Not all home grown. Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Dave Winfield, Wade Boggs, Gary Sheffield, Johnny Damon, Mark Texiera, Catfish Hunter, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, C.C. Sabithia...etc...
The FA era??? You know that's been like 40 years or something, right? Curt Flood and the Cardinals, IIRC? Those homegrown players were all homegrown under Steinbrenner's watch. I agree that his meddling and bringing in big FAs messed up would could have been an even stronger "dynasty", but it's not like he came into a good thing and screwed it all up.
Yeah, like five years ago. They deserve every bit of criticism they've gotten for it, and more, too. ...built by guys that Drayton hired, who gave out contracts that Drayton endorsed and funded... and many of whom came from the VZ Academy, also endorsed and funded by Drayton (credit him for starting it if you're going to blame him for shutting it down -- but credit him starting something similar more recently in DR as well as expanding scouting efforts in SE Asia, too). Errm, you need to check out what's been happening to our farm system since Wade's hire. It's not 2001-good (of course!), but it's a far cry from "league-wide-embarrasing-joke" that it was under Purpura. And four years too late, they seem to have figured out that they rode the Bagwell-Biggio-Berkman era a little longer than they should have. Let us see what happens moving forward.
Berkman is washed up so why is it a sad day? If we can move on from Bagwell (greatest offensive player in team history IMO) then im sure we can move on from this.
Where did I say he screwed it up? I said his "big splash moves" of the 2000's didn't really amount to the titles as much as it was the core of the homegrown players. If you have those type of players to build around, you can be as hands on or as hands off as you need... but it wasn't his meddling that led to the extended run of success. Now, if you want Drayton (or new owner) to allocate the same funds to scouting, drafting, and player development that the Yankees do, then there you go... but you don't have to be a "Steinbrenner-type" owner to succeed in this sport.
Don't completely minimize Hunsicker's role in that. He not only traded/promoted a lot of it... he ran through basically all of it. I think after the 2007 draft, Drayton and co. realized that draft debacles like that cannot happen. I do believe the new regime has turned it around, but it will take some time for the Folty's, Deshield's, and the Waites to develop into MLB players.
Hah! Completely misunderstood your angle. I'm used to constantly negative takes around here. My bad. agreed.
Buster_ESPN Heard this: Lance Berkman is meeting with representatives of the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday.
Puma could be a major steal for anybody that can give him the AB's. He should come cheap, and he was bad last last year, but as recently as 2009 he was a great hitter (a 909 OPS is spectacular). He might be done, but the risk reward is more than worth it. And as for us I think it is the the right decision, it's tough but Wallace needs AB's, and Lee need to play at 1st some so we can try youngsters in the outfield.
I really don't understand, under Wade, year after year he signs old guys he calls glue guys to play on the bench. That was Blum, Micheal s and whoever. So I don't understand why not sign him to the bench if he really wants to be here.
G AB PA H R 2b HR R RBI BB AVG OPS OPS+ WAR wOBA wRC+ 2008 159 554 665 173 94 46 29 114 106 99 .312 .986 159 7.5 .419 162 2009 136 460 563 126 69 31 25 73 80 97 .274 .907 139 3.3 .386 140 wOBA: weighted on-base avg (average hitter is .340, great hitter above .400) wRC+: weighted runs created plus (100 is league average, 140 is 40% above league average) WAR: Wins above replacement player (average player may have around 2.0) Ok, 2010 was admittedly a bad year for Lance. But 2008 and 2009 were not that long ago, and he was 32/33 in those years and past his power prime in those years as well (lower than 30 HR in both). So, look at the traditional stats and some of the newer stats, and he had good, above average years in both 2008 and 2009. 2010, imo, was a fluke. He was hurt, he went to NY, and he did just have some genuine struggles/mechanics issues. And since when does "rebuilding" mean you can't have any good players that are older than 30? We don't have to be the Pirates or Royals of the last 25 years. Berkman is not going to command 10-15 million per year at this point. And all of our stud prospects? Oh yeah, we have one option at 1B, Wallace. BW has been traded 3 times already, struggled in his (short, yes) appearance with the Astros last year, doesn't walk a lot, and doesn't have a whole lot of power. Oh, here's some more (this from Fangraphs): According to Minor League Splits, Wallace’s park-adjusted line is .287/.349/.479. The 1B position in the majors yielded a cumulative .270/.355/.460 triple-slash in 2010. WOW. I'm glad we are putting all our eggs in that basket, and keeping away a better player and franchise icon at the same time. Oh, are we going to put Carlos Lee at 1B, and put Brian Bogusevic in the OF? Yipee times two. Berkman, had a below average year in 2010, yes he did. But there is no way he will be that bad in 2011. He is still an above fielder (last year and for his career), and he will bounce back in 2010. Oh yeah, let's not forget that he is the 2nd best 1B of the past decade, and there are fans out there that enjoy watching/going to games because of players like him. Even when you are a losing team, you still like to have some continuity, some good players. Lance WANTS to come back. We should take him.
Would Berkman want to be a bench player? I can't imagine he would considering there is a lot of interest around the league for him. Even if he does sign here to be a bench player, would that be good for Wallace's progress? There would be a lot of pressure to start Berkman if Wallace comes out the gate struggling. I'm not saying I think Wallace is our 1B of the future, but you got to find out without the pressure of Berkman looking over his shoulder.
Considering I heard this from an Astros executive's mouth first hand before the '08 season, I'll probably take his word over yours.
It's the same argument. His comments were constantly irking the front office. You can't see the difference?!?!?!!! ARE YOU RACIST?!?!?!?!
When did Tracy comment on what the front office should or shouldn't be doing with personnel? Or talk about how the team was playing, or really be genuine, to the chagrin of the organization, at all? All I remember from him is "Yeah, it's on me," and all sorts of drama about whether he was going to play. His mouth was always open about himself exclusively--including telling the media he was going to have surgery, and that being the first the front office heard about it. The guy was anything but genuine, and frankly I don't even remember him being opinionated. Just loving the attention, milking his injuries, and being overall completely useless. The worst you can say about Berkman is that he dogged it on some grounders (and that really annoys me). But he is not in the same class of drama queen as McLady. not even close.
Not arguing whether Berkman is like McLady. Read his post I quoted. It is the exact same argument that everyone made for McGrady when he wouldn't shut his mouth. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5383082.html This article was after he had career lows in BA, SLG, and OBP (other than his 1999 rookie year). Nobody cares what Lance thinks about Clemens, Valverde, or that he's butt-hurt that Chris Burke is gone, especially when not living up to his contract. All he does is piss off the organization. It's not the exact same, but there are similarities.
