The only way Drayton will sign him is if he gives Houston a hometown discount, and guess what, he ain't from Texas. Either that or he will make and offer but it will come at a cost of losing someone else, you know to keep the payroll the same, but guess what, Beltran has already made it clear that he would have to resign Berkman (whom Drayton tried to snake), Oswalt, and Everett, for him to even consider; and if he resigns those guys, combined with Bagwells 13 mil due and a possible extention of Biggio, I doubt he'll fork over the dough to Beltran. P.S. Don't put Drayton on a pedestal like he's a good owner who goes all out or anything; he's a cheap ass.
How did Drayton "snake" Berkman?? He gave him short term financial security that allowed Berkman to a) make $6 MIL a year and b) still become a FA while still in his prime, giving him the opportunity to sign an even bigger extension. He didn't have to do any of that right?
Of course, you're ignoring the chance that Bagwell's contract could be bought out. If that happens, I'd put our chances at signing Beltran over 50%. Nevermind the fact that we'd have no chance if Drayton didn't green-light us trading for him this year. Pfft, facts.
As good as clemens has been.. I was trying to see if there were any historical milestones he'd reach by staying another year... He would get into top 10 wins all time.. with 7 more wins... but if we had just supported him this year with more runs he'd have gotten there this year!
What are you, that snake's PR agent? Way to turn that around like he is giving Berkman the world. Clearly by his response Berkman didn't like that.
Clemens is a competitive guy. I think if this team has a remote chance of making the playoffs you'll see him go another year. He's got the best of both worlds right now, he can watch his son play while still taking the mound every 5th day.
Lance after he signed his contract on 1/30/2002: "I want to retire in an Astros uniform," he declared. "It's a great deal for a guy like me who has (less than) two years in the big leagues. I didn't want to exploit every single dollar out of the game. Going year to year, I might have done a little better. But for me and my family, this was a no-brainer."
Berkman got a very nice contract for a young player when the Astros clearly could have had him cheaper for at least 2 of the 3 contract years. Baseball players are essentially tied to the team's whims the first 3-4 years of their careers. As Codell's quote indicates, Berkman was quite pleased with what the Astros did for him with the initial 3 year contract. It was a win situation for both sides.
i]Originally posted by Nick [/i] Richard Justice seems like one of those reporters that once he believes in a certain course of events (regardless of whether or not he got confirmation that its true, or regardless of what qualified people actually say), he will run with it and argue it like its a factual point.[/B][/QUOTE] That's not fair. EVERYONE does that! SIGNING KENT WAS A MISTAKE! We could of used that cash somewhere else! I agree with him ... 100%
Hmmmm, last year you wrote this: "I'm with you. I really don't get it. Why be so patient with Redding and then get rid of him when he is finally getting "it"? (rumors) Hernandez is coming back. We don't need another bad contract. It seems to me that when we need hitting the Astros go after pitching and when we need pitching the Astros go after hitting. To me, we have two professional hitters and the rest of the guys basically get fat on the lesser pitchers in the league. To me, Kent and Berkman, legitimate contact hitters that can battle the big boys, are the keepers and everyone else can go. I used to be a big fan of Hidalgo but the guy has not learn to take away pitches the opposite field." Here is the link: http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68157&perpage=30&pagenumber=1
Perhaps you should uncover some of the other posts that explains why the signing is a mistake! Hmmmm... perhaps it is because we had to move Biggio to centerfield... Perhaps you can uncover a few posts about having a lineup that is dominated by right handed hitters...
I simply uncovered a quote of yours from last year saying how Kent was one of only two "professional" hitters on the team. Interestingly enough your quote was from November 2003, AFTER Kent's first year with the team. This was AFTER a year of Biggio in CF. At what point did you decide that "signing him was a mistake?". You certainly didn't seem to think so after his first season with the team.
apparently at least as long as you've been saying that Kent was one of the few "keepers" on the team.
