...and Lance signs with the Rangers. Barf. I'm one of the biggest Lance Berkman fans there are, and for him to see him in Rangers gear makes me sick. On top of that Rice loses a potentially great assistant coach this year, as well (probably just delayed a year or two, if that...). I'll wish him well, and really can't blame him for not wanting to play for what likely will be the worst team in MLB (again), the Houston Astros.
Given the state of the team, it would have been nice to see Berkman at Minute Maid, just to keep it a little nostalgic until these young guys start panning out. Can't blame him for going to the Rangers though.
The Rangers have become everything we haves hoped the Astros would become. Right now the Rangers are baseball in Texas. Their farm system.. To Nolan Ryan to Lance Berkman... Screw them
I don't know Clutch... Almost would have made me sad, seeing a home grown future Hall of Famer playing for nothing in front of a half empty stadium.
no issues, especially if it's at least $6 mil or so.. that seems like it's past the limit of what the Astros should pay for a year of nostalgia on a bad team (well, let's be realistic--2/3 of a year because lance will get hurt once or twice. For his sake, I hope they're minor injuries)
Still got as many titles as us... 0. But yeah, it would have been nice for Ryan to own and run this team.
Honestly i could care less who he signed for, if he demands 11 million then no way we should have signed him. I mean I loved watching him play for many years, but here is a guy who bashed the AL in the media and then is signing in the AL because the Rangers are the highest bidder. And honestly, 11 million for him at this point of his career, really?
10mil is nothing in baseball. Given we are fielding a triple A lineup and singleton is not ready yet why not.
I'm convinced he needed that kind of money from any team besides the Astros to come back and play. Rangers got desperate after losing Napoli & Hamilton plus trading Young.
He pretty much admitted that he was only going to play if someone paid him a whole bunch: "In a way they have to buy me out of retirement, and I know that sounds crass -- I wish it didn't -- but it's a big commitment, it can put a strain on the family," Berkman told the paper. "If I'm going to play, I'm going to give my heart and soul to the team. But if the carrot's not big enough, the mule isn't going to want to go."
Damn, this really sucks. Been an Astros fan since 1982. Puma was our favorite player by far. Seriously considering becoming a Rangers fan now.
Lance, from February 2012: http://www.astroscounty.com/2012/02/just-when-i-think-im-done-with-lance.html