<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>HOU offered Andrew Miller $40m/4 yrs., but lost bidding;would seem to logically follow that they could take that money and pursue Robertson.</p>— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/541006790218227712">December 5, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Lee was basically the only true FA the Astros have ever signed looking to get his first big payday after the rookie/arbitration years. Kent was obviously past his prime and got the medium "twilight years" contract that all the elder players have a chance to get as long as they stay healthy. Of course, all those moves came at the expense of other parts of the organization (in those years, less and less resources were being devoted to the farm). There's still always a budget.
I remember all of this national endorsements Beltran was supposed to be getting after signing with the Mets. This was the fist year I could ever remember where Beltran had a national commercial.
Eh, most endorsement deals end up being local... and NY still provides more pay and opportunity for those. But you're right... he never became the huge "star"/household name and special 5-tool player that everybody thought he would be for years after that 2004 post-season. And chances are, the Astros would have ultimately regretted the deal as well.
great effort from Luhnow & Co. it didn't work out, but they did everything they could. onto robertson...
Abreu, Tanaka, Choo, Miller... Good job, good effort! God forbid they actually land someone! Losers have to overpay. Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS">@JonHeymanCBS</a> And selfless to give up extra $4 mm, worth probably more like $10 mm due to cost of living, living rather than pitch for HOU</p>— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) <a href="https://twitter.com/Evan_P_Grant/status/541015093144588289">December 5, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Well they tried to overpay (at least in regards to what he ended up getting) and they didn't get him. What else could/should they have done? I guess it's easier to just blame them for something out of their control though.
It's worrisome if the Astros front office has made an enemy of the sports agents to the point that players won't take more to come here, or if the track record of being awful and shifty has players simply wanting to avoid the situation. I doubt it truly is just either of those things, but the Astros are clearly viewed as a "lesser" destination compared to other comparable size markets, and that sucks.
It's disappointing, but it certainly shouldn't be surprising. The Astros suck, and have sucked for a while. If I were a player i wouldn't want to play for a terrible team either. I think the front office shiftiness has much less to do with it. Plus we lost him to New York, not a market of comparable size. Same with Tanaka. The Astros could very well still land Robertson, so all the complaints shouldn't start until after the FA period is over. Miller hasn't even proven he can close.
Well if the "suck by design" plan didn't account for not being able to sign free agents, it could be further scrutinized. But as it is, I'd rather they not sign a FA closer... But I do want to know that they can land somebody on the open market at some point. Some GM's are good at drafting/developing... But others are good at landing free agents as well. If it's no longer going to be about the money, they have to find a way to sell it better (that's where not burning bridges with agents/draft picks/former players will come into play).
Luhnow is a lot smarter than us, but even I knew that there would be a backlash for all this sucking, and not being viewed as a great FA destination was something they probably anticipated. We had to overpay just to get an OK starter in Feldman. I don't really think they were all in on Miller. There was a value to price tag involved, and I want to see how the Robertson situation plays out first. Maybe Robertson is the player they want, but they thought Miller was a better value. If they really want a guy they probably have to really overpay, which is certainly one of the negative ramifications of the epic sucking. I've said before and will continue to say that if Luhnow is able to build a really good MLB core, and the team looks primed, all of the other stuff will become a memory and players won't have to be grossly overpaid anymore. Time will tell I guess.
If player agents hate one thing on earth, it's money. They're all about principle. Fancy cars, private jets, and designer clothes all take a backseat when the integrity of the sport is involved. Nick, I appreciate your passion, but sometimes I think you overplay the Devil's Advocate role, to wit: The Astros, and every team in the history of the sport, have once again been beaten out by the New York Yankees in attempting to sign a free agent. It happened yesterday and will happen again several times in our lives, possibly even again this offseason. It more likely reflects the fact that NYY are the apex of professional sports than it does some cloak and dagger conspiracy by agents to steer their players away from the Astros due to "shadiness" on behalf of our FO.
Question begging galore: When have we ever been viewed as a marquee FA destination? How does making the highest offer indicate we weren't "all in" on Miller? We talk about how the Astros will have to overpay for talent, but we just tried to give $40 million to a closer-ish relief pitcher. That's the definition of an overpay.
That's just exactly what I'm worried about. Normally, money talks... Also I'm not so much worried competing with the Yankees as I am competing with other similar sized markets that we once were deemed superior to (namely Seattle, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Colorado, Arizona, Toronto, Miami). It sucks masquerading and being grouped in the small market bracket, when this city/team/stadium is anything but. The only agent that really should have a beef is the former agent for Jeter who represented Aiken. From all accounts, he normally wouldn't be one to hold a grudge or steer his players away from the best deal... But he was apparently THAT pissed off with Luhnow during the draft process, so nothing can be ruled out there.
I look at this almost like Tony Montana creedo from "Scarface". First we get the draftees, then we get the wins. When we get the wins, then we get the free agents. Overly simplified yes, but I think it has a grain of truth to it. High level FAs aren't going to go to a team that has sucked for the past several years unless the team offers them a contract that way's out of whack, which Luhnow's metrics-oriented front office isn't going to do. So, we have to rely on our farm system to make us at least a respectable, if not winning, team. Once we have a winning season to point at to FAs as a sign that the team is going in the right direction, they will start paying more attention to our sales pitches instead of using the Astros as leverage.
Getting to be a winning team with solely draft picks and homegrown players is a daunting task, and has a high probability of failing (unless you're willing to wait 10-15-20-30 years like fans of the Rays-Orioles-Pirates-Royals did). If they can't get free agents, but they're trying to win sooner, they'll probably have to make some more trades (which is what I expect as they start getting a logjam in the farm).
Nolan Ryan was 33 years old and the Astros were his 3rd team.... not the same comparison. Nolan's signing is more in line with them acquiring Andy Pettite.
I considered Kent past his prime and a hometown type deal. Even Lee wanted to be in TX, but I guess no one at the time knew he was 2 years away from getting over the hill. So fine, I'll add Lee to my previous list of -none- in the last 24 years..
