Or so says Buster Olney from ESPN.com here.
No one can accuse the Houston Astros of being quitters. Despite the fact that Houston is 12 1/2 games out of first place in the NL Central, the Astros continue to look to be buyers before the trade deadline, rather than sellers. Rival teams report that the Astros are calling around in search of a high-profile, experienced reliever who might serve as a complement to Doug Brocail as Houston makes its push for a playoff spot in August and September.
I'm not sure if I'm happy that they still want to be a good team and improve, or sad that they still think they have a chance. I'm still under the impression that the bullpen isn't the main weakness on this team and that the starting pitching(as well an an underachieving offense) is the main weakness on the team.
I'm not sure why they would be searching for a "high-profile" reliever though. High-Profile to me, means high cost... and blowing money on a player that more than likely isn't going to help this team get into the playoffs(and more than likely leave in the off season) isn't something I want to be a part of... maybe the Astros are just going to trade for a bunch of players that will leave at the end of the season to lower their payroll, and bring in draft picks. Not sure how well that will work out. What do you think?
0 recs | 3 comments
Sigh...
Drayton for the man of the year. Seriously, I don’t think this is Ed Wade’s doing necessarily, and if it is, we might as well go get another gm. 12 1/2 games out…and we’re buying?! That’s ridiculous. We should be unloading Tejeda, Lee, Oswalt, et al, so we can reload the farm system. Drayton gets a taste of the World Series, and now he wants more. He needs to realize it ain’t happening for the next 5-7 years now because of him.
stanleytree - July 29, 2008
Supercalifragilisticexpialidociously optimistic view
O ye of little faith.
Astros can still win 90-92 games this season.
They enjoy a most mickey mouse schedule the rest of the season.
Of course even if they win 92 games, that may not be enough to make the playoffs.
and a bigger “of course ” – Of course, this is not your daddy’s Astros and most like it’ll take all they got to finish third or fourth (most likely fourth) in the Central.
Joe in Birmingham - July 29, 2008
Honestly
I still believe the Astros are just a few moves from being a contender(maybe not this season, but next). Bring in a couple solid starting pitchers and I think we’ll be close to being a pretty darn good team. Tejada, Lee, Berkman and Oswalt can all still be good players and help this team for a few years. But they aren’t going to be a good team unless they spend money. They need to go out and get a solid #1 starter to join their rotation and then another solid #3 or 4 starter. I’m not saying Roy can’t be a solid #1 for this team… I’m just saying we need another #1 pitcher to join Roy. Do that, and we’ll think about contending.
Right now, we’ve gotten ourselves in too big of a hole, but that doesn’t mean with a few key additions that we can’t compete next season.
I’d love to be able to say that we have a good farm system and that our future is bright… but I’d rather be good now, and slowly build the farm system back up, then trade away all of our stars now and make the team a total joke for 4-5 years waiting on prospects to come along.
Stros Bro - July 29, 2008
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