dotel and buck. that was a 3 team trade. astros got beltran...a's got dotel...royals got buck. not sure what else was involved. i'm assuming the a's gave up something! i'm not cool with the idea of giving up Hirsch. not for a guy who i clearly see is nothing more than a rental.
The Royals got three prospects: third baseman Mark Teahen and right-hander Mike Wood from Oakland, and catcher John Buck from the Astros.
That just shows you what kind of crapshoot hot prospects are. Teahen and Buck have both struggled pretty badly early into their careers. It's still early though.
but isnt that exactly what happened with Beltran? he was our rental for the 2004 season, and they got to the NLCS because of his bat... from a non-baseball purist/biased Astros fan standpoint, it is a no-brainer: if a player of Soriano's caliber is available mid-season, and the Astros need another bat to get over the top, isnt he the best candidate for the job?
If the Astros don't make the post-season it will be because of PITCHING, not hitting. The pitching this year just hasn't been that good... Pettite has been mediocre, Lidge/Wheeler/Qualls haven't had it completely together yet (although they're improving), Wandy has been inconsistent, and Buccholz/Nieve have been up and down (expected). Of course, Clemens is going to help stabalize the starters... and the bullpen will improve with Nieve adding another arm... but they're still going to need to get better innings out of Wandy, and Backe is still a question mark with his health. Had the bullpen/Pettite been better to this point (or at least as good as last year), this team could very well have been within 1-2 games of first place. The lineup is average... not great, but not terrible. Having Burke and Lamb become everyday players has helped to add some stability/pop to a lineup that was mediocre with Willy and Lane as everyday players. Adding Soriano would not make this lineup the best lineup in the NL... they'd still be way behind St. Louis (when healthy), the Mets, the Reds, the Dodgers, and the Phillies in terms of pure fire-power.... ie, they'd still be average. EDIT: Just to add some concrete numbers to my argument, the Astros have scored 1.2 more runs per game this season vs. the same point at last season (4.8 vs. 3.6), while the pitching has been worse by an ERA of about .5 (4.59 vs. 4.08). Then, when you take into account a better lineup from here-on-out with Lamb/Burke... and a more stable bullpen/starting staff.... there's no question that this team should start to win a bunch of games.
I agree that's how it's been so far, but you never know when the offense will go into a slump as it was in a few weeks ago. If you can get Soriano, I think you do it if it's not a bizarre demand. Adding a 40/40 bat into the lineup makes the offense much less dependent on Berkman/Ensberg. Right now, when all things are clicking, the offense is fine - but that's not going to be the case all season long. Wilson, Lane, Ensberg, and Biggio are all extremely streaky. Burke is unproven, and Ausmus and Everett are just not that good, and Lamb is not going to keep batting 0.350. Berkman is the only "rock" in the lineup. Soriano reduces the pressure on everyone else in the lineup, and would likely account for a handful of extra wins. And with all the money available in this offseason (Clemens, Bagwell, and Pettitte's not going to get $17MM again even if he stays), you have a legitimate chance to keep him if he helps the team. This also applies to Carlos Lee and Abreu if they are available - I would imagine they would be cheaper as well.
Agreed... Nieve has been very consistent over his last 3 starts, and 4 out of his last 5. Taylor has more up-side... but he's been either really really good, or really really bad. Nieve, while he's had only one game that you could consider "dominant", has been the second most-steady pitcher in the rotation behind Roy. The problem is that you can't put Taylor in the bullpen... he's had too much arm trouble in the past, and needs to be on a regular schedule. Fernando doesn't have that problem... he also has the power arm to not only be in the bullpen, but be GOOD in the bullpen. If Backe ends up having a set-back, and Wandy starts to regress, you could very well see both Nieve and Buchholz get the nod as starters. If Backe comes back to 100%, the team should go with whoever is pitching the best at that time... and currently, Nieve and Buchholz are both pitching as well as Wandy. In the end, its a good problem to have... and as long as Roy, Roger, and Andy (hopefully) are pitching up to their capabilities, the starting pitching will be fine (and as a result of increased stablization, the bullpen will be fine).
Nieve has had only really two bad games, one in Colorado (hey..thats a freebie for a rookie) and the next start in SF ...every other start has been no more than 6 hits and 4 runs and lots of games of 2 runs or less
Its also how it was all of last year too. Of course adding Soriano will make this team a BETTER lineup... that's a no-brainer. But, if you extrapolate the pitching out for the rest of the season as it is now (Pettite mediocre, bullpen not stable), this team would NOT make the playoffs, even if Soriano was in the lineup being 40/40. But, you do expect the pitching to get better... Pettite will (and has) pitch better, the bullpen guys are getting into a better rhythm, and you're adding Roger Clemens. Now, if you extrapolate the current state of hitting (accounting for slumps... which happen to ALL offenses, regardless of their potency)... but combine that with more consistent/quality pitching, you have a team that's in a better position to make the playoffs than the one I mentioned above. Thus, the main point is... while Soriano makes our lineup more powerful, it doesn't have as big of an effect of propelling this team to the playoffs as improving the pitching.... and the pitching is already guaranteed to be improved. In the end, I do hope they are able to make a move for more hitting if the price isn't too steep. If Backe is able to come back 100% (still a big if), you may see the club attempt to trade Nieve or Wandy. I don't see them trading Jason Hirsch (nor do I want them to)... but its not out of the realm of possibility. However, I won't say they'll be out of contention if they aren't able to make a move.
Yeah - I agree with that. But last year, we also got lucky that our offense was hot in September/October. If that wasn't the case (as in 1998, for example), we lose to Atlanta or St. Louis. I just think you have a very small window of opportunity when you KNOW your team is good enough to win a World Series. Last year, there were no good players available, so it made sense not to make a trade for Randy Winn or some scrub like that. We also were farther out in the race, if I'm not mistaken (right now, we're like 2 games out). This year is a different story - there are legitimate superstar hitters potentially available all over the place. We have Clemens for 1 season only, maybe Pettitte as well. I just think this is the year you pull out all the stops and try to plug every gap you can. Certainly doesn't guarantee success, but I'd like our chances a hell of a lot more with a Lee/Abreu/Soriano somewhere in the lineup than without. You figure with 7 starting pitchers, you can find 4 playoff caliber starters. We have to assume the bullpen will come together because they have a history of success. The offense, on the other hand, can't really be improved from within - that's the piece you go out and try to trade for if you can. Oh I totally agree here - I think the team is well-situated to make the playoffs. I just want to give it every possible chance to be successful once we get there. I'd hate to get eliminated because Berkman or Ensberg had a few bad games. Having another big-time hitter just makes it that much more likely that at least one of them is going right.
