I think people tend to cut the Astros slack because they have been a solid organization for a number of years. Having said that, they deserve to be hammered. Let's not become Cubs fans and show up no matter what. Fans *should* keep the pressure on the team to make better decisions and spend money on players, especially since the fans not only pay for tickets, but they also pay for a substantial part of the revenue creating source in Minute Maid Park. Baseball is public trust in that regard. I think the Astros should be upbraided for not having a plan to move forward without Beltran. You can whine about Boras, but management put themselves in the position where they were vulnerable. Boras was not letting McClane meet with Beltran in person, while extending the privilige to Omar Monaya. There is your red-flag that he was using the Astros as leverage. Knowing that several Astros like Bagwell never felt like Beltran was ever going to sign here makes you wonder about the level of competence at play with the post-Hundsicker front office. My main problem with this team is less about wins and losses and more about the simple direction of the team. They just don't have a clear direction other than hoping everything works out. They are neither going young completely, or committing making one last run with Clemens. They have dicked around with Burke to the point of absurdity. If Craig Biggio on a 90 loss team is keeping him off the field then they need to trade him right away. His value only goes down at this point. Sorry to whine, but this is frustrating after last year's magic. Maybe we should have realised we were closer to the June-July team than the August-September version.
Here's the thing. I believe that Drayton knew we weren't going to sign Beltran. His goal this offseason was not to build a contender, but to not look like the bad guy. I don't believe for a second that a smart businessman like Drayton would be fooled by Beltran. Anyone with half a brain could see that Beltran wanted to play in NY from the beginning. Losing Beltran was no surprise. There was no excuse to not go after a quality bat to replace him.
Well... all I can say is that you've concocted quite the convienent scenario to fit your delusions. If it helps you sleep better at night, I'm glad... but honestly, it doesn't carry much weight. First of all, why would McLane suddenly change what was his MO over the years when it came to re-signing big-name FA's, which was to make a substantial initial offer... and then bow out gracefully as soon as another team ame in. He did that for Daryl, Randy, and he ordered the trades of Hampton, Wagner, and Carl Everett because he knew he wasn't going to re-sign them. Why did he suddenly change his pretty stead-fast off-season policy that still had him in contention for most of the last decade??? Seriously... I am hardly a Drayton-fan, but I can't help but laugh at loud at some of the scenarios being dished out here over the Beltran thing. Actually, this one is even more preposterous than the one involving the "no-trade" clause. The bottom line was that after the Yankees dropped out, the Astros were the odds-on favorites... and the national and local media jumped all over that. Drayton increased his initial offer, and he knew that this was going to be an all-or-nothing gamble that he had to take (if it wasn't for him, it was owed to all of the fans that came out last year, supported this team, and the city that was craving Beltran to re-sign with them). I have a feeling that there will one day be a book published over this whole fiasco, complete with conspiracy theories, secret handshake deals, and maybe even a foreward by Jeff Van Gundy. Its become THAT ridiculous.
The only one that is delusional is you thinking that Beltran would stay here for less or equal money than NY. Get real, man. The only way the Astros were going to keep him was to overpay for him. Everyone but some blind Astros homers knew this. Drayton knew this. Hunsicker knew this. Once you realize this simple fact you will realize that Drayton was just trying to not make himself look bad during this whole thing. Truth be told, I wouldn't have paid Beltran the 18 or 19 mil per it would have taken to keep him here either. What should have happened is the Astros find a good bat to replace him with and there were plenty of them available at the time.
I agree. The actual error was probably not resigning Kent. They couldn't have really searched for another center fielder at the time because Houston would have KILLED Drayton, but they shouldn't have allowed themselves to get played the way they did.
You have incredible inside information, knowing Hunsicker's and McLane's intimate knowledge of the situation. Do you have a good source, or are you clairevoyant?
Yeah, my inside information is thinking logically. Something you seem to be incapable of. Use your brain and you can do wonders too. http://bbs2.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85556
No, those are wild-assed extrapolations. The fact that Beltran indeed left is coincidental--not because of your "superior logic". You don't know jack about what Hunsicker and McLane "knew". I use my brain to be open to ALL the possibilities, not just the whiny consipiracy theory ones put out by the typical Astros fan. The truth is--you have used a precious few facts to arrive at conclusions (though wild-assed extrapolation) about the motives, character, and inner workings of several people in the Astros organization, and when called on it you accuse of others of being "delusional" or "incapable of logic". Pathetic.
It's interesting, because Richard Justice (whom I rarely cite to!) also indicates that Beltran was making statements to everyone that "it would be different" with him....that he was serious about finding a place he was just happy to spend his career in, as long as the offers were reasonable. That's why Justice blasted Beltran after he chose the Mets deal...because he claims that Beltran looked him in the eyes and said that, while talking about how much he and his wife loved Houston. In the end...Boras used Houston as the ONLY other bidder. It's telling that Beltran signed a contract literally the day after the Astros' deadline...without waiting to see if the Yanks would show interest or if the Cubs could unload Sosa to work something out.
Who needs Beltran when you have Morgan Ensberg? Morgan leads Carlos in avg, obp, slg, HRs, BBs. Heck, he's even stolen 3 times as many bases as Beltran! Surprisingly, Ensberg has even struck out LESS than Beltran. All that for $450,000/ year.
I think I'd still like to have Beltran. Ensberg is playing well though. He and Biggio are the bright spots in the lineup so far.
I think Beltran is an excellent player...and I was very disappointed we did not sign him. But he isn't exactly earning his jack in NY YET!! YET!! I say yet, because it's still very early. But compare him to Biggio this season, for example, and think about where these two are in their careers: Beltran: .301 avg 6 HR 23 RBI 23 Runs 1 SB .353 OBP .477 SLG Biggio: .299 avg 7 HR 22 RBI 23 Runs 4 SB .364 OBP .555 SLG Beltran does a ton in the field which can't be measured. But he isn't playing like a guy with one of the top contracts in baseball...there were many here and elsewhere who argued that he would never be that kind of guy...that he was being rewarded for a big offseason, not for his body of work over a career. What these numbers clearly show us is that Biggio is killing us out there...get Burke in.
And all the while Drayton McScrooge is sitting pretty having pulled the wool over everyone's eyes, his brilliant plan nearly complete.
So would I. It's still incredibly early in his contract, but if he continues to post his regular season stats for the life of that contract, he's going to be a financial burden for years to come (and the Mets are stuck with that pesky no-trade clause) What is the deal with only 1 stolen base? It makes me think he might be hurt. Here is an interesting take on Beltran's stats from a column by Jayson Stark: " Beltran in Pedro's starts (going into Friday): 7 games: 15 for 31 (.484), 6 HR, 17 RBI " Beltran in all his other Mets games: 28 games: 28 for 110 (.255), 0 HR, 6 RBI I don't know what it means, but it is interesting nonetheless.
I'll decipher this... Chucky Brown is a presence in the line up, even more so than Charles Barkley (or Charles Barkley is likely to become).
To someone as narrowminded as you, they may seem like "wild-assed extrapolations" but they are not. It's simply looking at things with an open mind and without the homeristic tendencies you consistently show here. If you have a problem with someone exposing the Astros offseason for what it was, then perhaps you should find a message board where people never question the quality of their teams players, coaches, managers or owners. Something like this would probably suit you much better. So, for now I'm done arguing with the "OPS is a totally BS stat" board idiot. And btw, if you're going to quote me how about doing it properly?
Some good points, some not so good. IMO. First, yes the Astros suck at the moment. No, Everett is not going to be wasted as a utility player. He is one of the best short stops in the league, defense wise. The bullpen could use some tweaking here and there. (8th inning set up man) Ensberg in my opinion is one step away from being a very consistent HR hitter, he is a good 3B defensibly. I couldn't agree more on Ausmus being an offensive liability. The only argument i could make is that he calls a good game, but then again so does Chavez. I wish we could have kept Buck but that was not to be. The Astros need two more good bats and they're back in it. (easier said than done i know)
