Brad Lidge has regained his closer's position in Houston, but teams are still closely monitoring his availability as the trade deadline nears. The Astros prefer to hang on to Lidge but might move him if they are blown away. They are looking for young outfielders and catching. Lidge would look good paired with Brett Myers at the back end of games, and he's under contract for next season, meaning Myers could go back to the rotation in 2008. The question is: Do the Phillies have enough to get Lidge? Houston native Michael Bourn might be enticing, but it would take a lot more than that to swing a deal, and there's no way the Phils would part with pitcher Kyle Drabek, another Houston-area guy. . . . http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20070617_EXTRA_BASES.html
Adam Dunn has heard it before—the Cincinnati Reds are shopping him for a possible trade. But there's a difference this time around. Unofficially?" Dunn told the Dayton Daily News. "I think it'll happen." Count the White Sox in the group of teams believed to have been scouting the left fielder last week. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta, Houston and Detroit also appear to have at least a passing interest in Dunn, who has hit 40-plus home runs in each of the last three seasons. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...s,1,4392337.column?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines
I keep hearing this about Dunn. I just don't know where he fits in. He's a terrible defensive player in the OF and at 1B. He belongs in the AL as a DH. A year or 2 ago, I'd would have loved to have him. Now, I think Scott has earned his spot and Pence and Lee aren't going anywhere any time soon. I'll take a slumping (breaking out of it, though) Berkman any day over Dunn. I still don't see them moving Lidge at this point, either. Why would they? Wheeler hasn't exactly been stellar this season. Even in his saves, he would still give up a hr to make it a little closer. Lidge is really the only consistent pitcher in the pen right now. They need to keep him.
Peter Gammons reported that the Mets asked about Lidge last night during Sunday Night Baseball. He said Wagner has been lobbying hard for the Mets to get his former teammate to be his setup man. Gammons seemed to think that it would be unlikely for the Mets to deal for Lidge unless their willing to part with some minor leaguers that they are currently looking to hold on to. It would even be less likely if the Mets did deal a package to the White Sox for Mark Buerhle. Just another rumor to float out there.
If we could get something for Lidge, go for it...Starting pitching and a consistent bat is what we need, but so does everyone else...
Sorry, nevermind, I wikipedia'd his ass, he is Doug Drabek's son. Drabek was born in Victoria, Texas.
I didn't know where else this could go.... but this thread seems okay. Anybody checking out what Einertson and Bogusevic are doing at Salem this year? Two guys who were big dissapointments the last couple of years (albeit Mitch had some personal problems) have rebounded in a big way. The organization could be in better shape than it seems if these two former "highly touted" prospects pan out.
Bogusevic is a starting lefty pitcher... he was the Astros first round pick in 2005 from Tulane (where he was actually a productive with the bat there as well). He apparently is over his arm troubles that severely hampered his production last year at Lexington. Mitch Einertson is a 20 year old OF who absolutely tore it up when he was a rookie back in 2004 (scouts thought he'd be a rare A-Rod like guy who could advance through the system in record time). Since then, however, he suffered from some personal problems and had some lackluster years at Lexington. This year, however, he is doing a tremendous job at Salem (there were thoughts earlier in his career that he may be converted to a 2B... he's still playing the OF as of now).
Bogusevic is a lefty pitcher and was our first round pick from a few years ago out of Tulsa. He had some injury problems due to serious overuse in college (also played RF when he wasn't pitching) and it finially caught up with him. He seems to be healthy now and is doing well. Einertson is an OF'er who some calling for before Pence. He had some problems and fell off the map. He's still only 21 and should get a call to AA within in the next month.
Bogusevic's numbers would be great if he could cut down on those walks. Looks like Josh Flores is doing well down there and Tim Torres is having a good season. Who is Brad James? His numbers are really good. At his age and the way he is dominating at Salem, I would think he should be at Corpus Christi. He turns 23 tomorrow.
To see the Astros minor league affiliates, you can start here: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/mlb/minorleagues/team_index.jsp?c_id=hou Click on "stats" for each team to see how the players are doing.
You can also get daily boxscores/recaps at www.minorleaguebaseball.com . I mainly go there when the Astros are losing... it helps when you can get excited/optimistic about something in the organization, even if it is 2-3 years away.
Yeah, his brother Justin Drabek (the failure of a son, and pitcher) went to my high school. We always heard how his brother was tearing it up and there...well... there was Justin. lol
