I’ve gotten 5 emails in the past hour saying that Pedro Martinez has agreed to sign with the Astros. I can’t find any kind of mainstream baseball reporter saying that, although Tim Dierkes is quoting Baseball Prospectus’ John Perotto, saying that the Astros have signed Pedro.
Drayton is holding a presser at 8:45, and it is supposedly NOT about Ivan Rodriguez, so it just might could be.
Question is, who would he knock from the rotation? Or would he just be the #5 guy? Either way, it looks as if Brandon Backe is a goner. Not that he won’t immediately get picked up by some other team.
Guess we’ll have to see in a few hours.
Alyson Footer says that Wade assured here, insisted that it wasn’t about Pedro. OK. Well, he insisted not 3 days previously that the Astros had no, had ZERO interest in Ivan Rodriguez. He pointed out to the Chron reporters that Pudge had been declining over the past 3 years and only hit .212 with the Yankees – he didn’t say that Pettitte refused to throw to him, but he could have. Anyhow, Ed Wade’s assurances that the Astros have had no conversations with Pedro cut no ice with me.
But it is true that the hitters aren’t hitting, even though the pitchers are sucking slightly less, so it might could be that Sean Berry is a goner. It would sure nuff make some news. If Drayton is firing Cecil Cooper, it would be the first time to my knowledge that a manager was fired in Spring Training.
I won’t go over Pedro until I am sure that he has actually signed.
But I do gotta say that it sure is interesting that Drayton has suddenly found money when he was supposed to be totally broke. And that Pedro ain’t Clemens 2004, but he sure will create buzz and sell tickets, even if he pitches as lousy as he did his last few years.
Well, you know how Drayton luvs WINNERS, and he pretty much has the antithesis of that right now. “Spring training records don’t matter.” I don’t care how many times they say it, I don’t believe it. The ‘stros have a bunch of over hill guys combined with mediocre guys, and then Lance and Roy. Yikes.
So he’s gotta do something. What? I don’t think he can make a material change in the ‘stros’ chances this year. But if he can make it appear that he can, he’ll do it. Maybe it’s firing coaches, maybe it’s getting a washed up pitcher with name recognition (oh wait, besides Ortiz and Hampton).
I dunno. I’d still rather trade our aging stars and see a bunch of AAA and AAAA players for a year or two while we rebuild. We might even find a diamond in the rough. But Drayton will never agree to that.
So I guess we’ll see what he has to say in a few hours…
Hey Lisa – long time no post. Hope you’re doing well…
Read that Boone was having open heart surgery, and so I dug up this page to see what was going on. Hope he’s okay.
Is Drayton in full-blown panic mode yet? That would be the only explanation for the Pudge signing, IMHO. Pudge will hit better than Ausmus did, and he’s still got a good arm. But he’s going to be overpaid, and that money would surely be better spent on some pitching. My crystal ball tells me that things are going to go horribly wrong for the boys in orange-brown this summer, and the looming catastrophe will result in at least one of the good guys on this team moving on to a new town. I predict it’ll be Roy. Hell, maybe Texas can figure out a way to get him – they sure could use a guy like Roy for 2010 when they will be good again, and Texas sure does have the prospects to make something like that happen. What’s your take on the season? Who’ll have a better record, Texas or Houston?
steve,
well looks like it ain’t only me sayin it.
right now i am guessin that drayton has told fast eddie to scrounge around at the end of ST and pick up whatever ex-major leaguer 3B got the heave ho from some other team rather than try out one of our minor leaguers like johnson or sutton.
I would try to remind Drayton (and the fans) to give the rooks some rope to learn the majors – that in 07 dustin pedrioa didn’t get his average over 200 until the middle of may… and unlike the astros, he was on a team that was expected to win the WS, with good reason, and did…
hi jdolla$
hope u are doing well.
poor boone – i checked out a little bit about getting an aortic valve replaced – looks like either he was born with something wrong with it or it got infected and is finally giving out. if i understood rightly
drayton must have looked at lousy season ticket sales or else got angry emails from a few too many fans and got lucky with a guy who will be dirt cheap who will outhit the guys we currently have – and is a Future Hall Of Famer (unless/when he gets outed for steroids)
pudge will get 1.5-3 mill this year and drayton will get some gate return out of promotong his breaking the games caught record and the doubles hit by a catcher record this year. he really is not that badly overpaid even though he will most likely not hit for any sort of power and won’t walk. he’s bettern quintero by a LONG shot
as for pitching – who that is bettern who we have could we get for 1.5-3 mill?
i would guess that the rangers will be better than the astros. at least, they’ll be a lot more interesting, unless houston finally decides to let the young guys play and gets a good manager
i SERIOUSLY doubt that roy would want to pitch in arlington – it is like a freaking oven in there and he hasn’t exactly excelled.
i Want to See if Ed Wade to RE-Sign Pedro Martinez So He Can Play in Houston.tx.