maybe, maybe not If I was in fact Richard Justice, I'd be too busy to be on this board where I might accidentally find myself a scoop or cogent argument
That wasn't true in the case of Wolf — I can't find the article that specifically addresses it, but the Astros did not have to wait until May 31 to sign Wolf after declining to offer arbitration. Here's an article from Alyson immediately after the club declined to offer Wolf arbitration, referencing the club still being open to bringing him back: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081202&content_id=3698313&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
The only way that would be possible is if MLB took out the May 31st rule for not offering arbitration to a team's own free agents. Therefore, I stand corrected on Wolf.
not yet.. he's only had 1 year starting. Granted, it was a pretty crappy showing.. but I'm certainly willing to give him another year. Don't think it should be at the expense of signing Dunn, though..
lol *drum noise after joke* I really am not that excited about this upcoming season...our payroll is a joke for what we have out there Chilcutt
It's nice to see that the Astros did try and make a move for some more pitching, even if it didn't pan out. Also it's amazing that they're payroll is at 107 million and they have a number of huge question marks and holes. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...t_id=3828254&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
I'm a little skeptical that this is PR spin control, i.e. attempting to appease fans by saying "we tried" after the fact, so that they can't be proven wrong. If they really do have limited funds available, I'm curious why they wouldn't make a run at Pudge. The catching situation is every bit as poor as the starting pitching situation. Hopefully one of the Chronicle guys will do a follow-up with the agents for Looper/Wolf and see how much truth there is to this...
Why would we be sorry? I think we all hope he does do that. It would be fan-freaking-tastic. In fact, if Hampton wins 15 games, I'd be ecstatic. If Backe wins the #5 spot and keeps his era in the low 4's and gets the hr's down, I'd be very happy. That would mean we'd have some semblance of a starting rotation. Don't misconstrue disappointment in the direction of the team for hoping that individual players do poorly.
Two things. Unfotunately, 107 million isn't really all that much these days. Its still a mid-level type payroll that doesn't guarantee any sort of success. That being said, the Astros don't really have any terrible contracts... frankly, they have some bargains in Oswalt/Berkman (only 14 million/year). Lee's contract is around 18 million. Tejada is overpaid, but we weren't the ones who signed him to that contract. Secondly, when you don't have a steady influx of young minor league talent, you end up with both a high payroll and holes. The Astros haven't been churning out a ton of minor league talent going back to when Hunsicker was getting ready to leave.
That was pretty much my point. Not that I think their payroll is among the highest, which it's not, but that their depth and quality of players doesn't seem to match the investment of dollars. Then again, if they have a middle of the road payroll, and most likely will be a middle of the road team, maybe it does match.
Actually, if you look at payroll for the teams from 2008, a $107M payroll would put the Astros in the top third of team payroll.
It would put them at #10 if you assume that everybody keeps their payroll exactly the same. Last year they had the #14 highest payroll. Given that none of the teams above them drastically slashed payroll, and already some teams below them (like the Phillies) increased payroll, they likely stay around where they are.
But that's assuming the teams above them kept their payrolls at the same level. The Phillies, who were one rung above the Astros, increased their payroll to 131 million.
And it begins... I hope for his sake that this is nothing. I also hope this isn't a sign of things to come...especially when you consider Hampton's recent history.
