[bigboydan]

Houston has been busy this offseason.

Whats your thoughts on this trade WillieBee, because I don't think the Astros should have made this trade.

The Baltimore Orioles traded shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros on Wednesday, ending a turbulent chapter with a player who two years ago wanted to be traded, went into the 2006 season with hugs and apologies for his offseason remarks, and in 2007 saw his production drop dramatically.

The blockbuster trade, first reported by The Baltimore Sun, sends five players to the Orioles -- outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third-base prospect Michael Costanzo.

"It's true," Patton told the Houston Chronicle. "It's kind of really disappointing, honestly."

Tejada, who signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Orioles in December 2003 and promised the franchise would no longer be a losing one, saw his home run total decline the past three consecutive seasons, and recently, even his defensive range had come into question. Orioles third base and infield coach Juan Samuel acknowledged to The Sun in September that Tejada "doesn't move real well."

The 2002 AL MVP with Oakland is owed $13 million in each of the next two years.

There was speculation the Orioles would try to move Tejada to third base; Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail met with Tejada at the end of the 2007 season to discuss a possible move, but Tejada told him he wanted to remain at shortstop.

Any chance of the Orioles trading Tejada before the 2007 trade deadline essentially ended when he broke his wrist. He returned to the Orioles' lineup just days before the deadline.

In four seasons with Tejada at shortstop and in the middle of their lineup, the Orioles went 291-357, finishing fourth in the American League East three times and third once.

Tejada played in 619 of the 648 games in four seasons, missing 29 games during the 2007 season. His consecutive games played streak of 1,152, the fifth longest in baseball history, ended June 22 when he went on the disabled list with a fractured left wrist after getting hit by a pitch from San Diego Padres reliever Doug Brocail.

Tejada finished this past season with a .296 average, 18 home runs and 81 RBIs. All were lows as an Oriole. The shortstop's home run and RBI totals were also the lowest since 1999, his first full season in the major leagues.

In 2005, Tejada came under scrutiny after teammate Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids. Palmeiro said Tejada gave him vitamin B-12 that might have been tainted with performance-enhancing drugs. Tejada denied any wrongdoing and his name has not been linked to any wrongdoing.

[EaglesPhan36]

Not sure why you don't like this one Dan. For me ...Awesome! As a life-long 'Stros fan this is HUGE! All the rumors I had read put SS Adam Everett in the deal. Since they kept him, I am assuming that they will talk Tejada into playing 3B perhaps. Their lineup is gonna be outstanding now with a combo of Berkman-Lee-Tejada in the middle and Hunter Pence somewhere there as well.

Patton was a top pitching prospect, but you have to give up talent to get talent. Albers was nothing special in the opportunities he had been given. Scott was on the block and will be replaced on the bench by Cruz, Jr. I believe.

Projected Lineup

Starting lineup
CF Michael Bourn
2B Kaz Matsui
SS Miguel Tejada
1B Lance Berkman
LF Carlos Lee
RF Hunter Pence
3B Ty Wigginton
C J.R. Towles

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting rotation
RHP Roy Oswalt
RHP Brandon Backe
LHP Wandy Rodriguez
RHP Chris Sampson
RHP Woody Williams

Also, I have to say I am impressed with Ed Wade going out and making these deals. He's putting his ass on the line for sure, but unlike his predecessor - these deals make the team much better on paper.

[Willie Bee]

I would've liked to have held on to Patton and Albers, personally. Albers will be a fine setup arm at some point and Patton was among the top-rated minor league arms we had. And Sarfate was supposed to come to camp to at least make Qualls feel like he had to earn the closer's job. Scott was taking up OF space with the offseason additions of Bourn and Cheito Cruz. Costanzo is supposed to be a helluva' hitter...when he connects (and a butcher at third from what I've heard and read).

But I don't mind adding Tejada.

My objection comes from how Wade is now left with two dead players on the roster, Adam Everett and Chris Burke. He should've traded Burke before signing Kaz Matsui, and now who will give him much for Everett knowing that he's pretty useless to Houston's roster with Tejada in the fold? If Wade can somehow pull something off to get any arm of value for either Everett and/or Burke, then I'll give the Tejada deal a thumbs up. But until then, I don't like how he's doing business.

[Willie Bee]

I hope EP's optimism comes through and his analysis of Wade's job so far makes me eat crow

[EaglesPhan36]

Willie,

I still believe Everett sticks with Houston and Tejada slides to 3B. In my opinion, if they can do that - then they can get rid of Wiggington [more trade value perhaps] and/or Burke hopefully for some pitching. They definitely need one more arm at the back of the bullpen and a innings-eater type of starter.

[Willie Bee]

Tejada was not keen on shifting to third in Baltimore, so we shall see. But the more I sit here and think about it, the more I find this trade bad. We gave up 27 years of controlled contracts, including a pair of fine young pitching prospects in Patton and Albers, for two years worth of Tejada. McLane hasn't learned one thing about building a club, NOT ONE THING, in all his years at the helm. If this trade goes sour, if Patton blossoms and Tejada really is the clubhouse cancer that he's been pegged, it's going to get very, very ugly.

[EaglesPhan36]

I still think it's worth the risk. I think Tejada on a team that should be in contention in a weak division will be a happier guy. You never heard anything about any attitude problems when he was winning in Oakland. I still don't see the trade as lopsided. Patton could be a total stud ... he could wind up being the next Wade Miller. Albers I think is going to have a long career as a mediocre pitcher. Alot of Astros fans keep bitching about the lack of pitching from what I read in the paper, but it was really a lack of hitting besides Berkman and Lee that I think sunk the season last year. 13th in runs scored in the NL last season. ERA was 12th at 4.68, but Philly made the playoffs with an ERA worse than that because of a solid offense and good defense.

[EaglesPhan36]

Well my move to 3B theory is shot. Now I will say my opinion on the trade is a bit more tepid because while the defense at 2B will be better with Matsui, SS just got real bad.

Everett got released

HOUSTON -- Adam Everett has been hearing Miguel Tejada's name floating around Houston for the better part of 18 months, and understandably, he was hoping the Astros' interest in the Orioles star would never blossom into a done deal.
On Wednesday, Everett had to deal with a double-whammy: not only did the Astros trade for Tejada, they also planned to non-tender Everett, leaving him without a team as of 11 p.m. CT.

Everett becomes a free agent, which could be seen as the silver lining to all of this. But hours after learning that he was out as the Astros' shortstop, Everett wasn't in overly jovial spirits.

"I'm fine," he said via cell phone from his home in Georgia. "I think the Astros made an upgrade at shortstop, and that's what they wanted to do. I wish them the best."

Everett, who turns 31 in February, is a defensive specialist who struggled at the plate. His average slipped to .239 in 2006 and .232 this past season, playing in only 66 games in '07 because of a fractured right leg.

Considered by some the best defensive shortstop in baseball, Everett took some comfort in knowing he was replaced by an All-Star-caliber player.

"I guess it makes it easier," Everett said. "It's the game. I'm not going to take any of this personally. It's a business, and I understand. I wish nothing but the best for the Astros. It's the team I grew up with, the team I played my first Major League game, got my first hit. It's tough, but if it takes a guy like Tejada, I guess that's how it goes."

General manager Ed Wade contacted Everett soon after the trade was finalized.

"I spoke with Adam Everett in contacting the players who were involved in this trade," Wade said. "I thanked him for everything he'd done for this organization. It was a difficult call to make. I told him unless something unforeseen happened in the next 11 hours he would not be tendered an offer.


"I'm sure he's disappointed. If this deal wasn't there, Adam Everett is our shortstop. We were not out there on the shortstop front. Tejada became available, and we had a chance to add that type of offense to our club."

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=hou

[Willie Bee]

Alot of Astros fans keep bitching about the lack of pitching from what I read in the paper, but it was really a lack of hitting besides Berkman and Lee that I think sunk the season last year.

Count me among them, EP, and you don't have to look any further for a reason why than the direct correlation to W-L record and Runs Scored (RS) and Runs Allowed (RA) the last few seasons:

YEAR . .W . .L . RS . RA
2005 . 89 . 73 .693 .609
2006 . 82 . 80 .735 .719
2007 . 73 . 89 .723 .813

It doesn't matter how Philadelphia did it, or any other team for that matter. Let's also not forget that Philly was able to play on last year thanks in no small part to the Mets' collapse.

Houston had one helluva' offense in 2000: First in HR, second in AVG, third in OB%, first in SLG, fifth in steals, second in runs scored...and they lost 90 damn games!

Drayton just wants to sell tickets, period. Don't believe one iota of his 'be a champion today' bullshˇt. Sure, he'd love to see the Astros win it all so that everyone would pat him on the back...and buy even more tickets the next year. But the bottom line is the bottom line's the most important thing to McLane. He didn't get into the game because he was a sportsman, he got in strictly for the business. Home runs are easier to sell to the common fan than 3.13 ERA's.

Maybe Backe, Woody and Wandy have good-to-great years behind Roy O in the rotation. Maybe Qualls will settle in as a dominant closer. I'm not holding my breath, however.

[isetcap]

Will they throw needles at him in Houston?

[EaglesPhan36]

Drayton just wants to sell tickets, period.

I totally agree with that statement. McLane has never been a great owner because he had some over loyalty issues I think with the likes of Bagwell and Biggio that kept the team from developing new talent to replace them, etc. I do like that he's not afraid to spend money on talent unlike previous regimes. I actually think Qualls could be a serviceable closer. The 'Stros have a pretty good history this decade of rolling over their set-up men into closers. If Qualls can do a decent job, I think the additions of Geary and Villareal will make the bullpen fairly solid. I read today they contacted Mark Prior's agent. One idea that makes me laugh is bringing back Freddy Garcia who they traded back in the day to rent Randy Johnson. Garcia was good before injuries got him. I'm banking on the Stros taking a couple shots at minimal deals with guys like Prior, Garcia, etc. Unless Wade pulls another trade out of his ass.

[Willie Bee]

Pitching staff even thinner now...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3155417

Dan Haren is off the market, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have an imposing 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation.

The NL West champions acquired Haren from the rebuilding Oakland Athletics and traded major league saves leader Jose Valverde to Houston in separate swaps involving 12 players Friday.

Oakland also sent right-hander Connor Robertson to Arizona and received six players: left-handers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith; infielder Chris Carter; and outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.

The Diamondbacks got reliever Chad Qualls, infielder Chris Burke and right-hander Juan Gutierrez from the Astros.

[EaglesPhan36]

I still give Wade props. He is a mad man with these trades. Like I said earlier, win or lose - he's been ballsy enough to make moves that are needed. 3 for 1 seems like alot, but Burke was going to get cut if they couldn't move him and Valverde gives them a closer with Qualls role being taken over probably by Villareal. Gutierrez was a total throw in. If Wade can get an innings eater starter, I say he's done a whale of a job on paper at least of reconstructing this team.

[bigboydan]

Wade needed to make some type of off season moves, but I feel that he overpaid for Tejada.