Even more reason why we shouldn't go after those guys. I wouldn't sign those guys even for Lyon's money.
They don't pose much of a different risk then Lyon, but have a much higher reward, and if you lose its one year, not three.
That kind of helps prove my point though. A guy with injury trouble the last few years gets $7MM? Lyon has stayed relatively healthy, has had some success, and is still relatively young (30 for a pitcher is still young IMO).
On the flipside, a guy who's amongst the all-time saves leaders, who's been absolutely dominant his whole career, and proved that he was completely healthy at the end of last year only got $7MM for 1 yr, while we paid $5MM/year for 3 years for a guy who's never really been a good closer, had some good, some bad years, and is not particularly dominating by any stretch. Better comparisons, though, will be to see how much Valverde gets.
I'm not sure Wags has been completely healthy since he was in Philly, but I digress. You make great points, and you are right that Lyon could be a bust as a closer. But, I think that as long as he stays healthy and can give us innings out of the pen, it was worth it to grab him and Lindstrom vs. sticking with Val and Hawk...both of whom have had injuries of their own the last couple of years. We still net out about $12MM less for the two guys we signed vs. what we would have paid for V and H. Once the list of non-tendered guys comes out after this weekend, we have more flexibility to (hopefully) find a solid #3 or #4 starter. We wouldn't have had this option if we'd signed Valverde.
$5M for a 30-year old middle reliever. With all the handwringing the last couple days, you'd think we signed Ricky Stone for $7M and Chris Truby for $9M. Settle down, peops.
This is what people said when we signed Katsui to a $5.5MM/year-3 year deal too. Now, he's our 4th highest paid player, just a little above our new closer/middle reliever.
It's not? Have the Astros gone out and tried to upgrade at second base that I'm not aware of? It absolutely is hurting them. They are paying too much to a bad player that they can't replace because of his money.
They haven't tried to upgrade 2B because they think Matsui can still do a good job. In a $100M budget, $5m for a starter simply isn't bad.
Kaz Matsui is not the biggest problem on this team... When we signed him he was coming off a productive season, even if it was for the Colorado Rockies. His first year here he did very well offensively for us, and this past year he was still dealing with injuries, but played alright. His range on defense was stellar. So we had the right reasons to sign him for the contract that he currently has.
We know Carlos Lee and the lack of major league ready prospects is the bigger problem, but that doesn't mean Matsui isn't part of it. The team would supposedly like to trade him if possible.
$5MM by itself isn't very much, but when you start adding them up, it becomes a little more interesting. Which of these contributes more to the Astros: A. $15MM Lance Berkman B. $15MM Roy Oswalt C. $15MM Matsui, Feliz, and Lyon - all average or below-average players Even given Berkman and Oswalt's likely declines, if you were given the opportunity to trade the players in C for Berkman or Oswalt, we'd all absolutely jump at that opportunity. And before people say that Berkman and Oswalt are steals - if they were free agents this year, they likely would not get $15MM/year.
Thats so hard to say given the players available right now. There aren't many big names this year. I bet they could get each get one year deals worth about that much.
I'm a bit confused. Everyone is saying how Lyon, Lindstrom, and Feliz are average to below average players. Do you expect this team to have above average players in every position ? Only a few clubs are able to have the benefit of having a stud at every individual position. Such as the Yankees,Angels,Red Sox,Cubs etc... Mostly teams in big markets with a surplus of payroll. The Astros are never going to be that team that has a star at every position. So we have to deal with what we can get with our money, and the acquisitions we made this off-season are showing that. You get what you pay for. As for Carlos Lee and his monstrous salary. I find it odd the criticism he is receiving. The guy has basically been a .300/30/100 guy since coming to Houston. You won't find to many better offensive left fielders than Lee.Although his defense is more than below average, but we knew that when we paid for him. If Lee were a free agent this off-season he would be the most highly wanted left fielder over Bay,and Holliday. Yes he's getting overpaid, but at the time that the team signed him we had payroll flexibility, and needed to add an All-Star bat to bolster our offense. He is the best hitter in the current Astros lineup without a doubt.
They were steals when they signed those contracts though. You can't compare today's market to the market when they signed those deals., just like owners and GMs can't tell players "if you were a FA this year, the market would only pay this, so here is your salary this year". Oswalt would get very close to 15 on name recognition alone, especially if the Yankees, Mets, or Angels were the ones bidding.
