Well I can't believe I'm going to say this but John Lopez is right. The Astros need to stand steadfast by their offer and if Lee wants to come here then let him, but don't get into a bidding war for him. I'd much rather have Vernon Wells who is a five-tool player that can help protect Lance in the line-up and patrol CF with authority. The cupboard isn't necessarily bare as far as prospects, but I'm sure the Astros can come up with a package to get Toronto's attention.
Sorry, but I don't see Drayton/Tim saying screw it, we'll just ignore the spot and pray that Hirsh and all the young pitchers figure it out. And, actually all but 3 were free agents: suppan, lilly, schmidt, zito, meche, mulder=free agent. Garcia, Jennings and Peavy would have to be trades. And i'm not saying overpay like a moron, i'm saying talk to all of them and figure out which fits the best financially.
This market has gone to hell. Juan freaking Pierre (who was as productive as Willy Taveras was last year and not as good defensively) got 5 years - 44 million dollars. And Gary Matthews Jr. (who has had 1, count em 1 good season) gets 5 years - 50 million dollars. 10 million dollars for a guy who has struggled just to make a major league roster his whole career and had 1 good season. Manny Ramirez's contract is looking like a bargain these days. Boy if someone had been smart enough to pick him up off of waivers when the Red Sox put him out there a couple of years ago.
I'm not sure why Garcia, Jennings, and Peavy are being included in this convo. Let's look at your free agent arms. Suppan, Meche, and Lilly have been very mediocre. I'm not excited about any of those guys. Zito's got some promise, but his strikeout rate is down and he gives up alot of walks. Mulder was horrible last season. Schmidt is coming off an All-Star appearance, but he's also coming off an injury and will be 34 when the season starts. Do you want to throw big money after those guys? At least if you get Carlos Lee you can chalk up 100 rbi, 30 homers, and a low strikeout total for a slugger.
Angels, Matthews agree to five-year deal... I'm really starting to feel like this is not only going to be an off season where we not only don't add a nice hitter but may end up looking a lot worse pitching wise. I hope not but why would Roger and Andy want to come back to another line up full of mediocre hitters other than berkman of course.
I could not agree more, in most situations I am all for signing free agents and keeping prospects as opposed to making trade after trade and giving something up in return. As we stand today we are getting real thin in an allready thin free agent market. There are few players left and even fewer who fit in here. Time to focus on the starting staff and time to look for a trade option(s) for corner players who can improve our lineup without sacraficing overall team defense. IMO
The Astros as of today are a 70-75 win team, of course with a certain two pitchers resinging and 2-3 more nice moves (one starter and two bats) we might be talking NL central champs.
there is no question if he is worth 10 million a season... the angels seriously overpaid. a .313 avg with 20hr and 80 rbi in the hitter friendly ballpark.... they're gonna regret that contract.
Why: All three are being shopped in trade talks. All three are serious upgrades. I would be ok with any one of suppan/lilly/zito/schmidt, and mulder on an incentive deal. It all depends on the price. But I am not comfortable waving the freaking white flag in november and "hoping" roger/andy decide to play again. You have to get TWO pitchers, because right now, you can't assume the duo is playing. If I was running the astros: sign williams at 5-7 mil for no more than two years, sign lee(if not him, offer a lesser deal to one of floyd, dellucci, or trot nixon and whomever bites first wins.) Explore trades to upgrade offensively. Sign one of suppan/lilly/zito/schmidt or trade for one of the three pitchers I mentioned above on your terms. Supposedly chicago loves willy(i'd do a garcia for taveras deal). Florida does too(i'd do either olsen or josh johnson for taveras). If that won't work, gamble on an incentive deal with mulder or randy wolf. Resign huff. Trade ensberg for starting pitching help or a package for a big stick. I'll put it this way, one way or another i'm not going into next season with roy, williams and pray for rain. I can live with hirsh as an upside 4th, but not as my 3rd starter. And the way it stands now, I would get two mid rotation vet starters to cover myself in case pettitte/roger bolt.
With the contracts signed by Soriano, Pierre, and now Matthews, you have to believe that the Astros best move is to step away from the big-name free agents remaining, including Lee. JD Drew got some really good advice because he's going to get a mega-contract. This is the kind of summer that owners will point to when they are crying wolf about being broke 5 years from now.
All right. Where's the guy who said I was ragging like a whiny girl? If a dude like Matthews gets $10 mill per for 5 seasons, then Carlos Lee has to be staring at over $110 million or more over 7 years. Do you really think the Astros will do that? Do you really think they should? We're gonna wind up scraping the bottom of the barrel again. Our best bet is to make a trade for Dontrelle, re-sign Pettitte, and see who is left to sign after the dust settles. We should offer Taveras and Hirsh to Florida straight up for Dontrelle. I would not pay W Williams no $7-8 million. That's ridiculous for a 40-year-old stop gap mediocre pitcher. I'd figure out real quick if we've got a shot at either Zito or Schmidt and if we don't then see if we can get a deal working for Dontrelle. Then go after a hitter, maybe Molina to play catcher and hit .275 and another hitter for the outfield. Gotta bring in Pence and gotta find some power somewhere.
Just read the morning Chronicle, apparently the offer for Lee by the Stros has been up'd to 13 mil per yr. Similar offer to what Aramis Ramirez 5yr/73mil already got. Give credit to the brass. They clearly see Lee's value as a massive run producer thus, galvanizing Sir Lance's position in the lineup. Which OF lineup do you think will best benefit us? LF Lee CF Pence RF Scott or LF Lee CF Taveras RF Scott I agree though Vernon Wells would make a quantum leap difference for our OF defensive makeup as well as, our batting lineup. I really want to see what Hunter can do this year. Enough of this waiting his turn crap, either he's in the Stros present and future plans or lets ship him and get some value in a trade while we can. Personally think Willy T will be traded possibly as part of a package to get Dontrelle. There is alot of interest Willy T by the Marlins. I would not have a problem with having D-Train in an Astros uniform.
I think if it was Dontrelle, then trying to hold on to Willy T wouldn't be what was holding us back in that deal. I know the Marlins want him, but I bet they're trying to give us something else back..
The dude still hasn't played in AAA. He would qualify as part of the "future" and not "present". This doesn't help him either: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...t_id=1744397&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou What happened to Hunter Pence? Will he be dismissed or just suspended for a period of time? It's a shame that such talent would do something so stupid. -- Kate S., Houston Stupid doesn't begin to describe someone who is moronic enough to drive while under the influence of alcohol, and Pence paid the price dearly when he was a) arrested and b) kicked out of the Arizona Fall League by the Astros. Pence has met with club officials as well as professionals involved with the employee assistance program. The Astros wish to not disclose the disciplinary actions they're taking with Pence. I do not think it will thwart him from starting the season on time next year, and I would assume he'll be headed for Triple-A Round Rock upon the conclusion of Spring Training.
Well, it's nice to see where not sitting on the sidelines...Is he worth that kind of money, well, I wish we would have gotten Beltran, but that's history...we definitly need his bat...
