Bucholz, Willy & Hirsch.........that is too much for a player in the LAST year of his contract. AND WHEW....first place...... DD
Buchholz of the consistent 5+ ERA and the charming tendency to give up lots of home runs. Not too mention numerous injury troubles. The other minor league pitcher we got for him will probably have an equivalent career (end of the bullpen guy). Taveras is currently sporting a sub .200 BA with the usual inability to get extra base hits or walks. He's not a very smart base runner, and is only a moderately above average fielder. (And is also in the last year of his contract). It's Jennings for Hirsch... and when you have guys with possible arrival times in the next 1-2 years like Patton, Nieve, and Albers (and guys like Barthmaier, etc.), Hirsch is expendable.
I don't disagree that they were all tradeable, just that giving them all up for a guy in the last year of his contract was not necessary. Taveras had value before his slow start this year, and both Hirsch and Bucholz were highly thought of minor league players. Anyway, I am happy with the win, and especially Albers....... DD
Except Jennings is in his last year with no guarantee of an extension. At least if Hirsh pans out, he's controllable for several more years (for much cheaper).
Hirsh panning out is no guarantee... just as you don't know that the club won't try their hardest to re-sign Jennings (esp. with no more Pettite, Clemens, or Bagwell money on the books).
Prior to this year what made anyone think that Jennings was that much better than Hirsh? It was a big gamble, and hopefully it pays off......but the big itchy sticking point is the contract. DD
Are you kidding? C'mon man, that's just awful. Jennings was a former rookie of the year with a proven track record and stuff tailor made for groundballs. Hirsch meanwhile gave up a homerun every 4 innings, walked people left and right, and sported an ERA over 6 last year. He just did not look good. Pitching is at a premium. Ted Lilly is getting 10 mill a year, and Gil Meche is getting 11 mill. Proven pitchers are a big time commodity and are trading at a premium. The league is littered with guys who were minor league all-stars turned major league also rans -- it is not littered with proven workhorses on the right side of 30.
Lidge should be a mop-up pitcher NEVER to come in with the lead in the late innings. He's awful...predictable...and weak. He made the win and Biggio's Salami bittersweet!!! I fukin hate Lidge!!
58-57 with a career 4.72 era is hardly worth one proven starting center fielder and 2 top pitching prospects, especially when you consider that he is in the last year of his contract. I think it was a bad trade.....IMHO, you could have packaged Willy and Hirsh with Lidge and gotten someone special like Tejada...... Either way.....we are not going to agree.....and I am happy with Jennings in Houston.......I just think we gave up too much. DD
As for Lidge, the team needs to get him off the Roster before he ruins the chemistry. No one will ever be confident in him again.....he could save 30 in a row, but in the 31st game, he could walk a guy and everyone would be like...here we go again. He needs to be off the Roster....send him packing........it is over. DD
this game should've been celebrated for biggio's grand slam. instead, it became possibly the most unsatisfying win i've watched in a long time. i was watching the game at McCormick's, and, once i saw Brad Lidge warming up on the mound, all i could do was worry that a four run lead wouldn't be enough. that's not the kind of confidence [or lack thereof] you want to have in your closer/reliever. garner and purpura need to realize this is a relationship going nowhere. they ain't getting anything of it. cut the fu*king strings. i admired garner's [foolish] confidence-boosting move of keep Lidge in the game after the three-run-shot, but i think lidge is damaged goods at this point. physical trauma can't compare to mental trauma. who gives a **** about his fragile psyche...
if we are not at least listening to others offers for Lidge right now, then I will definitely lose confidence in Purpura. I've not been a basher of him to this point, but I hope Lidge is not still "untradeable" in his mind.
I think he's listening. But it sounds like he'd only take "an offer we couldn't refuse" or one that was "too good to be true". I'm sure the 'Stros have gotten offers that we'd all take, if only to get rid of him, but that they didn't deem worthy of Lidge.
