Mike Williams. Loretta was great while he was here, but he was never an option at short (hasn't spent significant time there since 2000). He left to become a starting 2B, something that wasn't an option with the Stros, who wanted to bring him back as a utility guy.
Have you closely watched Ensberg's defense at 3rd? He's pretty bad. Lamb is worse, but only very slightly. It's pretty much a wash.
Morgan definitely regressed last year defensively. But he's shown better in the past.. so I'm hopeful he can regain that form in the field. Lamb has never shown himself to be any better/worse than he always is..
His bum shoulder played into that, I'd imagine. He's shown himself to be head & shoulders above Lamb defensively. It's not even arguable. We'll see which Morgan shows up next year.
It certainly feels to me that the rent-a-player effect has had too little effect on the season('s in question) while youngsters have left with varying levels of future success. And it leaves me a bit cold, frankly.
wait...are you saying randy johnson and carlos beltran had "little effect" on the astros' seasons the years they were with us?? are you also arguing that we should have spent more to keep the guys who had such "little effect??" i may be misunderstanding your point here.
Too little effect on a season? When 2 of these "rent-a-players" had the historic runs that Randy and Carlos had? (Randy's 2nd half and Carlos in the playoffs) The 2 biggest acquisitions had an incredible effect on the season individually and helping the team.. and on top of that, those are 2 of only ~ 6 or so that have been mentioned? And the other deals didn't really strip our farm or anything...it was mainly those 2 deals that required the talented young players in trades. I'm not sure what you dislike unless you're saying you just prefer not to trade young players for a shot at a title.
Mad Max and Kaleidy, good points well taken. Perhaps my frustration is I believe the 'stros try to win but don't TRY TO WIN! The locals were #2 in avg salary paid last season, ahead of the red Sox, Mets etc etc. but did they ever seem to be real challengers for anything? So, yes, you're both right but my frustrations are valid as well IMO.
How exactly do you define "trying to win"? There's a huge difference between winning and trying to win. They weren't challengers for anything last year because the players didn't perform. Ensberg, Lane, Pettitte (1st half), and Lidge all performed way below expectations. No one played above. That leads to losing, but how does that fit with not trying to win?
Too little, too late unfortunately. The team played much better to close the season when he was playing above expectations, Pettitte got back to expectations, and Lidge was removed so the closer wasn't below expectations. But for the season as a whole, his contributions weren't significant simply because he only got 200 at bats. I was thinking more season-long performances.
In other news, Bush won a second term and the Rockets traded for T-Mac. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=122474 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=2672298&postcount=1008 http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6317476
Astros sign Mark Loretta, let's hope he plays as well here the second time around!! Agent says 2B Loretta will sign with Astros Mark Loretta will sign with the Houston Astros on Thursday, his agent said. The agreed-to deal is for one year at $2.5 million, but could be worth as much as $3.5 million with incentives, said Loretta's agent, Bob Garber. The free-agent second baseman had multiple offers, including ones from the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds. While the Rangers offered more money, Garber said Houston was a better opportunity. Craig Biggio has long been entrenched as the starting second baseman for the Astros. But Garber said Loretta, who has also played first, third and shortstop during his career, will play "all over the infield" for Houston. "We wanted to wait until the second-base market got better. The market is great for everyone but second basemen," Garber said. Loretta, a 12-year veteran, played for the Boston Red Sox last season, hitting .285 in 155 games. He has previously played for the Brewers, Astros and Padres and has a career .299 average and .987 career fielding percentage.
im sorry i know lorretta is old and his skills are declining, but this has to be one of the better signings we have had in a long time. he is a veteran that knows how to play multiple positions that has better offense than2/3 of our infield. he might not be the best offensive source but he is better than what we have!
All I could find is that he hasn't been in the majors for 2 years. He is a lefty and will turn 33 this season. He had a decent year in AAA last season in Charlotte (White Sox...teammate of Tim Redding). He was 9-9 in 27 starts with a 3.67 era, 144 K's, 114 bb's in 154.1 IP. I saw somewhere else that his fastball gets as high as 100 and has a good slider but his control gets him in trouble. He will give up some hr's. He did spend 2 full years in the majors with Arizona in their pen. Nothing special. My guess is he's here to compete for a lefty spot in the pen or to be a vet for Round Rock. stats
