no kidding. also amazing that, while 99% of stros fans complained about him for the past several years and wanted him cut/gone, i'm willing to bet that a high % of us would have no problem with him re-upping for a few years to DH at what should be a dirt cheap "hometown" discount.
sadly, still better than what, 95% of the rest of the roster? theoretically we plan on being competitive in 2013...2014 at the latest, right? i'd say he's worth a cost-effective signing. he gets scorching hot in streaks lately...i still think there's a shot in the dark that he can string it together more consistently and approach 30 hrs like he did his first few years here.
Meh. I'll be interested to see how he does this coming year. It is a contract year so hopefully he'll have some motivation. Being the DH would be the best fit for him and if he hits next year like he did this year (.275, 18, 94) then I have no problem extending him for 2 years at a reasonable price. However, if he's hitting the cover off the ball then you need to think trade even for decent prospects and taking on some of his contract.
I sat back for a while, and I've been thinking about it and hoping that I'd change my mind, but I don't think I will. If the Astros move to the AL, I will probably be looking for a new team to root for. I won't hate the Astros or anything, but I grew up on pitcher's duel NL Small Ball in the Dome. The powers that be have already turned almost all of baseball into a Playstation game with the runs. As nice as Minute Maid is, I've missed the dirty dank old cookie-cutter Astrodome for a while. Having to switch over to a new league with the DH will be the final nail in the coffin. It won't be my team anymore. It'll be like when the Oilers went to Tennessee. Early contenders for new team when/if this turns out to be true are Dodgers and Padres (pitcher's parks), though I will I still hold out hope they don't switch leagues until it becomes official. But I'm looking around the lot and kicking the tires.
He did after April, but I agree, no need to resign him either way. He turns 36 next year. Not interested.
Crane's leverage is he can walk...because I don't see another $687 million deal coming for the Astros; not anytime soon, anyway. If Selig screws up this deal for McLane, I wonder if McLane will still be his lap dog?
No one's said it in a while, so along with the other ideas being revisited this one bears repeating: UP YOURS BUD SELIG. Kiss my ass, you smug, self-important, ego-inflated, crusty, Milwaukee-loving, 20-year-long-mistaken-experiment son-of-a-b****.
That is entirely unfair. Don't misrepresent someone's case just because you don't feel the same way. I grew up on 80s NL small-ball, too. While I won't stop supporting the Astros if the AL gets shoved down our collective throats, I definitely understand the sentiment that it simply doesn't feel like our team anymore. Our team plays the Dodgers, Giants, Reds, and Braves. And the Cardinals, Cubs, and Pirates. Our team is known for damn good pitching. And good defense. If someone doesn't wish to embrace this team today, which only shares the name in common with what we knew growing up, isn't that his choice? And, I'll take small-ball, stellar pitching, generally smart baseball every day over what Ottomaton so well describes as "a Playstation game". '82 World Series. The pitching heavy, speedy Cardinals kicked the offense-laden Brewers asses. 4-1. '2010 World Series: Philly's stellar pitchers keep the Rangers (the Rangers????) at bay, 4-1. Good times.
Best case scenario; Selig screws this up for McLane, he gets super pissed and says "now let's see you hate on Houston" goes out and offers Sabathia 3-year 65M contract, Pujols 6 year 160M deal, k-rod a 3-year 40M deal, jose reyes a 5-year 115M deal and c.j wilson a 3-year 75M deal. Houston rejoices at our awesome team.
any best case scenario for Houston will involve Selig's termination and possibly a retroactive NLC banner for the one that jackass stole from us.
I will be a Braves only fan if this happens. Dale Murphy was my favorite player growing up, still have my Dale Murphy glove, and I loved Nolan on the 'Stros. I have split my loyalty between the two franchises since favoring the Astros when the two went head to head. Now Selig makes that problem go away. AL baseball is a lesser form of baseball and the occasional inter-league game can be fun but I really dislike the DH, I mean did anyone DH when they played little league?
Just because the Stros move to the AL does not mean they can be all about pitching & defense. The best Al teams have to have those. It is also not like the NL has not very good offensive teams in the past. I can understand missing the nostalgia of playing familiar teams, but the "game is played differently" bit is overdone. Sure I wish they would stop the DH, but they never will. Just like MLB will never have a salary cap.
Up to a certain level, the pitcher is often the best athlete on the team, including being the best hitter. This is especially true in Little League. Anyway, the first two levels of baseball don't even have a pitcher, so what people did as a kid is hardly a good argument for how the pro game should be played. You don't really want a tee or pitching machine out there, right?
