In it for the long haul. 2-3 more years of 90+ loss seasons and hopefully we see some of Wade's roster building prowless start to pay off...
Simple rebuilding philosophy. Trade away older, talented, expensive players to develop a deep farm system with lots of talent. Eventually the overall team salary will be low with lots of cheep talent in the pros to build around. Once you get to this phase start spending money in free agency to put stars around your young talented team.
So long as we get good, major league ready prospects for him, I have no problem with it. I see the argument in that he is only 27 years old, and if you put us in contention 4-5 years from now and he could still be producing. But, there's a chance this is a career year for him ... if you can get a couple of guys who are legitimate top prospects that are close to being ready (not some 19 or 20 year old with "potential") it could drastically accelerate the process. Hunter Pence is not a franchise player, he just plays the role of one on the 2011 Astros. If you get that type of return for him, you absolutely sell high.
In 4-5 years he might not even be an Astro. He's a free agent after 2013 (not next season, but the one after that).
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald was told by a baseball source Thursday that Astros right fielder Hunter Pence "won't be moved" at this year's deadline. Source: rotoworld.. aka take this with a grain of salt..
I think this is just classic posturing on all sides trying to shift Pence's value in their favor. It's possible he doesn't get moved but my guess is that he does. Wade is trying to set the bidding high but will eventually reduce his demands and take the best offer.
There was a lot that I used to park at that was $5 from 2001 until 2004 when it went up to $20. Now it's back to $5.
Put me in this crowd. At least give me a few players that are entertaining to watch. I'd hate to see the Astros turn into a constant revolving door every time we get a halfway decent player.
Because you do it now doesn't mean you do it every time. That's an extreme outlook that ignores the reality of the situation and the cyclical nature of baseball. It's the same outlook that led to the current predicament. You do it now because of the state of the overall organization, from the big league club to the lowest level of the minors. When the team has drafted and developed successfully for several years and is back in contention, you won't need to get rid of the next Pence. And if you maintain your farm system in a reasonable way, you don't put yourself in this extreme of a situation next time around.
The only good thing about watching Pence is seeing what r****ded path he takes on defense to catch a ball, and his occasional swing in the dirt. Like the guy, but Pence is not "entertaining" to watch. Guys that are entertaining are Pujols, King Felix, Halladay, Bautista (<3 that Homerun machine)
Power Rankings: Calm before the storm 30. Houston Astros (33-65; Previous: 30) – If Astros trade Pence, they must consider how fan will react. Maybe they’ll just call him first. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...g=ti-brown_mlb_power_rankings_baseball_072111 :grin:
And remember, we typically have a budget in the middle range of MLB, which means we don't face the same challenges as the lowest payroll teams. We don't need to build quite as deep of a core of young talent at the ML level before we can go out and fill in holes. We also don't need to lose as much of our young talent when they are due raises like a lot of the smallest market teams. We obviously aren't the Yankees but we aren't the Royals either. Our turnaround isn't quite as challenging and we are better able to sustain competitiveness once we replenish the system for the above mentioned reasons.
Heh... and the Astros also need to consider how frustrating it would be two years from now when we still suck and end up losing Pence for much less than we can get now. Some of the same people that wanted to keep him would be saying we should've traded him when his value was at its peak. Moving Pence now in no way guarantees that we shorten our rebuilding phase but not trading him absolutely guarantees that you don't shorten it. If the primary goal is to win a WS, moving Pence for just a chance of nabbing even one prospect that pans out is the best move.
That's a bit extreme. Pence definitely has awkward mechanics but he plays the game the right way every single night (or day). That's a cliche but it's nothing short of the truth with Pence. He takes no plays off. That's refreshing to see. The same goes for Bourn and Quintero and a few others. None of them are genuinely elite players (believe it or not Bourn is the closest to one this season) but they can be entertaining to watch for sure.
If you think WAR is a meaningful statistic, Bourn has been the 5th best player in the NL this season and Pence, 14th: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2011-value-batting.shtml#players_value_batting::13 It's actually fair to say that they've both been elite or borderline elite in 2011. Check out the names at the top and bottom of the list and the stat seems to have some credibility. It factors in defense and baserunning in addition to hitting if you're wonder how Bourn is ranked so highly. He's elite in the field and on the basebaths and has been an above average leadoff hitter.
I read an article earlier today (sorry no link, but I think it was on chron somewhere) that this is probably Quintero's last season with the Astros. Any idea who we'd replace him with? I know he isn't the greatest, but I can't take another opening day with JR Towles as the starting catcher (assuming Castro isn't completely ready yet).
No idea but it isn't that hard to find Quintero types (good behind the plate, bad at it) between the minors and free agency. I wouldn't mind them bringing Q back if they felt it would help with any of the young pitchers but I don't see it as a huge issue either way. They'll fill that slot pretty easily. If Castro comes back strong and stays healthy, he should eat up a lot of starts (no idea where he's at or what his timeline is). Not sure if he's ready to be the full-time guy, esp. coming off injury, but it wouldn't shock me. I don't know a lot about his game-calling but he showed well in other areas for a rookie. Still needs a lot of polish but I think he could be a plus defensive catcher at this level. Being so tall and lanky, he seemed to have better than expected pop time (no data to back this up). I think he picked off quite a few runners in a short period of time. I think he'll have some challenges with low balls because of his body type but he's bright and seems to have the right attitude and work ethic so I can see him cleaning that up. Without looking it up, I believe his overall defensive stats were good but it was a small sample size. It'll be hard to know where he is in that area until he gets a few seasons under his belt. I also wonder if they plan to continue pairing up Lyles and Corporan. That's something to watch for. I suppose a lot of that will depend on performance. We'll see. Maybe somebody knows more about this.
Castro will be back. He's in extended spring training now and might start playing games soon. There's a chance he'll be back in September.
