burke isn't going to be in the plans at 2b. they want castillo, iguchi, or matsui for the speed/range factor. I agree loretta would be a fit as the starter batting 2nd but they want more speed offensively/defensively at the position.
cordero would be a nice pick up, but the astros better not get in a bidding war. i know how important closing games may be, but NEVER overpay for a closer (billy wagner)
See Purpura, it's not that hard to pull of a trade. Nice trade for the Astros. It was time for Lidge to move on to another team, and I wish him the best. We get some nice players in return which is always a plus. Good job Ed!
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/michael-bourn.shtml .348 OBP, .378 SLG, 18 steals in limited Major League time (119 AB) this season.
I like the infusion of speed at CF, but I wonder how aggressive would Bourn be on the basepath while batting in front of Berkman and Lee. Do you guys really expect him to get 50+ steals if he plays full time? I am feeling similar doubts I had when we acquried Roger Cedeno. Regardless, if the guy can score runs, then this is a good acquisition.
Yes I do. They are going after a speedy 2b in castillo/matsui and one with 20 steal ability in iguchi and all 3 would bat 2nd in the order. They will employ a lot of straight steals and hit and runs even with the best hitters up as these guys can distract a pitcher into giving berkman/lee meatballs to crush.
Wow, I thought Bourn would be unavailable since it seems they'll be losing Rowand to free-agency. I guess the chance to improve their bullpen was to good an opportunity to pass up.
I would ignore the AFL stats. Looking at a couple of the sites, Baseball America had him ranked #6 for the Phillies in 2005 and not in the top 10 last year so the shine has come off him a bit. For both of the last two years he has started horribly and turned it on late. A couple of Phillies sites thought he was being moved too fast so probably at least a full year at AAA. Baseball America did list him as the prospect for the Phillies with the most power. One nice thing is he hits left handed. He also has nice size and appears to have a very good eye at the plate. That would seem to be a pretty rare combination. He split time his first year as a pitcher, which I assume means he has a nice arm.
While I like this idea, I'm not too keen on Pence batting fifth.. I like his bat too much - I'd love him at the 2 spot.
This move was even smarter when you take into account that the Astros have a lot of available money for FAs with Bagwell and Clemens coming off the books, Bidge retiring, and Ausmus coming back at a reduced salary. Rather than spend this money on Rowand or Torii Hunter, we got VALUE. We can (hopefully) use that money in free agency on Castillo, Cordero, and a SP. Then we can trade Luke Scott and Chris Burke for another mid to back of the rotation SP. Starting Lineup CF Bourn RF Pence 1B Berkman LF Lee 2B Castillo 3B Wigginton SS Everett C Towles P Starting Rotation Oswalt FA Backe SP via trade Wandy/Albers/Patton/Sampson (you may be able to trade one of these guys in a package with a position player for Miguel Tejada) This is starting to get very interesting. If Wade is able to make the moves I referenced above in FA, this should be a pretty good team next year.
Great trade. Phillies got fleeced. And I agree that I think Pence, at this point in his career, is better suited to hit in the #2 spot with his speed and ability to spray the field.
well you could see pence 3rd, berkman 4th, lee 5th as well. scott is the odd man out, being moved for pitching eventually. The lineup will be 1. bourn 2. 2B 3-5. a combo of pence/lance/lee 6. wigginton 7. everett 8. C
Michael Bourn is very very very very fast, and he seems to be a decent contact hitter. He has a lot of potential. I think it was a good trade for us since our bullpen was garbage in the playoffs, and our starters are garbage (minus Hamels) so we need a strong bullpen.
Flip castillo and pence(castillo will not bat 5th) or go: CF Bourn 2B Castillo RF Pence 1B Berkman LF-Lee 3B-Wiggy SS-Everett C-Towles/Ausmus Pitchers spot
That's true. I guess at the very least, this gives us some options when we have to play small ball and score a run. Geoff Geary is a good pick up considering we don't have much veteran depth in the bullpen with Wheeler and Lidge gone. I think he should be a serviceable arm. Hopefully Costanzo is ready for AAA ball next year, his BA is a bit low for that level, but I do like that he is a left-handed power bat.
Great deal! Very good young player who can patrol CF the way we need it to be.... defense up the middle and balance in the lineup. I echo the kudos for Lidge and the organization on selling high.
i said we should get Bourn at the deadline...glad to see it got done. watched him during his UH days...kid is a gold glove center fielder, bank on that. he can cover ground like nobody's business and he gets great reads. on costanzo, the guy is boom or bust. good power, but he strikes out a ton. he's struck out a ton ever since college, and he went to coastal carolina...dont expect him to be a starter in the bigs. i dont think we got full value for lidge, but the phillies system isnt that strong. i will say that costanzo is the closest to the majors in the phillies system. i really dont see why we traded lidge for bourn and geary when we have josh anderson. hopefully we can move scott and anderson for some bullpen help. as for our closer, it looks like qualls will take over. we've got a bunch of young electric arms that you got to see a glimpse of during september callups.
