I'm not really an Astros fan, more of an observer, but why would Woody signing be anything to get excited about?
Some of their guys (Francis, Jennings, Cook, Kim) pitched well at home; some of their guys were brutal there (Fogg, Martin). Fogg was pretty solid on the road, where Kim was a disaster...end result was their Home/Road team ERA was pretty similar. Their bullpen was nails wherever they pitched. Until September, when they imploded & fell out of the race (dead last in team ERA, over 6), their team ERA was pretty consistent month-to-month, in the top 3rd of the NL. Their problem last year, surprisingly, was inconsistent offense.
Ya'll see that JR House signed with the O's? Wish we could've found a way to get his hitting in the lineup (or at least give it a chance in the Spring).. but I guess 1B/DH is his only spot, so it wasn't gonna work. But still, a trade coulda worked maybe..
He was left off the 40-man roster. I don't think he really fit in the longterm plans. Where was he going play? The AL is ideal for him so that he can play DH and 1B. No real loss here.
right, but if he really is as good a hitter as we think he might be... coulda played his way into good trade value with some sprint PT
Whom do you leave off the 40 in order to take advantage of this trade value? After doing so and losing that person to the Rule V or to minor league free agency, was it worth it?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog...stitial=true&name=olney_buster&CMP=ILC-INHEAD Here you guys go... Tim Purpura has never delivered a blockbuster move, writes Brian McTaggart, but the first may be close. Folks around baseball believe the Astros have the inside track on signing Carlos Lee, so this is what the Houston lineup might look like next year: CF Willy Taveras 2B Craig Biggio 1B Lance Berkman LF Carlos Lee RF Luke Scott 3B Morgan Ensberg (or Aubrey Huff, if Huff re-signs with Houston) SS Adam Everett C Brad Ausmus This would be an upgrade over a team that finished 25th in the majors in runs scored last year, but the Astros would still need more production out of one of three players -- Biggio, who had a .309 on-base percentage last year; Everett, who hit .239 and ranked fourth from last among all qualifying players in '06 OPS; or Ausmus, who ranked 538th among all players in OPS. The Astros still have two enormous holes in their rotation, left behind by Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, and you can see why Purpura isn't that interested in dealing parts out of his bullpen. If Clemens and Pettitte don't re-sign, a distinct possibility, the Astros' rotation will be comprised of a lot of young pitchers, and Houston will need as deep a bullpen as possible. It's mid-November and the Astros of 2007 are still a work in progress.
Of course if you never give the guy a chance, who are you to say he isn't of the same caliber or better than those guys? Chase has strung together back to back solid years but Uggla is in his first year. He'll struggle next year they always do the second time around. But if you don't give the guy a chance how can we say he'll never be an all-star? If you want my opinion I say start Biggio in home games and use Burke on the road. Get Biggio 375 at bats to get 3000...and then everyone is happy. If he still wants to play after that I say you give him another contract and have him pass the starting torch to Burke.
Random FYI that doesn't deserve its own thread: Berkman 3rd in MVP voting, $250K bonus for him for that.
I thought it was interesting to read this morning that the Astros purchased the contract for Brooks Conrad to place him on the 40-man roster. Of course, it could simply be that they are protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. It also could be that it's a sign of things to come...i.e. the trading of Chris Burke. That was the first thing that hit my mind when I saw those 2 lines under "Transactions" in the paper this morning.
i wonder if there is any thought by Florida that maybe Burke can play CF (since they are actively looking for a CF and allegedly has asked about Willie) for them and would consider him in a deal for Dontrelle.
Yesterday was the deadline to finalize the 40-man prior to Rule 5 draft. Conrad was unprotected, and undrafted the past 2 years, iirc. Due to changes in the new CBA, the Rule 5 eligibility was altered a bit - they added an extra year of pro service time before players have to be protected (5 years for players signed when 18 or younger, 4 years for 19+), which is why the Pence, Reineke, Santangello draft class didn't need to be protected this year. Don't think it necessarily means something is brewing re: Burke, since there was a deadline & all, but Conrad (and Bruntlett) are good insurance in case something comes up. They had Conrad working at 3rd a lot last year, and have had him working in LF/RF over the fall/winter. Stros 40-man roster stands at 37 players now (with a few guys who may not stay on there - Zeke/Wandy/Bork/Jimmerson and Backe still hasn't been moved to the 60-day DL) so the Stros shouldn't have any problems making room for (hopefully...crossing fingers & sacrificing chickens) Pettitte/Williams/Huff/Lee/whoever.
I had the same thoughts last night.. and I think yes. However, sounds like Glavine is being very specific on where he wants to play, and I can't imagine we're on his list. But if we are...I'd say make the offer. ESPEcially if we happen to hear a negative from Pettite soon..
right...one of those has told him they're not interested in him pitching there under the terms he had already negotiated. so we'll see what the braves wanna do. i'd like to pitch for the astros next season. i'm not sure if it's gonna work out, though.
Gary Matthews Jr. won't be coming to play for the Astros signs with the L.A. Angels for 5 years and $50 million.
