They had to bring them up because they were rare exeptions! I give the organization major ups on those two deals but you know the Astros have a terrible track record of developing young players into the big club before age 24-25! Some pitchers yes, An outstanding three year college player like Berkman yes but others not so much. Come on guys, give the Astros credit where credit is due but don't defend a 500 team on every move. Yes as a lifelong Astro fan I have loved the last 9-10 years because before it was not only bad it was real bad. I want to win a world series and in a forum to discuss things I am giving you my reasons for concern.
texanskan I feel your pain too... And hopefully all of us can share the xperience of a WorldSeries Chapionship Hopefully ( Praying to the Gods ) that we sign a big bat and some pitching .. The off-season is long and with the rumors swirling in the air its hard for people ( like me ) not to dream, get emotional about the ordeal...
I hope the offseason works out! I will agree to disagree with some of ya'll and come April I will be at MMP and I hope we will field a good team that has nice balance! For now Go Rockets and Texans After (what I hope is a nice offseason) lets go Astros!
you can't just upgrade the offense at the expense of defense. particularly not at SS. it's why teams for years have sacrificed hitting at that position for quality defensive play. you neutralize what you're getting on the offensive end if you turn around and give up runs defensively. this isn't fantasy baseball. you mean lagniappe.
You want to go to battle those 3 OF's.. and then in the same post you say you need to cover up Everett's bat. In order to cover his bat, we need to improve hitting. I'm confused about what you want. Regardless, you've twice said you want to go to battle with Pence, Scott, and Willy T. Willy who has had a terrible OBP the last 2 years...and we hope for improvement, but you can't assume it.. Scott had a great 2nd half, but that's about all we have on him. (I think Scott is the most likely to repeat of course, but it's still not a huge sample size). And then Pence, who has yet to play in the majors, and you're penciling him in as THE single option in the OF with no real backup plan.. With all those question marks out there (esp. Pence), you're saying we should just look elsewhere first and not deal with the likely need for another OF?
They should definitely make a run at Estrada. He's still young, is a fairly good defensive catcher, and he can hit. Molina shouldn't have too large a price tag that should scare the Astros from at least inquiring. I just have never had a good feeling about making a run at Man-Ram. I jsut do see how he could fit in with the Astros clubhouse. Don't get me wrong. He's one of the best offensive players in the game today and of the past 10 years. I just don't think he's a fit.
the red sox would have a gaping hole in that lineup if man-ram left. i can't see them trading him away...they LOVE him protecting Ortiz in that lineup.
It is easy to pick out quotes, I said first off I would focus on starting pitching upgrading the infield positions other than first base and then if I were able to land Lee or Soriano I would consider that landyap. I would be a little weary going into the season with those three but the point is that the Astros have many holes and they will not be able to address everything this offseason so I say figure out a way to have a solid infield and deep starting pitching to go along with your above average bullpen and that is a plan! If either Pence or Scott do not produce the last time I chelked a impact outfielder is a much more likley pick up at midseason than a key starter (not to mention cheaper when it comes to prospects) see Carlos Beltran and just about every other offseason where some contender picked up a stud outfielder.
I seriously am dumbfounded that someone who came in here and brazenly said that the whole BBS didn't know what they were talking about actually seriously brought up Soriano playing SS for the Astros. That tells me all I need to know about the poster. Putting Soriano at SS with Everett available would basically neutralize Soriano's offensive output, and might actually have a net negative effect. The guy couldn't even play 2B, but you think he could play SS?
All I know is we cannot have Ausmus, Everett, and the pitcher batting at the bottom of the order all season. That is a full 3 innings worth of outs each game, exactly 1/3 of the game, we are for all practical purposes scoreless and working from a deficit. You cannot have 3 guys hitting a combined average of .225 in the lineup every day and not expect to be last in offense. We have got to get better hitting and then maybe slide Everett up to #2 in the lineup with say Soriano in front of him and Berkman in back of him so that he gets a steady diet of fastballs and gets his average up to .270 or we have to move 1 of either Ausmus or Everett out of the lineup. If you are gonna have 3 chumps in the batting order, you gotta offset that with some big time, big time run producers in the other 6 spots to compensate for their lack of offense. I totally understand the concept of having good D up the middle. But .239 and .230 on top of the pitcher batting .200 on top of your 3rd baseman batting .240 on top of one of your OFs batting .240 on top of your leadoff man with a .333 obp. It's disaster man. Sign Soriano, stick him in left, put Taveras in Center, Luke in right, sign Molina and stick him behind the plate, Burke at second, and hope Ensberg comes back. Sign Woody and then send Hirsch, Pence, and whatever else to Florida for Dontrelle. Give Andy $18 mill for 2 years. Forget Roger until July, then call him up and offer him $1 mill a month to come back for the playoffs. Soriano $15 mill Molina $7 mill Pettitte $9 mill Taveras Soriano Burke Berkman Ensberg Scott Molina Everett Pitcher Oswalt Dontrelle Pettitte Roger (middle of July) whoever (Chris Sampson my choice) Bully Nieve Wheeler Qualls Lidge (AL trade bait)
Actually they've been trying to trade him for quite some time now. I'm guessing they want players, but still don't want to eat that contract. Besides isn't he a 5/10 player? It would be amazing to have him though. A guy that puts up .300/.400/.600 every year? Crazy...
Since the Astros have been in contention for the playoffs every year since 1994 (with the exception of 2000), in September, they have not had the luxury of giving big time exposure to younger players. They have generally had a heavy veteran presence. In addition, they have not been able to trade aging veterans (or those with expiring contracts) at the trading deadline for an infusion of young talent due to their position in the pennant race. While it would be fun to see a bunch of youngsters running around on the field, I prefer the alternative , which is having a playoff contender year in and year out.
Years and years ago, the Astros turned down a trade (with Cleveland) which would have been Pete Harnisch for a young, relatively unproven Manny ramirez.
I doubt if McClane would go after Manny because you know how he is about a "good clubhouse" but i agree with you. I would love an offensive machine like Manny on the squad. Plus he would bring some emotion to the dugout.
RocketManJosh, don't talk smack unless you read everything. Here on the BBS we have the ability to look up all post from members. You can look up mine if you like I don't need to do background on folks because I pay attention to these threads and I know who knows their stuff and who does not. One more time I will say it, I don't belive the Astros have a plan (or atleast a good one) so I was pointing out that and also the fact others (it seemed like everyone that had responded at that point to this thread) just thinks that what the team is doing is right. I did not mean to call members dumb or uniformed about baseball or the astros. Now I am glad that they have set timelines on these deals and I am also happy that things are in the early stages and we might end up having a great offseason after all but right now I DONT SEE A PLAN! It is OK to have a difference of opinion and I will be the first to admit if I was wrong about a player/team etc.
i don't think they've seriously been trying to trade him. they'd have no shortage of takers if they were serious.
