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

HORRIBLE trade!

 

Fatty Purp declares... "Jennings sinker will now sink in Houston."

I always like sinker ball pitchers... combine some ground balls with Adam Everett, and this could be great.

JUST LOCK HIM UP TO AN EXTENSION!

 

Would you prefer I show you his 3 year averages to show you how truly terrible he is?

 

But at least they did not trade Wheeler.

 

I told everyone this, you have to know how the Astros work they overpay for a very overratted Lee then they cut payroll, give up our only threat on the basepads (not to mention our best outfielder in a HUGE centerfield)

I ****ing knew this would happen. dammit.

Not to mention we have a bottom tier manager to go along with Purpura.

 

Niiiice...traded their best pitching prospect and another promising righty in Taylor for a garbage #3 starter from Colorado. Hirsh will be a star -> boneheaded and shortsighted move by fat boy Purpura.

 

i guess i was hoping burke's time would be at 2B..his natural position.

i was assuming you were throwing the b****ing stuff at me over this. that's why i responded like that. i'm not b****ing...i just don't have a good feeling about it initially.

 

Purp says... "Hunter Pence is coming!!!"

That would be good news...

 

Stoooooopid! You're so stoooooooopid!

 

What good is having a threat on the basepaths who DOESN'T GET ON BASE!

Willy was a Dave Roberts-lite player... a guy who should have been a late-inning replacement/pinch-runner, but because of our anemic offense, he was thrust in there (and thus becamse overrated by the Astros-kool-aid drinking media, and homer fans).

 

What do you like better:

Before today, an outfield of Lee, Taveras, Scott/Lane and a front three of Oswalt, Williams and Hirsh/Buchholz/Albers (pick one) or an outfield of Lee, Burke, Scott/Lane and a front three of Oswalt, Jennings, Williams?

 

And it may be. The offseason's not over yet. I am glad we made a move for a guy with a sub-4.00 era, which to some people is garbage. If that's garbage, what do you call a .333 OBP for a lead-off hitter?

 

Am I the only one that likes the deal? Jennings could potentially help anchor this rotation with Oswalt while Buckholz/Hirsh were big question marks. Taveres is trash.

I like that Purpura mentioned Hunter Pence.

 

He's been very good against them in the past 3 years.

2 and 1 with a 3.60 era against the cubs. (20 innings of work)

2 and 2 with a 3.34 era against the cards. (35 innings)

 

what?? in what context?? like as a starter??? did he go into that deeply?

 

I like the trade. Hirsh is still an unknown. Could be very good or very bad. Same thing about Taylor. Willy is Willy. Great defense and speed, weak bat, bad baseball instincts.

 

Would you like me to show you the #'s of all the pitchers once they LEAVE Colorado?

Also, sinker ballers do VERY well in the NL.

 

The latter.

 

i dont know why all of you see it as a given that chris burke will be our every day cf next year. makes no sense to me personally. they are going to go from doing whatever they could to keep biggio out of road games for the last several weeks of the season, to once again trusting him as the full time 2nd baseman? i dont buy that. and i dont buy that they would go into this season with no plans for center other than chris burke or a chris burke/ jason f'ing lane platoon.

surely another acquisition must be on the way.

 

I actually like this trade. Jennings is a good pitcher that can strike out hitters and can take a lot of innings. The person I'm not happy in letting go is Willy T. but in all honesty, Buchholtz has great stuff, but has shown nothing in terms of using it correctly, a la Tim Redding. Hirsh was never great, but he's consistant. His best comparison is Greg Maddux, in terms of "stuff," which to say, isn't much. He's durable, but has struggled in the major leagues and does not have a pitch to get out of jams. I don't see either of them being great.

On the other hand, I can compare Willy to a Juan Pierre like player who could flourish in Colorado despite having almost no power. He could use the thin air to put in base hits and use his speed.

As for Willy's replacement, count on Burke being the CF on the early goings. It will also clear up some room to have Luke Scott take a couple shots at CF while playing Lee and Hunter Pence. It cleared up the logjam a little, which is probably why the Astros are likely to go along with this.

There was a stretch where Jennings was nearly untouchable late last year. Colorado's infield is nothing spectacular and their 3rd baseman was not much of one defensively. Barmes was slow and Helton wasn't exactly getting to ground balls to start double plays as well. Their whole defense is suspect and Holiday was their only REAL defensive gem along with his hitting. Jennings will struggle with that team, in colorado or not. The entire team wasn't great defensively, and sadly, they weren't great run producers too for the most part. This trade is not as bad as it seems. Prospects in baseball just isn't the same as prospects in basketball. You have to remember that Hirsh is a prospect because he's the most "ML ready" pitcher for the Astros. IF he pinpoints his location, he could be good and possibly great, but that's a long shot at best.