Bags, Burke, Everett, Ensburg, Bidge, Lane, Palmiero, Ausmus, Rocket, O, Pettitte, Backe, Redding, Lidge, Franco, Burba, Wendell..... Tough to figure this one out. Clearly a team built for one year. If they are competing in July then maybe we get some help. If not then will Bags, Bidge, Rocket, Pettite get traded for some prospects? Should be a fun year to watch with 3-4 pitchers battling for six innings a night. Can Redding step up? Are Burke and Lane ready?. Can Bidge play be one of the top lead off guys again?. Has Bags got anyhting left or does the slide continue? Does Berkman come back strong and does he sign for the long haul? A lot of questions but at least we can laugh at Mets and Detroit when there huge payrolls don't payoff.
which year would that be? I think the Mets have a better shot at the WC than we do...although with Atlanta and Florida in their division, I think they will be on the outside looking in when the playoffs come around
This is what I couldn't figure, this is a team to win now, so why let Kent go and go with this half @ssed youth movement?!? You can make the arguement that Kent was gone to make room for Beltran but still if this is supposed to be the last charge with the old vets (Clemens, Bags, Biggio), why are we hoping and praying the young guys will be the answer? Can Redding step up? Highly doubtful Are Burke and Lane ready?. Doubtful but optimistic Can Bidge play be one of the top lead off guys again? Very optimistic but who's going to drive him in? Has Bags got anything left or does the slide continue? Poor Bags he looks around for protection only to find a couple of kids and a limping Berkman. Someone explain to me why he should see anything to hit for the early part of the season? Does Berkman come back strong and does he sign for the long haul? I'm sure Berkman will come back and play great and he and Oswalt had better get locked up. Honestly I know this is the same team we had last year minus Kent but there are just so many questions. It seems like everyone is coming off an injury, the bullpen IMO hasn't been improved, and the lineup looks very very shaky. If the starters can stay injury free and Backe lives up to the hype I think we have a great chance. The Stros really need to make a Beltran like move around the trade deadline. I just hope they'll be in contention then.
On 610 sport yesterday morning they were saying that Clemens and the 'Stros have an agreement that if that Astros have no shot at the playoffs then they will trade him (to the NYY). They said it is not in his contract but more of an hand shake agreement.
I heard a radio interview/quote from Drayton. McLane said that there is nothing written in the contract but that they would look at trading anyone if the circumstances were right or something to that effect. I would love to see the Astros trade Bags, Bidge, Rocket or even Pettite to improve the team for the long haul. The "Killer Bees" deserve a shot at a ring and if not here then Boston or NY. Rocket and Pettite should be extremely popular on the market come July and all should bring back some substantial players in return.
this was discussd a little in one of the other threads yesterday...if this is true, and this provision was either tossed around or , better yet, agreed upon, that would mean that even Clemens and Drayton aren't expecting much out of the upcoming year....which is unacceptable
Why? The Astros won division titles in 1997, 98 and 99. There was every reason to be optimistic about 2000 but due to injuries and the inability of pitchers such as Lima to adjust to the park, the Astros were out of contention that year. Players can be optimistic about the coming year, but also realistic that factors out of their control could hamper the team's performance. I think it is a good thing (if true) that both Clemens and McLane have an agreement in place. If the Astros are out of contention, they can trade him and receive something in return with no animosity on either one's part. As I wrote in the thread about this particular issue, due to the Astros success over the last 10 years, they have rarely had the opportunity to dump veterans for younger players (e.g. Andersen for Bagwell, Sutton for Bass, Madden and Dipino). If the opportunity (unfortunately) present itself, it'll be good to perhaps get something for Clemens. Now the interesting development is what if the Astros are out of it, BUT Clemens is headed for another possible Cy Young. What would be done then?
The only way Clemens would have a shot at a cy-young on a bad team would be if every other pitcher on winning clubs was inept, which is highly unlikely. He would have to have a Randy Johnson-type season to even be in contention for the award... and somehow, I can't see him doing that (considering RJ's season on paper last year was just about better than Clemens' in everything but wins... which is the mark of being on a good team). Also, the better Clemens is for us, on a supposedly non-contending team, the more we could get for him at the deadline if he agreed to it.
Because you're telling to your fans that there is a good chance that the Stros have no chance. Is that the way you want your team to go into training camp? When things were looking bleak last year and the trade Beltran to a real contender rumors started up, I was very proud of the organization for standing firm. They were rewarded with the greatest run in team history. But this just stinks of an offseason gone bad and a failed plan. The Astros should have either a) just gone with a complete youth movement and concede this is a rebuilding year or b) kept Kent made another move or two and go for broke riding the vets.
They aren't saying hardly anything. It's not like the Astros had a press conference to announce this.
I think you are reading way too much into the supposed agreement. Why shouldn't a player or owner examine all contingencies before they occur? To me, it looks a lot better now to have Clemens effectively waive his complete no-trade clause at the beginning of the season rather than wait until June/July. I feel this is a complete non-issue.
Exactly, but the biggest problem I have with the agreement is that Clemens apparently really doesn't want to be here all that much but fans act like he sacrificed his life to be here. We hold press conferences a big to-dos to announce this guy is going to do the Astros a favor and take their $18 million but yet they have this agreement.
But we digress......... Does this team have a chance? Burke can struggle in the 7 spot or contribute at the 1 or 2. Lane will probably be good enough in the 4 or 5 spot. Ensberg, to me, is the key. I do not think he will get a lot of time to "come around" under Garner. They have a proven RBI bat in Lamb or even Whiteman and the difference in fielding is insignificant, (the all suck). I just hope that they know when to say enough. If we are struggling come trade deadline, don't believe that we can pull off another miracle like last year. Trade the vets and get some propsects and let's move on.
We should have gotten Cruz Jr. A gold glove winning outfielder with decent power, and he would have been a fan favorite here in Houston. And we could have gotten him for peanuts. Just doesn't make sense. The Tampa Bay GM even said he was hoping to talk to the Astros about a trade but the Astros never called him since the winter meetings. Cruz Jr. should have been signed. Burnitz should have been signed had we not got Cruz Jr. Instead now were left with Tavarez? Give me a freaking break. I was willing to cut Purpura some slack after losing Beltran. But him and the Astros have really screwed the pooch with their inactivity.
Did they have an actual source for this or was it just sort of speculation? I really don't see the reasoning behind it. The only reason Roger is still playing is to be at home, and maybe to pitch with Pettite. He's won the title, he's gotten awards...if he does request a trade at any time this season I will lose a lot of respect for him.
