Man, you're not going to budge. huh?... First of all, it wasn't a press released statement; it was an interview - tremendous difference. And those weren't canned "I'm going to give it 110%" quotes, either. Under no obligation to even confirm he was negotiating with the Astros, Miller went out of his way to praise them and their future. But, it doesn't fit the narrative so tsk, tsk... "lip service." Because, come hell or high water, you seem intent on propagating the idea, even when presented with compelling evidence to the contrary. Your evidence is b****y writers with axes to grind and unsubstantiated whispers mixed with your own bias, which, for reasons I can't fully fathom, are overriding what seems like a very sincere doff of the cap to the Astros from Andrew Miller. I would venture to guess that Miller's comments carry considerable more weight with potential FAs than Evan Drelich (et al)'s pithy asides about Luhnow and their "smartest guys in the room" bias.
I've already moved on and conceded that you go ahead and believe whatever Miller said was more than just him being a consummate professional who just rejected the Astros offer of more years and more money. I'd prefer to discuss actual news or suspected news. Not why you have a problem with stances/takes/opinions. Evidence? I'm looking for them to land one of these guys they're going all in for. Seems like overpaying by itself won't do it. There ARE "other" factors at play, and we can debate/discuss what we think those are. Yes, I will take evidence of actual signings/deals and the good press/comments from the agents/players that come with it over whatever these guys are saying after the rejection, along with designed leaks that players aren't that interested, that the Astros suspect leverage, and that agents don't like dealing with the Astros because they're not sure of their intentions (future or otherwise) and how interested they really are.
If they get a 3rd baseman and lock up Springer for the arbitration and early free agent years, it will be a successful off-season.
So the player who praises the team after receiving a giant paycheck from them is credible; the player who rejected the team and was under no obligation to even comment on them, let alone praise them, is somehow "lip service." Hmmm... Which agents? And aren't the first two both linked to the same free agent (which limits the spread considerably) and remain unsubstantiated rumors? Again, you really seem to be confirming your own bias: the bad press is legit; the good press is "lip service." You're oblivious to this?
The end results will end up dictating which side is closer to the truth. I'm taking everything with a grain of salt till then. Unfortunately Drelich's tweet about the agents concern resonates more with me (and has a bigger potential future impact) than Millers' nice words after the fact. Right now, on paper, the Astros appear to be the high bidder on not one but three free agents, all of them likely choosing elsewhere (the Yankees, no less) for less money and or years. Again, I suggest we go back to discussing suspected reasons behind the actual news being reported, or other news/deals being discussed rather than discussing how you feel about how I feel about a players comments.
Getting Jed to play SS or 3B would be a nice stop gap. Would rather have him on a two year (plus option) than Headley on that four year deal.
This is the guy I want. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Luke Gregerson likely to get three-year deal, at minimum. Tons of interest, may even get four.</p>— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/542167499366608896">December 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
People overrate organization in terms of how much players want to play there. The much more important factor is winning. There are 162 games in a baseball season. Who wants to spend more than half their year knowing their teams sucks and likely be losers any given night? That's not how successful people are wired. I mean, look at the Texans. They are known for their generosity and treating players right. Do FAs flock to the Texans? No. The Texans overpay just like the Astros. And they get used as leverage (remember Pace?) just like the Astros. On the flip side, Morey and his a-hole style got Dwight Howard. Win first and FAs will come. Until then, find players with potential and greatly overpay.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>White Sox To Sign David*Robertson <a href="http://t.co/2koOJP24v4">http://t.co/2koOJP24v4</a></p>— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) <a href="https://twitter.com/mlbtraderumors/status/542191805052092416">December 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>David Robertson’s agent Scott Leventhal declined comment on the Astros’ involvement.</p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/542197052109619200">December 9, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'll never understand how some people get so upset about us not being able to sign players like Robertson or Miller. Acting like Luhnow and Co. didn't even try to sign them is ignorant. Just because you go after a player doesn't guarantee anything. Besides, in all honesty, at the end of their respective deals, I'm sure neither Robertson or Miller will have earned all the money they've been handed. It's not gonna kill the Astros to end up with a smaller name reliever or two that are still vast improvements over their current bullpen pitchers.
I don't think anybody is complaining about a lack of effort. My issue is that they seem to be offering the most money, and devoting some serious man-hours to these courtships, and they're striking out at at a chris carter like rate. They should be smart enough to know when they're getting played/leveraged, but then again there is some inexperience in this realm (courting/signing free agents) from this front office, as Luhnow was not in charge of this aspect in St. Louis. The main concerns for me is given the fact that we are offering the most money (moreso even if you consider no state income tax), are there other reasons besides wins-losses that players (or agents) are not keen on coming here? I also agree with you that they don't need to be spending big money on relief pitchers anyways... unless they're planning on trading all their prospect pitchers for established MLB players (distinct possibilities). I'll be happy if they can lock up Springer, figure out the Fowler/Marisnick/TBD outfielder situation (Melky Cabrera?), and fix the 3B hole that Dominguez is currently offering. I feel the bullpen will work itself out with defined roles from the start (as Fields/Sipp/Qualls did better at that point), and one or two prospects (Folty? Appel?) that has the stuff and potential to dominate in a bullpen role to begin their MLB career.
