couple of relievers.
I had some starters I wanted(like Armas, Vasquez, Penny, Marquis, Mays, Lohse) but am unsure if we can get them or are pursuing them.
I dont think he was traded. I was listening to 740 around halftime of the Rockets game and Hunsicker was saying that Ward is eligible for arbitration, along with a few other guys. There was no mention of a trade.
Mark Berman on Fox news here in Houston said that the Astros were in serious talks with teams about trading Daryl Ward - that something could be consumated in the next couple weeks.
They never said he was traded. They said that sources within the Astros organization said that the 'Stros are in serious negotiations with 2 american league teams. They said a deal might be done by the end of the week. There is no trade, but from reports it sounds like their close to one. They also said that the Red Sox made an offer to send us Shea but we declined.
I read this morning that the Red Sox- Expos talks had all but broken down...maybe we have thrown our hat into the Colon/Vasquez sweepstakes. Damn AB...I jumped out of my seat when I read that thread title...that was very racist of you to insinuate to a white guy that a black guy got traded.
According to the Chronicle this morning, if we got Colon, it'd be just a temporary stop before we moved him on somewhere else. That, I don't understand. If he's a free agent at the end of the year, what's the harm in keeping him around for this year?
I don't understand why we would do that...Hunsicker is definitely up to something. I say, Ward and Redding for Colon or Vasquez (preferrably Colon) and lets wrap this thing up.
In our never-ending quest to attain glory from being the first one to "break" a story here on CC.Net, let's not lose sight of the merits of accuracy. sigh I just wish we would have traded Ward two years ago when he still had some value.
I agree. T_J....although, I think he does have value...but perhaps to an AL team being that he can DH.
Ward will be traded, but it wont be for Hillenbrand. Feast your eyes on this Jan. 9, 2003, 12:13AM Hillenbrand not in Astros' plans By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Although the Astros remain potential suitors to facilitate a three-way trade for Expos ace righthander Bartolo Colon, it has become clear they are no longer interested in acquiring Boston Red Sox third baseman Shea Hillenbrand. If somehow a deal can be worked out for Colon, the odds are much better that the Astros would acquire Colon and dispatch him elsewhere to acquire the pitching general manager Gerry Hunsicker craves. As is his policy,Hunsicker does not make public his trade discussions with other clubs. But a high-ranking National League official with intimate knowledge of the discussions said the Astros have told Boston general manager Theo Epstein they don't want Hillenbrand. The Astros and Red Sox had discussions about Hillenbrand at the winter meetings, but the Astros are comfortable going into spring training with incumbent third baseman Geoff Blum and Morgan Ensberg, the opening-day third baseman last year. The Mets, who are in search of a third baseman, have also cooled on their interest in Hillenbrand. In an interesting twist, however, the Mets have made it clear they would be interested in Blum if he became available. Epstein expressed his pessimism about acquiring Colon on a conference call with Boston reporters Wednesday. "There's been no progress," Epstein said. "Actually, I don't expect there to be. I'm actually as pessimistic about our chances of matching up with Montreal as I have been in a long time." Nonetheless, Epstein says he will keep trying to land Colon to set up what could be one of the best rotations in baseball with Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe and Colon leading the way. Owned by the other 29 teams, the Expos have been given specific instructions to trim payroll by at least $10 million this winter. Montreal general manager Omar Minaya has focused on young and inexpensive talent as teams inquire about Colon and fellow pitchers Javier Vazquez and Tony Armas Jr. Right fielder Vladimir Guerrero, second baseman Jose Vidro and third baseman Fernando Tatis are a few of the other stars Minaya could trade. The Red Sox already could have landed Colon if Epstein had been willing to include former Texas A&M lefthander Casey Fossum in the package to Montreal. Fossum, 25, was 5-4 with a 3.46 ERA while pitching 106 2/3 innings over 43 games (12 starts) in 2002. The Red Sox have been hesitant to part with Fossum, which is why they called the Astros to see if left fielder-first baseman Daryle Ward could be sent to Montreal in a three-way deal. It is no secret the Astros have been looking to dump one or two outfielders since second baseman Jeff Kent was acquired last month, putting the team over the budget and moving Craig Biggio to the outfield. The Astros would still like to add more pitchers, preferably a talented and inexpensive lefthander. Because Colon will earn $8.2 million before becoming a free agent after the coming season, he appears too expensive for the Astros to keep. I have heard that he might go to the Pirates for reliever Scott Sauerbeck, who is a pretty good reliever at a cheap cost. That fits in Drayton's budget.
