re: Great day to be an astros fan!

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H2O Engineer

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The real question is why can't the Astros find an owner/GM who will spend enough/smart enough for them to be competetive

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I understand where you are coming from - really, I do. But, I think you are selectively remembering facts. Think back to the contracts that the Astros laid out for Berkman, Clemens, Pettite, Oswalt, Lee - they had a HUGE payroll for a number of years. Not Yankees huge, but it was one of top 7. The issue isn't really about spending money - they did that. The issue with the Astros is/was from not signing draft picks for a couple of years. It is also a direct result of not being able to adequately judge talent on the free-agent and trade markets in the past. Think back to all of the FA and trades made during the Poopura years that were absolutely crap. Even Wade has made his share of crappy trades.

As for the Pence, Bourne, Oswalt, Berkman trades -- overall, they got fairly good value in those trades. Oswalt has been suffering from a bad back and under-performing for a couple of years. He had a pretty hefty contract on top of his under-performing. Berkman was the same way - he became injury prone and was not performing to his contract value. Those trades were probably the best we could've gotten. Pence trade will probably go down as a fantastic long-term trade. He is becoming an expensive player but will never play for a competitive team at Houston before his talent starts to decline. We traded him for two very high-upside YOUNG players - by the time they are MLB ready, the Astros should have a very strong core of players all in their prime. Very similar to what Tampa put together. Bourne wasn't nearly as good of a trade as Pence in regard to return value; but, I still think it will go down as a solid trade. Worst contract in Astros history has to be Carlos Lee. But, if you think about the time that contract was made -- we very easily could have singed (and almost DID sign) Alfonso Soriano and Crybaby Beltran for a lot more money - so we kind of came out better than it "could've been".

The Keppinger trade was absolutely a salary dump decision. But it was a smart trade, and it looks like we may have gotten the better end of that trade. Time will tell.

These are dark times to be an Astros fan. But, it will also be very fun watching these kids grow. And when they are all ready, the team should have enough room in the payroll to pick up one or two premier free agents that can put them deep into the playoffs.

ETA: damn, that's a lot to read. sorry.