Hey, Jfre81

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Looks like somebody gets it.

I'm also not that fussed about losing - from my dead-last place team, no less - a "leadoff" guy who, at his peak, has a .360-ish OBP and still strikes out more than twice as often as he walks. That era and that approach needs to go like yesterday's garbage.

This is called buying low and selling high. You don't want to have a "minor league" franchise? Houston fans have a minor league mentality, what with all the valuing individual players over results, so any perception of being a Phillies farm club is quite fitting. For that matter, the economics of baseball basically revolve around 6-8 franchises with the remainder providing trade-deadline fodder. Go buy yourself a Yankee cap if this bothers you enough.

I still can't figure out why the Astros can't develop players and get better organically. I thought that's where they were gonna go when Pense was brought up, but what do I know?

Ronnie

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie

I still can't figure out why the Astros can't develop players and get better organically. I thought that's where they were gonna go when Pense was brought up, but what do I know?

Ronnie

They are doing that now. They don't have the worst farm system anymore after the trades. New ownership is doing what Drayton should have done in 2007.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie

I still can't figure out why the Astros can't develop players and get better organically. I thought that's where they were gonna go when Pense was brought up, but what do I know?

Ronnie

The reason why is because you can't do this and trade them away for veterans at the same time. Drayton had this idea that he was going to win a championship trading for guys like Jason Jennings and signing guys like Carlos Lee. You know, the kind of guy coming off a career season when his contract is up. Just like Hunter Pence today. You empty out your farm system, you get old, and sooner or later you end up in a spot like where we are today. Right now, the Phillies appear to be in the same mode of thinking the Astros were ca. 2006, and they keep on this track and they'll be the ones at the bottom of the league in a couple years. As unpopular as this trade is in Houston for the wrong reasons, it's as unpopular in Philly for the right reasons. They know they're mortgaging their future for a win-now move.

I know Biggio can do no wrong around here, but I don't think people realize that we pissed away two entire seasons to having a below replacement-level hitter with a ~.300 OBP bat leadoff because getting him to 3,000 hits came before anything else. The guy's going to get into the HoF either way, but those ABs should have gone to developing and advancing along guys like Chris Burke and Ben Zobrist, who got traded for Aubrey Huff while he was still in AA. Tampa Bay got more out of Zobrist in 2009 alone than the Astros did out of Huff for half a season. They kept guys in Class A ball for years, stunting their development. They traded two guys named Taylor Buchholz and Matt Albers who aren't stars now but are reliable middle relievers. They'd be an upgrade from what the Astros have now in the bullpen, but apparently trying to make splashy trades and signings of veterans with questionable futures to appease fans who think the team doesn't spend enough money was more important.

People blame Gerry Hunsicker. Hunsicker wanted to blow the team up after '04 and he wanted to move on past Biggio, but Drayton would have none of it. He figured fans wouldn't buy tickets to see a rebuilding team, and it looks like he was right. So maybe we should be blaming the idiot fanbase for the Astros' lot in life lately.

So you have Pence, who people were lucky to see play here at all given this mentality that ruled the team when he came up. We're in a spot where he and a couple of other guys can restock that minor league system. So yes, that's what's happening now, and what should have started happening after 2005.

[Oildog]

Nailed it Jfre. Hunsicker wasn't the bad guy...look what he did with the Rays.

[jfre81]

Now we see what you get when you develop from within, buy low and sell high. Then you have enough prospects you can part with a couple and get a veteran like Justin Verlander to help get you over the top. And you win. A lot. What happened when this thread was posted needed to happen.

Let's go Stros

[NTexas2010]

Additionally, I haven't seen Houston Ronnie post in probably 4 years.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Now we see what you get when you develop from within, buy low and sell high. Then you have enough prospects you can part with a couple and get a veteran like Justin Verlander to help get you over the top. And you win. A lot. What happened when this thread was posted needed to happen.

Let's go Stros

It's beautiful ain't it. I'm so glad we got Luhnow. His smart ass saved the franchise. It's also great because I use to live in DFW and took so much **** from Rangers fans during those years when they got one strike away (twice) from the championship. Feels so go to actually get over the hump

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

It's also great because I use to live in DFW and took so much **** from Rangers fans

Most of whom suddenly started watching baseball around 2010 or so.