Astros...Buyers or Sellers?

when is the last time the payroll was at $80 million?

 

According to a report on FoxSports.com, general manger Neal Huntington said that All-Star Zach Duke and starter Paul Maholm are still on the table for any team interested.

http://www.nesn.com/2009/07/report-pirates-open-to-trading-duke-maholm.html?mtr

 

Yes. I would like to see them offered arbitration, though I'd be more open to trading Valverde, who has more value. I'm saying that you can only get mid-level prospects at best for Tejada and you'd have to eat a portion of his contract, and I don't think that is good value. I doubt they get offered arbitration because Drayton will be afraid they accept. Worst possible scenario is they agree to arbitration and we are talking about the same thing next year.

Just to clarify, I prefer draft picks over the minor leaguers we could get, and I would be mad if Tejada walks and we get nothing. Its very possible he will be back next year regardless because the market just isn't there for what will be a 36 year old short stop at anywhere near $15 million that he is making now.

 

2005, but it was under 90 last year even.

 

Geoff Geary is anything but a failure because of how well he pitched last year, and he was a quality pitcher throughout his career, and is 32. He pitched awful this year, but he isn't like those other guys that gave this organization little to nothing.

 

Grr, I've been saying for weeks that Duke would be a high-value and low-cost addition to the team! We'd probably have to only give up some average AA player since the Pirates are really stupid.

 

You're changing the argument. I never said Purpura was as aggressive as Wade (by the way, not all moves are inherently good) -- only that he wasn't scared to make a move. By the way, considering one GM took over a NLCS/World Series team, and the other took over a 73-89 team, which one do you expect would be more aggressive out of the gate?

By the way, I find it hilarious that you praise Hunsicker, who made his living signing players for hometown discounts (Pettitte, Clemens, Kent), and criticize Purpura for the same thing.

 

The Pirates actually have one of the brighter management minds in the game -- it's just that fans and most media types are too short-sighted to see it. I'm not a fan of dealing with them, for that reason.

 

You do, if you have the revenue to support it. The Astros don't have the revenue to expect them to go over current levels -- in fact, they're way higher than they should be. The problem with the Astros is how misallocated their funds are, which is the responsibility of guys like Ed Wade and Tim Purpura. It's not a problem with financial commitment from the owner. The money is there -- it's just not being used by baseball management in the right places.

 

do they really?? i must be too short-sighted, because i don't see it at all! aall i hear about from the pirates is, "man, they've got good young talent." i've heard that for about 10 years now, and can't think of anything they have to show for it.

 

Who said it wasn't Hunsicker's team? You guys keep changing the arguments. Purpura didn't make the team, but he also knew not to alter it. If you're complaining about not making a move for a team that ended up winning the pennant, I don't even know what to say. The Astros didn't have the pieces to acquire a star, and would upgrading Chris Burke with a marginal, mediocre LF have really made that much of a difference? Especially considering the postseason Burke ended up having...

 

I don't doubt that, but it's hard to look at them right now and not wonder if maybe early Alzheimer's has set in. How much of their major league team have they traded off so far? How many of those players are young with multiple years of club control left? It seems like they've already given up on the next 5 years and are already worried about payroll in 2014.

 

It all changed in the 2007-08 offseason, when they hired Neal Huntington as GM. If you're bored, google him -- he's a really, really bright guy. One of my best friends is the MLB.com reporter for the Pirates, and she swears by him as one of the smartest baseball folks she's been around. The problem with the Pirates over the past decade has honestly been mortgaging the talent they have had for the Matt Morris' of the world -- essentially, trying to scrap their way to a few extra wins with veterans here and there, instead of truly rebuilding with a long-term vision.

It's going to take him some time, but I truly think in 3-5 years you'll see them have a season like TB had last year.

 

that would be great for that market.

i love their ballpark.

 

So, who gave Carlos Lee a 100 million dollar contact? and signed roy to a 75 million dollar extension, which he deserved

 

just heard from richard justice on espn that the astros most likely will not make any trades by the trade deadline.

 

They are finally doing it right. The Pirates have been sorta-rebuilding for a long time. Trying to be bad instead of terrible. The result has been they are endlessly bad. If you're going to rebuild, you do what the Pirates are doing now - trade EVERYONE that has any value whatsoever. Collect as many minor leaguers as you can. And reset yourself to try to bring up all those guys together in a few years.

I have no idea of the quality of people they've been getting, so if they are getting garbage, it's a failure. But if they are getting quality young talent, they have a chance to make it work. The mistake is when all your talent is at different levels, so you're never able to put it all together at one time.