As I've obsessively checked MLBTradeRumors.com all day today between assignments, I've come to a terrible conclusion. It's a gut instinct, but I also called Adam Dunn's Granny last night, so apparently I'm en fuego(alright, not the hardest thing to do, but hey it impressed and angered several people around me).
Per this Ken Rosenthal Article and quote:
"Trade Miguel Tejada? The Astros, bless their delusional hearts, are thinking quite the opposite. They're buyers, not sellers, pursuing bullpen help even though they're buried in the National League standings...The team's only discussions about Tejada, the source says, involve his long-term position. Tejada, 34, eventually will need to move to third base, but the Astros have a strong third-base prospect at Class AA, Chris Johnson."
in conjunction with this atrocious Richard Justice blog post (honestly, the man cannot possess a spine and still turn this crap out). I'm calling us trading away better than his ERA suggests and future stud reliever/closer, Bud Norris, and now essentially worthless to us because our organization can't think long-term to save it's life, Chris Johnson, plus one of our MLB Bench Crew for a marginal bull pen arm from whatever team will say yes to Ed Wade first. I hope to God I'm wrong, but reading Justice's and Rosenthal's article with five minutes of each other made that snap together in my mind.
Regardless of whether we make such a terrible trade, I think I will forever hold hate in my heart for this fiasco. We have SO many movable pieces that people are interested in. We could truly restock our farm system (not to mention free up some dough on the general ledger) and in a few years have positive things to look forward to for many years to come. Instead, we're going to sign Ben Sheets to a bloated contract -- because he'll finally reach 200 IP on a World Series Championship team and therefore must be ready to be a long-term Ace, thereby jacking up his asking price (and our bidding price) -- so that we can "compete" in 2009. Depression doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Gut Feeling (Hopefully Wrong)
Friday, May 9, 2008
Astros' Farmhand Bud Norris is a Baseball Prospectus Minor League Pitcher of the Month
I doubt many of you have a BPro subscription (if you read this blog and find any of the stats remotely interesting, you should shell out the cash), but I'll give you the quote that accesses Norris:
"Norris is one of the few bright spots in the Astros system. His smallish frame turns off some, but with a plus fastball and outstanding curve, he’s capable of missing plenty of bats, and has struck out 40 in 30 innings. Combining that skill with much better command this year, he’s generating fewer concerns about his size."
- Kevin Goldstein
Not major news, but given our rather weak back-end of the rotation and the much lamented dearth of minor league talent available, it was refreshing, for me at least, to see BPro give Bud Norris some love. Also, here's a link to Bud Norris' stats at Corpus this year. It's interesting that his peripherals are so strong, but that his ERA doesn't reflect it. Especially since those are just absolutely dominate peripherals.
Here's to not getting shelacked on the West Coast...I hope.
