I assume he talked with Cecil. If Cecil feels someone else is better at the three spot at the end of ST, he will pencil someone else in.
he doesnt help the team enough to warrant sucking at the plate...period. Obviusly, the Astros arent the only ones who think that way seeing as how he is being non tendered as an unrestricted FA as opposed to being sought after in a trade. unfortunately for AE, he was on a team that, for the most part of his career, couldnt hit...and he was arguably the worst in a lineup that wasnt producing many runs. Had he stayed in Boston, and been surrounded by a solid lineup, perhaps he would have stuck around there.
Is it just me...or does anyone else think that Hunter Pence should still bat 3rd with Bourne and Matsui in front of him. He's got good enough speed to stretch some hits. Puting him in the 6th hole behind Lee is like puting a turtle in front of a rabbit. I'm not a lineup expert...anyone care to help me understand why puting him 6th is a good idea?
He's our lineup with each player's stats from last year (for fun): 1. Michael Bourn CF - .277 AVG, .348 OBP, .726 OPS, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 29 R, 18 SB, 21 SO (in 119 ABs) 2. Kazuo Matsui 2B - .288 AVG, .342 OBP, .747 OPS, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 84 R, 32 SB, 69 SO (in 410 ABs) 3. Miguel Tejada SS - .296 AVG, .357 OBP, .799 OPS, 18 HR, 81 RBI, 72 R, 41 BB, 51 SO (in 514 ABs) 4. Lance Berkman 1B - .278 AVG, .386 OBP, .896 OPS, 34 HR, 102 RBI, 95 R, 94 BB, 125 SO (in 561 ABs) 5. Carlos Lee LF - .303 AVG, .354 OBP, .882 OPS, 32 HR, 119 RBI, 93 R, 53 BB, 63 SO (in 627 ABs) 6. Hunter Pence RF - .322 AVG, .360 OBP, .899 OPS, 17 HR, 69 RBI, 57 R, 26 BB, 95 SO (in 456 ABs) 7. Ty Wiggington 3B - .284 AVG, .342 OBP, .804 OPS, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 24 R, 13 BB, 40 SO (in 169 ABs, Houston stats only) 8. J.R. Towles C - .375 AVG, .432 OBP, 1.007 OPS, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, 3 BB, 1 SO (in 40 ABs) I would be extremely happy if our crappiest player (as defined as batting AVG) hit .277 for the year.
Lee has proven power and power is more important than speed at the 4th and 5th spot. If Pence does what he did last year, he will find his way into the third spot in the order.
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=law_keith Wednesday, December 12, 2007 Astros slightly better with Tejada By acquiring Miguel Tejada, the Astros seem hellbent on trying to contend in 2008, and the Orioles are the happy beneficiaries. In Tejada, Houston gets a good player who's already in decline and receives a good mix of quantity and quality in return. The Astros do improve their offense significantly with the move, albeit at some cost on defense, so that the net gain is probably under two wins. The Astros were looking at a lineup that on some days would have five players with OPS's under .700 (Michael Bourn, Kaz Matsui, Brad Ausmus, Adam Everett and the pitcher), whereas Tejada still has good plate coverage and pull power. The move to Houston's ballpark, which is very friendly to right-handed pull hitters, should help Tejada's homer total, but he's a hitter in decline -- his listed age is 31, and several front-office executives have told me they believe that number is low -- and he could easily have to move off shortstop before his contract is up. The move leaves them free to non-tender Everett, one of the best defensive shortstops in the game but also one of the five worst everyday hitters in the majors, saving them $4 million or so on his expected arbitration award. Baltimore gets a big haul considering Tejada's declining performance and healthy contract. The two central guys in the deal are the young starting pitchers. Left-hander Troy Patton has been a top Houston prospect for several years, and while his stuff hasn't ticked upward as projected, he has good feel of an arsenal that includes a four-seamer at 88-92 mph, a plus changeup with good arm speed and fading action, and a fringy slider at 80-84 mph that has some tilt but tends to flatten out. He projects as a solid No. 4 starter, although he comes open a bit in his delivery and has had minor shoulder problems on and off as a pro. Right-hander Matt Albers is the other side of the coin; where Patton has good command of average stuff, Albers has below-average command of good stuff, with two pitches that project as plus -- a fastball at 92-96 mph and a hard curveball in the low 80s with a very sharp break. He lacks a solid third pitch to get lefties out, and his command has a long way to go, but his arm is too good to be included in a big package like this. Baltimore also picked up three other players, although none figure into the Orioles' long-term plans just yet. Luke Scott, a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder coveted by a number of other clubs to be part of a platoon solution in left or right field; his defense is shaky but he shines against right-handed pitching. Don't be surprised if the Orioles keep him moving in a second deal. Right-hander Dennis Sarfate has an outstanding arm, with a 95-98 mph fastball and good downhill plane, but his control ranges from bad to horrid, and he's just a good lottery ticket for the Orioles at this point, which makes him a good fourth guy in a deal. Mike Costanzo projects as a quadruple-A player; he has trouble making contact with better stuff and is very rough at third base. It's hard to make sense of this deal for Houston, a club that continues to act like a contender despite going 73-89 last year with no real reason to expect the in-house personnel to improve. The trade also leaves the Astros' rotation short at least one and probably two arms; Roy Oswalt, Woody Williams, and Wandy Rodriguez are set in the top three spots, but behind them, the candidates are Brandon Backe (not far off major elbow surgery), Chris Sampson, Juan Gutierrez and Felipe Paulino, none of whom is ready and able to pitch in a contender's rotation. Houston is probably two more moves away from reaching .500, and they've already sacrificed a good chunk of the tradeable assets in their farm system in making this trade. What's more, by 2010, this could easily be one of the worst teams in baseball, with little help coming from the farm, Tejada probably gone to free agency, and two 34-year-old bats in Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee making a combined $33 million.
our lineup looks a lot more like the Rockies/mets/AL lineups, we have legit hitters now, instead of guys like ausmus, everett, biggio, burke, we have big time lumber.
I gotta give Wade credit. The mere fact we're discussing where to put all our hitters in the lineup instead of "OMG our 7-9 hitters are total deadspace" means a marked improvement in the lineup.
Hey whatever excuses the organization wants to use to quell the masses is fine by me. I know all about Fibula and Tibia fractures, and the recovery times etc... The Fibula is NOT that big a deal, especially the non-displaced kind... DD
Matsui is a good bunter and a switch hitter. He makes more sense batting in the two-hole. Our best lineup is the following: Bourn (speed, speed and speed, hopefully will have a decent to good OBP) Matsui (good bunter, switch hitter) Berkman (walks, hits, gets on base for Lee, RBI guy) Lee (cleanup power, good all-around hitter) Tejada (protect Lee, good power and RBI guy) Pence (knock in some more runs, speed is a bonus) Wigginton (lots of SOs, power is a bonus) Towles (we need to see more of what he can do) Definitely an improved offense. Pitching is not looking good at all.
I will get excited ONLY after the Mitchell report comes out. Should Tejada not be on there, then consider me one happy camper. GO 'STROS!
"Houston is probably two more moves away from reaching .500, and they've already sacrificed a good chunk of the tradeable assets in their farm system in making this trade. What's more, by 2010, this could easily be one of the worst teams in baseball, with little help coming from the farm, Tejada probably gone to free agency, and two 34-year-old bats in Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee making a combined $33 million." Wow, that is bad.
Yeah. Bad writing. Two 34 year old bats? Most stars are still producing at or near their peak at age 34. And Lee can be traded by mutual consent after the first four years of his contract if the Astros are inclined to do so. And pure poor speculation on his two moves away from a .500 team. I'd put us around .500 right now and easily over .500 if we pick up any decent pitching at all.
The Astros were one of the worst teams in baseball before the trade and are currently. The Astros need more starters like Silva.
Hahaha ESPN just said "Careful for what you ask for" regarding Tejada getting traded. Man the Astros sUCK.
Um, people, it's still December. Let's see what Wade does in the next few months to address pitching.
I can't believe no one's posted it, nor can I believe I haven't thought to post it yet, so here goes: Fricken' cheap frickin' McScrooge. Open the frickin' wallet already. I mean the Astros *never* make any splashes. Ever. "Period."
Honestly, is the payroll higher than last year? Wade said on 610 that we are not at $100 million. Also, I have heard a huge problem is Drayton not wanting to pay above slot-money for draft picks and not offering arbitration so that we get compensated with draft pics. I'm not a cynical Drayton basher, but such a person might argue that this will get people in the seats without really improving the team or increasing payroll much.
