Yeah, I put that on Drayton. I would have told those nearly certain Hall of Famers to hit better in the playoffs...and of course they would have just done that. Drayton kept those guys here for their entire careers. Drayton put good talent around them...more than enough to win. When they came up short for lack of execution, that ain't on Drayton....or Hunsicker.
Yep. the way Nero makes it sound.. he'd be happy if Ed Wade announced they were trading for Peavy, spending that cash (we all would). But then if the team underperformed in the playoffs or late season, then when Berkman or Oswalt left, we'd have a down period and Nero would say Drayton never did anything except maybe traded for Peavy once..
Hey, if it weren't for whiners who cherry-pick facts to support their whining, what would have to do all offseason?
lol, of MLBtraderumors.com's list of 13 potential non-tender candidates, 3 are former Astros prospects (Jack Buck, Burke and Taveras) and 1 is Backe. Doesn't say much for the team's scouting departments when those guys were around. Some interesting names on the list for us are Chris Capuano and Daniel Cabrera. Capuano has a long injury history but was very good when healthy. Cabrera is very talented but could never put it all together.
But, but... that was the worst trade in Astros history!!!!!!!!! NO WAY the Rockies would even consider non-tendering a stud like that!
Buck and Taveras could be upgrades over Humberto and Bourn. Hard to imagine we got Beltran for Buck and a soon to be severly injured Dotel. I seriously would sign Taveras.
Still ended being bad for us. Jennings was completely worthless, while Buchhlolz has looked pretty good. He posted an ERA of 2.12 last season out of the bullpen. I don't know about worse ever, but it is still bad in hindsight.
Taveras: 27 yrs old (in a couple of wks) 3rd full season 2007: 97 GP, 0.320, 0.367, 0.382, 33-42 SB (78.5%) 4th full season 2008: 133 GP, 0.251, 0.308, 0.296 , 68-75 SB (90.7%) Bourn: 26 yrs old (in a couple of wks) 2007 (only 119 AB's): 105 GP (def. replacement or pinch-runner mostly), 0.277, 0.348, 0.378, 18-19 SB (94.7%) 1st full season 2008: 138 GP, 0.229, 0.288, 0.300, 41-51 SB (80.4%) Given that his 1st full season is similar to Willy's 4th, I see no reason to call it an upgrade...much less take the guy's job away without getting someone who is decidedly better
Go to Pittsburgh or Kansas City or San Diego and tell them that. There are not many teams not named Yankees or Red Sox that have been in the postseason as often as the Astros since Drayton bought the team. I'm not really sure how you can take a payroll that is likely to exceed $100M and call it cutting payroll. You are an odd duck. One who knows jack about baseball and its weird economics.
Not sure where else to put this...but I'm thinking Uverse is going to end up with MLB Network because they're carrying the Extra Innings package...there seems to be correlation between the cable and dish companies that have that package. They start programming Jan. 1st...running hot stove shows at 7 (maybe 6 our time)...and then during the season have a MLB Tonight show that starts at 6 and goes through till the last game ends on the west coast. Reallllyyy hoping this channel is included in Uverse.
WillyT is a career .283 hitter over four seasons. The guy has proven himself, while Bourn has only proven himself as a bench player.
Arguing over who is the better offensive player (Taveras or Bourn) is like arguing over who is the better actor - William Baldwin or Stephen Baldwin.
Batting average, when used by itself, is the most irrelevant statistic in all of sports. It makes W-L record for pitchers look relevant by comparison.
When compared to a .220 average? Would a .330obp be better for you? OBP is is important for him because he is a lead-off hitter, but you'd be crazy to say you wouldn't take a .283 hitter over what we got out of the leadoff spot last year. He'll be with the White Sox or the Reds, so I guess it's worthless to talk about.
I'm a little bit late and it's a bit off-topic, but it was said a couple of times - there is absolutely no way that Carlos Lee is a better player than Carlos Beltran.
Better hitter, no contest. But baseball is more than hitting. Beltran is a fantastic defender and good on the bases. Lee is fat.
