[Fox 26] Houston Astros Parts Ways with Ty Wigginton

I don't even want to try and understand. At this point, I'm going to just hope that at the end of the offseason, it'll somehow all make sense..

 

I was told this team had all the money it needed to field a team, and that spending $4MM on Wolf & Hawkins last year was pocket change. Seems like that might have come in handy here..

 

I think when you spend so much time telling the whole world how desperate you are to trim your payroll, interested teams know they don't have to trade for him because the Astros would rather lose him than pay him.

 

Still on that argument?? The Astros turned a profit last season. This payroll cutting stuff is BS, but it has nothing to do with last year's revenues.

 

"...yet another losing season..."? Over the past 16 years, they have had two losing seasons.

 

What is it exactly people are expecting? I've read this and some other guy saying "there has to be something up" or something along those lines.

There sure is something up. The Astros are cutting payroll and are not going to make moves to improve beyond what they've done. They'll probably sift through the scrap heap later in the offseason, but that's likely it. Drayton has already said that he is not going to go get another starter for the rotation and he just cut one of the team's most productive hitters. No, Wigginton is not great, but he's above average.

Astros are going to be mediocre on offense next year most likely and terrible in pitching and mediocre in defense.

 

$3.75 mil to Hawkins, $2.5 mil to Brocail, tendering Backe, yet somehow you can't even bring back (or trade) one of the most valuable offensive players on the club, at a position where you have no replacement. This is unexplainable.

 

I try to lean towards "they know better than me". I just can't with yesterday's transactions. Backe tendered a contract? WTF for? Wigginton not even made an offer? I can't begin to understand where they're taking this team. Blum is a nice player, but not for 162 games at 3rd...and certainly not next to the rapidly aging Tejada. The left side of the Astros defense might be one of the worst in baseball if things stay as they are (yes...I know Tejada does very well with the balls he gets to. His range is declining. It's like saying Biggo was a great defensive player in his last few years solely because of the lack of errors).

For the first time in a very long time, I'm truly concerned about the direction of this team. At this point, I don't see how they're going to be a winning team in 2009. There's still plenty of time in the offseason, so I'll reserve final judgment until Feb.

 

I try to give the front office the benefit of the doubt. It's just that I don't see a possible scenario in which the Astros tender Wigginton a contract and then are COMPLETELY unable to trade him, even for a mediocre low-level prospect.

The only justification I can think of is that they really do think it's a possibility that they can sign him back on in a month for significantly less than he'd have made in arby.

 

Most of the teams that are trying to add are trying to dump payroll first.

I never thought I would see a day where a team was maligned for targeting a $100M payroll.

 

i give up when they let a world series caliber team part away

 

I hate losing Wiggy, but if we sign Sheets or Lowe or trade for Peavy, then it's all worth it.

Blum and Saccomanno for 3B?

 

If Drayton wants to cut payroll and save a few dollars...then fine, but either go full in to "rebuild" mode by trading Oswalt , Berkman , Lee , which would piss me off but i would understand it OR make some moves! Trade for Peavy some how! Don't cut payroll at least keep it the same amount. I just don't want to here Drayton come out with this current team in spring training and say, "Yes we have a great team here and will be looking foward to making the playoffs and going for a champinship." That willjust send me over the edge.

 

Saccomanno is not a even a decent defensive 3B.

 

Berkman and Lee have said they will not waive their no trade clauses.

I know it's not the popular opinion here, but I'm not a big fan of trading for pitchers and somewhat against trading for Peavy.

 

The one logic that I can come up with for this move is that you pay for the last season's performance. If your budget really is that tight, you have to look at last year’s performance from Ty Wigginton in a partial season as an aberration skewed towards increased production. Career numbers are .270 BA, .330 OBP & .460 SLG over 2715 AB's, while last year he gave you .285 BA, .350 OBP, .526S LG in a small contract year sample of only 386 AB's.

Do you want to pay for last season’s production if you get Wigginton’s career average returns?

The logic for tendering Backe but not Wigginton would be that Wigginton is currently an overpriced commodity, while Backe would be potentially underpriced in that you might believe he could improve since last year was his first back from major surgery.

That is the only way I can imagine this move making sense in the minds of Ed Wade and the rest of the front office.

 

That's exactly why I said I'm not going to analyze it right now and I'm just going to hope. Because I don't get it. But all I can do is hope it's not as ridiculous as it seems..



And TMac640, get your ass on this thread and apologize already..

 

He is NOT cutting payroll.

Astros 2008 payroll was $93.142 million dollars.

This season, we are making moves to keep the payroll at $100 million dollars.

If the payroll is going from $93 million to $100 million, that is only cutting payroll if:

1. You're stupid, or
2. You are being intentionally dense.

The Astros are having to make moves in order to keep payroll from going to $120 million just to keep last year's team intact.

I understand how you feel. I wish we could go and sign players like thew Yankees do, but we do not have that kind of revenue.

Is it frustrating? Yep. Is going from opening day payroll of $93M to $100M cutting payroll? Not unless you like to lie.

 

Ahhhh I see. TMac640 laying an egg helps explain why a Ty Wigginton thread reached three pages. Although, I guess to Ty's credit .285 is better than he ever hit when he was a Pirate. All the same i'm sure you guys won't miss him.

 

You left the biggest one:

3. You are a whiner.