http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=astrosduckworth&prov=st&type=lgns Astros sign RHP Duckworth to one-year deal January 17, 2005 HOUSTON (Ticker) - The Houston Astros avoided salary arbitration with Brandon Duckworth on Monday, signing the righthander to a one-year contract worth $500,000. Acquired last offseason from Philadelphia in a deal for closer Billy Wagner, Duckworth endured a rough first season in Houston, going 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA in 19 games, including six starts. On a team with a series of questions surrounding its starters, Duckworth is expected to compete for a spot in the rotation during spring training. Duckworth, 29, owns a career record of 16-20 with a 5.09 ERA in 84 games, including 64 starts. Half a million? What exactly has he done to earn anything above the minimum (unless of course, this is the minimum)? splash
So we are spending half a million dollars for this? Not sure why they offered him arbitration in the first place.
Guys, please. What is minimum, 375k? We're paying just barely over that. Duckworth is worth it purely for the potential of some coach helping him rediscovery the form he has shown in flashes (mostly in Philly). I'd rather have him than some random bullpen pickup I've never heard of that ends up being mediocre at best...i.e. David Weathers or someone. Esp. with the rotation in flux waiting on Rocket
What?! Good lord. I refuse to believe that there aren't better options than Brandon Duckworth out there.
Maybe somewhat better options for the same price. But not with better potential. At this point, with our rotation in question...I'd surely like to take the chance that duckworth can rediscover something and help the rotation out, rather than signing and surefire 3.98 ERA bullpen man.
I don't know what is worse...the fact that we overpaid this lame duck or that he has his own thread with 12 replies. Until he proves otherwise, he is a lamer.
I think the fact that people are b****ing about someone making $125k over the minimum is the worst. I sometimes wonder what some people would do if they didn't have the Astros to b**** about.
b**** about the Rockets, Texans, Comets, Aeros, that women's professional football team that played in Katy.
Exactly. Maybe everyone is still feeling the money-issue from Beltran and thinking we need to be conscious about spending $5k extra here and $20k extra there now. This is a normal deal for a guy w/his experience unelss coming off a horrific injury
I just wanted to use his name in a derogatory way...i.e. lame duck or Duckworthless . In baseball terms, this isn't a lot of money and looking over his prior stats(mainly when he was not with the Astros), he did have a few moments of good pitching. I think it is a stretch to say he is going to compete for a starting spot at this point but...who knows? I still don't think he deserves a thread or our time. But, since we always need to b**** about something around here, why not? If nobody b****ed around here, then this place would not be nearly as fun. I think we are hurting for some real news...like what Clemens is going to do. I guess were waiting for around Feb. 5 for that news.
Resigning a guy who was pure crap last season just shows again why the Astros are one of the most unsuccesful franchises in pro sports. I thought if a player played horribly, they team would just let him go.
