[NBC] The Rangers are working hard to get Roy Oswalt

There are multiple teams looking to add a starter. Rangers just happen to be the best fit for everyone it seems. Oswalt will go somewhere if Drayton is willing, and I think it will be the Rangers because Nolan Ryan wants Oswalt.

 

Times have changed. I can't imagine many teams that would be thrilled with the $15 mil price tag on Roy Oswalt next year and the $2 mil buyout the following year. Combine that with his injury concerns over the years and Cliff Lee has been the better pitcher the past few seasons.

I'm not saying Roy Oswalt couldn't pitch in the AL, but you know Cliff Lee can. Jake Peavy has really struggled this year in the AL so far. I would love it if we could Roy Oswalt for some good prospects, but if I was a GM, I would rather make a move for Cliff Lee. Money is going to play a huge role in whether Oswalt gets dealt or not.

 

...what about the other 29 GMs?

 

Peavy is a different case. He had the elbow in 08, the ankle for 3 months in 09 and only 3 starts after that. Hard to judge what he was doing before and after given what occurred in between.

Roy OTOH has been pitching some of the best ball of his career this year. I think you know Oswalt can pitch in the AL as much as you know Cliff Lee can. After all, Lee had some up and down times in the AL in the past.

 

What a silly statement. Lee has been an ace in the American League. Roy Oswalt has never pitched in the American League. You think we have an equal idea on how each of them will do in the American League? That doesn't even make sense.

 

If you set aside contract, league history, recent talent level and injury history than Roy > Lee.

 

Basically, I don't think it's as big a difference (the 2 leagues) as people make it out to be--when we're discussing elite pitchers. So yes, however you compare the 2 of them in the NL, I think you would be able to compare them the same way in the AL.

I understand that logically, Oswalt hasn't performed in the AL yet. Thanks for pointing that out. Clearly I wasn't saying they were equal because they had performed in equal environments.

 

Yeah I left off injury history--that's important definitely. Though Lee isn't completely injury-free...his abdominal strain this year just before the season started was his 3rd. (Over the course of 7 years, so not often or anything.. and both other ones were in spring training also, but they put him out for longer the other times.) But yeah, Roy definitely has that working against him in the argument

 

How much proof do you need before you accept the American League is significantly different for a pitcher?

Well you said it, not me. You clearly stated that we know just as well how Roy would do as we do Cliff Lee. That is an illogical statement.

 

Significantly different, yes. But I don't think unpredictable for an elite pitcher?

 

Honestly what reason would you have that makes Roy better than Lee at this point? I'm a big fan or Oswalt's game also but no way can I say he is better than Lee at this stage of his career.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/david-ortiz-gives-boston-red-sox-a-dilemma-062110

 

This has been a hot topic on Dallas Sports radio all day. The radio talking heads are to a man against the Rangers making the deal primarily for the reason you outlined above. Also, folks up here remember the royal handjob the Rangers gave the Atlanta Braves in the Texira trade and they aren't anxious to be on the receiving end in any deal with the Triple-A-stros for Oswalt.

 

as an aside, I've listened to sports radio in Dallas, SA, and in Houston quite a bit in the last ten years while spending far too much time in a vehicle, and while all three are generally drivel, Dallas and SA are nearly unbearable. For example, the turd I flushed last night has better logic and reasoning capacities than SA's afternoon show hosts. Surfing for classic rock as soon as I hear their voices...

 

I would argue, though, that this is an era in which the casual fan and radio host tends to overvalue prospects in baseball. That's the one thing I've noticed in the past 10 years. Certainly, there's a shift toward prospects and draft picks in overall philosophy, which is understandable given free agent costs. But with the rise of blogs, you essentially have the exact same types of scouting reports and knowledge with baseball "prospects" as you do with basketball and football - except fans who create and search for that info tend to forget that they're far, far more unpredictable. People hate the unknowns and want to believe there are clear solutions in waiting, as can be predictable in other sports, but in baseball there just isn't.

If you look at the Rangers in particular, this is a team that's been among the top five in the league in farm systems for several years. Only over the past eight days have they really appeared anything more than mediocre. There's a time to collect prospects, and there's a time at which there's value in cashing in for a known quantity. Nolan Ryan's the type of baseball mind that I can almost guarantee subscribes to that philosophy.

Of course we'll have to wait and see, but my point is that I'm fairly certain there's a disconnect between the "casual opinion" of sports radio host/listener and that of many baseball executives. I wouldn't take too much in terms of what the Rangers are likely to do based on those opinions.

 

If you get more AA or better "prospects" by picking up $5M of Roy's 2011 salary, do you do it?

 

Absolutely. How much ever it takes for the Astros to get better prospects, Drayton needs to pay that price. Sure its easy for me to spend someone else's money but Drayton can justify doing that by not spending on mediocre FAs like Feliz next season.

 

Its not my money, so, yes.

 

OOOOOO I've got it -- call this one in to your favorite sports radio; it will fit right in.

- The Astros trade Roy to the Rangers for three prospects.
- The Astros agree to pick up $7M of Roy's 2011, BUT:
- The Rangers have to take Feliz

GENIUS!!!! GENIUS, I TELL YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

I'd stop listening to 1310 - TheTicket then if I were you. After all, how many times can you talk about women's boobs and laugh at your own jokes?