Isn't Hideki Matsui a free agent as well, the guy is an RBI machine and for whatever stupid reason the Yankees seem to already want to show him the way out. It would be great to have Godzilla and The Great Wall of China here in Houston
I think Bruntlett would be an upgrade at shortstop the way Everett played this year. Would sure like to get Furcal or Neifi Perez though (Nomar is done). But like I said earlier - only major players we sign are Houston boys taking hometown discounts. Otherwise, it's all role players.
To the guy who suggested Jose Cruz Jr, It won't happen. The Astros had 3 chances to pick him up for nothing this year and passed each time. It's obvious they're not interested. I would really like to see Hideki Matsui here though. Not sure we could afford him but that would be a great pickup.
Yeah, we'd never make an attempt to sign a top free agent like a Carlos Beltran or anyone like that. By the way, if you can get superstar players willing to take hometown discounts instead of overpaying for them, signing them is smart baseball.
Outside of about a month or two this season, Neifi Perez is possibly the single worst hitter in all of baseball during the last 5 years. He makes Everett look phenomenal.
I don't understand this sentiment that Brian Giles would be affordable for us. This is like the league leader in walks. What makes anyone think we can outbid St. Louis and Atlanta for his services?
I also am curious about the Giles attraction. If we're looking for a power hitter, Giles hit 15 HR's this year. For comparison, Adam Everett hit 11. Don't get me wrong - Giles is a great hitter. But what this lineup needs is not an on-base guy. We need a guy who's a legitimate power threat.
Giles also got about 90 RBI and that was with the Padres... That would definitely go up with the Astros. Also the important thing with Giles is that he won't strikeout and ground into double plays. He's a solid player who would fit in perfectly.
It's not really that we need power, we just flat out need run producers. Giles is a 3/4/5 (probably more of a 3) hitter that will get on base and knock in runs. Here's his '05 line: .301 avg, 15 HR, 83 RBI; 119 BB, 64 SO; .423 OBP, .483 SLG You look at that and you are certainly not overwhelmed. But remember, he played on the Padres...he didn't see a lot to hit all year with Ryan Klesko and Xavier Nady protecting him in the lineup. Hence the 119 walks. Add to that the fact that he plays in a pitcher's paradise, and those numbers are looking a hell of a lot better. You plug him into this Astros lineup and all of a sudden Berkman is seeing a lot more to hit, and it's almost like a domino effect...it's gonna hurt to pitch around these guys. The bad thing about him is he is 35 years old. Personally though, I think you have to take advantage of this opportunity while we have Pettite and hopefully Clemens here to get a ring...you do everything you can to get help now, before this window of opportunity closes. Not that I don't think there will be more opportunities a few years down the road, but there are no guarantees. I'm not saying Giles is the perfect fit, or that he'll even want to come here, but you've got to take a shot at someone if we have the money to do it. Of course that hinges on the Bagwell and Clemens situations.
Seems like there are people in this thread who know what they are talking about so I will pose a question. What about Nomar? I know he is older, but couldn't he be a 2-year answer while we have the window of opportunity open?
Nomar's played a total of 143 games over the last two years, and is a considerable defensive dropoff from Everett. He's a good hitter, but they'd have to know for damn sure that he's healthy before they picked him up. I'd rather get Furcal or just stick with AE, personally.
What do we need more, a power threat or a guy who can get on base at a high rate? Baring injury this team should have three 30+ HR guys in Berkman, Ensberg, and Lane. However, this team has way to many free swingers with low OBP. We need more hitters like Berkman and Giles on this team. This doesn't matter though because we would need Bagwell to announce his retirement to free up the cash to give Giles a 3 yr - $30 million type contract.
But maybe Drayton can do a heavy front loaded contract like he did with Pettite since Bagwell will be retiring after next season. Possibly give Giles a 3yr/30mill deal spread out $5 million 2006, $12 mill/'07, and $13 mill/'08.
Seems to be working. The Astros just won the NL and played in their first ever world series. Whereas the Dodgers and Mets throw huge amounts of money at Free Agents and didn't even make the playoffs. Apparently there is something to signing productive less expensive players and developing talent from the Minors. Not to mention drafting every decent, short right handed pitcher that comes along that other teams pass on. That seems to work for the Astros too.
Dude...we think alike...if i recall correctly...u also don't mind giving Qualls a shot at starting pitcher and i also think Luke's ready to contribute big time for us.
