That's about $1.9 million in guaranteed money above what they should have paid him. Ed Wade is on drugs.
$2M guaranteed....for a guy that's played half a season in the past 3 years. Absurd. I liked him his first go round with us, but sure haven't been jealous about his production since. If Drayton is going to squeeze the budget in anticipation of the recession, I'd really rather they just blow the team up and invest in the farm system. The "we'll be just good enough to sell tickets" approach has me ill. Evan
Not a bad move. I remember someone started a thread a few months ago on this possibility. I hope to hell it's not a distraction to prevent us from signing NO ONE this offseason. Get the wolf team done Uncle Cheapass
This scares me: Hampton spent the past four seasons with the Braves but did not pitch in 2006 and '07 because of injuries. In 2008, he was 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA after missing the first four months of the season because of injury. That 2 million could come in handy for someone else... but pitching is tough to find. Oh well... not my money. Where's Mark Prior? Hmm, maybe we're trying to stock our DL first and then get players.
The only thing more absurd was signing Brian Moehler to a $3.25 million contract. The guy is even older than Hampton and will very unlikely come close to repeating what he did last season after they moved him out of the pen. He has no velocity or movement to bail him out. If he isn't locating and getting lucky, he gets hammered. On top of that, Moehler was never good. At least Hampton used to be good. I expect Moehler to get hammered early in the season and Astros management to look like fools for paying him that much. Some became enamored with his overachievement as a starter last season and instead of being thankful for that decent performance and moving on, they overreacted and overpaid for an over the hill scrub.
Fellas, fellas! $2MM is chump change in today's pitching market. Would you also be b****ing if they signed Wolfe for the the $9-10MM he's going to be looking for? Veteran starting pitchers who aren't under club control run $7MM and up, and that's for the ones that suck! Good signing. If Hampton comes in and is _oody _iLLiams part deaux, they've pretty much lost a dime. When the Astros have little flexibility financially in the first place and nothing but pooh on the farm, these are the kinds of deals that can pay off--and even if it accomplishes nothing, it also cost nothing. Name me someone who's available for $2MM, who's better than Hampton, and who's not under the control of a club (or for whom the Astros could actually trade one of their plug nickels or six packs). The money is already spent on the young kids. They're getting their salary. Name the arms in the minors that are ready to remotely contribute on this level. Name the arms currently in the Astros' system that you honestly believe will be a real player in the big leagues. Why not take an inexpensive flier on a guy who's had some real success?
Three straight years of being hurt, I don't care if 2 million is chump change because you aren't getting any value out of that money if the guy is on the DL and you are paying for his medical treatment.
So how many innings do people think he'll pitch this year? I predict 12. He'll miss opening day, get 2 starts in maybe late April or May, and then be out the rest of the season. I've watched him on and off the last few years in fantasy baseball as a potential sleeper free agent pickup. It's amazing just how many different ways one can get injured, and how well and often one can do it days before making their first start of the season. I think in 2007, there were at least 5 or 6 different times he was going to come off the DL and managed a new injury a few days before his start.
This is exactly why I didn't buy your apology. I knew it wouldn't last long. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=3931567&postcount=66 I responded with this and sure enough it only took you a few weeks to revert to your true self. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=3931582&postcount=70
I'm really happy with this deal (as long as it doesn't preclude the pursuit of Sheets/Peavy and/or Wolf...assuming those were viable options 2 days ago) Super low risk, medium potential reward.. I'll take it on a team that so desperately needs starting pitching
You still willing to take that tip jar bet? I bet the Astros will win as many playoff games in 2008 as the Cubs.
Billy Spiers had the biggest redneck accent in the history of sports, I couldn't stop laughing every time they interviewed him. I wish there was some video online of him, but I haven't found any.
