If a year and a half is quite some time, I agree. Don't underplay the season he had in 2003 - .282, 36 homers, 43 doubles, and leading the league with 141 RBIs is impressive even in Coors Field. I'm almost afraid to tamper with this team right now. Obviously, the infield is locked in (Ensberg-Everett-Biggio-Berkman). Berkman, Biggio, and Ensberg are locked in, and we won't mess with AE's defense at short. Ausmus isn't going anywhere. Willy is a mainstay in center. That really only leaves the corner outfield spots as positions that can potentially be upgraded (though we could move Lance back to LF). Then the question late in the season may become - what about Bags? Lane has been ok of late, and if Burke keeps swinging like he has been, Preston Wilson types aren't an upgrade. A guy like Adam Dunn is.
I was wondering the same thing. I saw 3 pages and was like "well, SOMEONE must have posted it by now"
He might as well of just come right out and say Adam Dunn because everyone knows he's under contract for 2 more years after this season. But the question i have for you guys is: If we're in serious contention for Dunn, and we don't get him at the last minute and he goes elsewhere, what will you think of Purpura? There were the jeff Kent comments about him. Then the fact we didn't even try to sign anyone else last off season. Or would you just blame Uncle Drayton under the presumtion our GM is just a puppet anyways? On a side note i think we should get LaRue thrown in the deal since we know we'll be giving up a good amount of talented prospects if we get Dunn. Heck, you might as well bring 2 Houston guys home rather than one. Plus LaRue slugs over 100 points more than Ausmus so that would improve us in 2 positions. Then i wouldn't have to cringe whenever that 8 spot comes up with a runner on 2nd.
This is a bit depressing: <I>The Astros were firmly in last place in the NL Central on May 25 with a 15-30 record, trailing the Cardinals by 14 games. Only the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals had worse records in the majors. Since then, the Astros have gone 29-13 to become just the fifth team in the last 40 years to reach .500 by the All-Star break after being 15 games under .500. </I> We went 29-13 and gained 2 1/2 games on the Cardinals.
Here's the latest on Adam Dunn and Aubrey Huff from ESPN Insider: Adam Dunn Reds Orioles? Mets? Astros? Dodgers? Dunn deal? Jul 20 - The Dodgers, Astros, Orioles and Mets all have expressed an interest in Adam Dunn, who comes from Houston and has made it clear he'd love to play there, ESPN.com Insider Jerry Crasnick reports. The Astros have looked at both Dunn and Aubrey Huff as first base possibilities, which would allow them to shift Lance Berkman back to the outfield. Houston management still doesn't know what to expect from Jeff Bagwell, who's trying to come back from shoulder surgery. Dunn's big appeal lies in his eye-popping, 40-50 homer power. But he strikes out a ton and could fetch $8 million next year in salary arbitration, and some baseball people question whether he, like Austin Kearns, could be in better shape. "Some of those Reds guys have really put it on cruise control this year,'' said an NL front office man. If the Reds aren't interested in signing Dunn long term, they might be better off trading him, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Since they are in last place in the NL Central, there's a good chance their payroll will drop from this year's team record $61.8 million. That would mean someone making big money -- Dunn, Sean Casey, Ken Griffey Jr. or Eric Milton -- may have to be dealt to balance the budget.
FWIW, the Reds board reported yesterday (not an ESPN.com or MLB.com trash one, but redszone.com) that Jayson Stark said on the Mike & Mike Show on ESPN Radio that the Astros had basically "given up" on acquiring Dunn. Apparently the Reds are asking for Backe, Lane and two of the pitching prospects. From a talent perspective, I don't think the deal is unreasonable, but the Astros should (and apparently have) passed because it doesn't make them contenders this season. As good as Dunn is, having both Wandy and Astacio (or Duckworth) in the rotation would be a killer... we need four legit starters, and I doubt we'll break that up. With all that said, there is some interesting news. Austin Kearns, who the Reds demoted to AAA a couple of months ago to get consistent playing time, got called back up to the majors yesterday. With only 10 days left, it would seem to be too small of a sample size to say that they're showcasing him for a trade. And it would also make no sense to bring him up if they didn't have a regular place in the starting lineup for him. Last night, it was Kearns/Griffey/Dunn with Casey at first... today, it's Kearns/Griffey/Pena with Dunn at first. I'm guessing the Reds are close to a deal with one of the four of Pena, Griffey, Dunn and Casey... otherwise, why bring Kearns back where he can't get regular time?
Essentially a bag of baseballs would do it. The problem is Griffey's salary... $12.5 mil per season through 2008. Also, he has full no-trade protection so the Reds are very limited in who they can even talk to. The Astros were one of four teams mentioned the other day on Sportscenter that Griffey would accept a trade to, but with his injury history, I doubt Drayton is going to guarantee him 12.5 mil for the next 3.5 seasons.
So your saying Lane would get it done? I agree that I doubt Drayton would ok that kind of money given his last 4 years, but so far this year he's been putting up some decent numbers. I'd just like to see them get someone to help get them back into post season.
Nah... Lane's at least worth a couple of bags because of his power. Burke, on the other hand... Personally, I'm surprised the Yankees haven't made more of a run at Griffey this year. Even in his injury seasons, like you said, Griffey's numbers have been very good when healthy, and with all the problems they have in center, I'm surprised they aren't taking the risk. They're probably the only team with the financial resources to survive if he got hurt again. Pena and Casey are probably the more realistic options for the Astros, and I'd be happy with either. I'm with you... just something, anything that can bolster our chances... this pitching is too good to waste.
As much as i used to admire Griffey during his glory days, if we pick him up we might as well add Kevin Brown, Darren Dreifort, JD Drew, Marcus Giles, Moises Alou, and whomever else sems to be seriously injury prone. Giving us the best lineup in the league including Bagwell that won't see the field. I think the main problem in the Dunn deal is not the prospects, we've proven in the past we're willing to part way with future All Stars for present ones. But asking for Backe pushes us over the top. We need that reliable #4 if we're to do or go anywhere. He's a part of our future who's still learning and quite frankly if we trade away our top 2 pitching prospects, that makes his hole impossible to fill. Hopefully they'll bite and take backe out of the deal.
There is zero chance the Reds will trade Pena. They're club is on record as saying he is their future and if they make a move it will be to get him more playing time. No chance they would trade him. I wouldn't want him anyways, I want us to get Dunn.
