Man, Drayton got played for a fool. I mean, when Boras told us we were out, then we should have moved on. If Drayton really had no intentions of going over 5 yrs 75 million, as he told Boras, then we should have just stepped down. Drayton ate from Boras' hand. Instead its the same ol Drayton, same ol damage control. I hate to say it, but, Drayton knew what he was getting into, and he tried to low ball Boras, and it back fired. If you really think Beltran isnt worth 100 mill, then you need to dust off that DVR and watch the playoffs one more time. I cant say this enough, but, if you arent ready to go above 5yr 75 mill, and Boras tells you, thats not enough, then you move on, but if you are gonna go ahead and offer the 100 mil, make sure you get your man. Dont tell us you ran out of time, thats weak, you knew weeks ago you were out, THE MAN ADMITTED IT, Drayton said he knew weeks ago we were out. if this doesnt lay full blame on Drayton, I dont know who it lays the blame on. All they kept telling us was they were waiting on Boras, hell Drayton, you knew you were out, you knew it was gonna take 100 mil to win, thats why you waited till the last minute to offer it, cause you were dumb enough to think the Mets didnt have a chance. Why would you ever wait that long to offer a player of this caliber 100 mil, why wait till the last few days, THE ASTROS NEVER SHOWED ANY COMMITMENT, and in the Free Agent world, COMMITMENT = MOENY, and dont think for a second that Drayton doesnt know that. No, good ol drayton wants to sit the guy down, and poor talk him into signing for less than market value, but it dont work that way. Not with Scott Boras. And if you get to the 11th hour, and you know your season is done if this doesnt happen, all the other FA's have signed, Roger is waiting to find out if Carlos is staying or not, you gotta make it happen. Sorry, I know people dont wanna hear that, but its the truth. Drayton is the one who got played, bottom line. He lost to a better player. Boras won I dont wanna hear that Roy needs money, or that Berkman needs money, other teams pony up and make it happen, I dont wanna hear about small market, big market, tv deals, whatever, Draytons got the loot, if he is losing so much money, then sell, its getting old hearing about how Drayton is in the poor house, move on if you arent making the kinda money you want. Trust me, I know he wants to make money, and thats completely fine. But be honest with the fans, you screwed up. You thought you had the Ace, and you didnt. You got bent over cause you are cheap. Scott Boras knows who Drayton is, and Drayton knows full well who Scott Boras is and how he works. The man was dumb enough to admit that he knew we were out, and that he low balled one of the best players out there. Priceless
This is actually a good read... However, i still call BS on the no-trade clause...Also, the more and more time passes, we never really had a shot to retain him...Bor-fatazz made sure of that...Again, I hope he chokes on all that $$$ and enjoys 7 losing seasons....
Why would Carlos care if he ruins our season? His decision, while boosting the Mets, also weakens a possible contender in the Astros. If I were him, I'd be thinking, "One less obstacle for my new team."
He's cheap because he offered 105 million instead of 118 million? Give me a break. Boras and Beltran played dirty, that's why we got screwed.
How is what Boras does "playing dirty"? Did the way these negotiations went surprise anyone? Should they have surprised McLane, a savvy businessman and multi-billionaire?
It's one thing to be mad, quite another to be illogical. If Drayton had just stepped out weeks ago and said I can't go over this level, he would have been taking a lot of heat for that as well. The fact of the matter is that this wasn't only about money. If, having read all the suppossed facts over the last few days, it still isn't clear to you that even if the Astros offer was EXACTLY the same as the Mets, Carlos STILL would have gone to the Mets, then you're not paying attention. Did the 'Stros play this poorly. Of course. But they were unknowingly in a lose-lose situation. It's just in hindsight, it would have been better if they lost earlier.
Here is the problem with that, yeah, he was gonna take heat regardless, if he stepped out weeks ago, when he knew he wasnt going to win, he would have ONLY taken heat. But now, he takes heat, and he bends over, cause he missed out on bringing in someone else So now we talk to the Randy Winn's of the world, and we are gonna hear about how great Lane and Burke are, face it man, Drayton blew it, he tried to play games with Boras, lets put out a joint statement LOL, what a joke All he had to do was use his head, but instead, he wanted to beat Boras at his own game and he lost. I wish all we were complaining about today was losing beltran to the mets, but the truth is, we are also looking at a long season as well, with no help, thanks again Drayont, wonderful job
Two weeks ago who could we have signed? Finley and Alou signed very quickly after the winter meetings, IIRC (and I'll be honest with you, neither one of those guys excites me). J.D. Drew signed a little bit later, but I think it was more than two weeks ago. He also didn't try to beat Boras at his own game. McLane mistakingly assumed that Beltran meant what he said about playing in Houston. While it's his fault for believing the lie, I can't fault him for taking someone at their word. It's a sad state of affairs in this world that we criticize the man that does that. Especially over a freaking sport.
My sentiments exactly. Even though the Astros could have played the game better, we never had a chance. Thanks Carlos.
You may not be excited about those other players, but I can say, I would feel a whole lot better with JD Drew in the outfield, over Biggio and Lane, and a hobbling Berkman, and its not like we didnt know what the repercusions were if we didnt get Carlos, lets be honest with each other here. McLane made several mistakes, the first was to offer 5 yrs 75 Mill when Boras is telling you flat out, its gonna take 112 to play It doesnt get anymore clear than that, Drayton knew what it was gonna take to get Carlos. So instead of showing Beltran that we are serious, we offer 5 yrs 75 mill. Then to play games and say, lets put out a joint statement, if thats not trying to play Boras I dont know what that is. Drayton was foolish, when you are in a situation as big as this, with this much money, and this much as stake, you know the deal. Drayton offered the 100 mill so that he could look like the good guy in the end, hell even Boras put out good PR for the guy, telling us Drayton was competitive. Just admit you made the mistake of coming to a gun fight with a knife, because he did. No matter how you slice it, Drayton knows that he blew it. Drayton just wants us to believe that we honestly had a chance when he knew in his heart, he was never willing to pay. If you are gonna sit there and tell me, that you go and interview for a job, and they offer you 12 bucks an hour, and then you have another company, who is willing to meet your demands pretty much, who are you gonna go with, and they just hired another guy who just won a championship, and they are working on a helluva first basemen, COME ON In the end, Drayton wants to look like the victim, he was swept off his feet, taken for a ride, its all BS, its all spin. Drayton wanted Carlos for cheap, he wanted to get another hometown discount, I mean, hell it worked with Pettitte right, Clemens gave us one, why not go for the trifecta. NOT WITH SCOTT BORAS, and Drayton knew that This is damage control, its the same ol Drayton, its always the agents and players fault.
Then why didn't Boras tell McLane and the media that Beltran was not going to be an Astro? Boras also said that the negotiating would start at 10/$200, but we all know that was a lie as well. I just wish all McLane bashers would do all of us who appreciate the 5th highest winning percentage in MLB over the last decade a favor...go root for the Cubs.
Boras doesnt have to tell Mclane a thing, are we 5 years old, this is the big times, not sesame street, we are talking about cut throat business deals here, Boras is trying to get his client top dollar, and you know what, he deserves it Drayton knew what he was worth, he just wasnt willing to pay End of story
So McLane's job is to read minds now? If you make an offer and someone tells you they're mulling it over, you're supposed to assume that they won't take it and pull out of the bidding?
Then why're all these people talking about what happened on Saturday. Are you saying Boras rejected the offer, yet the Astros, Boras, Beltran, the Mets, etc. all negotiated until the 11:00 deadline? And ESPN, CNNSI, Fox Sports, etc. covered it all day Saturday, even though they all knew the Astros weren't in the running?
Yeah and read this from ESPN today, Espn article "NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran joined what he called "the new Mets" on Tuesday, finalizing his $119 million, seven-year contract with New York. Beltran said he was impressed that Mets owner Fred Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya flew down to visit him in his native Puerto Rico." Carlos did know that Drayton wanted to fly down to Puerta Rico, didn't he? Or does that have nothing to do with the Astros and he was just stating a fact?
We, the fans, are all what is called 'collateral damage'. Is Drayton personally hurt by this fiasco? Nope, still a biillionaire, last time I checked. How bout Beltran and Boras? Nope, they got what they wanted. How bout the rest of the Astros' players? Nope, they'll be fine too. Very few players ever actually get to even GO to a World Series, much less win one, so our own players will just keep on keeping on, making their millions, and coming in second and third place. What about us fans? We.. *we* get the shaft here. 4 decades of living with mediocrity, with *occasional* glimpses of potential success, only to have our hopes dashed, time and time again. The thing that hurts this time, though, is that it actually, finally, was starting to look like we might be able to turn that corner. We had two, possibly three, top-notch pitchers coming back next year. We have possibly the best closer in the game. We have one of the best sluggers (and great guys too) in the game, in Berkman, we have a witch with the glove at Short, we have two beloved savvy vets in Baggs and Biggio, a well-liked scrappy manager, and some highly-thought-of prospects ready to step up and contribute this coming year in Burke and Lane, and a funky, possibly-great young pitcher in Backe.. it was all looking up.. But the real sizzle, the real star upon which we had hitched our wagon, was the absolute MIRACLE WORKER in Center Field. Never before had we been able to watch such a player wear our own jersey. What *couldn't* Beltran do? No need to rehash it - we all remember vividly what he did for us in the playoffs. It was love at first sight. While we, probably naively, believe that Beltran can in no way attain that same level of gushing love from an entire city like he got from us, I am sure Boras convinced Beltran that he would get that same love no matter where he went. And New York love is, to some people, sweeter than any other kind of love. But I digress.. But we were THIS close last year. We were one Dan Miceli away from the World Series. It was Beltran who brought us there. He lifted everyone else on the team to higher levels, made them all more confident, gave them that swagger we had so longed to see. The stands were packed, MMP was absolutely shaking. The energy and galvanization that occurred in this city would have had the gold pouring into Drayton's coffers like a river this coming season. With a full season together, with beltran here for the whole year, we could actually win this whole thing! At least that's what everyone was thinking, myself included. But even then, it was more than just that. Beltran was just a joy to watch playing baseball. He reminded me again why I like this game. It was going to be fun to bring my 4-year-old son to the games, having him grow up watching the guy who could very well become known as the greatest Astro ever. And now look at us. In one fell swoop, all that is gone. Sure, we still have about half of what was on its way to being a .500 club last year. Yay. But to come so close, and with the promise of even more still dangling tantalizingly just outside our grasp, to have it all yanked away like this is just incredibly disappointing. The point of all this is this: *IF* it all really was about the money for Boras/Beltran, then what does it boil down to? 105 mil over 7 years. 15 million per season. Versus 119 mil over 7 years. 17 million per season. Ok, that's 2 million per year of a cost-increase for Drayton. What would the results have been, versus what they are now? Let's just assume that Drayton takes on that same 119 mil contract, and that Boras/Beltran decide that Houston's money is just as good as NY's (a big IF btw). Would the team's increased intake of money as a result of having Beltran playing here be enough to compensate for the extra 2 mil per year? Maybe I'm being naive again, but I believe it would. Of course there could be mitigating circumstances, of course Beltran could blow out a knee in year one and totally screw our ability to sign anyone else for the next half-decade. But to negotiate with that 'prudence' in mind is not placing *winning* as the highest priority. So I don't care about what *MIGHT* happen, not when you have in your grasp possibly one of the great players of the era. So now, compare that 2 million extra per year to the consequences of NOT signing him. Now, the team is either going to sign some 3rd-rate players in a knee-jerk reaction to losing Beltran, and probably spend as much as the 15 million per season they were going to spend on Beltran anyway.. or else they will go into 'rebuilding mode', and not sign anyone else, leaving it all up to the kids this year, also leaving Bags and Biggio out to dry as well.. (No Rings for YOU) So let's assume that the first route, signing some other players in place of Beltran, his costs stay *roughly* the same. And on the second route, his costs are maybe 5 million per year less. So, will the drop in profits this year be greater than his savings? In other words, will the total lack of enthusiasm and support for a suddenly-lucky-to-win-60-games team equate to a greater loss of profits than signing Beltran would have cost? I don't know for sure. But I believe so. And I *HOPE* so. Because when you have a player like Beltran within your grasp, and you are truly committed to winning, then you tell that piece of crap boras 'Whatever your best deal is, I WILL beat it.' You DO it. Heck, even at 126 mil. Just do it. Let the chips fall. No excuses. And you do it early enough so that you find out if the guy simply will not play here under any circumstances, so you can still help your team compete by signing other quality players. But again, if it really was just about the jack, then he would have come here, had Drayton been willing to do what it took. But now Boras and Drayton are suddenly spinning like mad, each trying to come out of the mud pit smelling better, as though they suddenly give a rats rear end what the fans think. Too late Uncle Drayton. How many people do you think are going to come out to the ballpark this year? Clemens probably won't come back. Why would he? Baggs and Biggio will only be a year older, slower, and past retirement age. A rookie, and old second-baseman, and a pine-rider playing outfield. A rookie (Burke)or a whiff machine (Soriano) playing 2b. A platoon at 3b that does not even add up to the sum of its parts. Only 2 starting pitchers, neither of which were completely healthy last year, and no assurance that they will be healthy this coming year. A nice defensive SS, and a smart Catcher who apparently has a reaction time and eyes good enough to catch fastballs, but not to hit them. Yeah, a world-class closer in Lidge. Which means he will be traded away for prospects by mid-season. Who is going to actually buy a ticket to watch that? See, to Uncle Drayton, this was a lose/lose situation. If he signs Beltran, then it costs him a heck of a lot of money. If he fails to sign Beltran, it costs him a heck of a lot of money. So ultimately, he's ok either way. It really is all the same to him either way. But the thing of it is, I want an owner here who does not look at making the fans ecstatically happy as a 'loss' situation. I want an owner who believes that the fans will support a true winner, and recoup his costs through the financial rewards which come from success and winning championships. We don't have that. And we will never have a Championship baseball team in this city as long as Uncle Drayton owns the team. I know there are plenty of people who disagree with me about this, and that's fine. But even if such a financially irresponsible move, as some would call it, resulted in being a Champion, at least once, then it would still be worth it. Ask the Marlins and Diamondbacks fans if they would trade back in their World Series Championship years for a more 'fiscally sound' strategy.
