I have a conspiracy theory, does anybody think ESPN is just lashing out after the overwhelmingly negative response people have had over their E:60 Tejada story?
Tell Theo you want Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Papelbon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden and Jed Lowrie for Roy with a straight face and see what happens Wade.
This coming from the same talking head who said the astros were going to trade Biggio to atl for Naegle in the late 90's. Its bull**** if it were true he wouldnt be the guy reporting it.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...t_id=2579533&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou nothing is happening to roy o....espn is just dumb
Apparently, Roy & free-agent-to-be CC Sabathia are buddies (link ), maybe Roy can get CC interested in Houston & talk to Drayton about forking over the cash. We can dream, right?
That'd be a great 1-2 punch. CC & Lance can get together and discuss their different Twinkie eating methods.
Between those 2, Papa Grande & Carlos, the postgame spread caterers would be renegitiating their contract post-haste.
You figured a quiet guy like Roy wouldn't be so chatty... but he's all buddy-buddy with other pitchers now (like Peavy and CC). Apparently, he's quite the socialite. I don't buy that he wouldn't be interested in pitching for a super-high profile team like NY... but obviously, he'd perfer to stay in Houston.
I stand by my prediction that Roy will traded mid-season if the Astros are out of it by then. I'm not saying that I like it. Knowing the Astros and their current financial situations and their lack of prospects in the farm (compared to a few years ago), I just think this is what they are going to do.
IMO Roy will not get traded if the Astros fall out of contention. The farm system is not as strong as in years past, but there are a few prospects that could contribute in the next couple of years. It also depends on what the Astros do in this draft. If they nab a player that can contribute by season's end or compete for a spot in ST next year that could affect what they do on the trade front. Drayton loves Roy, the city loves Roy and Roy has a great contract for an "ace" pitcher, I can't see the Astros moving their gem of a pitcher when pitching is what they lack.
What is their "current financial situations" that you speak of? Do you think Drayton is looking to cut salary? Honestly, this would be a time where I would criticize Drayton for some of the spending. We've over-compensated for the lack of offense by signing Carlos Lee to a contract that he's not really worth, and won't live up to, and then we traded for Tejada. I could see the team being interested in moving Oswalt for the right price... but even then, it won't be enough to sway Drayton. He's certainly not minding paying Oswalt a bargain compared to what other aces are getting now (same with Lance).
Don't know exactly what his sources were, but Palillo on 790 said every major scouting service rated the Astros farm service in the bottom 1/4 of MLB. One even had them dead last. A weak farm system combined with a non-competitive team are the ideal circumstances for trading a player like Oswalt. If the Astros crash this season like most of us expect, Drayton would be crazy not to listen to offers.
Drayton's unwillingness to pay big money is one reason Roy will not be traded. Roy is one of the best deals in all of baseball. We got him signed before the off season which pitchers salaries started going nuts. We are paying peanuts for arguably the best pitcher of the last 5 years and Drayton knows how cheap he got off with the deal they gave Roy.
