It doesnt have to be speculation, we all know how Drayton will probably end up doing and the excuse he will use. Its the same, over and over again. " I have to keep the payroll less than 70 mill or i will lose money" Remeber, with Jeff Kent onboard, that Payroll is now at $72 million. I heard about the speculation on Moelher and Wilson a couple of days ago on Fox when Berman reported on the Astros supposed interest on Hillenbrand. We need an experienced ace, but its not to help us get to the playoffs. We can get to the playoffs on our own. But in the post season, playoff experience can be the deciding factor in how far a team could go. Face it, we need an experienced ace to help us WIN IT ALL!!!!!
We had an experienced ace in 1998 (Randy Johnson) and that got us no where. To advance in the playoffs we need our top hitters to perform (Bagwell, Biggio, etc.). Yeah, it's an old story, but it's true. Hopefully Kent will not follow suit in his new duds.
As dragp so aptly pointed out, hitting is what has derailed the Astros in the playoffs. Heck, Mlicki lost a 1-0 game in the playoffs. That being said, it would be good if the Astros would acquire an additional proven starter, but they already have an 'ace' in Oswalt.
Wouldn't be too bad, only if he'd sign a 1-year deal. Ismael Valdes would still be my personal favorite, though.
Have you seen his books? Maybe he actually IS going to lose money with a payroll over a certain amount. Sure, sure, if and when he sells the team he'll make a hefty profit. So what? You don't see Amazon going out there ignoring costs because one day, if they sell, it'll be for millions and millions. The fact is Drayton treats the Astros as a business in a lot of ways. Thus, the question becomes, how many games do you go to a year (Astros tickets are pretty cheap), how much merchandise do you buy, etc, etc. I don't completely understand the economics of baseball, but it seems pretty obvious that until some sort of serious salary cap is put in place so that the Yankees and Red Sox's of the world aren't approaching teh $200 million salary level, the Astros will always have to make do with spending their money wisely and fidning bargains where they can. Today, the team has what is universally considered one of the better farm systems around, they do a lot fo work in Latin and Southern American countries and they have either won their division or come in second for a number of years now (and with the Cardinals, that is impressive to me, as baseball is essentially life in St. Louis - although the Rams had changed that recently). From a baseball viewpoint, one asks why can't the Stros just go out and get both Vasquez, Colon, and heck, why not Guerrero? If they can't financially, then they can't, and we should be happy that they addressed their biggest weakness from last year in one move (hitting by signing Kent) while avoiding other moves that seem stupid by everyone in the know (trading for Shea).
jayz, if your boy Drayton is a businessman and he's losing money, I recommend he sells. However, if he's just another wealthy rube who wants to get in the national sports headlines, then I think Drayton should spend more cash. Otherwise, he's just another annonymous rich rube.
Too old. I think he is 40 or so. I would only want him in a mid-season trade. I'd want to know that he's healthy.
Hub being a go between place man. Kind of like an airport you go to between flights, like Dallas for Southwest.
Great...just point out a potential buyer who would be willing to lose the money. Why do you think so many MLB teams are unable to compete? It's because an owner doesn't get rich enough to buy a team by losing millions on a business venture.
jayz, if your boy Drayton is a businessman and he's losing money, I recommend he sells. Or, he could maintain a reasonable payroll, make a profit (or break even), and have fun owning a baseball team.
That's exactly what he's doing, unless you think a $70 million payroll is crap and a reasonable one would be higher?
And then we would know the answer to Drayton's favorite question, what have you done to become a champion today?
