No way Huff goes for less than that but even then I think he is still worth the investment if it is 8mil for 3-4 yrs. He is a very solid player that people underrate here. Unfortunately with the market the way it is we probably can't resign him but maybe we can just get starting pitching and hope for the best.
More like 8-9 in this market, I'd think. Footer said he's *looking* for a raise on his last contract (4/28M, iirc)...can he get it? Offseason's been a bit crazy, so who knows? Ensberg at 5 vs Huff at 8? Huff, every time. Couple of teams (O's, Dodgers) are looking at him in the OF, but his stated preference is to play 3rd. Not sure if anybody else is looking at him there. That may play into the Stros favor, as could his desire to stay in Texas.
Aubrey Huff is going downhill if the last 4 years are any indication. Im not really big on bringing him back...specially if its for another 4 years.
Uhh... he's younger than Ensberg... and he's been pretty damn consistent over 4 years. Sure, he might not get better , but you won't have the on-again, off-again, injury-prone problems that Morgan has shown.
Age isnt a concern of mine. Aubrey's production has basically decreased in each of the last 4 years. Even last year, Ensberg's horrible season where he had ~60 less at-bats than Huff...Morgan still had 10 more runs, 1 more HR, 8 less RBI, 50 more BB, and an OPS ~35 points higher. Not worth the money Huff would want.
On a team with as many holes offensively as the Astros have... I'd take CONSISTENCY in guys like Huff, over the STREAKINESS that is Ensberg (who did virtually nothing but draw walks after May). The Astros have historically been a Jekyl & Hyde offensive team... meaning when they go off, they ALL go off... and vice versa. Huff also impressed me at his ability to have quality AB's when we need them most (getting the sac fly, getting his HR's with runners on base)... which is ironically the thing that is least impressive about Ensberg. Huff has shown marginal decreases in his stats... but given his age, and the fact that these decreases aren't that drastic... I wouldn't be worried about it. Ensberg, on the other hand, shows HUGE fluctuations... something that is very critical on a team that needs every bit of offense that they can get. I wouldn't have a problem with Ensberg, especially if it comes down to finances... but if you didn't have to worry about the $$$, and it was simply Huff vs. Ensberg, I'd take Aubrey every single day of the week.
I'm glad to hear it's official that Andy will pitch another season....now how about Roger? and having them on our TEAM!
In this insane FA 'season' howcum we haven't heard word one on Huff??? Delucci and Roberts have huge deals for their output, but Huff is a total snooze?
One down.... Hope and Andy signs or another deal goes through. Garcia traded to Phillies. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2689303
I can't believe the Phillies gave up on Gavin Floyd this early... especially for a guy who's on the downside of his career.
That, I completely agree with. But, given the way money is flying around this offseason, I dont see Aubrey being cheaper 8-9 mil a season...and that might be a bit steep given the fact that its almost double what Ensberg is making.
Anyone listening to Lance Berkman on 610 this morning... he said, (paraphrased) "Listen, I think Carlos Lee is great. I'm a fan. He's durable and he provides a lot of run production. But if you're asking me how I'd want to spend $100 million, I wish the Astros would have loaded up on starting pitching, instead. Because starting pitching wins baseball games." so much for the, "I bet Lance loves this move for protection in the lineup!"
It's pretty ballsy to come out and say that. I agree though. I'd much rather have a rockstar pitching rotation.
Yeah, I was sitting there listening going, "is he really saying that on the air???" That's Lance, though.
That was a dumb comment by Lance. Sure good pitching wins games but as terrible as that lineup was without Lee you could have the best starting 5 in the game and it wouldnt do you any good if you got ZERO run support.
What was the ERA for the starting rotation of last year's champion and the previous four ? I don't know if that is hard to look up, but what were was their staff ranked, at least ? I don't think one is more important than the other and the Astros really needed help on offense.
