His ERA is 7.14. He got bombed (again) yesterday for 5 runs in 3 innings. He can't even last 5 innings. This is the second year in a row that he's stunk, and even before that, he was highly overrated. A flyball pitcher in a park where fly balls die + great run support. His road ERA stank even then. The people who blame ENRON haven't looked at his home/road splits. His pitches are mediocre at best. So, why, exactly, is Jose Lima still on the Astros major league club? Or, at the very least, why do the Astros still waste one game in 5 by starting him? Roy Oswalt has an ERA below 1, and already has better "stuff" that Lima had in his prime. He's probably the most talented pitcher on that team. Can't hurt to give him a shot if they watch his pitch count. Octavia Dotel has a 4.14 ERA in 32 innings. At least he has a nice fastball, and there's hope for him, if he could but learn a change-up. At least he doesn't stink every game. Lima belongs in the minors - maybe someone there could get his head straight. Besides, the Astros have a couple guys who deserve a shot at the majors. That 6 million pricetag is gaudy... but that's what you get for overpaying. Loyalty is fine... but I'm sick of that near-automatic loss every 5 days. ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001 [This message has been edited by haven (edited May 21, 2001).]
They should be able to find some team to take Lima off their hands. At least they are planning on skipping his next 2 turns. ------------------
They should be able to find some team to take Lima off their hands. If you were another team, would you take him and pay him $13 million over the next 2 years? ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
Lima belongs in the minors - maybe someone there could get his head straight. Unfortunately, the Astros can't send him to the minors without his consent, and he has, thus far, refused assignment. The only real options are to release him or dump him in the bullpen. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
Man if he refuses to go to the minors then I say the hell with him. Release him and let some terrible team deal with this headcase. If he keeps refusing to go to the minors then his career will end very soon because he needs some serious help. ------------------ I refuse to use smiley's in my posts, you'll just have to figure out how serious I am on your own...
Man if he refuses to go to the minors then I say the hell with him. Release him and let some terrible team deal with this headcase. If he keeps refusing to go to the minors then his career will end very soon because he needs some serious help. I agree. Unfortunately, we pay the remainder of his salary (sort of like Vinny Castilla) even if someone else picks him up. I'm guessing McLane is hoping that his investment can somehow payoff. While as fans, we would just say "screw it", it's more difficult when it's your $13 million, I would assume. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
You know it might actually help the astros to get rid of him and let him sign with someone else. I mean we can hope that maybe an NL Central team would sign him, so in essense we'd be paying Lima to help another team lose. It's better than paying him to help US lose. ------------------ I refuse to use smiley's in my posts, you'll just have to figure out how serious I am on your own...
Shanna: Doh! I'd forgotten that. In that case, I think Lima should be Houston's new long, reliever - but only when they're 5 runs ahead or behind . Ah well... he still shouldn't be starting, no matter what . ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001 [This message has been edited by haven (edited May 21, 2001).]
Actually, I think they should bring up McKnight, if it is at all possible to somehow get rid of Lima... I like Oswalt in the bullpen, it is great to have a guy like him who can come in and give you 3 solid inniings of relief... especially at Enron where there is no guaruntee that any starter can get you to the 6th inning. ------------------ Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
If I owned a team that played in a pitcher's park (e.g. Tigers), who's GM (Randy Smith) has a connection with the Astros president, and I could get Houston to pay part of his salary, I'd take him. Most every team could use a starting pitcher. The Astros are currently blessed with an abundance of young minor league arms, other teams aren't. Lima has proven to be a good pitcher in a pitcher's park in the past. Most GMs and pitching coaches always think they can salvage a career, especially a relatively young man. ------------------
I've said it before that they should try to trade him to a team with a "pitcher's park". But, now I'm afraid that is only half of the problem. I think Lima falls into the category of athlete (or person) who thrives on emotion. Some players play better when they're mad, most do not. Lima was high as a kite the year he won 20 games, but the next year it started bad when Dierker decided not to use Lima for the opening day game. Lima felt slighted and it hurt his confidence. He's sort of like Cato, except I think there's still hope for Lima. He seems to be a very likable guy unlike KC. I'd like to see him go somewhere and have some success. ------------------ DREAMer's Rocket Page
All I know is that the players must be dreading the game when they know that Lima will give up at least 6 runs. I would hate to play behind a pitcher like that. Suck up the 13 million, at least you stand a chance of making it up if you compete. He is terrible. DaDakota ------------------ If you like RTS games, check out this one. www.frontierwars.com coming soon to a PC near you.
jose lima is playing because the Astros are paying him 7 mill this year to pitch. McLane wouldnt want to waste that much money no matter what the return is. Lima is the Atros version of Kelvin Cato, only difference is that he actually had 2 very good seasons with the Astros. Good luck to Lima ------------------
Has anybody else noticed that Jose Lima started to suck at about the same time that he started doing commercials for Casa Ole'?? I mean, geez...A non-Mexican dude doing commercials for a chain resturant whose so called "Mexican Food" is about as authentic as Taco Bell....heck, at least I can eat at Taco Bell for under five bucks... I ask you now....COINCIDENCE? ------------------ If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!!
unt: Alexander ISN'T getting anything for his investment... unless you mean in the loss column. ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
unt: Alexander ISN'T getting anything for his investment... unless you mean in the loss column. Say what you want, but Lima only has 2 losses. Comparatively, Reynolds, Dotel, Bottenfield, and Elarton all have more. That means that the team is at least tying the game after Lima is gone in just about every one of his starts... While he's certainly not helping things any, he's not losing these games himself. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
Shanna: He's not staying IN games long enough to take many losses. If you get taken out in the 3rd inning, there's a MUCH better chance of your teammates tying or winning later on and getting a no-decision. Besides, I think we all know that win-loss record is pretty worthless for determining a pitcher's worth. ERA is much better, and Lima's is the worst on the team. Even more, Lima sucked last year, whereas Elarton and Reynolds are just fine. 7.14. ouch. So saying Lima doesn't have many losses is much like saying: he's been lucky and hasn't lasted long. ------------------ A few years back on the Senate floor... Phil Gramm: "If Democrats could, they'd tax the air we breathe." Ted Kennedy (jumping up): "By God, why didn't I think of that sooner!" Boston College - NCAA Hockey National Champions 2001
He's not staying IN games long enough to take many losses. If you get taken out in the 3rd inning, there's a MUCH better chance of your teammates tying or winning later on and getting a no-decision. Agreed. However, the bottom line is that at some point after Lima is gone, the game is tied. That means he's not losing the games. To me, a starting pitcher who truly loses games for his team is one that gives up so many runs that there's no/little hope of coming back. Since we tie the game every time, he's obviously not giving up THAT many runs that we can't come back. Granted, he's not helping win any games or helping keep the bullpen fresh -- or even doing his job in any way, for that matter -- but he's not losing many games for us. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
The only reason Jose Lima is still on the Astros roster is the ridiculous contract Drayton McLane signed him to. If he wasn't making so much money, he would have been let go by now. No team will take him and his salary in a trade. ------------------ "Blues is a Healer" --John Lee Hooker
