Name a better GM in the Majors that is better than Hunsicker? Id like you to name some of these "mistakes". In my mind the Astros have had some great teams who have choked in the playoffs. Hunsicker is brilliant at finding talent within the budget alloted from McLane. We arent the Yankees and these so called "mistakes" that you are referring to are related to budget issues, not mis management.
Looking at what has happened to the team since he took over after the departure of Lynch, I'd say the Cubs GM.
Alou was not consistent, his numbers after the All-Star break were only slightly above average, though he had an awesome first half of the year. And despite Hidalgo's poor year(for him), the Astros production from CF was second in the league, though some of that was due to the 40 games at CF that Berkman played. Lance was the Astros best player last year, though even he too had a slower second half, though, his second half was better than Alou's. Would I rather have Alou than Ward's hack-o-matic bat at the plate? Of course. Would I give Alou 9 million per year for three years? No.
one note on vinny castilla, i liked the guy but think about it, he has only hit in prime hitters parks-coors/enron and you want his obp from last year .308, thats pathetic, his career is only .330 by the way which is quite bad for a good power hitter, alou may be a slight loss but with ward and lane i dont pay him 9 mil per at 35 but vinny flat out is not all that special and ensberg can do just as well or better
I would too, but I wish Rolen hit left handed. Everyone keeps talking about right handed hitters having a field day at Enron Field, but in my mind it's really left handed hitters that can really utilize the huge gaps in the RF and LF alleys. I feel the Astros would really benefit from having more left handed hitters in the lineup. But I would still welcome a Wagner-Rolen trade. Better to trade him now and get something back than to let him leave via free agency and not get compensated.
first, let me start by saying: I love The Kid. secondly: it's been nice knowing you, Billy. Wagner is as prime a tradeable player as we're ever likely to come by. it's a position of strength [dotel], he's got injury questions that would preclude anyone from wanting to sign him long-term but would not prevent a contender for trying to rent him for the remainder of his lease [a la astacio], AND he's likely to be able to get us something quality in return. so, my question is: what would be the best thing to try to acquire for him? ideally, we'd be able to get a left-hitting, speedster, defensive centerfielder, in my opinion. does anyone meet those qualifications? damon? pierre? bueller? anyone? a 3rd-baseman like rolen wouldn't be bad, but it could present some problems. what do you then do with ensberg? of course, if you trade for a centerfielder, what do you do with ward? with lane? even though it sucks to see the Astros have to make these tough decisions on players like Alou and Castilla, I have to say that hunsicker has earned my trust on making them. there's no doubt in my mind that he will get the best team on the field for the money he's given to work with. but it sucks knowing that the money he's given to work with is really only good enough to field a team that can go out in the 1st round of the playoffs year after year after year. tangential note: I thnk the short left-field wall is the death of Astros' hitters. I think we hit much better outside of TSFKAE [the stadium formerly known as Enron] because, when we're at home, everybody changes their swings to try to get cheap home runs. spray hitters win pennants and world series. I don't know why everyone is so in love with the sluggers. I think the cardinals will be MUCH better now that they don't have to worry about working Gimp McGwire into their lineup. tino will give them an everyday run producer from that slot, and that will make them dangerous. the cubs are much, much better with Alou, especially for the 1st-half of the season. the Astros might have to settle for being the pesky spoilers next year instead of the front-runners. those are all my Hot Baseball Opinions for the morning.
Actually this isn't a real problem at all. Rolen is a proven, talented, young major leaguer. Ensberg is an unknown who also hits right handed. Rolen and Ensberg are both 26. You either keep Ensberg as a backup or include him in a trade. The main problem with this trade (not counting keeping Rolen beyond 2002) is the fact that the Phillies have Mesa and statistically he had a good year last year. I don't see the Astros making a major move until after the season starts AND after the collective bargaining issue is settled.
wow. I had no idea that rolen and ensberg are the same age. that makes it a complete no-brainer. and I agree, bobrek, that there's no reason to do anything right now. barring an injury to him, wagner's value will likely only go up as the season goes on and as other teams' closers go down with injuries or struggle. even though I'd like to get something for him sooner, he would probably be some team's trading deadline blockbuster. plus, if he were to get injured [even though that would be a bad thing], we could stop all this nonsense about 4 year contracts.
