They'll have no choice if they really want Delgado that badly. The Astros would be idiots to part with Burke and Backe or Astacio for Soriano and a deal shouldn't be hatched unless the Rangers come down on their demand. Burke and Redding is more than fair to them considering Soriano's price tag and the cost of Burke for 5-6 more years. If the Rangers don't back down, look elsewhere, it's that simple.
Cameron would be a nice addition as we need a bat and would solve the CF problem we have...coming off wrist surgery is not that big a deal as Kend did the same thing...
you want a bat? go to Academy...they have great deals this time of year you want a hitter? pass on Cameron..comparing him coming off of wrist surgery to Kent is a terrible comparison...Kent is 10 times the hitter/run producer that Cameron is
Drop those little kids off. Burnitz in CF on this team is a joke. I feel sorry for our pitchers. I thought our defense su%^%^ last year... This team will lead the league in strike outs. .. Not our pitchers, our hitters!
Have you actually seen Burnitz play center field? He's actually quite a good fielder. I know he has the stocky power hitter body type but he has good fielding instincts.
Unfortuately, even his agent seemed to do a poor job selling his defensive skills as a centerfielder... "He was very proud of the fact he has the capability to play center field," Simon said. "He may not be as good in center field as some of the pure center fielders, but everybody who's seen him patrol center field in Coors is convinced he does at least, if not better than, an adequate job." Gee... "he does at least, if not better than an adequate job." That guy should be in product marketing...
Why are people so down on Burnitz is what I don't understand. This team is not nearly as bad as people in here make it out to be, though it's not as good as last year with Beltran. Jeromy Burnitz has been a major league starter for 8 years now, in 6 of those years, he had an OPS of .800 or higher. That is solid. The only two places he didn't were the Mets and Dodgers, both of whom have extreme pitchers parks. And in his second tour of duty at Shea(Mets) he had a .925 OPS in 65 games. He also is lefthanded, can play all 3 OF spots and is from the area. At 3-4 mil a year for 1/2 years, he is a good value signing for the organization. The road splits from anyone who plays at Coors are skewed anyways, as Rockie hitters tend to pick up bad habits like swinging for the fences even more so than normal. And Burnitz has a track record of success besides last year going for him. Furthermore, MMP is nothing like Dodger Stadium and Shea for hitters, not even close. Here are his stats btw: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?statsId=5061 Of course the first part of the season without Lance will be rough offensively, but there isn't really a good way to replace someone like that ever. Overall though once Lance returns the lineup really isn't that bad. I like everett in the two hole because it creates a better overall lineup imho. 1. Biggio 2. Everett 3. Bagwell 4. Berkman 5. Burnitz/Lane 6. Burnitz/Lane 7. Ensberg/Lamb 8. Ausmus However, at the beginning of the year I'd go with Biggio-Everett-Bagwell-Burnitz-Ensberg-Lane-Burke-Ausmus ordering the 4-6 spots based on who is hot at the time. Lastly, a pitching staff of either of these isn't chopped liver either: A) Clemens-Oswalt-Pettitte-Backe-Buckholz/Hernandez/Redding B) Oswalt-Pettitte-Backe-Redding/Hernandez/Buckholz filling the last two spots with Astacio and Duckworth as outside possibilities. I don't think it's that cut and dry as far as clemens returning hinged on Beltran. He stands to make quite a bit of money in arbitration and he knows the team needs him more than ever now. However, there is still talent on this team to be a playoff contender with or without him(the Astros have had success with far less talent then they have now in the past) and if they can get one good setup man to go with qualls-wheeler-harville and lidge, the pen looks ok. Plus as Purpura said, in midseason they would have tons of flexibility and approval to add pieces if they were in the race(I'd be shocked if they aren't honestly). In Conclusion signing Burnitz to a reasonable deal is a solid starting move for 2005.
oh, no. you didn't hear?? yeah, the astros cancelled the season. they heard that a few people here didn't give them a chance to finish about .500 next season, so they just said, "forget it."
I am not so sure about this, I mean, do you even have a clue if Andy is coming along well ?? Does anyone have any info on that, last I read he was just starting to throw. You are also hoping that Backe has an entire season that looked like his playoff starts. After that, as far as pitching is concerned right now, you dont have much, except for minor league pitchers. Lets also talk about Defense, cause as it stands, we stink. Jeff Bagwell can only make one throw, and thats back to the pitcher. We have no clue what will happen at second, Burke is a rookie and is expected to take some time to learn. The left side of the infield actually isnt bad, Adam along with Mike or Morgan works, but, the problem with them is they do go light in the bat. The outfield is the biggest question mark right now. My grandma can run on Biggio, plus, sometimes he looks like a deer in the headlights while trying to field a pop fly. I love Craig, but he isnt an outfielder, especially not at 38, the Astros are very lucky that he will basically do as they ask. Now comes the great part, with Berkman gone for gawd knows how long, we are gonna feel it. Lance made some plays, but, we are gonna miss his bat, his switch hitting bat. If we do get Burnitz, I honestly dont know what to think, I know he swings for the fences pretty much every time up, I know he strikes out a good bit, and I know he is 35, MMP aint no punk in center, and with Tal's Hill out there, he better have his dancing shoes ready. Now we get to Lane, we know he has potential, but we also thought Ward and Elarton were untradable, but, we all saw how that worked out. I hope Jason can hit most of all, whatever we get in the OF from him I will take. Gawd forbid we have anymore injuries out there. I just dont see playoff run, def not without Clemens, and honestly, even with him, we are asking a lot of a team that no longer has Jeff Kent or Carlos Beltran. I mean, I just dont see how you expect two rookies, and Burnitz to match what Beltran and Kent were doing, seriously. I see more question marks about this team than anything else. We have no clue how Andy is gonna look, we have no clue if Backe can control his emotions and be effective all year long. We have no clue if Burke and Lane can be productive on off and def in the bigs, and we have a rag tag outfield right now without Berkman and Beltran. Before I forget, Bagwell and Biggio did also get a year older. We had a great top of the lineup last year with Biggio, Beltran, Bagwell, Berkman and Kent, we lost three of those guys, with Berkman being out for a portion of the season, I just think its gonna be tough to match the output of those three by plugging in Burnitz (assuming we acquire him), Lane and Burke, sorry man, I just dont see it. I think we are gonna scuffle along all year. I mean, our team last year struggled for 65% of the season to win games, and you are telling me without Kent, Beltran, and with Berkman hurt we are gonn make a run for the playoffs ? And thats assuming we get Clemens back. And lastly, our bullpen LOL, I mean that really was our weakest link last year. Lidge is obviously lights out, its gonna be a sad day when his contract runs out. After Brad, we have a bunch of guys that are great at serving up late inning, tie breaking homeruns. I mean, where did we get better than what we had last season ?
