Probably to prolong his career as a hitter (especially if he's nothing special defensively as a catcher).
I don't think Qualls could get him without something extra, Lidge might get Rowand straight up the way he is pitching.
I would serioulsy have to consider that if I was the Astros. Lidge is definitely the hottest pitcher we have right now, but Rowand is a classic Astros type player. He plays extremely hard, keeps his mouth shut, and is a good person. An outfield of Lee, Pence and Rowand would be very good, not to mention the boost to the lineup. I can't see any good reason why the Phillies would want to trade him. If they do, I really hope the Astros make a play for him.
I threw out that Qualls+Filler (maybe Scott or Lane) for Rowand trade as my own speculation. I didn't include Lidge because he makes a little more money, and I think the Astros would want to hold onto him more than Qualls (again, my opinion). Qualls might be a pretty cheap late inning guy for the Phillies for sometime whereas Lidge is already a little pricey. If you could get Rowand from the Phillies, I'd next turn my attention to trying to pry Tejada and Mora from the Orioles for a package centered around Lidge/Everett/Ensberg and then promote a couple of the minor leaguers (Randolph and Estrada) to see if we can't catch lightning in a bottle. Biggio - 2B Rowand - CF Tejada - SS Berkman - 1B Lee - LF Pence - RF Mora - 3B Ausmus - C Bench: Loretta, Lamb, Burke, Quintero, Palmeiro SP: Oswalt, Jennings, Sampson, Williams, Rodriguez RP: Borkowski, Moehler, Miller, White, Randolph, Estrada, Wheeler
that's why I said a package centered around those three. You'd have to figure out what you have that the O's would want (probably a minor league starting pitcher prospect)
Don't go giving them any ideas now... we have other wonderful starting pitching prospects that already have ML experience like Wandy and Albers!
When he was drafted he came out of high school as a catcher but even then there was talk about him eventually moving to first base
NEVER TRADE FOR ATLANTA. NO PLAYERS FROM ATLANTA SHOULD EVER BE ON THIS TEAM. General Sherman is my hero.
Let's take a quick look at this real quick. Off the bat here's the breakdown. Tejada>>>>>>>>>>>>Everett Mora>>>>Ensberg and then Lidge. You'd have to throw in a ton of extras to make that deal worth it. They'd basically be trading Tejada and Mora just for Lidge.
Is there any credence to the notion I've heard in the media (and frankly, that *should* tell me all I need to know) about Tejada being a whiny little, err, whiner? I also hear (though I haven't seen) that he's a real hack defensively--worse than Jeter. Is that true? I don't have cable, and I honestly can't remember ever getting to *watch* him play. Don't get me wrong, if he's better than Loretta at least I'd take him in a heartbeat. Just askin'.
Tejada now shares Jeter's problem: Lack of range. Jeter somewhat makes up for it by making good decisions most of the time, Tejada does not. He is erratic at best.
I hope u realize that Matt Albers is our 3rd highest rated prospect behind Pence who is probably with the big club for now and Patton. Is anybody else surprised that Albers is a top 100 prospect? Baseball America has him coming in at #85 and that list contains a lot of players who are already full-time big leaguers. Baseball America's top 100 prospects Baseball America's top ten Astros prospects
Well, I heard Burke got pulled after his first AB last night...Maybe a trade is in the works? that or he was injured...
Yes, I know that Albers is highly thought of, I just think he suffers from a deficiency between the ears. The immaturity, I think he'll outgrow, but I think he's trending more towards Tim Redding than Roy Oswalt.