Astros send Geoff Blum to Devil Rays for pitcher Brandon Backe

In an almost unheard of head to head meeting of two Best Poster Tourney contestants, the CC forum readers eagarly await the sure to be vicious point counterpoint ...

I forgot about Duckworth.

A stunning admission! Maybe to lull NIKEstrad into a false sense of security ...

Even so, moving both Redding and Robertson would leave just 5 starters. And you got to admit that Carlos, Roy, and Wade have been injury prone over the last two years and counting on them to pitch full seasons is problematic (and partially responsible for the Astros second place finish last year).

How can NIKEstrad rebutt this, the CC forum readers openly wonder ...

Be careful for you wish for.

A snappy one liner that might even impress TheFreak ...

The Hun has said that Rosario will likely not pitch next season. And counting on Buchholz to contribute to a penant winning effort does not appear to be wise.

Another good counterpoint, NIKEstrad has dug himself quite a hole ...

I agree. Losing Blum hurts the Astros infield depth. Viz should be albe to spot start at 2nd, SS, and 3rd, but he is currently the Astros only IF backup. I suspect the Hun will address this need by ST.

How can NW end the battle agreeing with NIKEstrad? The CC forum poster had wanted blood in this contest but were given appeasement instead? This does not bode well for NW in the Tourney. Unless ...

 

Sam,

I recall Jimy saying that Biggio was permanently an outfielder last year- when Kent was hurt last year, he called up Matranga/Bruntlett to help out in the infield as opposed to giving Biggio any time there.

Berkman is a converted 1B, however consider this: he hasn't played the position since 2000, and has a grand total of 6 major league innings at first base- he's in a similar situation to Biggio on this; you didn't see the Braves putting Chipper back at 3rd this past year. When a guy, especially a star, switches positions, it usually doesn't change back midstream.

 

"More than capable" is a bit generous. It's not a good sign when the 1B has to dig out half of the throws from 2B.

 

Exaggerate much?

 

No, actually they are building a championship team the right way: through starting pitching.

One pitcher will make that much of a difference. A good starting pitcher like Andy Pettitte is so much more valuable than a run of the mill bench player in Geoff Blum. The astros as of right now have 6 quality arms that could be in their rotation in Pettitte, Miller, Oswalt, Redding, Hernandez, and Duckworth. Robertson makes seven, even though I'm not that high on him. And that's not even counting Roger Clemens if he comes.

You are nuts if you think a decent bench player is as valuable as a quality starting pitcher. Plus with the 2-2.5 million the Astros save on blum, it could help get bullpen depth, and more bench role players.

Even if it is just a salary dump because of signing Pettitte, the Astros are so much better off with Pettitte than they would be without him, but Blum returning.

No, the Astros aren't screwing up the team.

 

I only wonder if they invested this money on younger players,instead of wanting to get rid of the players at the end of the contract we would be in a rush to sign em up...

 

Maybe, maybe no.

I've never seen a 2B who has made so many bad throws to 1B (other than Knoblauch). Biggio's throws wouldn't go into the 1st row, but a lot of them were scooped out by Bagwell.

 

It's a good move. The Astros are watching other division rivals making move after move while they are stuck with their economics. Trading Blum saves up money which is well needed considering he's taking playing time from Ensberg. The Astros are taking the chance that Ensberg can continue what he did last year, meanwhile chancing that their bench picked up another Lidge-like player? If that money could be used for Roger Clemens, or maybe another spot infielder that could help the team.. all the while saving some money for the club to absorb whatever we used to sign Pettite and what could be used for future free agents, I don't see why this could be a bad move.
It would be great to see Clemens un-retire and head to Houston, considering it's never bad to have a deep 6-7 capable starting pitchers. I agree that Robertson should probably get to the bullpen as a left handed pitcher.. regardless of his record against righties being better than against lefties. Duckworth's best years are still ahead of him. This guy was a nice prospect with a great arm. Maybe a year or two under a proven veteran like Pettite could help him develop his game... and who else is a better mentor than Clemens if he comes or Nolan Ryan if he signs with the organization. This team is trying to make some moves, shake things up for a combination that works considering their pay roll. Everyone complained that the Cubs are doing everything and we're not... well... we're working up a few moves. Let's see what else Hunsicker does before people start criticizing.

 

Uh...whaaaaa? Have you not paid attention for the past month?

Here's a little rundown of what the "other division rivals" have done this offseason:

Cubs
Lost - Hee Seop Choi, Antonio Alfonseca, Shawn Estes, Mark Guthrie, Doug Glanville, Kenny Lofton, Eric Karros, Tony Womack, Dave Veres, Troy O'Leary

Will most likely lose - Randall Simon (via trade or non-tender)

Gained - Derek Lee, LaTroy Hawkins, Michael Barrett

Re-signed - Mark Grudzilaldfjak, Tom Goodwin

Cardinals
Lost - Tino Martinez Sterling Hitchcock, Mike DeJean, Brett Tomko, Fernando Vina, Eduardo Perez, Miguel Cairo, J.D. Drew, Eli Marrero

Will most likely lose - dunno

Gained - Jeff Suppan, Reggie Sanders, Jason Marquis, Ray King, Adam Wainwright, Evan Rust, Steve Cox and Brent Butler

Re-signed - Cal Eldred, Steve Kline, Chris Widger, Chris Carpenter

Astros
Lost - Wagner, Blum, Merced, White, Moehler, Villone

Will most likely lose - none

Gained - Pettitte, Duckworth, Buchholz, Astacio, Backe, Taveras

Re-signed - Ausmus, Viz, Micelli

Given the big names that were on the market this offseason - ARod, Nomar, Pudge, Sheffield, Tejada, Javy Lopez, Ponson, Vlad, Millwood, Colon, Pettitte - absolutely nothing these 2 teams have done makes them much, if any, better than they were last season. Can't say the same for the 'Stros, even without the probable Clemens signing.

 

Yes thats what im saying the atros needed a good bench role player look at the bench as of the trade. Viz that's it J lane who hasn't played a full season there is no bench you can have all the pitching in the world be you still need good role player and that means having a strong benc to pick up the starters.

 

You say all these things as if there is no such thing as money. As bobrek and others have pointed out, Blum's performance last season was not really worth 2-3 million a year. Certainly as Ensberg gets better and more ABs, Blum will have less and less of a role, so paying him that kind of money makes no sense. I'm confident, as are many others, that we could find a competent replacement to what Blum gave us for much, much cheaper. And if that's the case, why would you waste money on Blum?

 

exactly.

you [edward] talk about blum like he was some integral part of this team. on the contrary, he's easily replaceable for much less, especially if that aided the acquirement of pettite and/or clemens.

some people are never satisfied....

 

Nutt no just using common sense with out good backup players starting pitching is NOTHING pitching is not going to score any runs.Lets just say a starter goes down your going to use just a run of the mill player or someone who has proven he can play at the major league level.

 

Give me a break. Bench players in MLB play maybe once-twice a week at best unless there is a platoon situation. You don't seem to realize the Astros don't have an unlimited budget and thus had to shed a moveable asset that isn't needed as much as others. I hate to break it to you but Geoff Blum is nothing more than a decent bench player, who was looking at making more than a million dollars in arbitration(he got 1.5 from TB).

You make blum out to be this all star character, something he most definitely is not. You ask how will the Astros score runs? I guess the names Kent, Berkman, Bagwell, Ensberg, Hidalgo don't ring a bell. It's not like they gave up one of those 5 I mentioned that cheap. They gave up a solid bench player, but a guy whose production can be replaced closely with someone making about the minimum.

Geoff Blum is not integral to the Astros success scoring runs. Andy Pettitte is an integral piece of a championship quality pitching staff. Good teams are usually built with a foundation of good starting pitching, then they get offense and up the middle defense. The astros in one offseason have turned their weakness(starting pitching) into a strength at the expense of geoff blum, orlando merced, billy wagner, and other role players.

Wagner is the only important guy they have lost so far, and they have plenty of bullpen arms who can fill his shoes decently.

If Geoff Blum was ever a full time quality starter I might buy your argument, but he isn't. The only mistake the Astros made was not trading him after his career year in 2002, but at that time Ensberg wasn;'t fully ready and they were a veteran team, as they are now.

The astros offense and bullpen got them 87 wins last year, it wasn't their pitching. And geoff blum was a small part of them scoring runs. He will be missed on the bench, but the signing of Pettitte for outweighs his contributions. Especially if Clemens comes too.

Having a good bench a luxury for a baseball team. It's the 5th most important area on a team behind starting pitching, offense, defense, and a quality bullpen imho. The astros have the other luxury in a quality bullpen. They don't have the money for both, and needed more starting pitching.

I'm sorry but you are alone in thinking the astros management is messing up the offseason. They have had one of the best offseasons of any team in MLB. Getting what they did for Wagner was a steal, and then Signing pettitte at a reasonable price and possibly getting Clemens to come out of retirement is icing on the cake.

 

He didn't need to be a full time starter he filled in when he was needed .1.5 is a small price to pay for a good bench player. Having AP will help the pitching but your still going to need quality ROLE PLAYERS and Blum was one at a good price.A switch hitter who can all the infield positions and 2 in the outfield that type of player is not a guy whose production not just at the plate but in the field is not that easliy replaced.

 

Let me put it this way. If you could have Andy Pettitte or Geoff Blum on the Astros next year, and only one, who do you choose?

The astros aren't the Yankees, and 1.5 million dollars is not pocket change for a backup, albeit a decent one. Considering someone had to go to fit Pettitte's salary into the Houston budget, who else do you propose they give up? The only other assets that would shed payroll were bagwell-no chance, kent-absolutely not, berkman-no way, hidalgo-sure, but nobody in baseball wants that contract, and he when he is on is a much better player than blum. The only conceivable guy is hidalgo, but if the Astros keep him one more year, they can decline his option and let him be a free agent, and very few teams want his contract.

Blum was less important than Hidalgo to the team last year, and much easier to move. No other player on the team comes close to being worth moving and shedding salary.

And indirectly, Geoff Blum might have hurt the Astros in the second half of last season, as it gave Jimy Williams an excuse not to play Morgan Ensberg.

The bottom line is Houston had to move somebody to fit Pettitte and possibly clemens in. Blum was the best asset to move, and when it comes down to having Andy Pettitte or a decent bench player, I choose Pettitte every time. Sure a good bench is nice to have, but without pitching, a bench means very little. Ask the Rangers and the Kingdome Mariners if you don't believe me. It came down to Blum or Pettitte. Once you realize they couldn't keep both, you'll understand and accept this move a lot easier.

 

The role player concept is a poor one when applied to baseball. Starters (meaning rotation and lineup) are what's most important. When you are talking about a sport like basketball, it is very important to have a bench, but in baseball the starters are going to account the majority of your success or failure. The only exception to that might be the starting rotation, where many teams (and ours in particular, especially last year) have injury problems. Suprise suprise, getting Pettite increases our depth at SP. If we don't trade Hidalgo, and Lane stays on the team all this coming season, I'm thinking that whatever production you might lose from Blum will easily be made up for with more ABs from Ensberg and what Lane will provide off the bench. We have plenty of other IFs in the minors system that can provide adequate defense backing up Ensberg at the hot corner, and realistically that is the only position that Blum really fielded.

It's more and more obvious that you are some bitter, jaded fan who has grown tired of what you view as poor effort or poor management by this team. No matter what move they make, you crap on it as the wrong one and complain. In your time on this message board I have not seen you make one positive comment on any transaction the Astros have made, while most of Houston is lauding them for a splendid offseason. But I guess all the experts and well educated fans are just wrong, and you are right in this situation. Thank you for showing us all the way, edwardc.

 

Role player are much more important that you think .IF a starter goes down are you going to be able to just bring some one in from the minors and hope they can just do some thing are have a player that you know can fill in at help pickup were the starter left off . 2. I'm not a bitter fan just a concerned fan that want a winning team not just a bunch of popular player .

 

And for the record i do think AP was good for the stros but you still need role players to get you over the top.Please lets not get it twisted let be real even the yanks have good role players that can come off the bench an not miss a beat. Braves as well .I'm not saying break the bank just keep some players than can fill in when the big guns go down.

 

They do? I think the Yankees' bench is pretty ordinary. But a bench is not as important in the AL.

In the NL, I agree that role players are important but Blum will be making around $3 million in arbitration. That's a lot of cash for a bench player.

Additionally without a platoon at 3B, there are not enough at bats for both Geoff and Vizcaino. It came down to either Blum or Vizcaino. Since Viz is considerably cheaper, Hunsicker went with the salary friendly choice. I'll miss Blum and will be rooting for him in Tampa. He just didn't fit with the current team thanks to Ensberg's success.