I think he's always been open to a trade if they were going in a different direction but meh. Berkman says he is willing to waive his no trade clause Lee is ready to hang 'em up and go home now Now Oswalt 3's a trio!
This is team needs to go into full rebuilding mode and tear the team down. That means trading players like Oswalt, Berkman, Myers, Byrdak, Moehler, Feliz, and possibly Matt Lindstrom if you get a good package back in return. They also should do whatever necessary to get rid of Carlos Lee even if that even means paying a lot of his salary just to move him. Bring up Jason Castro to play catcher, Koby Clemens to play 1st, Chris Johnson to play 3rd, Brian Bogusevic to play left field, and bring up Wesley Wright and Polin Trinidad to fill out rotation. With the exception of Castro, none of those players are everyday players in the big leagues but they are cheap and have a some upside so it wouldn't hurt to see what they do. I am sure you will at least one premium prospect by trading Berkman and Oswalt. None of this will happend though with Drayton, Tal, and Ed running this team. They would never have the guts to trade Oswalt and Berkman.
I dont understand why we shouldnt trade Roy if we could. He's not going to pitch that much long, and I dont see us winning anytime soon.
No trade clause. That means ain't gonna happen. I have been a die hard Astros fan since 1980 and not even I would watch the load of crap that you are suggesting they make into a lineup. And you would want to start the arbitration clock on Castro why exactly? They very well may trade those two guys. Berkman has hinted that he would agree to a trade only to turn around a re-sign with Houston later. No baseball businessman with three brain cells to rub together would trot out the guys that you suggested earlier and expect to sell more than 3 tickets.
I have no problem with him saying that what so ever. It's better than someone saying, "I'm not going to waive my clause for anything, no matter how bad we may be."
LOL REBUILD ??? WE HAVE WON 4 IN A ROW! WE SWEPT THE 2006 WORLD CHAMPIONS WOOO BABY! srry we r still contendrs lol@OP.
We should have started rebuilding 3 years ago. I never thought the idea of the Astros would ever make me cringe but they have managed to do that. You swept the Cards. Big deal. You will still lose 90+ games this season.
Tim Kurkjan mentioned the Dodgers, Rangers, Mets -Oswalt will have his choice. -Will have to be a big market team because of his salary -Thinks he can bring back 3 prospects. -Says the Dodgers need pitching help, though ownership is shaky so maybe not a fit. -Rangers the same. Said he thinks Oswalt "would love" to pitch w/ Texas, though they have shaky ownership. -Obviously a big market though he said he dont think Oswalt wants to go there. -Didn't think Berkman would be traded.
While I agree with the poster who stated trading Roy and Lance will devestate ticket sales, lets not kid ourselves...this team is going nowhere and our farm system is still crap. We need to rebuild and trading both of them will help us reload. It isn't like we are a free agent away from contending in a year. BTW, I hope those last two sentences come back to bite me in the ass, but I doubt it
I don't know if I could stomach another Astros pitching legend finishing his career with the Rangers.
I'd love to see Oswalt in a Rangers uniform. I just hate the fact that Texas will probebly have to fork over Martin Perez, Chris Davis and Michael Main... Or maybe a Scheppers, Davis and Kasey Kiker deal... Id be ok with a Wilmer Font, Robbie Ross, and Engel Beltre deal though.
I'd also like to see Roy go to the Rangers if the Astros decided to trade him, only cause I don't think I could stomach him in a Cardinals or Braves uniform. The first player I'd want back from the Rangers is Martin Perez (even though the Hooks stuck it to him the other night, go Hooks!). The guy is a young (19 years old) left handed pitcher in AA (Frisco) and could potentially come up at the same time as Jordan Lyles and give the Astros a great young 1-2 punch in the rotation. I'd also like to get Blake Beavan (6'7" RHP) and maybe a position player. I don't really see the Rangers taking on Roy's salary until their ownership (whether its Ryan or MLB) gets settled.
Drayton is dumber than I thought if there is a deal on to table for Berkman and he does not go through with it. Berkman seems like he would waive his no trade clause to just about anybody thats around .500
Drayton's worried about AIS, which equals money. He thinks if the Astros trade Berkman and Oswalt (this generation's version of Bagwell and Biggio, in his mind) that no one will come out to the ballpark and he'll stop making money. What he doesn't realize is that fans are fickle. Most baseball fans that follow the game know that every team usually goes through a rebuilding phase, most fans can remember the one that Astros had almost twenty years ago. Fans came out then and they'll still keep coming out to the ballpark to enjoy the game. No one enjoys losing, but lets face it, its cheaper to go to a ballgame than going to Reliant or Toyota Center. Its time to rebuild and if McLane keeps trotting out the same old tired veterans and journeymen, touting "What have you done to be a champion?" drivel, then fans will finally get sick of it all, if they haven't already. If there are young ball players out there hustling and showing promise it gives the fans something to hope for, if we keep watching the same old veterans and journeymen struggle, it leaves no room for hope as they will only decline.
I'm not so sure about this. Drayton's a pretty smart businessman. He can look at the numbers and see that there was no attendance difference when Berkman was on the DL vs when he wasn't. There's no attendance spike for Oswalt games. In the past, I think he really thought he could win with those guys and that would keep people coming out to the ballpark - the results this season should have ended that notion. I think he now views it from a loyalty perspective - he has way too much, even when the players see the rationale to be traded. Hopefully the players speaking out and say they are OK with being traded (and maybe even saying they want a chance to go to a contender) will help with that aspect.
