His first 3 years were pretty damn good, 300 average, 25+ HR, 100+ rbi, but overall he didnt end up being worth the contract. But we all saw this coming, we signed him back when we had great pitching but no hitting, and we were all excited but we knew we overpaid. Good luck in your last few years of your career. Sidenote Both Rockets & Astros lost a C.Lee this week.
His contract played out pretty much the way everyone predicted it would. I don't fault him to much for losing so much of his power; though if he skipped a meal or two it probably would have helped. The thing that bugs me so much about the guy is his seeming indifference. It became embarrassing at the end how little he cared. For that reason, I say good bye and good riddance.
Luckily this time it wasn't his to decline. I have nothing against him. I can't blame him for taking the contract. He was pretty damn clutch at times and was certainly our most consistent offensive player in the last 5+ seasons. Not saying I'm going to miss him but I'm also not going to s*** on his memory.
fun-loving guy who seemed to enjoy being here. and, overall, even though he wasn't worth what he was getting paid, the guy could mash. ironic that in a city that has such a hard time attracting big free agents in any sport, he's pretty much the only one we've signed in the past 10 years (for non-hometown reasons), and he gets crapped on constantly. happy trails, el caballo.
i was excited when we announced the signing of lee, his contract was well deserved, we had a good team and he was a premier slugger that provided some protection for berkman. that first year he was worth every penny, i remember that 3 homerun game he had in philly or the top of the 9th game in stl when berkman tied the game with a sac fly then carlos launched one into the seats on the next pitch.. thanks for eveything carlos, it was fun.. good luck in miami..
Houston doesn't really have a problem signing free agents in baseball when they are willing to pay market value. We paid Carlos Lee more than anyone else would, so he signed here. I don't think there was another player recently that we offered to pay the most to that didn't sign. Unlike basketball, where two teams can only offer equal money, baseball almost always is just about who pays the most. For football, I don't know that the Texans have really tried to grab any star free agents.
Carlos Beltran comes to mind. negligible difference in the offers between ours and the mets, if i remember correctly.
Carlos, Thank you for your generous support in helping to keep Houston restaurants in business during these tough economic times. You were a true patron and a blessing to all of them. I sincerely appreciate the fact that despite being paid north of $15m per season, you stuck to your principles and decided that supporting the local hospitality industry was worth sacrificing your abilities on the baseball field.
True BTW, Carlos dont let the door hit you in the a** on the way out the door. Lose some weight man, being fat and lazy is no way to live. Of course if I had 100,000,000 in the bank I woud probably not be in the best of shape either. LOL
If i remember correctly, we offered 6/$100m and he signed for 7/$119m. Another year at $17m is not negligible.
He got more money and a full no-trade clause, so at the end of the day, the best offer won out there, as frustrating as it was for us.
i looked, and found this: "Beltran's offer from the Astros was believed to be for seven years and more than $105 million, surpassing in total value the Astros' previous record contract of $85 million for Jeff Bagwell." and then found this: Following Beltrán's impressive performance in the 2004 season, he became a free agent. The New York Yankees were tipped as favorites and Beltrán allegedly offered them a $19 million discount. The Yankees declined and the crosstown New York Mets signed him to a 7-year, $119-million contract, the biggest in franchise history at the time. It was the tenth contract in baseball history to surpass $100 million. so, obviously he was financially satisfied at anything over 100MM, which we both agree that we offered him, so it came down to his preference of teams, which was not us.
