Yordany Ramirez is a pitcher now? Well, if it works, you'll never see any one beat him to first on a play to the right. Dude is pretty fast. I'm excited to find out more about Ovando. With the cash they gave him, he's got a lot to live up to. I'm not expecting to see him in an Astros uni in the next couple of years or anything. But I'd like to see that he doesn't completely fall apart after leaving his home to play for the first time.
added in my last point right as you were posting i think the Jays will be sending some cash in the deal, and i was assuming that. it's not announced yet if so. If there's not a lot of cash involved...then i'd agree a lot more w/you guys
Jorge Cantu, who turns 29 next weekend, expressed some disappointment that he wasn't able to work out a deal with his hometown Astros, but is optimistic about securing a contract with another team "We've been talking to Atlanta, Houston, San Diego and Cleveland," Cantu said. "We were really trying with Houston, but talks have just ceased with them, which is unfortunate.... Still, San Diego is talking a lot. I like San Diego. They have a winning ballclub and had a great pitching staff last year. I wouldn't mind going over there."
Couldn't disagree more - the Angels got absolutely fleeced in this deal. Napoli is probably one of the 5 best-hitting catchers in baseball. It's a crime that Scioscia's personal bias toward defensive catchers got in the way of Napoli playing more. Wells is a shell of his former self on defense, and is likely now resigned to playing a corner outfield spot, where his bat is average at best. The fact that Toronto got Anaheim to take the lion's share of his contract and even got another serviceable outfielder in addition to Napoli should make Angels fans weep.
To bad the Angels didn't inquire on another overpaid aging left-fielder.........................................
Pretty interesting read here about how the Astros have actually been performing better than expected given the talent that they have been working with. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/fanblogs/114273124.html
it seems that the Astros blow up the "they're only supposed to win this number of games" formula every year. it makes me very skeptical of that forecasting model.
Someone asked Justice(I know I know) about it on twitter and he said that most of his no trade candidates are AL teams. Considering what the Angels are paying a very slightly better player, I think they would have been thrilled with Lee at half the cost.
According to the article, they have outperformed expectations by 17 games over the course of a decade - or a whopping 1.7 games per year. And he thinks that's the most in the MLB. That makes me less skeptical of the model!
I didn't read the article all the way through. I suppose I just recall a few seasons in particular where it seemed like they overplayed the expection significantly. One season a few years back by about 10 games, as I recall.
Ah yes you must be recalling the season where we traded for Wolf and somehow magically made the playoffs until hurricane Ike royally screwed us. That was a really crazy finish to the season. We had been in the dumps all year and were suddenly on the verge of the playoffs and biggest 2nd half turnarounds ever. Carlos Zambrano and his *no-hitter can eff off to.
The Astros have signed LHP Wandy Rodriguez to a 3-year deal worth $34 million (2011-13), with a vesting option that could make the deal worth as much as $44.5 million. The deal becomes official after Wandy passes a physical. From Astros Facebook page.... More news coming!
@alysonfooter Astros signed LHP Wandy Rodriguez to 3-yr deal worth $34 mill ('11-13), w/ a vesting option- could make deal worth as much as $44.5 million.
Good signing in my opinion, just hoping Wandy can play a full season of good baseball instead of half a season. He is an above average LHP and has a filthy curveball. Pitchers like this are hard to come by and Myers/Wandy are both signed at reasonable contracts and are a good foundation for a pitching staff.
25 starting pitchers will make more $ than Wandy in 2011. I think this is actually a fair deal for both parties. Here's a breakdown of the 25 richer pitchers. http://www.sports790.com/pages/mattandadam.html
Good deal, I think it also increases the likelihood of a trade down the road if need be. This is a very good contract if he excels again.
