alysonfooter: Astros make a trade: They have acquired 2b/ss Clint Barmes from the Rockies for RHP Felipe Paulino. Edit - Low on base guy but does have power. Crappy 2010 but pretty good 2008 and 2009. The Felipe Paulino experiment ends.
Hmmm traded a toung pitcher... albeit one with the ceiling of a #4 in my opinion... for a 31 year old 2nd baseman, that doesn't play short anymore, had roughly a 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ration in 387 ABs last year, and a .305 OBP. I'm scratching my head on this one. Yes we need offense more than pitching, no I didn't think Paulino would ever amount to much... but, saying this without processing it much, this trade sucks.
I like this trade for both sides. Barmes can play shortstop or 2nd base for the Astros. Paulino needed a change of scenery.
I think they will try to play him at SS and rest Keppinger from time to time. I also think they are basically ignoring 2010 and looking at 2008 and 2009 but your right, the guy is certainly not a high OBP guy.
I don't think he's a shortstop anymore, he has pop but plays in Denver, does not improve our team speed or woeful on base percentage, and he's 31 years old. I'm not a Paulino fan, but why was Clint Barmes even on our radar? Why would we trade a mediocre but young pitcher for him?
Haven't looked at his stats, but it seems like he always hit the Astros well. No clue about how he did against the rest of the league.
Ewww... I'm with you guys. Those road splits are ugly. People try to rationalize Coors Field now that they have the humidor... but they made that outfield SO BIG to mitigate the effects of the thin air and it's made for a place where cheap hits are plentiful. Carlos Gonzales has a ton of talent and was great last year, but his home/road splits are just as striking. Dude hit .289 on the road and .380 at home. His OBP and SLG were both over 100 points higher in Denver.] Back to Barmes... a .285 OBP on the road? Really? For a 27 year old pitcher with that has great stuff but bad control issues?
Yeah this smells like another Kaz Matsui. Another thing is this guy is 32 years old. I thought he was younger for some reason. I liked the trade at 1st but not so much anymore. Astros lost starting pitching depth as well.
Astros have been 0-2 the last two times they got hitters from the Rockies, Preston K. Wilson and Kaz Matusi.
Yeah but Paulino has a much higher celling and is 4 years younger. Power pitchers are hard to find. If you look at his raw stats from last year, they were not bad. 8.1 strikeouts for 9 innings and 3.9 BB per 9 innings is fairly decent. He may never turn the corner but if he does, look out.
I might be in the minority of those who think Paulino had a higher ceiling. When he was on, he was very good. I wondered if he wouldn't take a path similar to Wandy where he'd get markedly better each year. Barmes is a guy that's got some pop, but little else. I'd be curious to hear from Wade if they plan this as a move for a utility infielder or one that's meant to be a starter.
Paulino's problems were health and control. Sadly, it looked like he was getting "it" before he got injuried last year.
