Astros Major Press Conference at 4:30 (UPDATE: Astros trade 3 for Jason Jennings)

We never got Garland because the deal WASN'T enough... it apparently was for Colorado (who always needs cheap arms, since no FA is going there anymore).

If they can re-sign Jennings to an extension at a decent price... it could work out for the Stros. Its always good to have a 20-something guy who can trhow 200 innings.

 

when we talked about this earlier someone showed me his stats at MMP, and they were awful. but it was a pretty small sample size, i think.

 

What a stupid trade. You give up two promising pitchers for one guy who had a semi decent year. How much of his lower era could be attributed to the humidor being used in Colorado?

On the road last season he was 4-8 with a 3.97 era. Purpura is a terrible GM.

 

I lean towards liking it. We needed to make a move for a starting pitcher. We gave up a lead off guy who can't get on base and two unknowns who, quite frankly, didn't do much to inspire me last year. Like any trade, we have no idea how it will work out, but let's b**** regardless! It's the Houston way!

 

Albers was above both of them on the rank list... especially after his great AFL performance.

 

Bingo!

Purpura is a idiot!

He took Gerry's guys with him to the world series and since then we have made blunder after blunder.

 

A 3.97 era is sure better than having your second pitcher be Woody Williams and your 3-5 guys pretty much complete unknowns.

 

Too much to give up, imo. Especially for a rental - better if we can lock up Jennings at the same time. Hirsh is going to be a good pitcher, imo, and Buchholz had some potential. I'm not too heartbroken about losing Willy, we couldn't afford his weak bat with this lineup.

Of course if we sign Jennings long term and Hirsh fails to deliver, Pupura will look like a genius. Jennings is a lefty ground ball pitcher like Hampton who should be effective in Houston. He's not likely to be significantly better than he was in Colorado though - his home/road splits weren't that far apart.

I just hope this isn't the last move the Astros make for the offseason, because they still have 2 rotation holes to fill and cash to work with. Oswalt-Jennings-Suppan-Williams would be a very good rotation and leave a spot open for Clemens should he choose to return.

 

dude, chill out. i'm not b****ing. i'm just saying i don't like the deal right off the bat. i may warm up to it after i study it a little more. but my first reaction is that it leaves us with more holes than we had before we made the deal. particularly considering jennings has no long-term deal in place.

 

First of all... Buchholz may be promising as a pen guy... but the fact that he got lit up in AAA the rest of the year as a starter was telling.

Hirsh... who knows. He's likely promising, but that's what it took to get the deal done for a guy with a 3.97 road ERA (which is pretty damn good, despite you using it as a negative).

Willy T... eh.

 

If we don't extend Jennings' contract, I don't like it. Otherwise I do like it. I never thought much of Hirsch or Buccholz. Tavares was a nice player, but nothing more than an average player. In other words, the guys we gave up were spare parts, not key cogs. Jennings has a chance to be a central piece of a strong team.

 

that would be great.

 

Wow - I mean this is risky.....

2 pitchers that could ulitmately be better than Jennings....AND our starting CF (not so bad with Burke ready).....

I don't like it.

DD

 

Jennings is right handed.

 

I'm with you here. We are replacing great pitchers with average and even below average pitchers. This team is headed in the wrong direction. Pitching wins championships. I'd have been more satisfied had we not signed Lee and used that money for Zito to replace Pettitte. Towards the end of the season the offense wasn't that terrible. I'm expecting major dissapointment this season.

 

You guys are really forgetting about Matt Albers... he's our BEST, most MLB-ready prospect going into the season... and that was BEFORE the trade.

His AFL stats (where there are plenty of GREAT batting prospects) were good enough to win the #5 spot.

 

At Minute Maid, he's 2 for 5, with a double, walk, and one strikeout. That's a 400 average.

On the flip side, he's been rocked by the Astros at minute maid, with an 0 and 2 record and an 8.03 era.

 

Have you read this thread? Yeah, no b****ing at all.

I don't see how it leaves us with more holes.

Before the trade we had this:

Oswalt
Williams
Hirsh/Sampson/Buchholz/Wandy/Albers

Now we have:

Oswalt
Jennings
Williams
Albers/Sampson/Wandy.

I'd rather have the number three spot in the rotation filled by Woody Williams than pretty much complete unknowns. And hopefully now we'll get Burke a lot more time. Maybe if Taveras could've gotten on base more, then we might not make this move.

 

The Astros owned him... that's for sure. What were his #'s against the Cardinals and Cubs?