I think Rocket will be back IF we add some offense. The team unquestionably made a TON of cash this season and whether or not we spend it will determine Roger's future IMO. Bags needs to retire. He got his WS ab's. Hopefully he does the right thing one last time and retirews so that we can free up a huge chunk of cash. Burke needs to play everyday..he can be a Biggio if they just turn him loose. Mo is fine....he had a bad WS....happens to a lot of guys. Willie T's future is limitless. Berkman needs to stay at 1B...he is too slow to play OF. Problem here is that Lamb is a much needed lefty power hitter. If we can land a guy lik Giles, than Lamb can be a role player (probably better suited doing that in the long run) Lane should play everyday. If they plan on platooning him, then trade him. He has some value now and he deserves to play everyday...in or out of Houston. Unless its a stipulation in Roger coming back, mabe we look for a new catcher. I don't think is the most pressing need however. We can get by with Ausmus....most catchers suck at hitting anyway. Bidge....tough call. The guy certainly earned the right to stay at 2B. Career high in HRs? Are you kidding? He can obviously still hit and I think he is our best leadoff hitter (including WT). Defensively is another story....thats why its a tough call. Pettitte - we need to extend him another yr or 2 (i thikn next yr is the last yr for his contract)...he likes it here and will not break the bank imo Bullpen....Lidge could be scarred....time will tell. Hopefully he is ok...but I like the Qualls-Wheels-Lidge combo...although looks like Garner doesnt like it as much as I do anymore. Backe is a solid pitcher. Could bring the most via trade if we trade pitching for hitting though. Wandy is a #5....he may get better but for now he is a 5. Jermaine Dye...oh wait...we passed on him while waiting for beltran JUST KIDDING!
Could he play LF in MMP? I wouldn't mind him here at all. In fact, that's my new prediction. Very early, I'm going with... LF-Dunn CF-Taveras RF-Lane 3B-Ensberg SS-Everett (I think he'll make a concerted effort to work on his bat this offseason. Hopefully he and Gaetti see a lot of each other.) 2B-Biggio (with Burke platooning later in the season) 1B-Berkman C-Ausmus I have no clue about Clemens. I do think Backe's going to have an incredible year in 2006. Had he not made one bad pitch in game 4 of the NLDS, we'd be talking about how amazing his post-season was.
damn, i'm ready for baseball to start again. i hate the end of the World Series, every year. pitchers and catchers report in February.
Yeah, scratch my prediction. I didn't even consider who we would have to give up for Dunn. Right now, I don't give up Backe, but would consider Burke.
My thoughts: 1. Pencil Roger in and expect waffling all off-season. If decent moves are made, he may be more likely to return. Don't forget he led the majors in ERA by a mile. 2. Write Berkman in as the new 1B and actively try to talk Bagwell into a retirement package or buyout. Make it clear that he's a bench player unless he can win back his spot outright. Don't let it become a PR mess (a la Dream), but push him out if at all possible. 3. Missing Beltran didn't kill us this year, losing Kent as an RBI machine did. Finding a Michael Young/Johny Damon/Brian Roberts/Matt Holliday type guy needs to be our mission in life. FA or trade. Evan
Another thing the Stros should pursue is an additional left handed pitcher for the bullpen. Gallo had a pretty good year, but more help is needed IMO. Ray King wants out of St. Louis, but I'd prefer to sign a FA.
he played SS in college. i don't know if he does or doesn't, for sure. the organization thinks he does not. i'd be interested in them giving him a look there, though.
Astros desperately need a clean-up hitter. Bagwell is finished, Ensberg is a paper tiger, and Lane will not improve that much. You can argue about who they should get to hit clean-up, but there's no doubt that clean-up is their greatest weakness. Look at all of the shutouts this year, including the last game. It's staring everyone in the face, just like the Texans offensive line this year or the Rockets not having a power forward against Dallas last year. To me, if the offseason goes by and we have either Bagwell, Ensberg, or Lane batting 3 or 4 next year, that offseason will have been a failure. Our pitching carried our team into and through the playoffs this year, but it could only take us so far.
I don't understand when everyone talks about having an arm for shortstop. Ecsktein doesn't have a strong arm and everybody knows it and yet he's as solid a shortstop as there is. Our very own 2nd baseman barely can get his throws to the 1st baseman and yet he's doing the job. Even though, Everett has been stellar defensively at SS, his bat is nonexistent and for a team where there is already soo many players with no plate discipline, we definitely could use an upgrade, even if we have to sacrifice a little defense. I'd say, see if burke can handle it during spring training and go from there.
Burke will eventually take over for Biggio. That's probably what he's been told. Until then, he's the 4th outfielder and Sunday 2nd baseman. As bad as Everett is at the plate, I can live with a weak hitting shortstop in the 8-hole. What we need is more out of the 4 and 5 spots in the lineup.
I don't know much about today's baseball players but disagree with your upgrading strategy. A casual observation says that as bad as Ensberg was in the WS the real difference was Crede and Uribe vs Ausmus and Everett. Not to mention that a 7 or 8 hitter comes with a lot lower price tag. IMHO, the Stros would be stronger with Ausmus in the 8 hole and every hitter before him a much tougher out.
WWW! Bring out the brooms Houston! MMP needs to be swept! Hope we get some real bats for next season. I also hope we get a Lidge you can close, a Morgan who can hit, and an Adam who can bunt in the Playoffs.
Again, I don't know much about MLB players or salary conditions but on the surface this resembles all the "Moochie for Kevin Garnett" threads in the GARM. You can desire Konerko all you want but from what I read from other posters in this thread, it's not much of a possibility. And you'd be leaving Berkman in the OF. When I play NBA GM, I usually look for someone under the radar. Just my humble opinion but I think that is really the way reality will play out for the Stros.
each player needs some serious offseason work. Willy T needs to become a 50-60 Sb player. He didnt' steal a damn base in the playoffs. He played great by the way, but he has to get more aggressive. When he was on 2nd in the 9th, I wanted Garner to send him, so that he'd be on 3rd with 1 out. Sure enough, ensberg made contact and would have been a sac fly.
