HOUSTON -- A proposed trade fell through Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean The Crawfish Boxes won't still look to improve as the trade deadline approaches.
Late Tuesday night, word broke that TCB was considering a trade for MLB.com All-Star Alyson Footer. Included in the deal would have been Tim De Block, CRPerry and BustaPozee.
"We just weren't comfortable with the deal," TCB manager David Coleman said. "Alyson would be a huge upgrade for the site, but that's a ton of talent to give up. Plus, MLB.com wanted us to throw in clack and that's a no-go for us. We'll keep looking to upgrade and keep approaching deals as we close in on the deadline."
Footer's availability caught the blogosphere by surprise, much like Justin Upton's did. So, Coleman said he was just doing his due diligence. However, sources close to the deal say it was much closer than that. The real kicker to the deal was that MLB.com wanted a middle of the order features writer and TCB wasn't willing to give up its longest tenured member with all the other talent headed out in the deal.
TCB apparently checked in on Steve Campbell and Brian McTaggart earlier this season, but never got close to a deal. TCB does have more assets to trade, with a few promising prospects down in Corpus Christi.
"I just hope we can stay focused on the rest of the season now," Coleman said. "These guys have been doing a great job this year, absolutely killed the draft coverage and we'd only think about moving them for a star like Footer. Well, Tim we'd move for a Whataburger coupon, but the rest of the team is very valuable to us."
2) Brad Mills on the hot seat? - I haven't had a chance to discuss this yet, except on the podcast. But, as I said on there, I've heard from a couple of sources that this might happen. I was originally skeptical that they'd make a move before the end of the season, but now I'm not so sure.
Either way, I think the smart money has to be on Joe Pettini being a strong candidate for the job if/when it's open. Certainly, if Houston makes a move mid-season, Pettini could be the guy who takes over for the rest of the way.
If they go that route, I have no doubt that Houston's front office would look at multiple candidates in the offseason. However, I think that Pettini would have a big leg-up on the competition if he finishes out this season without just completely tanking or running afoul of Jordan Schafer.
I still think that Brad Mills deserves some more time, though. The team is slumping badly now, but Mills has shown progress this season. It's not huge progress, but it's something.
What's interesting is that this is about the time that Houston usually makes changes with its manager. The All-Star break is when Jimy Williams got fired and is around when Phil Garner got let go, too. I think only Cecil Cooper lasted longer than the ASG in recent years.
3) The Home Run Derby - There wasn't a ton of Astros things standing out about the Home Run Derby, but the one thing I took away is how impressed I was with Mark Trumbo.
I hadn't seen much of Trumbo before then, because I just hadn't watched much of the AL in the past year. I'd heard of Trumbo, but knew him more by reputation.
Boy, did he impress in that Derby. He just crushed balls and unlike Prince, he did it seemingly effortlessly. That one pitch he hit almost off the plate out was just filthy.
So, I have one more reason to be worried about the move to the AL next year. Trumbo may be a scarier hitter than Albert Pujols next year...