I do not know the specifics, but I heard from Gammons during the futures game that there was either a 3 way or 4 way trade that is in the works that would send Kent to Oakland and Beltran to the Dodgers and prospects coming our way, a second baseman, a catcher, and two outfielders. This could get interesting.
Whoa, losing Beltran and Kent in the same deal...Oakland and the Dodgers have loads of prospects, I believe. I don't see us needing a 2B, though- if we move Kent, I think we've mailed in the year and will give Burke the starts. There was one crazy rumor out there that had Barry Zito being traded from Oakland a week or so ago. I don't see us making a move yet, though
A couple weeks ago I would've agreed. The way this team is playing...it's lifeless. They're not playing like lovable losers, they're just playing bad baseball. This loss right before the all-star break stings- you've got your ace on the hill, giving you a great effort, and you drop a pop-up that's out #3 to allow a run to score. Leadoff double, 3-4-5 to bat, runner LOB. Beltran ties it up, and then we fall back behind, but instead of a close loss, the guy who's basically the setup man gives up a Slam, and the game's over. We just sent up Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt against the Dodgers and got 2 solid efforts. They faced a pair of retreads who may be in the bullpen 1 week from now in Wilson Alvarez and Jose Lima. Two losses. I suspect Jimy's gone. As for Drayton- the rumor always was he'd be staying at least until the all-star game. I wouldn't be surprised to hear Fertita rumors start popping up again. I would prefer to make some moves that position us for the future, but don't kill us now. Like trading Kent and getting Zito. I suspect Miceli and Weathers may be headed out as well.
All expectations for this year are officially dead, in my eyes... If anything is done in terms of trades, it should only be setting this team up for the future. They need youth, speed, power, defense... too many holes to fill with just a couple of trades of aging players. Its hard to win consistently year-in and year-out... and maybe we all took it for granted with this team... but their window of opportunity probably should have closed when they failed to beat the Brewers last September. Then, they went out and got Pettite and Clemens, and suddenly that window seemed more open than ever... it may have been that the window was still shut, but they opened the blinds a little... but as the 1st half is over, even those blinds are now closed.
Geez Nick, thank goodness you weren't around for some of those Astros teams in the 70's. Get rid of Spillman. Bring in someone to light a fire under the hitters. The talent is there, Spillman is clueless as to how to get these guys out of their funk. Weathers was washed up 2 years ago. Why we traded for him is beyond me (maybe Jimy hated Richard so much he just wanted to be rid of him) Miceli is a bum. He was a bum with the Yanks and he is a bum with Houston. We are 11 games back, 3 games out of 2nd. Long way to go.
Were those teams expected to perform on a championship level? I have no problem watching a bad team with no expectations... as long as they're goin out there and playing to the best of their abilities. Its just that sometimes, you don't have enough talent. There's nothing worse than watching a team UNDERACHIVE on monumental levels. That being said, I am thankful that this team has been in contention for the balance of the last 7 years...
I agree. It was a good run and with the way this season has unfolded, I would be happy to trade Beltran an Kent for some stud prospects. We definately need some young players with personality and a fire to win - at the very least I want to see players that enjoy playing the game - our team now is lifeless.
Actually, this team has been in contention every year since 1994 (except for the 2000 disaster). That's 10 years of being a playoff caliber team. A playoff caliber team with a penchant to choke.
Nobody will get traded, IMO. Were at .500 ball and not too far out of the wild card race. All we need is a good winning streak. This team was put together for a 1 year run and i think Hunsicker won't piss off all the season ticket holders.
Or you could look at it another way. If Drayton doesn't make any trades then he doesn't care about the Astros future and only cares about getting as much money as he can this year. I'll bet that Drayton plans on selling the team in the offseason if we don't make any moves.
