At the end of tonight's game, the Sports Report mentioned that 610 said Hunsicker was trying to make a deal before the end of the month. Anyone know what/who they are after. Also, what do you think the Astros need the most? I think a solid starting veteran pitcher would do quite a bit, but a third baseman with a little more power would be beneficial as well. And there is always the hope that Hidalgo could be traded for anything.
They are looking for bullpen guys, but I'm not sure who. With Puffer, Cruz, Mlicki and Stone all sucking, the Astros really only have two reliable relievers (Dotel / Wagner) and a reliable lefty-speciality (Borbon). I don't see why you don't just bring up Redding - he could make a great bullpen guy for a month.
The reason that Puffer and Stone are sucking is that they have been way overused. Look at their IP stats. A 3B is not needed...Blum has been WAY more than adequate. Not a lot of power...but a solid RBI guy. Not to mention that he has been getting some clutch hits.
i think we might try to package hidalgo in a trade. I think mamagement is not happy with him, but h is like the cato of the astros. A load of talent, with a fat contract. But he doesn't bring it.
what's the problem with stone? i'm still confident as hell when we bring him in, at least on par with billy. he had no buisiness being out there for a second inning against the reds and with a 7-1 lead why was jimy using him anyways? he's trying to get his arm to fall off.
Sounds like the Cliff Gustafson school of managing. Throw him on Monday...throw him on Tuesday...throw him on Wednesday...by Friday he'll be in surgery.
Oh this argument is so tired. Really? You think? Gerry Hunsicker (who knows better than anybody here) tends to disagree with you. He wouldn't be going public withit unless he had authorization to pursue a deal. If you think that Drayton is such a moneygrubber and is just being cheap...you try writing the checks for a while.
Give me his fortune and I will. What Scrooge McLane seems to forget, while wiping his tears with 100 dollar bills, is that he will make a handsome profit, whenever it is that he mercifully sells the team. More than likely, he can sell the Astros for 300-350 million. I will be willing to bet you money, or anything, that the Astros do not make a move, that involves adding a player from another team. Their idea of making a move, is by getting an injured player back from the DL, in this case, Carlos Hernandez. Please, spare me the Drayton defending. Is he your uncle or something? He sucks as an owner, and shows how much he really cares about winning, by failing to sign a free agent that is noteworthy since Doug Drabek. Poor Drayton still can't get over the fact that that 1 move didn't turn out too great, so he's now afraid to roll the dice and sign a FA pitcher. I don't really count Ken Caminiti as a big signing, because he came back to us for less money. McLane is a crappy owner, who is stunting any success the Astros could/should have. I really hope he goes through with his threat of selling the team. Of course, it's probably as big of a lie as when he says he wants to field the best team he can.
Yeah, too bad Drayton isn't like the Texas Rangers owner who spends money right and left on free agents. Look at all the games they've won. Oh wait, how about the Cubs, they've signed some noteworthy free agents as well. Under MacLane the Astros had one of the top records in baseball in the 90s and are a perennial playoff contender. They have the top minor league organization in baseball (that takes money) as well as their successful Venezuelan academy (also takes money). The Astros may not have signed noteworthy free agents, but they have not lost any of their own contributing players without receiving something back (with the eception of Johnson). Would you trade Dotel straight up for Hampton right now?
It has become PAINFULLY obvious that you haven't been following this team for very long. If you had then you'd realize that while Drayton isn't the best owner in the world...he's BY FAR the best owner the Astros have had. This is a team that was operated by the credit unions and then by John McMullen. I'll take Drayton over those two any day. But you probably don't remember any of that...it didn't happen within the last year or two.
On a related note, the Astros have now signed 15 of their top 20 picks (one - 20th pick OF Justin Glover - is a DFE, so he won't be signed until before next years draft, if at all). They recently came to terms with their 2nd & 3rd round picks, following the signing of #1 pick Derrick Grigsby. It's great they re-evaluated their ridiculous stance of a month ago & started negotiating. Here's the complete list: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/astros02.html
kidrock -- how do you explain 4 division championships in 5 years under Drayton's watch?? luck??? just curious....because there are about 27 other owners in the league who would love to have that kind of record...errrr...luck.
Ya, I've only followed the Astros the last 2 years. That is why I can point out Doug Drabek. Fact is that ANY f-ing owner looks good compared to McMullen. Drayton doesn't deserve to be praised because he's not as bad of an owner as McMullen was. Using that logic, Blum must be God, because he's better than Ensberg. I refuse to overrate a player/owner who is average to bad, because the person before him flat out sucked. You must have very low standards.
Playing in the weakest division in baseball during that span doesn't hurt matters. Also, you would think that after our 1st 2 or so Div titles, that Drayton would be HUNGRY to win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. Unfortunately, those div titles are more than enough for Drayton and apparently fans like yourself. The patheticness (is that a word?) of this franchise is exclamated by the point that the only thing we have to be happy about during the 40 years of this franchise's existence are div titles. How long will we have to wait until a playoff series victory? Probably until Scrooge McLane sells the team. You are right in that there are lots of owners who would like to be in the position Drayton is in. However, can you really give credit to Drayton? His only good move was hiring Hunsicker (who I think is among the best GMs in the MLB). Hunsicker, in turn, hired the scouts who have helped build this franchise from within. McLane is trying to field a decent team, at the cheapest possible price. I have no respect for an owner who is content with a 90-win team, who won't ever win a WS, for the sake of saving money. I feel bad for you if you enjoy this 10-year tease.
Great so you've followed the team since 1993. (I can do that too). To say that Drayton is average is simply inaccurate. The Astros have had an above average payroll. You can't expect everybody to be George Steinbrenner...other owners don't have that kind of cash flow. I'm not saying that Drayton is the best owner in baseball. I just think you are going over the top in your criticism of him. You want to see pathetic? Refer back to when the Astros were owned and operated by the various credit unions when the team was in receivership. That sucked. I lived through it. What we have now is much better. Drayton has not been shy about giving big bucks to the Bagwells and Biggios of the world. I can't see calling somebody who pays a guy $12M cheap.
It's time for me to eat some crow, as the Astros actually made a move to get Tom Gordon. While I like the approach, I just question the timing of the move. I wouldn't say the Astros have an "above average", but rather average payroll. Last year we were like 17th in payroll, this year I think we're around 14th. Payroll isn't a good indicator, rather what they do with regards to trading and signing impact players. Fortunately, we will lose Mlicki's contract. Now, I hope that Drayton uses that extra 6-7 mill for some FAs. Rather than pocketing the money.
My main question is what Drayton does to improve the team. Our payroll will balloon, once Bagwell's extension or deferred payments kicks in. Does that mean we improve because our payroll goes up? I believe Gordon is a FA at the end of the year, and will play the Mike Williams role of rent-a-reliever. Is there ever going to be a trade we make for a guy who doesn't have an expiring contract? Last one I can think of is when we traded for Alou. Personally, I'd like to re-sign Gordon, if he can't find a team that would let him become their closer. We desperately need another arm next year next to Dotel, Stone, and Wagner. I sure hope that the strike crap gets settled soon, so that we can at least get some return from this trade.
