And who can blame him. Way to drop the ball on this one Drayton and Tim. Link: http://blogs.chron.com/baseballblog/archives/2006/07/oswalt_not_plea.html July 31, 2006 Oswalt not pleased, to say the least Knowing he was offered to the Baltimore Orioles didn't sit well with Astros ace Roy Oswalt, one of the most competitive men in baseball. "I got a bad taste in my mouth, though," Oswalt said after saying it felt good to know he wasn't traded before the non-waiver trade deadline elapsed. I've spoken to all the major players in the Astros' trade front multiple times today: Oswalt (three times), Drayton McLane (twice), Astros general manager Tim Purpura (three times) and Brad Lidge (twice). I also spoke once with Morgan Ensberg. If anybody can mend the fence with Oswalt, I bet McLane can. He won't soothe this situation with nice words or sweet promises. Oswalt was just reminded baseball is a business. At a time when Oswalt expected McLane to open negotiations with his agent, Bob Garber, Oswalt found out the Astros were willing to include him in a deal for Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada. Now Oswalt is prepared to dig in. He views himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he expects to be rewarded. You might not believe this now, but unless Oswalt is injured, he won't give up his chance to test free agency after next season unless the Astros give him a contract this winter guaranteeing the first five years after his arbitration eligibility is done. Oswalt won't give up his opportunity to test the market unless he gets a deal worth at least $14 million a year for six years this winter or five years after next season. If you think he'll give McLane a hometown discount now, you're sorely confused. That much was clear when I spoke with Oswalt after the deadline.
I don't blame him either. The thought of Roy on the block is simply LUDICROUS! A bad season just became way, way worse.
So not only did we fail to make a trade, we ticked off RoyO enough that he may not sign here in the future. Damn....guess the Stros are willing to give up on the season.
Get rid of that hick sob! Anyone can be traded in my book. To assume you will never be on the block in part due to the relationship with the owner is naive. This is the f***ing 21st century, man. It's live or die. But, better keep him...OR ELSE!!!
Give Roy the five years. He's worth it. He's gonna lead us to the promised land before all is said and done. Of course, the Astros probably won't do it. They have a long track record of letting good pitchers leave via free agency.
But, this is the post-World Series appearance Astros... . Show me the money! Drayton has had the taste...and it's too good!
Oh bull****, bull****, bull****. Roy's been saying the same thing since before last season ("sign me now or I try FA"). Nothing new here. Roy says (repeatedly) that he will test the FA market after next season...and now he's got sand in his vag because the Astros are taking him seriously? He acknowledges that "it's a business" and then gets pissed when his employer treats it as such? Roy was brought up in the trade talks by Baltimore, not the Astros, btw. There was never anything serious from the Astros point of view, and it's not their fault that the Orioles are incompetent & leaked all this crap to an equally incompetent media, which in turn fanned the flames of an equally incompetent rumormill online. As TP said on the radio today, it's his job to listen to offers. He'd be a fool not to. And couldn't this have gone in one of the couple other Oswalt threads?
I was pissed for him. That scared the crap out of me. I was so distracted at work. I think his asking price is too low. He feel he's one of the best because he is one of the best, I think the best in the game now. He is my favorite Astro (after Biggio of course) and I would sit outside Purpura's office until he came out if he traded Roy. I think he should be asking for WAY more than $14M and I hope the front office knows that other people will try their damndest to get him. With Clemens peacing out we can give Roy whatever he wants. We owe him that much.
The Astros can afford two players that get paid more than $14 million a year... and those two will be Berkman and Oswalt. They'll be the Biggio/Bagwell for the next decade. But, unless you get another HOFer that's a hometown legend (like Clemens), I don't expect McLane to be able to afford another $12 million+ a year contract. Had Beltran actually signed here, I honestly believe the club would have traded either Berkman or Oswalt... but alas, he didn't, and the latter two led the team to the World Series (which pretty much sealed up their "astros for life" contract). Oswalt is looking to get paid... and he will. The Astros shouldn't low-ball him, just like they didn't low-ball Berkman. Also, its too his advantage that Lidge/Ensberg are having awful years... those two would have been candidates for long-term contracts (if their performance kept up), which could have impacted the dollar amount we're offering Roy.
Buck please prove this with some article or something (and not your opinions) if he has been doing this for more than this season then you should have no problem finding some quotes than span that time frame and just not this season. And since your stating this as absolute fact you must have some details so please prove this as well beyond a shadow of a doubt as well (and again not your opinions) Pffffttt. deal with it. Also how much is the Astros FO paying you because that is some great PR.
I can't believe anything that comes from Ortiz or Justice at this point. This has gotten ridiculous. Every one of their articles throughout the deadline speculation has just stirred up controversy without reporting any facts or quotes. It's always "a source that knows what's going on." BS We don't know if Oswalt was offered or if Baltimore asked about him, but the Baltimore Sun is where it started so I'm inclined to believe Purpura had no real thought of trading him. In the end I think Oswalt will get paid and stay here.
Someone please explain to me why they even considered trading Oswalt? I just don't understand that one at all.
coleman, believe what you want, but those ain't my opinions. Frankly, I'm not interested in opinions, fantasy, and mlbtraderumor.bs ... reality's much more useful. Check astros.com for the report on Oswalt's last contract. He stated then that he didn't want to cut into his FA period. Footer said in her mailbag a few weeks ago that it's Roy's intention to hit FA after 07. Those 2 are just off the top of my head. This has been widely understood, sorry you missed it. Both the Baltimore Sun & astros.com have reported that the Oswalt talks were "not serious" and that Oswalt was never offered to Bmore. The Astros were seeking offensive help and were players in the Miguel Tejada sweepstakes, yet the rumor that Roy Oswalt was offered was overblown, according to a Major League executive, who said Houston never offered Oswalt. The Orioles asked for Oswalt, as well as Adam Everett and Morgan Ensberg, among others. But the two sides were not close to a deal that included Oswalt, and an official offer was not made on either side.
