Trade Roy O!?! The Saddest Part - T-Poo Would Probably Do It
Since November 1, 2004:Bad Moves: Letting Carlos Beltran destroy your offseason. Signing Preston Wilson. Trading Ben Zobrist and Mitch Talbot for Aubrey Huff. Leaving Luke Scott in AAA until late July. Leaving Jason Hirsh in Triple-A all season long. Leaving Mike Gallo on the 25-man roster for half of the 2006 season. Leaving Hunter Pence in Double-A. Signing John Franco. Signing Brandon Duckworth. Signing Dave Burba. Signing Turk Wendell. Signing Brad Ausmus to a two-year contract. Signing Orlando Palmeiro to a two-year contract. Signing Trever Miller.
Good Moves: Avoiding arbitration with Roy Oswalt (2 years, $17M). Trading Tim Redding (regardless of the return). Signing Lance Berkman to an extension. Signing Dave Borkowski.
Worst. Move. Ever. Including Roy Oswalt (allegedly) in trade talks with Baltimore for SS Miguel Tejada. Not just Oswalt, but apparently Oswalt plus another player or two, depending on who you believe. Not only is Oswalt the best pitcher in your organization and one of the best righties in the game today, he also is one of your most fragile egos on the team. He needs coddling and re-assurance, and quite deservedly so, considering he currently has only eight wins in 2006 despite posting a 3.23 ERA. Owner Drayton McLane has established a bond with Oswalt, purchasing him a $200,000 tractor for getting the team into the 2005 postseason and convincing him to represent the organization at the 2006 All-Star Game.
There are a lot of unknowns regarding the Astros' rotation in the next couple of seasons. Will Andy Pettitte sign a new contract after this season? Will Roger Clemens return for another year? Will Brandon Backe ever consistently replicate his legendary postseason starts? Will Jason Hirsh duplicate his minor league dominance in the Astros' rotation? But now there is one certainty: Roy Oswalt will not be part of that Astros' rotation come 2008. How on God's Green Earth you could consider trading The Wizard for Miguel Tejada, who we have established will likely be nothing more than a two-month rental (despite the Mainstream Media's refusal to acknowledge this fact among its reports), is beyond me. And if you did include Roy O, and the Orioles did not immediately say YES!, then they have the distinct dishonor of being the only front office in MLB more incompetent than the Astros. Roy has been as loyal to the Astros as he has been outstanding, and he deserves much, much more than being included in a ridiculous trade deadline rumor such as this one. And now you can bet the bank that he will receive much more money and much more love from an organization in 2008 and beyond, and to the ire and disgust of many an Astros' fan, it is not going to be as an Astro.
The facts speak for themselves. The Berkman and Oswalt decisions were slam dunks. The departure of Tim Redding was a blessing, but there's always going to be a taker for a young pitcher with 'potential', and the return was unable to move past Raul Chavez on the depth chart. Signing Dave Borkowksi currently stands as Tim Purpura's greatest move as GM of the Houston Astros. Purpura is dangerously approaching a point where he has proven himself unquestionably incompetent, getting to the 2005 postseason thanks to the godsends of Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, hometown heros who came to Houston on their own whim and to the terms of their own choosing. Any success that the Astros have enjoyed since November 1, 2004 has been despite Purpura's moves as GM. Purpura now has less than seven hours to try to right these wrongs and save the Astros' current season. If you're an Astros' fan, these may well be the longest seven hours of your life. The combination of ineptitude and desperation could prove deadly today, and the consequences could be felt in Houston for years to come.
posted by Scott | 8:06 AM
4 Comments:
MLB reporter Alyson Footer speculated recently that Oswalt is determined to test free agency after the 2007 season.
If the Astros' know that's true from discussions with Oswalt, then entertaining offers for him now makes some sense to me. Otherwise, it's a head scratcher.
This is truly mind-boggling. Two Tejadas aren't worth one Oswalt. I hope Uncle Drayton has done the right thing in response to this unbelievable slight and is currently having his legal team look over a proposed long-term deal for the ONLY 'Stros pitcher who won 20 games last year (and the year before, for that matter).
Thanks, Purpura. You've ruined my morning yet again.
Now would be a swell time for Uncle D to hold a "major press conference" in which he blasted the Orioles (with extensive use of profanities) for lying about the alleged offer of Oswalt, followed up by Tim's suggestion of a contract extension (4 years, $55M?).
Here's an email that I received from Jay regarding this post: There are only 2 untouchables on the entire roster. EVERYBODY knows it. How can it be so difficult to not offer them in a trade? If I'm Drayton, I'm in the process of drafting a 4-yr $50 mil extension to Roy O's contract for damage control. And I would deliver it in-person to his locker in SD. And make out with him. And ask him to please not cut my skin off and wear it around his house like he does to all the lost hikers near his farm in Mississippi.
Nice work, Jay. Could't have said it better myself. Well, maybe better, but certainly not more grotesquely. Now I'm off to Google Images to find a picture of McLane puckering up.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5832710
The Reds have further bolstered their bullpen by adding Phillies LHP Rheal Cormier in exchange for minor-leaguer Justin Germano (who was showcased in a start Saturday at Milwaukee). Cormier has a 1.59 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 2006 and has actually been even better against RHB (1.12 WHIP) than LHB (1.26 WHIP). With Kent Mercker possibly out for the year, Cormier slides into his spot as a third lefty in the Reds' pen along with Brian Shackelford and Bill Bray.
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