Astros acquire Ken Giles

You don't compound one mistake by making another. Not feeling great doesn't mean you gve him away.

You really have no argument other than fans are gonna be fans which ironically is the same argument that works against you. Homers gonna homer.

 

Who's freaking out? More like some of you are feaking out that people don't agree with the trade. Probably the same crowd of pseudo baseball intellectuals that touted Gregerson as a closer when some people questioned his stuff last year.

 

I don't see the rush. Bullpen performances are incredibly fickle from year to year.

Giles isn't a proven anything. He's got a year as a closer for a last place team.

 

He's actually got half a year. Papelbon was the closer for the first half

 

Great minor and major stats thus far as well as passes the eye exam.

Hmmm.

He look ok.

 

I know a lot of people don't like Scott Kazmir after last season but he is only 31 and has been a solid middle or end of the rotation pitcher throughout his career. I would absolutely consider bringing him back for the right price.

I think Feldman should be our middle inning reliever and spot duty starter. He has excelled in big game situations as a middle reliever, particularly when he was with the Rangers.

I think McCullers is due for a break out season and people forget that he just turned 22. Like most, I would be more confident if we could add another high quality starter, but the starting rotation as is has a chance to be really good IMO. Particularly if Feliz has the type of year McCullers had last season.

 

Per MLBNetwork

2015, Giles had 107 pitches 97mph or faster... Astros entire bullpen, 35

 

They didn't give him away. They used him to acquire A-level, club controlled talent. Potential elite closers aren't cheap. Young, underpaid, club-controlled ones are even less so.

Astros wouldn't have traded Lidge or Wagner after their rookies years for a bunch of #4 and #5 starting pitchers.

 

Terrible example - those "pseudo baseball intellectuals" were right. Gregerson was a very good closer last year. Replacing Gregerson with Giles would be nice but not a huge impact. The impact comes from in that you're essentially replacing Qualls with Giles and upgrading all your bullpen spots by pushing everyone back.

 

Giles' pitching the 8th and 9th vs KC sounds so dreamy. Astros version of Clutch City

Real DH and/or 3B might have us favorites.

 

Good grief. Some of these "new" posters to the Astros forum are really bringing down the quality of discussion.

 

You don't think this team needs to maximize every area to try and win now?

Team windows are notoriously fickle as well.

You're advocating for total unknowns and/or minor league failures who would not be on the opening day roster next year if opening day was tomorrow.

I'll take the "closer from a last place team" who can hit 103mph and has a strikeout skill that this bullpen was severely lacking (and who was still striking out first place team hitters throughout the last two years).

 

Appel is small potatoes; I have no issue including him.

Anyone criticizing Luhnow forgets that his work has resulted in the team we have now. His team drafted Correa and McC. His team found Marwin and McHugh. His team drafted Reed, Daz, and Tucker.

You can't decry him a terrible GM for drafting the consensus #1 pick and then getting value for him when the player hasn't paneed out. It's not all on Luhnow that Appel hasn't progressed.

The only piece we lost that contributed to the big league club is Vince. In the end, that's what matters most.

 

Almost makes one long for the days of the 100 loss teams when it was a lot quieter in here.

 

Haha! Back when you could post and check a day later read the three responses your post got. I like the new popularity, but it makes it hard to keep up with posting...

 

One thing I saw from all this is that the posters who agreed to the trade will belittle the posters that did not. I was critical of the value going out. I still think it was too much value going out.

And for those that said Fisher is better than Appel, well the Astros made the change after the Phillies included the 17 year old SS. So the Asttos traded Appel for their current #8 and #18 prospect listed guys. Appel is a far better talent than Fisher.

The Astros sold low on Appel and the Phillies sold high on Giles.

I saw that Phillie fans are a lot happier with the reworked deal too. Go figure some of y'all have company.

 

There is a rush. I think the idea is that great bullpen arms are NOT fickle. Rivera, Lidge, Wagner, Holland, W Davis, Chapman, Kimbrel, etc. aren't fickle. And there's a better chance Giles is one of those guys (stud closer) vs. not.

He got 1/2 a year as a closer. But he pitched just as incredibly as a setup man earlier in the year, and as a setup man last year. For some reason people think this was his first year and he just got a half year. He had a higher WAR last year in 60% of the innings as a "rookie".

 

No - people are belittling people who are freaking out and throwing out all sorts of arguments that contradict each other and thus make no sense.

You think too much value was going out in Appel. Or that the Astros scouts all suck and should never have drafted Appel. Or maybe that the Astros didn't develop him properly. Or that his minor league results are not indicative of performance because he was experimenting with other pitchers.