where is everyone gonna play?? who's on first? purpura is going to end up making a desperate move to calm his critics or "just to do something." that's not wise.
i'd do lidge for blalock every day of the week. i wouldn't do ensberg for just linebrink but i would if the blalock deal was already done. i would be satisfied if we made BOTH those trades.
4 Brad Lidge, Astros CL -- MARKET REPORT Lidge gave up a game-losing home run Sunday afternoon. Within the next 90 minutes, a bunch of teams had already called the Astros, wondering if they were ready to move their slumping closer. Well, from all accounts, the 'Stros have given that question some serious thought. But the honest truth is, even the Houston brass itself no longer appears certain what to do to turn this guy back into The Real Brad Lidge. On one hand, the Astros see a pitcher with spectacular stuff, just four blown saves and 67 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. On the other hand, they see a pitcher with a 5.77 ERA who has given up seven devastating gopher balls already (two more than all last season) and whose confidence is shaky enough to register on the Richter Scale. So do the Astros trade this man -- with his value at an all-time low? Or do they try to keep him and get him straightened out, assuming that's still possible if he stays in Houston? Clubs that checked in reported the Astros were definitely listening, but needed a compelling reason to make a deal. And so far, they haven't heard one. They turned down Texas' offer of Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for Lidge. They didn't seem particularly interested in swapping Lidge for Hank Blalock, either. They've also had calls from the Orioles and Red Sox. But they eventually told all those teams there was nothing there worth pursuing. So there may well be more Lidge rumors as the Deadline Clock ticks down. But the best guess is, the Astros will decide there's more upside in getting Lidge fixed than there would be in changing his area code. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2522380
If this deal is on the table I think we've got to take it. We're lucky to even be able to get good value in return for Lidge after the season he is having. The downside is you have to trade Ensberg if you do that...unless you plan on playing Blalock at 1B, and Huff and Berkman in the OF. That would make for a pretty terrible defense though. Ideally we would trade Ensberg for a quality bullpen arm and a prospect, but that's better than trading Lidge for crap and banking on getting a good bat and a bullpen arm by trading Ensberg. So basically... Blalock > What Lidge's value should be at this point
Really all he is saying is he is healthy. He needs to have better mechanics he doesnt need a new team to perform well. It is really a useless interview. He just keeps talking about he is confident he can turn it around. www.sportsradio610.com live feed
I kind of surprised that so many are so high on Blalock. He is not much more than a figment of AmeriQuest's imagination. How's this for a career home/road split? Arlington (1185 AB) - .309/.376/.532 Away (1190 AB) - .240/.300/.392 Wilkerson is a better player than Blalock, although his last 1 1/2 seasons have been completely mystifying.
