Surveying the wreckage. Lineup possibilites for 2005.

Nick.. my point about the salary thing is more along the lines of...

bagwell and biggio didn't hit and we lost in past years.. if you have the yanks salaries you can have 5 times as many superstars and its not likely they will all be bad at the same time..


I want a salary cap so badly though.. thats what I don't like about mlb..

 

Well, techincally, this team HAS operated as if ther was a salary cap... and there's still no WS title or appearance.

In that time, I can only think of one team in the NL who's consitently spent big and win... and that's the Braves. AND... the only reason why the Braves decided to spend big from 91-02 was that they had two young pitchers named Glavine and Smoltz, and got another one via FA named Maddux... and you knew that if you put decent bats around them, they'd succeed (and they did).

It takes a little bit of both... payroll and talent. We've seen several teams do the payroll thing... and no success (Dodgers, Orioles). We've also seen several teams do the talent thing (A's, Twins)... and no success.

It takes a little bit of both... and that's what Houston, St. Louis, and Chicago are trying to do.

The Cubs are in the best possible position because they have both the talent, and now they've decided to spend enough to win... but as we saw last year, even that doesn't guarantee success.

 

nick yeah thats true...

I feel bad for the teams that have it even worse than us as far as salary restraints.... we at least contend so I can stay a fan.. I don't know what I'd do if I was in a KC situation where I knew it dindt look like we'd ever have a payroll to win

 

Wow, how did I miss this one. Perhaps because of all the hours I am putting in at work.... Here is my $.02 .... ah forget it. I still want to enjoy our best season ever.

MadMax-
We're open. Check out the site.

www.escobarhouston.com

 

Then you should probably follow a different sport. Almost any franchise not named the Yankees or Braves would trade their last 10 seasons for our last decade.

 

"I have never been on the fan side of this argument....To me, it's far too easy for the fans to spend the owner's money." -- Larry Dierker

 

Thanks for bringing that article up. I rest my case.

 

Objection, heresay. If you rest on that, you're going to lose your case.

 

Did you read the article?

 

I have no problem with the fact that Drayton chooses to impose a salary cap upon his team. I understand it's not realistic to expect him to spend with the Yankees and the Red Sox. I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is when he tells us at every opportunity he gets, every freakin time he's either on the radio or television, that he's "committed to do whatever it takes to be a champion." Don't give me that and then go out and trade your staff ace and centerfielder; I'm not an idiot. He's not committed to doing whatever it takes to be a champion. Do I have a problem with that? Not at all, it's his money. But just don't tell me that you are like I'm some gullible idiot while you cash in on your stadium returns. Drayton's committed to fielding a competitive team and the bottom line. That's a great way to run a business and I respect the man for it - he's a great businessman. He recognizes where to make investments and where he can get by with prospects. Just don't stand there and tell me otherwise like I'm an idiot.

 

Of course, most of us realize what he means by saying that. With the financial constraints that are on a mid-market team, he has been doing whatever it takes to win a championship. He was only 5 wins short this year.

 

come on rocket fan...that's ridiculous. this team had what it took....it finished one game away from the World Series with 2 of its 5 starters sitting on the bench for about half the season, and it's starting SS out for the final 1/3 of the season...give me a break.

 

Ah, I just knew (I am pretty sure) that he went through our organization at one time.

edit: I'm thinking of Curt Schilling. Sorry I suck.

 

Not really. It's not a conditional statement. If you say you're doing whatever it takes, you mean whatever it takes. Every time I hear the guy on air, he tries to make it seem like the fans are indebted to him or something. It's always, "we went out and we got Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens, and we went out and spent the money to get Carlos Beltran because the Houston Astros are willing to go the extra mile to be a champion blah blah blah." Whatever. That's just me.

 

I'm with you on this one Cabbage. I LOVE the Astros but I dislike Drayton.

 

Drayton does sound corny... I tend not to listen to him anymore, simply because I know he's just saying stuff to get good PR.

You take everything he says with a grain of salt... he rarely reveals what his true intentions are. He just likes to talk, and frankly, he gets to do whatever he wants since its his team.

But yea... he'll always say the right things... and that "champion" stuff gets old. I tend to value Hunsicker's reactions to questions better, because he'll be telling everything without lookin thru the rose-colored glasses.

Frankly, most teams do deal with the media thru their GM only... not their owner. Drayton is a rare breed.

 

madmax.. I believe all of our playoff losses except the last one were lost by our bullpen.. you really believe we had the bullpen to win?

If I go back to the threads during the summer.. I think the general consensus was that we just didn't have the team to win..

 

I take it you don't remember John J. McMullen? Topping that, McMullen's predecessors were the "Ford Motor Credit Company". Astros fans are at least a little indebted to "Uncle Drayton."

 

max.. you don't agree that if we had gotten ourselves a good bullpen we'd be in the world series right now?

every team has injuries.. you have to make your team strong enough to overcome them.




rocketman.. i dunno.. with one playoff series victory its hard for me to believe we've been 3rd most sucessful.. I think marlins fans will take their 2 championships over several early playoff exits

 

I know that we got rid of dotel and that played a role in the bullpen.. but still

when you have a bullpen that bad.. I don't think we had what it took