This part of the article is KEY. Astros knew from the get go that they wouldn't able to, or at least not willing to, offer as much as the bigger market teams like Chicago or New York. If it was always about money, we could have looked elsewhere early and used that time to get better. Instead, we hear constant **** spewing from Beltran's lying mouth telling us he is about winning and how he likes the low-key aspect of Houston, etc etc. So the Astros hold out hope, keep in this until all the worthwhile FAs have signed elsewhere, and then we find out in the end that it was, and always was, about the money. Boras played our ass like he has played every other team he deals with. I'll give the Yankees credit, they didn't fall into the trap this time. Randy Johnson let Astros management know early that he wanted a 4 year deal. The Astros would only offer a 3 year deal, so they didn't get teased and strung along for half their offseason. I'm not saying Beltran shouldn't be allowed to do this, it is indeed part of business. But these reasons are plenty for me to boo his ass until I can't boo anymore. That's part of baseball just as much as Boras's chick**** businessman tactics. And as much as Beltran's playoff performance was amazing, and as much as it did for this team, it doesn't matter to me now. What he did for the team in half a season doesn't make up for what he has done now, which is to seriously hamper the team's ability to field a competitive team for ALL of 2005. Oh yes, his ass will get booed. He might as well be a ghostbuster for as much boos as he will be hearing. I'll see to that.
Man, that would so make my day though if I was at the game. The place would erupt! man.....I really hate you Beltran.
i don't blame Beltran....from the half season we had him, he seemed like he didn't care how much he got....he wanted the best for his family.... i think the person to blame is Boras....he knew the astros had a deadline and tried to get other teams into the mix to jack up the price.....
Then he would have signed with Houston. His agent didnt put a gun to his head...if Carlos wanted Houston, he could have had Houston.
A question TJ. How is Houston supposed to put in a winning bid when every time Drayton or Tim puts in an offer Boras goes to one of the NY teams and goes "Well here's Houston's bid. Can you go a couple million more?" If the Astros had put their best offer out first, that would've been trumped real quick leaving them nowhere to go. The fact remains that both NY teams can afford to outspend Houston and every other team in baseball not named the Dodgers. So, Houston had to play the "Houston loves you and you'd be the man here" card. But Boras wouldn't let that happen. Omar Minaya was allowed free access to Beltran in Puerto Rico to sell him on playing for the Mets. The Astros haven't been allowed to talk to Carlos since December 22nd. Sure they could've ignored Boars and visited Beltran anyway, but you could pretty much kiss any chance of talking to Boras goodbye. I blame Beltran for hiring Boras in the first place and for apparently being a huge hypocrite (or liar, one of the two). I blame Boras for being a gigantic tool and a pariah that could very well kill professional baseball. I don't blame Drayton and Tim for doing everything they could and offering more money than they'd ever offered ANYONE before.
In the end, it all boils down to Beltran. If he wanted to be an Astro, he could have made it happen. We put it all on the table, and instead he decided to play for one of the most mismanaged franchises in pro sports, the Mets. F*ck him. I will boo him mercilessly for the way he cockteased the Astros management. We were set to make him the richest player in franchise history, and he leaves for a few extra bucks. And I too hope that he gets hit on the wrist with a Brad Lidge fastball, ending his season.
If you clear the decks to sign a free agent, be prepared to pay up. If you aren't going to pay up, then don't clear the decks. Houston cleared the decks by dumping Kent and Miller and by not signing anyone else. After doing that, Drayton gets cold feet at the end of a negotiation over $11mm and a no trade clause? Inexcusable. Really it is. How can anyone think otherwise? Forget about the tax angle. Any tax advantage of being in Houston is wiped out by the endorsement opportunity in New York. NY has a huge Puerto Rican population. Beltran will be their posterboy. This all boils down to money. Drayton wouldn't spend it. What else is new?
The offer was estimated to about $105 mil over 7 seasons. He's willing to put $105 million dollars for a player in a team where the sports icons are making less. This would by far, be the highest amount ever paid by the Astros. It's ridiculous that anyone can say that he's being tight with his wallet. Even if he HAS the money, no one should have the right to tell him how he should spend it, much less a number in the 9 digits.
haha, sorry, you can't really make an argument with stupid people...cause they'll come back with the same arguments. If Drayton offered 112 and the Mets gave him 119 and won...he's still "not spending it". Same if he offered 180 mil and the Mets gave him 200, right? Somehow, it's never enough. He went way above and beyond anything this club and city has ever seen, which is all we could have asked for and more. I would have been unhappy if he didn't reach 15 mil per season. Drayton shelled out 17 mil. And 7 years. He didn't get cold feet over anything. Stop spinning it. He refused to give in to a demand that he couldn't meet. They didn't "dump" Kent and Miller. Kent was offered a good contract, and someone overpaid for him. I'm fine not having Kent back with a viable young option in Burke in the wings...if Kent would come back for a decent amt that we offered, then great. Miller? There is a consensus among all experts that Miller is a great risk for big-market teams, and something small-market teams couldn't afford. The guy has a 50/50 shot at being back to his usual self. He would have cost us more than the 1.5 he got from Boston due to arbitration. Not worth it for us especially...and even the 1.5 is only a good deal if you can risk that. Which Boston (and the Yanks and the like) can
Ladies and Gents...I give you...someone who has absolutely no clue!! No trade clauses are trash. ANYONE can be traded. And if we offered any more money, Boras and Beltran should have worn skimasks. He wasn't worth the amount the Mets paid. They can afford to overpay because they're NY. We can't.
Also, the Astros was tagged along throughout this entire off-season. Beltran expresses interest and the Astros did what is necessary to give the Astros a fighting chance. The other FAs available might give the Astros a chance to compete, but not as a favorite to possibly win it all with a team that has aging stars. The Astros, giving what was in the FA pool, have to look to sign Beltran or work on "rebuilding" towards the future. Having that Beltran says his part in how he loves the city, and wanting to play for a winning team; all in addition to how many major sports analyzers gave the Astros a fighting chance to land Beltran, I don't think the Astros could go any other direction. At any rate, it's over with now. Beltran should and prolly did make the final decision. It's to go to a mediocre team for more money. Living costs and taxes will eat up a good sum of that extra $14 million and he will be watched and pressured every second of his MLB seasons. When he gets in a slump, the Mets fans will boo him to no end because that's how the reputation is of NY fans. If he struggles, the Mets will be stuck with a contract that would be hard to get rid of (although I doubt that will happen). At any rate, I don't blame the Astros in a thing that they have done since the off-season.
Guys, you just can't use the "upward spiraling salaries" argument in this case. Drayton should have been aware that the negotiation would have taken this form. It is after all, Boras we are talking about. Instead of acknowledging that the negotiation would take shape like it did, Drayton anticipated being able to sign Beltran for a slight hometown discount. This was the mistake. The anticipation of signing a Boras client for less money. This anticipation led to dumping Kent and Miller. It also led to us passing on all other quality free agents. If you are going to play Boras' game -- and Drayton apparently committed to do so by 'clearing the decks' this offseason -- then you can't complain about salaries spiralling out of control. Drayton should have been aware of this before the game even began. He wasn't, and as a result, he got taken to the cleaners by the best in the business -- Boras. The mistake here was estimating the demand for Beltran and estimating Boras' negotiating skills. Drayton UNDERESTIMATED both and as a result got screwed like a tied goat.
Well, I think the mistake was less underestimating Boras' negotiating skills and more trusting Beltran too much and underestimating Boras' ability to get his client to ignore everything but the money. Everything Beltran said publicly gave the impression that the Astros wouldn't necessarily have to have the highest offer to be the winning bidder. That was apparently bull****, because everything else, outside of the money, that Carlos said he valued was something Houston could boast that New York either couldn't, or couldn't to any degree higher than Houston. It was all the money. We got played by Beltran as much as Boras.
Now, this would get more national attention than all the booing in the world. Imagine, every time Beltran comes up to bat, the fans all stand up, turn their backs to the field, & remain silent throughout his at bat. The message would be loud & clear, "You turned your back on us after we opened our hearts to you."
That would be pretty cool to do. I would worry though that he might hit a homerun and nail one of the turned around fans in the back of the head.
