Considering the situation: A) Randy Johnson - I think he has a lil left in the tank. B) Mark Mulder - despite injuries, he's only 31. He's a risk I would look at, depending on the price
I'll also ad Penny or Pavano to that list. Any one of those 4 rickety shoulders....depending on the price of course.
If we get lucky enough to sign one of them and have them, Hampton, Backe, Wandy, and Oswalt make their starts we'll be fine... Me think we might be screwed, but the Astros suprise me every year by either way exceeding my expectations, or underperforming my expectations. Heck, they've been doing both during every season over the course of the last 4 seasons. I miss baseball.
The mistake they made last year, which I hope they don't repeat, to have a situation with 5 guys where there are some question marks like potential injury problems and only plan for a 5 man rotation. Sampson, of course, can switch over to the rotation but he is 10x better as a reliever. It seems to me to be a waste to take a good reliever and turn him into a bad starter as your primary backup option. It would be nice if we didn't fall off a cliff from the five man rotation to subbing in Runelvys Hernandez again. People will spend time on the DL, perhaps a lot of time. There will need to be someone to fill those innings.
Good; it's good you have a list of names. Now, you said, "depending on the price"... so if these guys sign elsewhere for ridiculous contracts, does that make Drayton "cheap"? I'd be interested to know what Wade et. al.'s plans are for the rest of the winter; who's on the radar, etc.
To be frank...no. But, while Unit and Penny are more likely to get that ridiculous contract, do you expect Pavano and Mulder to get the same level of insane contract offers? I doubt that....especially for Mulder's case.
No, just asking the rhetorical question. I wonder how many organizations are taking a look at Pavano and Mulder. Isn't Pavano pretty old now?
Let's assume you're right about the benevolent baseball owners. You're dead wrong, but we'll assume you are right. This payroll flexibility you talk about is absurd. You NEVER spend more than you take in as a business. The Yankees don't. They just have a lot more than everybody else. If Drayton were to voluntarily operate at a loss, I'd want him to have his head examined.
Absurd? LOL..... Again, I'm not talkin Yankee money here. Mulder's not gonna be getting an +$10 million dollar-a-year contract, he's likely gonna come on the cheap or some form of incentive-laden contract. Prolly the same for Pavano. Furthermore, I seriously doubt Drayton has set his $100 million dollar payroll hardline at mark even remotely near his projected break-even point. Thats not smart business (as you stated above) and Drayton is ABOUT making money and will make sure he gets his first, or else he would have sold long ago. Simply meaning, there is probably some wiggle room to go slightly over that $100 million dollar payroll hardline. Thats the flexability I'm hoping for. And thats the flexability I think could have been used to possibly keep Wiggy or maybe sign one of these "risky-deal" pitchers (Mulder or Pavano). And thats why I think this bankrupcy talk is absurd when asking for "a little flexability" with the payroll. I'm not demanding C.C. Sabathia...I'm hoping for Carl "Friggin" Pavano....jeez.
First of all, why would we duplicate the Cardinals mistake of extending Mulder a 1 year guaranteed deal when his shoulder has NOT been medically cleared yet. Secondly, look at what the Cardinals have done to some pretty prominent arms over the years.... Matt Morris (never the same), Rick Ankeil (had to have Tommy John surgery, even despite the mental breakdowns), Chris Carpenter (still recovering), and now Matt Mulder. Tony LaRussa/Dave Duncan does wonders with reclamation projects, but he also throws the hell out of their arms. Finally, I'd take a risk on Pavano simply because he had a successful and proven surgery that players can come back from. Mulder is a much bigger question mark because not only did he have rotator cuff surgery (which players don't necessarily come back from), but he hurt himself in his first game back ( and hasn't been on the mound since).
There's no evidence that it's anything but random luck. We've had our share of young arms that were destroyed too - but it was just coincidence, not overuse. Carpenter missed a full season before ever joining the Cardinals - he's always had health issues. Matt Morris was never overused with the Cardinals - he always pitched reasonable innings (200 or so). Ankiel was a total fluke. Oakland traded Mulder in part because they had some concerns about his durability and thought his best days were behind him.
No one has a problem with that. What people have a problem with is that you've already decided Greedy McScrooge isn't going to sign anyone (remember your whole "why wait to b****?" rant?). At the same time, you've said Drayton knows that winning is good for the bottomline and that McLane is greedy and only wants to make money. If he only wants to make money and knows that winning is good for the bottomline, why do you think he wouldn't sign players that win and thus help him make money? Your arguments contradict each other and make no sense.
Why consider signing Mark Mulder? Cause he might fit in our price range. And besides, if we sign any better of a pitcher, the Astros MIGHT GO BANKRUPT, as some here have suggested.... (cue the dreaded )
Because I dont believe he will sign anyone. I'm hoping I'm wrong here... Sooooo, let me get this straight here.......Aaron Boone is gonna help us win? World Series here we come!
Let's make this simple so you can understand it. 1. You believe a Carl Pavano can help us win. 2. You believe Drayton knows that winning helps his bottom line. 3. You believe Drayton is a greedy pig that only cares about his bottom line. Based on these three things, why *wouldn't* you believe Drayton would sign a Pavano simply to make more money? You're simultaneously trying to argue that Drayton only cares about money (which is generated by winning) and doesn't care about winning.
A. Because we are at the point, REALISTICLY, we have to look at Carl "Friggin" Pavano. That's not looking to win, that's looking for a bargain and hoping for a miracle.....you know, like one Aaron Boone. Make sense now?
It makes sense if you totally fail to grasp the concept that you can't go into deficit spending and hope to stay afloat for the long term. If you want to back a team with seemingly unlimited resources to quell your penchant for random b****ing...allow me to join the chorus of those telling you to enjoy backing the Yankees. It is simply mystifying that somebody can fail to grasp the concept of a budget. Maybe you have been running GM or Ford. That would explain it.
A-Ha, that completely explains it, you hit the nail on the head. I'm a GM exec! How'd ya know? But seriously, all jokes aside, running GM is no laughing matter. We execs make some serious coin. In fact, its enough for me TO COMPLETELY CRUSH YOU with this fat-ass wallet of mine. So please, stop mystifying me with all this "budget" talk, I have a tough enough job already trying to figure out how I'm gonna completely blow this bailout money we just recieved.....
