When have we not been UTR... Alou deal came out of nowhere Randy Johnson deal came out of nowhere Kent deal came out of nowhere Pettite deal came out of nowhere, until NY media jumped all over it and decided to play it like "no decision had been made, and the Yankees still have a chance", when in reality, the deal had been made 48 hours before. Beltran trade came out of nowhere. Alas, the only time were in the media spotlight, was for the horrible Beltran re-signing negotiations... and thus, you could probably tell which side of that party was leaking all our offers, given our MO.
Beltran negotiations=Purpura All others listed above=Hunsicker I just wanted to mention that. Anyway, carry on. Btw, I'm not a Drayton basher.
Did you miss the part where the player they would be getting in return was Mark Prior? Unless you want to trade Oswalt, there's no room to complain on this one.
Actually, Drayton primarily negotiated the Kent and Pettite signings, and took the lead on the Beltran negotiations. Drayton also tells the GM what he can and cannot trade. Drayton pretty much signs on/off on everything... which is what Hunsicker had a big problem with. If anything ever happens in terms of trades or signings in this organization, Drayton has a hand in it. The GM's main job is to maintain the farm system... something that Pupurra was doing on his own anyways. Thus, in effect, Gerry was more of a middle-man than anything... who hated working with the ultra-tight budget that Drayton gave him.
I thought the Orioles had already learned their lesson from taking on ex-Cubs. Frankly, I think the fact that the Cubs would even dangle Prior out there should speak VOLUMES as to what the club really knows about his future... that its gonna be injury prone. This guy is in his mid-20's, when he's pitched he's been dominant to lights out, and he's proven he can perform in the playoffs... why would the Cubs ever even dream of doing that? You know they don't need that much more help on offense... and you know that Kerry Wood will be injury prone, or ineffective... whichever comes first. They're trying to get something of big-time value for a guy who won't have much trade-value left when he has yet another injury this year. Frankly, I would LOVE to see him out of the already weak NL, but teams would have to be in a pretty comfortable/contending position to be able to risk taking a chance on Prior by giving up a ton for him.
The Tejada/Prior deal is bad for the Astros and the NL Central b/c Tejada is healthy and plays every day...things that can not be said for Prior.
Exactly. And I agree Nick - the Cubs must feel Prior is never going to be healthy. Is it his throwing mechanics that cause the strain and injuries? Because that could be corrected and it might be worth the risk for the Orioles.
LOL...Prior's throwing mechanics and "natural delivery" were what scouts were in love with when he came out of USC...
I am starting to get imaptient . Everyday I wake up and turn SR 610 hoping to hear that the Stros have made atleast some kind of move . Looking at all the sports sites rumor mill sections ............. I have yet to see the Stros mentioned in any of the rumors . Hopefully they will make a move and it will just take us all by surpise , kinda like the Bit**tran and RJ deals .
New column in today's Chronicle. Interesting how even Purpura mentions Manny's availability - At the winter meetings this month, two veteran and highly respected National League scouts shared a theory they had just discussed over dinner. The subject was trades. A good trade, one top National League manager told them, was painful for both teams. I can envision it now. The general manager from Team X goes up to the podium and breaks down crying as he announces he has just traded super stud outfielder to Team Y. The general manager from Team Y follows him up to the podium and cannot even speak for a few seconds. He is overcome with emotion. Tears roll down his cheeks as he finally announces he has sent his super stud third baseman to Team X. So, tough guy, you want to play Mr. General Manager? You want to walk in Tim Purpura's shoes? Who are you going to give up for Miguel Tejada? The first person who says "Mike Gallo" will be forced to sit at the kids' table this Christmas with the rest of the sports talk radio callers who say: "Why don't we send Eric Bruntlett to the Oakland A's for Barry Zito?" You want Zito? You can have him. Just be prepared to give up two of your top relievers and probably another major league-ready position player. That's the pain I'm talking about. Oh, yeah, and there's a strong chance Zito will leave town after a year via free agency. Do we have to bring up Carlos Beltran again to those of you sleeping in class? Do we have to tell you kids about 1998, the year the Astros gave up three premier prospects to the Seattle Mariners so Randy Johnson could lead them to the World Series? Every loyal Astros fan knows Beltran and Johnson were amazing in Astros uniforms. But they didn't lead Houston to the World Series. To Tejada, or not to Tejada Some Astros fans are eager to get Tejada, the Baltimore Orioles' premier shortstop. Some fans say they'd gladly give up starting shortstop Adam Everett and All-Star closer Brad Lidge for Tejada. I wouldn't be surprised if Purpura pulled off this deal, but I'd likely be too much of a wimp to pull it off myself. That one would hurt me too much. Fortunately for me, I only play a general manager in the newspaper. Luckily for you, Lidge returned a month-old telephone message to me late Thursday night. He interrupted my enchilada dinner. Talk about a trade that hurt. Lidge understands Whatever the case, I got down to business with Lidge right away. I lured him into a false sense of friendship by wishing him a happy birthday. He'll be 29 today. I'm happy to report Lidge's wife, Lindsay, is doing well. Their 1-year-old daughter Avery Grace is getting cuter and more active each day. Their black lab, Nutmeg, also is having a blast. The Lidges recently returned from a trip to England and Scotland, where he's proud to report not one person asked him about those home runs by Albert Pujols and Scott Podsednik. After a few minutes, I said, "Would you send Brad Lidge and Everett to the Orioles for Tejada?" One of his good friends had asked that a few days earlier. "That's a good question," the always-charming Lidge said. "It's one that I actually had to answer. Obviously (Tejada) comes with a hefty price tag. The guy's going to give you a ton of offense. Adam and I are good players too. If you feel that somebody can come in and fill the vacancy in the bullpen then that seems like that might work. I know we need offense. "Shoot, he's an MVP-type player. I wouldn't put myself in that position. I'm prejudice to myself. "That being said, I think Dan Wheeler and Chad Qualls are incredible relievers. Who knows? I don't think you can do better than Adam Everett for defense, so you know you'd do the trade for offense. (Tejada is) good on offense, but he's not as good defensively or better than Adam Everett." An hour or two before that conversation, the real Purpura also returned a phone message. He and his top scouts called every team in the majors to inquire about trade possibilities this week. As of Thursday evening, all but five teams had called the Astros back. "There's hitting available," Purpura said. "It may not be who you want. A team could probably get a big slugger from Boston." That slugger would be Manny Ramirez, and he'll cost you an average of about $20 million for each of the next three seasons. For that price, he's also moody and prone to trade demands. "Could we have made trades by now?" Purpura said. "Sure, we could. I'm not certain they'd help us long term." Is it worth it? Six years ago today, the Astros traded Mike Hampton and Derek Bell for Octavio Dotel, Roger Cedeño and a prospect. Hampton and Bell led the Mets to the World Series. Dotel eventually helped the Astros land Beltran in a three-team trade in which the Astros sent Dotel to Oakland and catching prospect John Buck to Kansas City in June 2004. That trade didn't hurt the Astros too much. The next one might. In the meantime, it's important to remember many fans wanted the Astros to trade Chris Burke for a proven major-leaguer last winter and throughout this season. Burke's home run pushed the Astros to the National League Championship Series. It's a good thing Purpura didn't listen.
Lidge even admits that the Tejada trade would make sense. He's a very smart guy and knows his stuff. I would hate to lose him, but we must improve our hitting.
Sports media circuit is the IN thing now. Sometimes when I have nothing to do but clean the barrel, I watch ESPN news circuit itself over and over. That female anchor is giving me the eye... J/k btw
