Before you go start making your Astros Playoff Ticket Reservations...

sorry. but I got irritated by the tone, as in “I’m here to set the record straight,” etc. and took the tone as insulting to the people who regularly post here. eh. maybe the fan post wasn’t intended that way. I just noticed that the same exact comment was posted on richard justice’s blog about one hour earlier than this one. (I notice Justice had a snippy response about the Tejada trade idea too.) I just hope that the posts here don’t devolve to the level of the discourse of chron.com comments.

The difference between a “.500 team” and a “playoff team” this year could easily come down to a single lucky-timing 10 game streak.

The only way to tell which teams will be which is to let them play the games. I’ll be rooting for the Astros and hoping to see some exciting baseball along the way.

Is that he basis his claim of we don’t have good enough pitching on the fact that we don’t have any starters with double digit win totals.

Aside from that, the distinction of playing above .500 teams and below .500 teams fails to take into account the degree to which a team is below or above .500, how the starting pitching match-ups will stack out, what’s the true talent level of the team (i.e. have they been vastly over performing with players who’s numbers are not in line with true talent, or have teams just simply gotten lucky).

Also, who has been praising Cecil Cooper, at least here? This team could be 10 games over .500 right now, but if Coop had still been managing the exact same way he has to date, I know that the vast majority of us here would definitely still be bashing Coop.

This season is a lost cause and it would be criminal to make any move that sacrifices the future for a better shot today. I’m not saying hold a firesale, but to look for opportunities to take advantage of contending teams that need help now.

Wade was interviewed on the pregame show three days ago, and he was fairly straightforward in talking about the trading deadline. If I got the gist of what he said::
(1) the Astros will not be selllers at the trading deadline; (2) the Astros will not be making any blockbuster acquisitions which require a lot of money or a lot of prospects; (3) Astros don’t want to make trades which hurt the farm system; (4) Wade will be more interested in trades like those he made last mid-season, which don’t require trading away players with ,much value; (5) like always, the Astros would consider trade proposals which help the team if the value exchange is favorable. Wade said that only a handful of teams are willing to take on any salary, which means that trading may be light this year.

First of all, Wandy throws high 80s/low 90s, which Maddux threw in his early days. He is more about placement than he is about over-powering. True, lots of pitchers are like that. However, Maddux gradually earned some “MJ” love from umpires over the years and the strikezone expanding making him a great pitcher as well as he mastered great placement. When Wandy gets that a little of that love, he is almost untouchable. However, because he isn’t overpowering, the minute he gets squeezed, forget about it. I love Wandy. I say “Poor Mans” because Wandy is still working on getting that respect & developing his placement. Greg Maddux was by no means an overnight success. I would take a poor-mans Wandy any day. However, Roy & Wandy a starting rotation do not make.

Second, Richard also emailed me privately and said he would take that trade in a minute. Would it happen? Probably not? However, you can’t tell me that the AL East won’t be in need of a bonafide bat to breakway from the pack come September. The trade deadline is what will make or break tight pennant races like that. When that happens, you have to sell high knowing that Tejada could be the difference-make on any one of those top three teams. And any serious playoff contender is always in need of bullpen depth. Keep the phones on standby not off the hook!

Third, our team is old. Ed Wade isn’t a fool. You don’t announce a fire-sale if you expect to get value. However, to keep Tejada and Valverde is fool-heartey. They are solid players who can help the Astros become better and deeper in 2010 by being traded. Some value is better than no value which is what they will be in a season or two when they are gone. Since Lee and Matzui are here to stay due to their contracts, we need to take the steps to make this team better and we do it this season. When better to do it than when attendance is below 28K? Drayton always loves butts in seats so when there aren’t as many, not as many will be affected.

Fourth, since everyone loved to gloss over the fact that I actually did some research on our team’s current record, can anyone actually say that our 5 pitchers presently are that good (all five) since we finished .500 against .500 average record teams in the first half? We are average, maybe even decent against teams like that. 2/3rds of our games on the back of the season are against teams with winning records. Wandy and Roy will hopefully get theirs on most days, but to expect 3-5 to stack up to those type of teams is not realistic. And that will be the returning to earth of the 2009 playoff high hopes.

Finally, St. Louis & Milwaukee are playing down to our level the first half vs. the Astros playing up. Things will level out in the second half. I am an Astros fan, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a dissenting opinion. I just got tired of alot of fans writing, calling, or posting saying how the Astros have a legitimate shot at the playoffs at mid-season break. The truth is the 2009 Astros are an average team at best. Average won’t get us into the playoffs so why shoot ourselves in the foot by keeping players that can help us in trade value? Drayton has been a good owner who has let the team make trades for talent when needed (and sometimes when they weren’t). Every team has to make decisions like this every so often. 2009 is that time when we can make some of those tough decisions that can immediately impact our farm system & provide better depth when players like Castro, Norris, & Lo are called upon to help the Astros win in 2010 and 2011.

I look forward to more healthy debates!