At what point do the Stros consider trading Beltran?

I'd say it's not over until they enter September 6+ games back.

I'll go out on a limb and say that won't happen.

 

The only thing given right now is the Astros will not win a postseason series this year. If they make the playoffs, they will barely squeak in then get violated in the Division Series.

 

I have not given up....I am just sad.

I love this team sooo much that seeing them go through this just demoralizes me.

I will hold out a scant hope......(like I did when I turned off my TV when we were 6-1 down to the rangers last Saturday only to find out later that we won 10-8).

 

Thank you Nostradamus.

Mind telling me which stocks to buy?

 

4 games back, 80 left! But, 4 games behind the CUBS. I wouldn't subtract anyone yet but there are too many holes on this team. I don't think we will make the playoffs. (I would prefer to be wrong about not making the playoffs!)


On a side note: Did anybody watch the game on Sunday? Did anybody question Jimy's move when he ordered the intentional walk to Soriano. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Showalter was going to do considering the bases were loaded and he had Blalock (and Redding pitching) on the bench. I mean, isn't that a little shortsighted?

 

When do we trade Beltran for prospects? Hmmm...

Assuming Bags retires and we don't bring back Bidge and Kent, we would have the money to re-sign Beltran.

So it becomes a question of when we trade a young, proven five tool player for a couple of young, unproven minor leaguers.

This makes no sense to me.

 

Rather trade Kent before Beltran, assuming we had a TMac-esque agreement in place beforehand...

 

if the astros fail to make the playoffs this year, it will easily go down as one of the most disappointing seasons for any team in any sport.

and i'll be furious.

 

Bags retiring? Doesn't he make a boat-load of money the next 2 years? I'd definitely sacrifice a couple more years of Bidge and Kent for Beltran though. Perhaps Bidge would sign for cheap even.

Anyhow, I think the majority of Stros fans have hit the panic button too early. We've had Beltran, what, 2 weeks now...and we're only 4 games out of the Wild Card. Obviously the current hitting is not going to get it done, but this teams gotta make a run at some time and 4 games back is not enough to give up on. There are plenty of teams in the league that would be trading to add more pieces if they were only 4 games back (think Pirates, Royals, Brewers, Expos).

 

No, I'm furious. You're SWTsig.

And we're all mad.

 

There's a Rob Neyer column up on ESPN Insider about the Stros possibly cutting their losses and dealing Beltran.

Can anyone post it?

 

Frank Reich was Buffalo's backup QB that led the Bills to victory overcoming a 32 point deficit in what was perhaps the Oilers' monumental meltdown.

 

Was that the same game as McDowells INT-TD???

 

Can't copy and paste from ESPN insider but I will sum it up for you. It basically says the Astros are out of trying to win the NL Central division, but still have a chance at the wild card. The next three weeks are going to be critical on if the astros are going to throw in the towel for the season. If they continue to lose ground to the cubs for the wild card they could look to move Beltran before the trade deadline with the Padres being an ideal landing spot.

For my personal opinion, this team is freakin done. We need to look to trade Beltran and Kent to a contender for some prospects. Let the rebuilding begin.

 

Yes.

 

Was it just speculation, or did they claim to have sources?

 

Tuesday, July 6, 2004

Astros racing against time

By Rob Neyer
ESPN Insider


Eight. If you're trying to buy dinner in Manhattan, eight (dollars) isn't a big number. But if you're trying to win a division title in the Bronx, eight (games) in early July is a big number indeed. The Yankees are eight games ahead of the Red Sox, and have essentially been awarded the American League East title by all but the most pessimistic Yankees fans (and delusional Red Sox fans).




Carlos Beltran back on the trade market? It might be the Astros' only option.

And rightly so. You simply don't make up eight games in three months, and that goes double when the team you're trying to catch was generally favored to win the World Series.

But if the Red Sox are out of the running, then what about the Astros? They, too, are eight games out of first place ... and, making things worse, they don't trail one team (as the Red Sox do); they trail four. Even if you want to argue that the Astros need not concern themselves with the Reds and Brewers -- after all, both teams have been outscored -- the same certainly can't be said of the first-place Cardinals and the second-place Cubs. All things considered, both the Cards and Cubs have outplayed the Astros by roughly five games this season, and five games is a considerable number. Not as considerable as eight. But considerable nonetheless.

The Astros just aren't going to win the Central. They're too far behind too many good teams.

Since trading for Carlos Beltran, the Astros are just 4-6, and in the standings they've lost two games to the Cubs and three to the Cardinals. Of course, the nice thing about grabbing Beltran early -- as opposed to waiting until the trade "deadline" in late July -- is that you've still got plenty of time to send him to a real contender. The Astros gave up Octavio Dotel and John Buck to get Beltran, and it's not unreasonable to think they could get nearly as much back if they trade him to a contender.

Two weeks ago, oddsmakers considered the Padres the favorites in the Beltran sweepstakes, and I still think they're the best fit. Last week I suggested that the Padres don't have any serious weakness, but that's not really true. The Padres have gotten poor production from both their left fielders (mostly Ryan Klesko and Terrence Long) and their center fielders (Jay Payton). They probably have to simply hope that Klesko finds himself -- aside from somehow hitting just one home run in 172 at-bats, he's actually been himself -- but there's little reason to think that Long or Payton will suddenly transmogrify into good hitters.

I believe the Padres are the best team in the National League West, but by just the thinnest of margins. At this moment, the most likely outcome is that the Padres will not win the West, because there are two other contenders, and there's a better chance that one of them will win. Acquiring Carlos Beltran isn't going to change that, but acquiring Beltran would certainly improve the odds some, and the Padres have plenty of prospects to dangle in a trade offer.

So is Gerry Hunsicker on the phone with Kevin Towers at this very moment? I doubt it, because the Astros do still have one hope, and it's the same hope the Red Sox have: the wild card. The Astros are eight games out of first place, but "only" four games behind the Cubs in the wild-card race (likewise, the Red Sox are three-and-a-half games behind the Rangers or A's in the junior circuit). It's been fashionable in some quarters to suggest that mortgaging the future for a shot at the wild card doesn't make sense because wild-card teams don't have much chance of winning the World Series ... but we know that's not true, don't we? If you're the Astros or the Red Sox, you have to think if you can just get there, you've got as good a chance of winning as anybody.

Four, after all, isn't a big number. The Astros have three weeks to make that number smaller; if they make up some ground against the Cubs, they have to like their chances for a berth in the World Series derby. But if they don't gain ground, or especially if they lose ground, they've got to sell Carlos Beltran to the highest bidder. The Astros' rebuilding process is going to start soon, but how soon depends on what happens over the next few weeks.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/mlb/news/premium?id=1835183

 

Another thing to consider is that while the Astros are only 4 games out of the wild-card, there are 7 or 8 teams between them and the Cubs. It will be a tough road to pass all of those teams.

 

Really??

And we lost that game??

Hmmmmmm