So...seeing as how there were no available pitchers that were better than what we already had, Wade should have thrown his hands up and done nothing? What an odd notion. The reality is that teams are not generally rebuilt over one offseason. Anybody who thinks that they are is unrealistic. Next year's crop of FA pitchers is much more attractive. You pick up a #2 (maybe even a #4)starter and some actual bullpen help in the offseason, hope that Roy O returns to form. Add that to the offense that we currently have, and it is a MUCH improved ballclub. It actually makes perfect sense what Wade did. Firing the GM every year will also make this a really undesirable job to anybody you may want to replace Wade.
He has a budget set by Drayton. There was a really mediocre market for free agent pitchers this year...it was terrible for the most part. We also had hardly any pieces that had real value. Certainly not good enough to land a #1 or #2 starter. I doubt Lidge would be pitching the way he is this season in an Astros uniform, though you could argue that this trade wasn't in our favor (yet). Our offense needed an upgrade, and it is upgraded. Now if we actually had good prospects to bring up or to trade for quality pitching (arguably the most expensive position to trade for and pay) or Drayton gives him the green light to spend over $10-15mm per for a #1 or #2 guy, we could actually do something big. But his hands are really tied. I hate that our starters are mediocre to bad and Roy is having an off year, but Wade hasn't done anything horrible.
The offense really is not in that good of a shape, though. They have scored fewer runs per game than they did last year, and there's not much room to improve. Berkman is having a career year, Matsui & Wigginton are playing over their heads right now, and Tejada & Lee are pretty much delivering to expectations. The only places where you may expect some improvement are with Pence, Bourn & Towles. Nothing Bourn has done convinces me that this year is an aberration, and Pence should settle somewhere between this season and last year's numbers, which would not be a huge gain. Towles only has one way to go, and I think he'll get there, but he probably won't be an All-Star anytime soon. So this team is pretty much stuck where it is - a mediocre offense (which is not as good as people think) with a horrible pitching staff.
....you should have quit while you were ahead. The AL should add "rover" as well. If you're going to make these poor pitchers face 9 hitters, you need to give them a better defense. If there was a "rover" position, there would be more jobs! ______________________________________________ Seriously, what has changed to make pitchers so fragile these days?? Pitchers used to pitch every *four* days, not every five, rack up 35 starts or so per year, and pitch complete games all the time. *And* bat and run the bases. Even when *I* was a kid in the glorious '80s there were a lot more CGs. Frankly, I miss them. And, while I'm distracted on this rant, one thing I freaking hate hearing is the term "seven-inning shutout". A shutout is a nine-inning game in which you actually shut the other team out. "Roy pitched a seven-inning shutout, then he went and had a nice warm shower while the bullpen came in and gave up 2 runs." Horse puckey. I remember 10-and-11 inning shutouts; THAT'S a shutout. Honestly, what would Roy Oswalt's 7th and 8th inning ERA be compared to the guys we're bringing in there (and spending extra money on)? Have pitchers' bodies changed? Is it because of the 162-game schedule? Is it because they're throwing harder and junkier to compensate for modern body building (and juicing) in the hitters? Give me Joe Niekro, man. 10 CG, 250 innings just about every year. And he gave up about 3 runs per start. Nowadays, 3 runs in 6 innings is called a "quality start." Niekro was never considered our ace or even our #2, yet in his worst year he was better than that. [/rantderailbitchyoldman]
Matsui and Wigginton are not even close to playing "over their heads". Matsui's average and OBP are a bit higher than his career numbers but his slugging and OPS are down. Wigginton is somewhat higher in average and OBP, but his HRs and RsBI are down.
who ever says that?? i've never heard that before. people say "roy oswalt pitched 7 innings of shutout ball", which is simply explaining what he did, but i've never heard it phrased as "a seven inning shutout". are you certain that you aren't confusing those?
ok, it's nothing short of hilarious to hear AL owners criticize the NL for actually making the players play baseball. that's just brilliant. like something out of a Wes Anderson movie, if he did a movie with MLB as a subject. with Luke or Owen Wilson playing the owner giving a dead-pan line.
I swear, I hear it, worded exactly that way, all the time. "Seven innings of shutout ball" doesn't bother me at all. I hear that, too.
You're right on Matsui's SLG, I was more focused on his OBP. I don't expect him to maintain a .350 OBP. Wigginton's SLG is in line with his career numbers, as is his HR/AB ratio (1/27 career, 1/32 this year). Similarly to Matsui, I wouldn't expect his OBP to stay as high as it is currently. Overall my point was that I expect both Matsui and Wigginton to regress somewhat, especially in terms of getting on base, which is this lineup's big problem. Team SLG is up this year, but the increase in pop has been more than offset by a decrease in team OBP.
If we are rebuilding over several years, then it makes no sense to trade for Miguel Tejada, who in a couple years (when the rebuilding will be presumably complete) will be in the twilight of his career. Same with Carlos Lee. I'm not even sure Carlos Lee will be able to run in two years, he barely can now.
Carlos Lee was not a trade. It was a FA signing. It also was not Ed Wade's deal...it was Purpura's. As for Tejada, Drayton has been after Tejada for a couple of years. Getting him was what the owner wanted. That also gives you a significant offensive upgrade at SS.
If this were one of the previous five years when an 85-win team can win the division, I'd say that the Astros still have a chance to come back and salvage the season. However, it's a different story this year. The Cubs and Cards are perhaps the two best teams in the NL this year and the central is tough. I just don't see the Astros come back and make the playoffs this year.
The Cubs are great, but the Cardinals are not anywhere close to the second best team in the NL. Complete and total first half fluke. See Washington Nationals, 2005.
I didnt say Lee was a trade, but you are right it's not Ed Wade's fault we got him when we should have been rebuilding. If Drayton wants to pay for guys like Tejada and Lee, he should pay for the pitching to make the team complete. Seems like those are signings to generate ticket sales but not to really win in the long-term.
To be fair they did try to get pitching. See "Jason Jennings" and "Woody Williams". I hated the Ed Wade signing, but it's still too early.
OK...which starting pitcher was actually available this offseason that would have been worth paying for? Don't say Santana...we didn't have the trade pieces to get that done. There was nobody there. Chcon was a nice signing for the back of the rotation. The FA pitcher class for this offseason is expected to be much deeper. CC Sabathia is a possibility.
