I'm sure a lot of you will agree that we need to acquire a legitimate CF for next year. I cannot believe we would want to go into next season with the same outfielders! For all of Ward's "potential", I want to trade him for whatever we can get or put him back on the bench. He's a DH or a 1st baseman without a doubt!!! Also, I don't think we can move Hidalgo, not with his contract so I'm sure he'll be back. Maybe he can finally put it all back together again?! Anyway, what move(s) do you all feel we should make in the off-season? BUT keep in mind that we still have to contend with Drayton's self-imposed spending limit...
We didn't lose the division because of centerfield defense. I think we need a Pedro Astacio type consistent veteran guy in the rotation and a legit power hitter/rbi man to fit in behind Bagwell.
What is wrong with the Stros? Shaky starting pitching outside the 1-2, two outfield positions that were not producing, season ending injury to the shortstop, Adam E couldn't hit, decent third base, an aging second base man who is probably overrated now, an injured first baseman. Outside of Bagwell and Berkman, the power wasn't there. The stros need some more hitting, at least a center fielder and a third baseman. They need a solid number 3 or 4 assuming Hernedez can play healthy and ok next year. Their relief core was weak especially in the first 3 months, but they still could use another reliever for middle innings. I'm not so Tom Gordon trade worked out too well this season. They do that and they can go far on the backs of Oswalt and Miller.
Speaking of CFs and more hitting, I would like to revive a trade I suggested before the season: Get Carlos Beltran from the Royals (making a modest $3.5 mil) for a boatload of second-tier stuff we have, like, say, Ward, Redding, and Ensberg (on the theory that the Royals would never take Hidalgo's salary). Also, peddle Hidalgo to anyone who will listen. Talk trades with the Twins, who have a very crowded outfield with Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter, Bobby Kielty, Dustan Mohr, and Michael Cuddyer, Mike Restovich, and Matthew LeCroy (who can play catcher) waiting in the wings. Do something about the middle relief. Borbon and Puffer ain't gonna cut it. In fact, see if someone will take Billy W. and his $9 mil per year, and make Dotel the closer. Use the money saved for a decent SS or 3B (yeah, Blum has been better than expected, but he's still only about league average). Go with a rotation of Oswalt, Miller, Saarloos, Munro, and maybe Lidge or Carlos Hernandez if either of them can stay healthy for a while.
Loretta, Viz, Blum in 'power' places of line-up? Gimme a break. This ol' hitting machine of a team has three major league bats. Three. Whatever happened to the infield of the '00s? Ginter, Everett, Ensberg?
You are correct that the Twins have a crowded outfield, but do not include LeCroy in that bunch. He is a DH/C (possible 1B as well), but does not play the OF at all. Also, Kielty and Mohr (both had great starts) have settled into the .270-.290 range as far as average. Lane will probably be a much better major leaguer.
Oh really? That's awesome. I remember the last couple years Lidge would get 5 starts or so and then have an injury. But for those 5 starts, it always seemed as if he was lights out, and everyone could only imagine what he would be like if he could stay healthy. This season I thought they were using him as a closer, but maybe I was wrong. Oh well, I would much rather him try to succeed as a starter than a reliever right now...better to get as many solid starters as you can, and then populate the bullpen with guys that couldn't quite make the cut.
There is no way that Min would trade Cuddyer, especially since they will be around til 2006. They would be more likely to trade Jacque Jones, who would probably require a 5 mill/year deal...
Sorry, didn't mean to imply that LeCroy was an outfielder. I knew that he was a DH-C, but I put him at the end of that list of Twins prospects that I think would be worth pursuing. He's never going to play there with "All-Star" Pierzynski behind the plate and a bunch of others splitting DH duties. Kielty's batting average might be a little deceptive: he walks a ton, and the last time I checked he had an OBP of over .400, plus a great slugging percentage. Plus, he's versatile enough to play all three outfield positions. I'm sure the Twins know that also, and will let Jacque Jones walk. I also think Lane is going to turn out well, though. Certainly no worse than Ward or Hidalgo.
He's given up 16 runs in his last 7 innings pitched. His ERA for the year before those two starts was 3.97. The guy can pitch man!
The Astros were in an unfortunate situation with Astacio. They could have kept him outright for around 7-9 million or they could buy him out for 1 million. His shoulder injury made that decision easier. His reluctance to have surgery kept them from pursuing him at all. The Mets were the only team willing to give him a chance. You are right that his ERA has recently skied because of two awful outings, but it has been steadily climbing since August 11th. His last 7 games he has given up 6,8,7,6,3,8 and 9 runs. Perhaps his shoulder problems are back. It certainly is odd that he was pitching great, and now is pitching miserably. That being said, Astacio (or a pitcher like him) would have been good for the team, BUT a healthy Reynolds would have filled the bill as well. Unfortunately, the Astros banked on Reynolds being relatively injury free this year.
That would be awesome if we could get Beltran from KC! BUT what would it realistically take for us to get him? He's an up-and-coming player who works cheap . We'd probably have to send a couple of top pitching prospects? I think Lidge will eventually be a set-up guy like Dotel until he gets some MLB experience. It was great that he stayed healthy this year to get some badly needed innings in but the ultimate plan for Lidge should be to groom him as a stopper. He has all the requisite "power" tools and his history of arm problems make me nervous about him being a starter.....jmo
i think we need better pitchers, and our CF does suck, especially for the money he is makeing. our Cf is hidalgo right?
Since when is SS a "power hitter's" position. The only 2 I can really think of are Tejada and A-Rod. SS has traditionally been a weak offensive position. Batting average around .250 and a RARE HR. Ginter is with the Brewers. The Astros gave up on him. He wasn't getting it done in AAA. Ensberg is working on his hitting game. Everett will never bat more than .210 on the ML level...not acceptable.
I think he's referring to Blum, Viz, and Loretta hitting in the #5/#6 slots in the lineup which are traditionally power hitting slots, not that we need a shortstop with power.
Understood. Loretta is a guy who will hit for average, but does not belong in the 5 hole. I'd like to see him in the 7 hole, with Viz/Blum in the 8 hole.
