wwwwwwow. wow.... wow. i mean.... wow. i may need a few days to process just the idea... you wanna talk about huge. one things's certain: no one would ever be able to rail mcclane ever again if he ok's this deal...... hmmmm.... wonder how much influence clemens has behind the scenes. would it shock anyone if he were to retire and buy a stake in the team.....? give drayton his money back?
I only have one problem trading Nieve & Hirsh. With Pettitte & Clemens most likely gone next season, they could fill those 2 holes. Then again, with 40+ million off the books when you throw in Bagwell, going after some free agents would be possible, too. IF this is really out there, it would be too hard to pass up to get a talent like Tejada. The only thing left would be to find "b" somewhere in his name so he could be a Killer B. Anyone know what his middle name is?
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread, but on baseball tonight they said that the Astros and Angels are bidding against each other for Tejada.
Astros better do everything the can to get Tejada. He would help this so much and bring an attitude this team lacks. I think Everett, Pence, Nieve, and Hirsh could get it done.
Carl Dukes on 740 was speculating that the Orioles' asking price for Tejada was Nieve/Everett/Pence/Hirsch. Apparently the Astros are reluctant to include Hirsch...this is all specualtion, of course...what do you guys think? My biggest beef w/ the Astros has been their reluctance to bring up Hirsch....he's got a sick scoreless streak going on....and the Count has the audacity to say that calling him up would be an "act of desperation"...... That said, I don't know how I feel about this....I don't think anything is gonna happen...I think the Orioles are kicking tires.....but if it does happen, we are gonna have to spend some $$$ on some starting pitching....b/c it's gonna be Oswalt/Buchholz/Backe...MAYBE Pettite...then let your voice drop....
Why NOT do it? Yeah, the Hirsh inclusion sucks, but that's the breaks. That said, I also think that nothing will happen.
Baltimore's request is pretty damn steep. They want our 2 best prospects in Hirsch and Pence, and a future member of our rotation in Nieve. I'd pass on this one. You're giving 3 good players up.
Well you might be giving up three good young players remember it still the minor leauges which is still a different beast from the major leagues. Just becuase you tear up the minors dosen't mean you are going to tear up the major leagues just look at Jason Lane as soon as we sent him back to the minors he starts playing like a superstar again. There is a possibility they could be just like Lane in that they are minor league allstars and major league nobodys. Plus with all the money we are going to be freeing up in the next two to three years they are probably just going to retool through freeagency anyways. ALSO...... www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4066845.html ASTROS SUMMMARY On the trade front Astros general manager Tim Purpura spent much of his time Sunday in discussions with his scouts regarding the trade front. As a policy, he doesn't publicly discuss specific trade rumors and adheres to Major League Baseball's tampering rules. But it's clear the Astros haven't given up hope of acquiring Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada. Contrary to published reports, however, a top National League official told the Chronicle that the Astros haven't discussed top pitching prospect Jason Hirsh in any talks with the Orioles regarding Tejada. Asked about the trade front, Purpura reiterated his desire to make the Astros better. "We're working hard to improve the club," he said late Sunday night. The Astros have expressed interest in Tejada and several other offensive players and lefthanded pitchers.
no, you're giving up 3 good prospects. after giving it some thought, i think it's a no-brainer. tejada's 30; he's signed for two more years at a very reasonable price of $12M per and, oh yeah, is on pace to finish .320/34/135, and has averaged the past three years .285/28/110. but nah, let's pretend instead that the baseball landscape isn't littered with failed prospects and put all our faith in three unproven talents.
Even if the Astros are able to land Tejada (which I'd do if the trade was as reported)... they still would need more quality starting pitching (either promoted from the minors, or free agency) to get back to playing winning baseball. This year's downfall is a direct result of Pettite being terribly inconsistent, and the bullpen being unreliable. Those two aspects, while they weren't expected to be as dominant as last year, were still counted on for above average performance... that hasn't happened yet. Factor in the other "given but dissapointment" in Ensberg, and that completes the trifecta... but I do believe the team could have overcome that last one, had the pitching been better (whereas vice versa, we're not in all that better shape). Nevertheless, if they trade Hirsh and Nieve, they're not in as "dire" circumstances that many of you put them in if both Pettite and Clemens are gone next year: Nieve is a quality arm... but he's a long way away from being able to give you 200 innings a year, and be expected to win you 15-20 games. He's also nowhere near the prospect that Freddy Garcia, Roy Oswalt, or even Tim Redding were when they were in the farm system. Hirsh, however, would be able to step in next year and have a shot at pitching 200 innings, and posting double-figure wins. Then again, so did Wade Miller and Carlos Hernandez. Both those guys are now wondering if they'll ever pitch again. I'm not saying that Hirsh is a injury risk... but you have to consider that inherent risk with ANY pitcher who comes up to the big leagues. I'd go out on a limb and say that a team has more injuries to their young minor league all-star calibur pitchers than they do have bonafied MLB all-stars. The rotation next year, if they were able to get Tejada and lose Pettite and Clemens in the process, would be: Oswalt, Backe, Buchholz, Wandy, Sampson/Barzilla/Albers. They would almost assuredly have to get a FA arm, and count on Backe's health, Buchholz's continuing to improve, and Wandy having a below 5 ERA to have a shot at contending... but in this weak NL, I wouldn't rule out this from happening.
no, because he hasn't been crap. grimsely broke on june 7. since june 1, tejada's hit .325 and driven in 29 runs. his power has dipped a bit, but he's still been a very productive player.
Considering they signed Roger and traded for Huff (although they didnt give up much for him), I think dismantling isn't really on their minds. If we get swept by the Reds....well, that would be interesting. JUST PULL THE TRIGGER.
sounds like Timmy P is pushing hard for him behind the scenes. if we get him, and lose pettitte and clemens next season (although there is no telling what happens if our team is looking promising), what FA pitchers are on the market this offseason?
One of the posters posted a list a week or two ago. You can find it here: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=115512 I assume it is accurate, but I do not know for a fact.
And here's a list of just starters; also not positive if any of these guys have signed extensions (taken from a Rays fansite of all places http://forums.sptimes.com/Forums/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=004064 ): Paul Wilson Wade Miller Jeff Weaver Toma Ohka Andy Ashby Pedro Astascio Ramon Ortiz Jason Johnson Gil Meche Joe Mays Sidney Ponson Tony Armas jr Jose Contreras Kevin Jarvis Greg Maddux Brian Moeller Jason Schmidt Ted Lily Mark Redman Shawn Estes Tom Glavine Kevin Appier Jamie Moyer Andy Pettitte Mark Mulder Barry Zito Doug Davis Randy Wolf ======== I think a guy like Davis can be reasonably sought after. Maybe Schmidt. Zito and/or Mulder would be incredible, but unlikely. And also, maybe Dotel should get some consideration for bullpen help. Still recovering from Tommy John, but he could be had for cheap and worth the risk. I mean it's not like the bullpen is anything great this year.
