August 3: Hometown Rant

This may be completely unorganized, and there is a chance I may repeat myself more than once. But I was not a happy camper when I returned from vacation, only to find that the Astros couldn't decide if they were buyers or sellers, so they decided to sit pat. The relaxing vacation waves rolled off, and in crept the "I can't believe it!" waves that have accompanied so many Astros seasons in the past.

Now, I don't like to point fingers, but part of this is from the top. Drayton has done a great job with this club, having spent money when he had it (Carlos Lee), even if it might have been too much for too long. But he continually tightens up the purse strings, looking solely at the bottom line. From a business man perspective, this is smart. Attendance is down, the payroll should be too. But people don't buy baseball teams to make money. It is one of the reasons I think Mark Cuban, whom I loathe in the NBA, would be a great idea for baseball. He'd pay to get a winning team, regardless of the bottom line. He'd do it in the NBA too if it weren't for that pesky salary cap.

If Drayton didn't want to pay anymore, then lets get something in return for Tejada, Hawkins, or Blum. These guys aren't the future of any club, but they are a good piece for a contender, something the Astros are not. If they were going to make a run, open up the wallet and get some guys. We didn't have to pieces to make a deal for a front line starter, but there were serviceable arms not named Russ Ortiz out there somewhere. (In a related note, there now is an arm out there named Russ Ortiz. Anyone calling?) Either way, the Astros needed to decide if this is a win now team, with aging and declining stars (Tejada, Rodriguez, Berkman, Lee, Oswalt), or a tear down and rebuild project for the next few years. We opted for the sit on your thumbs approach.

Granted, a lot can happen between now and the waiver deadline, especially with little blocking expected because of a down economy and low profit year. Therefore, expect no Randy Myers incidents this year. (For those that don't know, the Padres claimed Myers and his $6+ million salary to prevent the Braves from getting him, fully expecting the Blue Jays to take him off waivers. Instead, the Padres ate two more years at that rate, with Myers never pitching in the big leagues again.) That means we might see Tejada and some other parts moved between now and August 31.

That does not address the fact that the Astros needed to do something. As I said before, they can't win with this team. And the future is even worse with a barren farm system coming through. The only bright spots are catcher Jason Castro (thank you!!!) and outfielder Brian Bogusevic, who is blocked by Lee, Pence, and Bourn. Showing one of the bullpen arms to the door would have added at least a couple B level prospects. And getting rid of Blum, a good bench player for a contender because of his versatility and bat, would have yielded a similar catch. Instead, we are going to buy into the Astros "We can win!!!" belief for one more year, sit back, and drink our Kool-Aid like men. Here's to 2010!!!