in my best elaine: things just. got. interesting... (astros)

Dunno, but if he did, we should be looking at him. He still loves the Astros, he fits our whole in left field, we don't have to give up any talent to get him, and if he's open to 1 yr deals, we have no long-term risk.

 

Alou apparently had a player option that he exercised for the 2006 season.

 

Bagwell = done. I don't know if he retires before or during the season, but Bagwell will not be a factor. He's not going to go out there and embarrass himself.

 

Unfortunately you are probably right.....but even more unfortunate is that we are not going to know this until spring training and thus, Drayton won't use that money.

 

Backe and Qualls for Abreu makes sense. The talent isn't quite equal, but the Phillies would save money. Plus, Qualls would become the Phillies' closer. I don't think Backe would do particularly well in Philly though - bad environment.

 

I imagine that Tom Gordon signed with the Phillies specifically to be their closer. While there would not be contract language stating such, I strongly suspect that part of the reason he signed with them was to be a closer again.

 

Then this deal makes even more sense if thats the case. They get a legit top setup man (instead of a guy who may be able to close) and a starter

 

Maybe so, but I bet Qualls would quickly become their closer. I think he has a high ceiling. Unfortunately, we desperately need a run producer, especially if we keep Ausmus and Everett.

 

The reason the phils want Qualls is two fold:

1) They are moving their own good setup man Ryan Madson into their starting rotation

2) Tom Gordon is 38, and has had injury troubles in the past

 

Watching ESPN today and Jayson Stark is reporting that the Astros are making the biggest push to snag Abreu.

 

U SERIOUS??????? Was this on ESPN news?

 

Nice.

 

Personally, I would value Marquis and Backe on roughly the same level from the little I've seen of Marquis. They are both about the same age and size, both throw low to mid 90's with more or less the same compliment of pitches. They also have very similar statistical profiles. Marquis has the benefit of more experience, but Backe's lack of wear on his arm makes up for that.

The only place where I would give Marquis a clear edge would be the fact that he has proven that he can give 200+ innings two years in a row. Backe's lack of experience is somewhat exacerbated by his DL time in the only full year he has had as a starter.

I think Backe & Qualls is a much beter deal than Marquis alone, and I don't think they have a lot to package Marquis with on the roster besides maybe Adam Wainwright? I don't know their minors at all so maybe they have somebody interesting there...

 

Yea, it was on ESPN News. He was reporting from the winter meetings.

BTW, at 4 PM on ESPN News, there's gonna be a winter meetings special.

 

whoa

this while abreu thing really, really makes me believe that Clemens said he'd only come back if we get a bat. otherwise, i just don't see us making a push for him. we'd be looking at guys like Mench, IMO.

 

Anyone with access to that at 4 pm please post!!!!!

 

Sorry if I missed this, but what Seinfeld episode is the thread title referencing? Everytime I read it, I think of Monica on the season finale of the Friends in Las Vegas.

Anyway, I'm getting pumped about Abreu. We'd have a nice lineup. Go out and grab another 3rd-tier starter and I'll be counting down the days until Ps & Cs!

 

i've been doing this since October

 

I just heard David Delotti say on 790 that Clemens will wait until "late January, early February" to make his decision regarding whether to retire. With that and the Bagwell situation, I really hope we can get a deal done for Abreu. I really like what Backe brings to the table, but we need a bat desperately.

 

This from Stark's Insider article...

At the general managers' meetings last month, the Phillies explored a potential deal centered around a swap of all-star outfielders Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells. Those discussions are believed to have resumed at the winter meetings, according to an official of one team that has spoken with the Blue Jays. But the Phillies continue to target pitching if they trade Abreu, so there is an excellent chance that the names of Miguel Batista and Gustavo Chacin have also been tossed into the conversation. In the meantime, the Red Sox (possibly for Matt Clement and Trot Nixon) and Astros (potentially for Brandon Backe and Chad Qualls) are also showing renewed interest in Abreu.