Well I guess my dream was just wishful thinking. Oh well... screw Beltran...screw Boras. He'll rot in NY for the rest of his career and never taste a WS, since he obviously doesnt care about going to a winning team. As for the 'Stros...two things... 1) this could be a positive thing for them...rather than throwing all their money at one player and one position, they can spread it out and fill up multipe holes over the course of the next few years and hopefully will be a contender again soon. And who knows, maybe Beltran's postseason performance was an aberration. 2) This whole Beltran fallout has I think even further solidified my undying support and love for the 'Stros. I for one will be rooting for them come opening day...they'll be fun to watch... a mix of solid veterans and unproven rookies w/ lots of potential... the underdogs... no pressure... perfect oppurtinity to be the cinderalla team of '05... gotta keep the dream alive!
On a side note... kinda sad on just how much he screwed this city and its fans over and the ripple effect it'll cause.... one thing that may be forgotten in all this was the fact that $25,000+ in pledges would have gone to his favorite charity had he signed here.
I agree that more could have been done to the point that.. I don't think you offer someone less and then find a lot of reasons why its really more... Especially when you know that the number that will be reported everywhere is the dollars not the with texas cost of living dif adjusted figure etc. If we thought it was all about the money to begin with we shouldn't be surprised. No matter how little a difference there is between the numbers, when you don't make the highest bid you are taking a risk. We offered more than I thought we would, but in the end it wasn't the most and I'm not surprised he left
And I think trader was talking about the opening bid not the final bid being 70 mil. (not sure what the opening bid was exactly)
I'm not even saying we should have necessarily offered a lot more.. I'm just saying when you dont have the highest offer on the table you shouldn't be surprised when you miss out on the player.
So what you're saying is, you get home and find your wife of 10 years screwing the plumber, and just cause you loved her, nothing changes?
I don't know why everyone is so suprised. The writing was on the wall the whole time. Some of ya'll just refused to try and read it(DVauthrin?). As I said repeatedly, Beltran and company figured they would get a better offer than the one they got from the Astros and the teams bidding on him simply had to sit back and wait in order to eliminate the competition(Astros). From the standpoint of the Mets, Yankees, etc, there is now one less team to get in the way of signing him.
Read the Justice article today. Boaras made it clear 100 million was not going to get it done. I disagree that Drayton should get praise. He totally screwed up. He made Beltran his big priority and blew it. In the process Alou, Beltre, Glaus, Finley and others signed that could have helped. Hell, Beltre over Einsberg is a no brainer. Also, the A's traded their pitchers and we never made a show for Hudson or Mulder. Also, we have made Berkman wait and be 2nd in this process instead of signing him. If I am him i ask for a load of money because of this. Finally, Everyone forgets what we gave up for this jerk. We lost Dotel and John Buck. So, no title, no Beltran. Lost Reliever, Catcher and CF. We GOT NOTHING FROM THE BELTRAN TRADE IN THE END JUST LIKE RANDY. DRAYTON PLAYED CHICKEN WITH THE WRONG GUY. METS BLINKED AND WE DIDNT.
We got to one win away from the World Series b/c of that trade. You take that kind of a trade off all day.
I dont see why you guys are so mad at Beltran. It's clearly Borass and his tactics. It's a money game, and it's pretty much whats wrong with baseball. Beltran isnt the only one who has done such things. I really dont think he owed us anything, just because he got traded here, and used us as a spring board to launch his career fiancially. Does it seem wrong, yes, but it's ba$eball. In my eyes Drayton is to blame. Why wait this long, ruin your whole season, knowing that you are going to put a limit on things and possibly lose it all. The media will paint a pretty picture, like Drayton was soo competitive, did everything he could, but thats false. The Astros will stink again this year, and I cant blame Beltran for not wanting to be a part of it. We will probably see Beltran go to some scrub team that never makes the post season and sit back and laugh. Dont worry, it's not like this franchise hasnt been doomed before.
This is on Drayton McLane. For two years, Beltran has been baseball's most prized free agent prospect and McLane got outbid as usual. Unlike Jeff Kent, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettite, Beltran was not a local and was not going to take a discount to play in Houston. This is pro sports and there is no such thing as a "fair" offer. There is just the best offer and Houston wasn't willing to compete in that arena plain and simple. It's been the same story with the Astros as long as I've been alive. For this team to be competitive, they have to develop their own talent or find players that are willing to take a discount to play here. They NEVER step up to the plate and pay out in a bidding war. In baseball there is no salary cap so if you're going to set your ssights on the game's top free agent, you better be ready to spend or look elsewhere. The biggest folly in all of this is that Houston management had to have gotten indications from Beltran and Boras that there was simply no negotiating below a certain dollar value yet they put all of their eggs into Beltran's basket and are now left without a chair now that the music has stopped. I understand that baseball is a business to McLane, but it's hard following an organization in a sport with no salary cap that is not willing to pay out. I would really like to see MLB create a hard cap, but since that isn't happening any time soon, I'd just like to see McLane sell the team to someone with the means to spend.
With revenues from a Houston market--regardless of what they actually are, they're not that of a big market team--no owner will ever spend the way you want. Because if you're not satisfied with 7 yrs 105 mil with the contracts we already have and the contracts we still have pending (Oswalt, Berkman, Lidge eventually)...then you want a Yankees/Red Sox kinda payroll. Sorry, I'm happy without being one of the devils
I believe Drayton has the second or third highest net worth of all the owners.He bought the team for something like 80-100 million.It's now worth 300-350 million.
So, Carlos Beltran said he wanted to go to a team that would be competitve for years and with a good young core of players. Then he tells us no and is reportedly signing with the Mets?? They have more overpaid players who are done on their team than we do. And I agree with the whole cost of living thing and taxes that was thrown out there, but realistically, don't you think every player would sign in Texas, for the Astros or Rangers, if that were as big a factor? The one thing that really sucks about this is if the Mets had just stayed out, we might have finally had a situation where the MLB teams were going to send Boras a message that his strongarm tactics are not going to work anymore. Does that mean he stays with the Astros? Maybe, maybe not. The Cubs were only going to give him $80 million. Hell, even the Yankees are saying they don't want him for that $112 million price! Of course, a lot of that has to do with the luxury tax they will have to pay, but still.....if there was any time they would say to hell with the luxury tax, it would be after a Red sox world series title. People are going to say Drayton screwed this up, but i liked the way he aproached this. In fact, I agree with what some people said earlier....just because Beltran told us no, don't expect a quick Mets signing anytime soon. In fact, the Mets just played into Boras' hands and I wouldn't be surprised if he continues to push the asking price even higher. There's no way I think that Carlos really wants to play for them. I bet he's too busy taking Boras' advice than to make his own decision. And if that's the case, I'd rather have someone else on this team, even if they are not as great a talent as Beltran is.
It would serve him right if Beltran had a (Lance Berkman, Moises Alou type) injury before he officially signed with the Mets.
Well, at least I think I know why my source didn't call me back now. Guys, Beltran was leaning towards Houston. Something must have happened in the final hours to sway him. I don't understand it, and frankly I'm embarrassed and sorry for leading you guys on. I can tell you now that the info I was getting did indeed come from Boras' office (not from Boras himself, but someone close). Did they give my source false info? Yes, it is entirely possible, but, honestly, not too likely. I'll try to get the scoop when I can. This sucks ass.
The Mets were reportedly finalizing their deal with Beltran from 5 pm on yesterday. I say reportedly since I wouldn't put it beneath Boras to just play them too until the Yankees finally offer. But the fact remains that they actually offered before the deadline. Did you miss the article saying the mets got a counter proposal from Boras the same day the Astros went to 7/105? Meaning they clearly were one of the "5 offers" crap Boras spewed out. They didn't sit back and wait for anything. Of course I misread the situation. As did practically every expert and media type in the game. Obviously Carlos was going to New York one way or another all along and his comment reflected it, but it still went against everything that had been reported and said during the whole process. And at the time you couldn't find a verifiable second offer from any club outside of Houston. The evidence was slanted severely in Houston's favor. It was that one quote against a season's worth of them saying otherwise. Even yesterday reports were Houston was going to get him for god sake. The only thing that was a Boras leak to get the Mets to up their bid apparently. I'm sorry I didn't get scared by the solely gossip articles of the NY papers. Even then, if Beltran wanted to be in Houston and just wanted them to match the Mets bid, he just would have told them so and they would have done so. But that isn't what he did. He was using Houston as leverage to get the deal in NY he wanted all along. Another possibility is that he was insulted by the Astros offers and decided to go to NY out of spite I guess. Even some of those with credible sources in this very forum were flat out wrong just like myself. Some of them didn't even have the mets as an option even after their "rumored bid." Practically everyone thought the Mets were a freaking longshot. I was right that the Yankees weren't a player, however, if this deal with the Mets is finalized as expected(key word: expected). Boras called them yesterday again and was told no thanks. And again if the Mets deal is finalized I also was right that Scott Boras/Carlos Beltran wanted the offers in before the 8th(just because he signs a day or two later doesn't mean that didn't hold true) as well. It would explain the last minute call to the Yanks. Plus I also said from the beginning that the Cubs would not be able to move Sosa in time to be a player, and that has held true as well. Now if this Mets stuff is just a scam to get the real bidding underway, forgive me I was wrong about everything, as most anyone analyzing this situation would be, just proving how low Scott Boras will go in any negotiation. However as it stands, I was right on quite a few things during the whole process. Subject to change of course. Yes, of course I wanted him back but I never thought Beltran was playing the Astros from the first offer. It went against everything that has been said about the guy until those comments he made. He seemed sincere about his likeness of the city and his interest in staying here for the longhaul. I was wrong, I admit it. But I did not have blind faith that he would stay no matter what the Astros offered. I never thought 5 for 70 or 8 for 64 would get it done. But considering the Astros had the only reported bid in at the time, it was logical to conclude that Boras was desperate for a second team. He got the Mets to bite. At that point, it seemed it was the Astros against the Mets and the only team it was reported that Beltran wanted to play for more than Houston was Chicago, therefore it seemed reasonable to conclude that while the situation was more dire than before the Astros still stood a good chance of winning out. They didn't, and I was wrong. I have no problem admitting I was wrong. It was the way the whole thing went down that has so many people upset/shocked. I said all along if there was one agent despicable enough to pull a stunt like this it is Scott Boras. But like I said days ago, the evidence as it currently stoodl looked good for the Astros and that is all I can go on. I was a sucker, I admit it, but my premises were not without reason and were logical. But of course I still was wrong and this still severely hurts as Houston fans showed this man our support in writing and at the park and he just tossed us aside like a cheap date.
