Even before this trade, the Astros couldn't make an offer that a team would take serious for anyone on that list besides Blanton. Even on Blanton though another team could top the Astros. The only player the Astros have of any real value now (other than the big money guys) is Pence.
True and I even said that, but just because we don't have the prospects doesn't mean the market doesn't exist. And looking at the depth of lineup, theoretically we could trade Pence for a good #2 starter. Maybe even a poor #1. Hell we could throw in Loretta/Burke for good measure.
That makes a ton of sense genius. Why would we trade for Tejada and then turn around and trade him for someone else? We've been trying for two years to get him. He isn't going anywhere.
The Astros offer would be Pence+ garbage in just about every trade discussion. The Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks could blow that offer out of the water.
The info you're leaving out is more important than what you have posted here. Yes, Kaz & Bourne are fast, but what value is speed if you're not on base? Matsui has a career OBP of .325(!) and Bourne hasn't consistently gotten on base since he was in A-ball. Wigginton may hit 20+ HR, but doesn't matter his career OPS+ is 102, which is the very definition of average. I love Berkman & Lee and think Tejada will perform, but you are not maximizing their run-producing ability by surrounding them with players who can't get on base. You keep pointing to all of these guys with .340 OBP, but that is not a respectable mark to have across the board.
Oh my goodness, 790 is unlistenable. This is horrid. I'm still in school this semester so I don't get Houston stations and only stream on the Web on days like today... these guys are beyond clueless. Lopez and whoever else is there are going on and on about how Baseball America is wrong and the Astros are wrong (that Paulino > Patton)... all because of how he looked "to their eyes." Umm, guys... he started two games. Essentially, Lopez says that the opinions of scouts, both from the Astros as well as outside organizations such as Baseball America, are less valid than the opinions of casual fans who watched Patton for two games. This is incredible. What a buffoon.
Roughly what the 25 man looks like right now: CF Bourn 2B Matsui SS Tejada 1B Berkman LF Lee RF Pence 3B Wigginton C Towles Bench: C Ausmus IF: Loretta IF: Blum OF: Ramirez OF: Abercrombie Rotation: 1 Oswalt 2 Backe 3 Wandy 4 Williams 5 Sampson Bullpen 1 Borkowski 2 R. Houston 3 Paulino LH W. Wright 7th Villarreal S Brocail Cl Qualls Trade Pieces/Non-tender Burke Everett Non-guaranteed Cheito Randolph Hooper Perez
Welcome back. Lopez is, bar none, the worst ever. Particularly when talking about baseball. Absolute....worst....ever. That show is mind-numbingly bad. Have I mentioned he's the worst ever?
1) Most sports writers don't really know much about baseball or evaluating baseball talent. They are mostly ignorant of things like statistical analysis, etc. On base percentage is still a relatively "new" stat to them and OPS (not OPS+ mind you) is still Sci-fi to most of them. 2) John Lopez is on the lower end of sports writers.
Has anyone taken a look at the lineup the Orioles have trotted out there with Tejada? I don't see anyone the caliber of Berkman or Lee waiting in the on deck circle....bash his OB% all you want, but he WAS the Orioles offense the past couple of years....Melvin Mora is no Lance Berkman.....teams are going to have to make their way through Tejada/Berkman/Lee/Pence.....maybe the Mets can rival that kind of hitting in the NL, but I don't see anyone else.....and as far as starting pitching goes....did anyone see the National League playoffs? The Colorado Rockies went UNDEFEATED with the likes of Jeff Francis (he's decent, but he's no Roy Oswalt) Josh Fogg and Aaron Cook....why did they win? Because they mashed the ball and got decent pitching from unheralded guys....
Dammit, Ed Wade OK, on the surface, Tejada > Everett. No brainer. The re-facing of this club excites me, seriously. And I understand the Astros don't want to "rebuild". But I thought Fatty P was fired and Ed hired partially because the farm system had gotten so weak? I thought one of Ed's priorities was to come in and rebuild what had become a desperately poor farm system back to what it once was? WTF? You just traded the whole damn farm system for one player. A 30-year-old All-Star, yes. But they couldn't at least throw in a AA bat-boy? And you told the world you were non-tendering Adam Everett barring a "miracle". Well, there ain't gonna be a "miracle" now that clubs know for sure they can wait until tomorrow to get into the multi-hundred dollar bidding war for a gold-glove caliber Mendoza-hitting shortstop coming off a bad leg injury. Good luck rebuilding the farm by trading Chris Burke and Junction Jack, who appear to be just about all that's left. Unless we don't need to actually fill the rosters in the minor league system next year.
