Well, of course they do. Jim Crane talking is always cringe-worthy. Part of me also thinks that this perception problem has also been propogated tirelessly by Buster, and Peter Gammons, et al.
Astros are the new A's. Difference? Folks had to shut up when OAK won. Couldn't open their mouths until the playoff failures. Right now, the Astros simply aren't good, and have had 3 things go horribly wrong as of now (Springer thing, Appel, Aiken). Like the title said: perception. Media never liked the "smartest man in the room" deal. Never. Check out the NFL. When Chip Kelly walked in, people could not wait to destroy him when his team struggled. They had to downplay heir jovial mood when Philadelphia went 7-1 to finish the season. Media is taking overall delight in the Astros failures.
Meh, who cares. Do i wish they had signed Aiken, yes,but everybody hated the Astros before this, at this point it's beating a dead horse. Winning and getting on TV are the Astros only real problems moving forward.
Perception problem from the media really equals laziness on their part to see the whole picture. If the Astros knew about the UCL or whatever medical issue it is before the draft, Aiken never would have been taken number one. If the rules allowed for a team to have a certain amount of bonus money and used as they saw fit to sign whoever they wanted, then Nix and Marshall might be Astros today. Instead, the current rules wipe out 7 million in bonus money that can't be used without repercussions because Aiken wasn't signed first. The lazy solution for the media is to attack someone when they are down instead of focusing on the current system's flaws that screwed over three 18 year olds and the Astros.
This is correct. This after the fact bashing of the Appel pick is the sports media being disingenuous at its finest.
One of the few more balanced articles http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/17498242-the-astros-and-the-grand-scheme-with-brady-aiken
I don't think this is 100% factual, and if it isn't, this was very irresponsible of Olney. The Astros could have paid Aiken $6.5 million AND given Nix $1.5 million, right? That was the original deal for both players. Both deals could have been signed assuming the Astros didn't find something that made them take pause during Aiken's physical. IMO, any potential "savings" from the Aiken deal would go to Mac Marshall to get him to sign versus starting at LSU in the Fall.
The first pick's slot value was 7.9, so 1.4 combined with his regular slot value would have gotten them the 1.5. But these writers aren't gonna let facts get in the way of their opinions
None of this will matter if the stros get the #1 pick and the #2 pick in 2015 and nail those picks. I think the stros season will play out like last yr and the stros will crap their pants in September again and end up with the top 2 picks. Maybe Luhnow and co like the 2015 draft more than the 2014 draft. So they didn't feel pressure to sign a pitcher with a high chance of blowing out his elbow. With the small UCL he may not be able to come back from Tommy John surgey like so many others have and Aiken simply wasn't worth the risk. What does the 2015 draft prospect list look like? Is it better than the 2014 class at the top? Luhnow and the scouts know these answers. Can any posters give me a clue?
The MLB needs a combine, and maybe a rule about getting medical tests on a limited number of players per team.
It's not like the Astros don't still have a top 5 farm system with Springer, Singleton, etc in the majors. The draft behind Aiken was still very good. Astros will pick 2nd and 3rd in next years draft (1/2 game from 1.1, 1.2) I don't really see how this is a setback moving forward. Better too get compensation and take another swing next year than pay 6.5 mil for someone who might have a completely unrepairable elbow in a few years. That seems more devastating than the former.
Yep Air Langhi know this and is just being a contraian. I'm looking forward to the huge bonus pool Luhnow will have and the fact that agents will know not to get into a bluffing poker game with Luhnow.
