We got 3 of their top pitchers. We just didn't get the current top top pitchers, delgado or visciano. And that's alright with me. All of these pitchers can improve and be great. Don't believe the hype.
Why was Schafer ever valued so highly? No power, not amazing at getting on base, and can't hit for average in the minors. He's hit about .240/.320/.360 in his 200+ AA & AAA games.
They aren't meaningless if your team plans on getting better and you need Bourn to do that. Lee could be bought out next year it will just cost Crane a bunch, that way if Lee still wants to go to the AL and DH he can and will make about the same money anyway. Buying out Lee would be the best move and it will show wether Crane is serious about winning. If he does let Lee stay and eat hot dogs all season like the other guy said, then we got the wrong owner and we will never be contenders again anyway. Get ready for what the Pirates have been like the last 18 seasons cause that's what Crane being owner will be like if he doesn't pay to get Lee gone next year
Just frustrating when you read the twitter post from last night about the Braves reluctant to include both Vizcaino AND Delgado. Would've been nice to get one of them.
so if they don't but out Lee, crane isn't ultimately serious about winning? we can judge the next 18 years on that one decision :grin: give me a break. buying out Lee doesn't make this team competitive next season. they have more holes than swiss cheese.
back in 2007, 2008 he was lighting it up. It just goes to prove that the ranking system, as good as it is, isn't full proof.
richardjustice Richard Justice "The plan we have right now dovetails with what (Jim Crane's) expectations are."--Astros GM Ed Wade. richardjustice Richard Justice "If we stay course, the end result will be so substantial that fans will understand why we had to go through it."--Astros GM Ed Wade. richardjustice Richard Justice "We inherited a pretty barren farm system, and we're paying the price for it."--Astros GM Ed Wade.
absolutely. that's why the astros are adding volume. because the cupboards are bare and pretending that these rankings are end-all, be-all is nuts. you get as many prospects as you can when you're where the 'stros are.
This is my issue with this deal, Bowden was spot on with the Phillies/Pence talk so no reason not to assume he wasn't with this deal. Not sure how you go from both to neither except if, like some have said, quantity over quality.
Lets not forget that Wade is not a very good GM and will be replaced in the next 12 months and will never get a chance to be an MLB GM again.
I can judge his intensity toward winning and moving away from a huge hole we have in LF, which could very well be the next 18 years. I bet Pirate fans in the early 90's would have laughed too if we told them they were not going to have another winning season til 2011. Might not be 18 years but it could be a very long time and that should be a concern to all Astro fans if the owner isn't serious about buying Lee out. So yes if Crane doesn't buy out Lee b4 next season than he's ultimatelty not serious about winning and building a contender
Other teams' thoughts on the Astros, "Hey they having desperation firesale over there, we can get their best players for not much AND get them to pay us!"
You look at a guy like Curt Schilling. He was bounced around and around, team after team, and suddenly he lit fire.
You can't buy out a guy who won't be bought out. Just like you can't trade a guy who you can't trade without his okay, which Lee will be next year as a 10/5 guy. Most lead off hitters/CF don't last 12 years at an above-average/elite level, so keeping Bourn would have been an wasted opportunity. The issue is that people are severely underestimating how much the minor league system needs to be revamped and bolstered. To put this in context, the Astros are looking to be 0.500 (competitive in the NL Central) in 2013/2014, ONLY BECAUSE OF THESE TRADES!! That's how far off the entire talent level of the minors is right now. It is not just that the Astros don't have a lot of star prospects, and prospective MLB players, it seems as if they don't have good career minor league players that provide competition, help the prospects develop, etc. If the Astros were to wait and hold on to Bourn to get a few 1st round picks in a few years, they would then be postponing the long wait to be okay back even further past 2014. Right now the Astros don't have quality yes, but they also don't have quantity either. Now I've never had the time to follow the minor prospects like some here (Brooksball, et al.), but with these trades they are building up the minors even if it isn't flashy or newsworthy. They have No. 1 draft picks the next few years to get the superstars.
No pleasing some people. Would it be nice to get elite prospects sure. But maybe the market just wasn't there for them. All week we've been hearing the Astros asking price is too high. Maybe Wade could have squeezed something more, or maybe he tried as hard as he could. It's not like he took the bait on the first offer to come his way. When you got a farm system as bad as ours, quantity over quality at this point in time might be a good thing. Not to mention we're gonna have some high draft picks over the next few years possibly. Maybe we get lucky and turn some number one picks into some elite talent. I hate to see it happen, but Pence and Bourn absolutely needed to go. Period. Better to get what you can when their value is peaking, then to get something worse further down the road or next to nothing at all.
