The problem with signing free agents pitchers is that to get anyone good, you're going to have to give up your top draft picks, which keeps you from strengthening your farm system.
I can't think of the words any more. Only thing I can say at this point is thank G-d football has begun.
Wait...anyone else getting the feeling that this might be the baseball gods getting payback for the Larry Anderson/Jeff Bagwell trade? The Astros had to pay up sometime.
A 22 yr old good hitting 2b? Someone posted that he was the 29th best prospect in baseball as of last year. Of course, he's not a good player - he's single A. But he certainly seems to fit the mold of potential good player, no?
settle the kettle; cusick's a marginal prospect - bagwell was not. he has a decent bat but his glove is below average and he really doesn't have a position where he excels. right now, his ceiling is probably chris burke. wade seems intent on jettisoning pupura's guys; most not think much of them at all. this is, what? the 5th one he's dealt in less than a year? anderson, patton, albers, rienike, cusick; plus he dealt scott....
I know that...just got this strange feeling that it was time that the Astros got their due for one of the biggest steals in baseball history.
Another difference is Andersen was picked up to get the Red Sox in the playoffs, which he did. Hawkins is a guy the Yankees DFA'ed because they didn't think he could help their playoff run in any capacity. I realize its the Yankees. But its not like their bullpen past Rivera is crazy good. I dunno if Cusick is worth squat or not. I am not someone who is gonna pour over pages of minor league OBP or BABIP...or AEIOU. My point is Hawkins is a silly pick up. The only way I can defend it's to have a name Drayton can recognize to close or set up if we get a boffo offer for Valverde or Brocail.
Actually, it is. Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras are lights out this year. Edwar in particular is downright filthy. David Robertson, the young guy who came up last month, has been nearly dominant save for 2 appearances. Damaso Marte is pretty darn good. Brian Bruney is en route to return to the big leagues. Prior to the trade of Farnsworth yesterday for Ivan Rodriguez, he was mowing guys down this year. The bullpen has been a strength for the yankees and is one of the top 3 in all of baseball.
I stand corrected. (I don't follow the Yankees closely, ESPN doesn't make it easy...but I work really hard to)
ehhhh... we dealt kenny lofton for eddie taubenese; let bobby abreu and johan santana walk out of our system for nothing... EVERY organization is going to have their steals and their fails. and not for nothing; i know it turned out well - but larry andersen was very, very good with boston (1.23 ERA; .96 WHP; 335 (!) ERA+) and was a good-to-great relief pitcher overall for many years. meanwhile, bagwell was behind boggs and two other highly-touted and, irrc, more advanced minor league 3B (scott cooper and...?). yeah, i doubt boston would do it all over again; but it's not like we expertly fleeced them; they got exactly what they wanted (boston made the playoffs that year) and the astros got extremely lucky.
Mind you I don't see Cusick as being any more than a utility player like Burke (of course a contact player would be useful in this team) and when I said 29th best prospect, I meant 29th best prospect on the Astros farm system (and ours is ranked dead last). My problem is why trade ANY value for a 35 year old DFA'd mediocre reliever for a team trying not to lose ground against the Pirates and Reds.
same reason you deal for wolf - the current team isn't very good and you hope the new acquisition can fill some of the void. they've overworked brocail and have a shoddy rotation. hawkins gives them a needed arm in the 'pen. i think people are confusing the "we're still in it" mandate with their moves. i don't think the astros believe these move will get 'em over the hump; i think they view them as necessary moves to stay competitive. therefore, i don't understand all the pissing and moaning. we dealt a marginal single A prospect....
.....for a garbage 37 year old major league retread who won't be on the team in 2 months. is hawkins really necessary, no matter how good or bad he performs the rest of the season (assuming it's nearly impossible for him to become a type a or b)? stick any minor leaguer into whatever role that he is going to assume that's so vital. stick runelvys in there in that relief role. who the hell gives a damn? the guy is going to pitch 25 innings max for the astros, in games that do not matter a lick. that isn't worth giving up a prospect with .0000001% chance of making it in the bigs for. period. i don't think that many of the fans who think this trade is ridiculous are coming from the "but cusick could become a big league stud!" mold. it's more that this trade just speaks volumes about the cluelessness and the delusional mentality of drayton mclane. on top of all this, here's a decent rule of thumb for "Owning a Baseball Team for Dummies": if the yankees don't want him, neither should you. especially if you are about to enter august, and they are in the pennant race, and you were out of it 2 months ago.
...said the guy posting on an Internet BB who thinks he knows more baseball than professional players, GMs, and scouts.
to be exact, i said i think i know more baseball than the Houston Astros' owner. and i think you, and 75% of the posters on this thread do too. never said anything about the players, GM, or the scouts. please don't put words into my mouth. i blame NONE of this on the GM.
