Roger is never going to do what dickwad did. To mention the two of them in the same sentence is just plain wrong. My position about the delay of the announcement even though the decision is made is this: If Roger were going to retire, then what purpose would a delay serve in announcing his retirement? It may be he wants to see how he feels after some time off to get healthy again. I have to assume that the chances he will return are pretty good. If he were just going to retire and knew he would having made up his mind once and for all, then I don't see how a delayed announcement would be appropriate? If we have to wait just to hear he is retiring and made the decision at the end of the WS, then I will be pretty disappointed. Or, maybe the Astros office is contemplating where Roger fits in with the Astros post-baseball career before an announcement is made? Who knows? One thing for sure...we won't have to play a waiting game to see what Roger is going to do as Drayton already knows so a repeat of the dickwad waiting game before we can make an off-season move to acquire some caliber players is not going to happen. It's going to come down to money, though, obviously.
I wonder what it would take to get Carlos Delgado. The Marlins are going to shop him this winter according to Rotoworld.com If we could snag him, we would have the big time cleanup bat we're looking for. I don't think the Marlins will let him go cheap, though.
the whole point is to get Bags to retire so barkman doesnt have to play OF....I highly doubt they would bring in a 1B
The whole point to getting Bags to retire, at least to me, is that we can get a more reliable power hitter without the injury concerns for the $18 million he would make. Personally, I don't care if Berkman is at 1B or LF. He's a passable outfielder defensively, and in MMP, range in left is even less important than in other parks. Ideally I'd like him at 1B, but if a power hitting 1B became available, I'd stick him in left in a heartbeat.
i realize that too.....obviously the salary is the biggest reason to get him to retire....i just can't see us bringing in anything but an OF.
Also... http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=110810 Millar's power numbers from last season were terrible for a first baseman, but his OBP is consistently very good and that's something we need to look at improving. He's also a dead pull hitter whose power numbers could benefit from the Crawford Boxes. I don't think he's someone we want to rely on starting 162 games, but if we're committed to starting Bagwell, he's a good insurance policy off the bench for that cheap in case Bags doesn't work out. Also he has some experience in corner OF spots so he could be a supersub of sorts.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/...t_id=1265287&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Fresh off the franchise's first World Series appearance, Houston general manager Tim Purpura's phone seldom stops ringing. Not all of the calls are congratulations on winning the National League pennant. Purpura has heard from numerous agents pitching their free agent clients. The Astros are considering a number of personnel options as they wait for a decision from Roger Clemens on whether he will return next season. Among the possible targets the Astros are considering are two pitchers they pursued last summer before the trade deadline but were unable to acquire: free agent relievers B.J. Ryan and Scott Eyre. "I'm not going to comment on who we may or may not have talked to," Purpura told MLB.com on Monday from the general managers meetings in Indian Wells, Calif. "I will say that I have had contact with a number of agents regarding their clients' interest in the Houston Astros. We're trying to improve our club as much as we can. We're in contact with a lot of free agents and trying to gauge their interest in our ballclub." Adding Ryan would arguably give the Astros one of the strongest bullpens in the game. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound left-hander from Bossier City, La., converted 36 of 41 save opportunities for the Orioles following his conversion to closer last season and is being eyed by several teams in search of a closer or lefty setup man. Houston's closer is Brad Lidge, but the club has just one lefty in the bullpen, Mike Gallo. The Yankees are also interested in Ryan as a setup option for closer Mariano Rivera. Toronto, the Chicago Cubs, Boston, Atlanta the New York Mets and Philadelphia are among the other teams believed to be interested in the 29-year-old. Ryan made $2.6 million last season, not counting a $25,000 bonus for making the All-Star team and $150,000 in performance incentives, and he proved to be one of the best bargains in the game. He did not allow a home run in his final 41 appearances, a span of 42 1/3 innings. In 70 1/3 innings, Ryan struck out 100 and walked just 26. The Orioles have exclusive negotiating rights with Ryan until Thursday, after which other teams may begin making offers to the pitcher. While the Astros do not have the funds to outbid other potential suitors like the Yankees, the fact that Ryan lives nearby (he's a product of the University of Southwestern Louisiana, since renamed Louisiana-Lafayette) and the Astros have made consecutive playoff appearances might carry some weight if the offer is comparable. Voice mails left by MLB.com on Monday for Ryan's agent, John Courtright, were not returned. Purpura said nothing was new regarding Clemens or catcher Brad Ausmus, two of the free agents the Astros are attempting to re-sign. Pitchers and catchers aren't all Purpura is perusing these days. "Certainly offense is our prime consideration, as it has been for quite some time," he said. "The difficult part is. 'Where?' We can't offer anything at first base, because if [Jeff] Bagwell does not return then [Lance] Berkman goes to first. I think [Jason] Lane has provided pretty good offense in right field. But we're open to all ideas." If the club is unable to work out an agreement with Ausmus, who is also being eyed by San Diego, where Ausmus makes his home, there are other free agent options on the market in Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina, though either would certainly cost more than Ausmus. For now, Purpura is plotting potential courses, and, of course, taking plenty of calls. "To me [the GMs meetings] is a good chance to lay the groundwork for later deals, whether it's a free agent or a trade," Purpura said. "You had the trade deadline in July when you were talking to teams about possibilities. Now is the time to double back and see if something is still there and maybe this time you can work something out."
I take that to mean that he is hoping Bags doesn't return, Berkman stays at first...and they are looking to cash in their chips with Lane and package him up.
BJ Ryan on a hometown discount would be a great addition to the team. Solves the lefty bullpen problem and gives us another set-up option. In fact, it frees up Qualls as trade bait ...
which would make my son the happiest person ever! he constantly asks me when the Astros will get Dotel back...mostly because he likes the tune of that Usher song he used to come in to.
And why would you want to trade Qualls? I heard David Dalati say on the radio earlier today that (after an interview he had) he didn't expect Clemens to return. Not sure what to make of that....could be the early stages of posturing before the date to file for free agency.
I like Qualls, they better not trade him. I would like to see us sign BJ Ryan, but if we do, we better make it known to Lidge that he is our closer for good and Ryan will be strictly a setup guy. I don't want anything else that could potentially affect Lidge's psyche.
I don't want to trade Qualls. What I'm saying is that, if you sign Ryan, Qualls becomes slightly expendable if the right deal comes along. Lots of teams would love a proven young arm. But I'm not looking to trade Qualls at all.
I wish we could get the same value for wheeler and trade him...but i know that probably isn't the case
So if we don't sign a big bat, unwillingly welcome back Bagwell, and bring in Ryan and bring back Dotel...is our official team strategy to win all games in 21 innings. You know beat and flog our opponent into submission on a regular basis. Enhancing our team's strength to further cover a weakness....priceless. (Please note, I've lost all freedom of speech privileges to criticize Purpura for one year due to my errant comments on his lack of ability in failing to deliver a bat at the trade deadline. In that regard, I offer my highest praise for his efforts, though occassionaly they are not intuitive to me...neither here nor there as I am just a cave man, it's not important what I think)
We could actually wait to see that a) that happens and b) Bagwell can't provide any meaningful punch to the lineup. Just a suggestion.
TIM PURPURA JUST SAID ON 610 THAT SEEING BURKE IN LF..HE SAW MORE LIFT IN HIS THROW...DID A LOT OF LONG TOSS...AND SAID THAT HE "COULD" PLAY SHORTSTOP!!!!!!!!!! i'm having a good day already!
Yeah I heard that too, but you could tell he was a little hesitant (maybe didn't want to rattle Everett). He said that he could play short if someone got hurt... I would love to at least see Burke try at short. I mean Eckstein doesn't have the best arm, but he gets it done.
