According to Pettitte, he turned down the Boston offer of 52 million for 4 years because he did not want to pitch for the Yankees rivals, so in essence, Boston was not in the picture. By the way, how long have you followed the Astros? Were you following them when Hofheinz owned the team? How about Ford motor credit? McLane is easily the best owner this team has ever had with respect to the on field product.
regardless of how much the so called hometown discount was.. any other team would have had to outbid the yanks by a long way to get him.. but we were able to get him for less than the yanks offered because this is his hometown
I do think drayton has spent money etc.. and thats a good thing just saying I don't think there is anyway we could have afforded andy if it wasn't hometown.. to get a player to leave a city that wins champs after champs.. it usually takes more money not less than being offered by the current team
If this wasn't his hometown, the Astros would not have been in the picture. Spin it however you like, it's still a hometown discount. Same with Kent, if he didn't want to play and live in Texas the Astros would probably not have signed him. What does past ownership and markets have to do with current ownership and current markets in Major League Baseball? Absolutely nothing.
It has a lot to do with fan's perspectives. How long have you been a fan? During the Hofheinz era? Ford Motor Credt? McMullen? McLane?
It may skew your opinion on things, but not mine. Different ownership, different budgets and different markets are different ownership, different budgets and different markets. Twenty years, twenty minutes, it's still irrelevant.
Hmmmm, why do you refuse to answer my simple question? Here is an interesting stat for you. Since McLane bought the Astros, their payroll has increased almost 6 fold and has increased most every year. Over the same time period, that is a larger percentage increase than the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and I suspect most every team in the league. Since 2000, they have gone from 52 million to 60 to 63 to 71 to 75.
Perspective and history are not worthless arguments. By the way, isn't McLane the "constant"? Where do you rate McLane among the 30 owners? I would assume below Steinbrenner but above Selig. Where do you rate him in comparison to Pohlad? Regardless of any previous discussions and the fact that you claim it has no relevance, I am curious - how long have you been a follower/fan of the Astros? Also, folks perspectives on anything are based on their past experiences. I have followed the Colt .45s/Astros since their inception. They did not win a division title (nor did they compete much) until 1980. There was a lot of crummy players and playing during that time. Since 1994 they have been in playoff contention in September every year except 2000 (even then they played well after the All Star break). Anyone who has followed the Astros since the early 1990s are 'spoiled' by their success and tend to complain about their playoff failures when there are a number of teams who haven't come close to smelling the playoffs during that time. From my perspective, the yearly competitiveness is enough for me.
So Gunn ...it sounds to me like you would have more respect if he had paid Pettite, et al full market value?? is that true??
Thank you! I was wondering when this thread was going to get back on track. I was reading through it and wondering what the heck choosing Hidalgo over Abreau or Pettite's hometown discount had to do with Beltran's injury. Calm down girls...
You can't convince someone, like Gunn, who has reached his conclusion first and selects "evidence" and arguments to support it. Gunn = You're a cheap ass if you do not spend ala the Yanks, BoSox, Dodgers, Orioles. Gunn = there are only 4, maybe 5, good owners in all of baseball. Gunn = If you refuse to engage in all out bidding wars, you are not committed to winning. Gunn = The owners of the Marlins and Angels are cheap asses. Gunn: If the Astros performed in the clutch and actually won the big one, would Drayton -- all of a sudden -- become a better owner? Of course not. He spent the same amount of coin either way. But if Baggy and Bidge hit and carry the team, all of a sudden, Drayton is the man. Oh wait, would you still argue that Drayton is a cheap ass that lucked his way to championships? No, I think you'd come down a notch or two from that indictment. I'm no drayton fan, but let's not abandon reality. He's a pretty good owner. He isn't the best, and he's damn lucky he has hunsicker, but he is fine. You've allowed your emotions overtake an intellectual assessment of ownership performance. But being a fan is about emotions, so I guess that's ok.
I get the feeling (after reading the article on the Astros website) that Beltran would be playing today if it wasn't a day game following a night game. I think he'll be back sooner rather than later.
There's also the double header in Pittsburgh to think about with a drop in the quality of the Houston starters tomorrow.
Rambling nonsense and hypothetical situtations, you're on roll. And since you're talking "evidence", where's yours?
brick wall, gunn. brick wall. useless to argue with you. keep trumpeting your points. meanwhile the astros keep winning.
objection, not responsive. please make some attempt to agree, disagree or otherwise address my comments. I may ramble, it may be hypothetical, but you're not saying any of it is false.
