Bye Bye Lidge

[KFDM COOP]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5283755.html

[lonestar]

Thanks for the good news Coop!

;D ;D ;D

[lonestar]

Anyone know anything about the three guys coming to Houston?

[bobcatfan]

I wont claim to know everything about these players but i'll give you my read on the deal.  The biggest part of this deal is Michael Bourn.  He becomes our everyday center fielder and probably leadoff guy.  In the minors in 06' in 118 games combined double A and triple A numbers he had a .277 average with .356 OBP and 45 steals and only caught 5 times, and 13 triples. In the majors in 07' he had 119 AB's last year he batted .277 with a .348 OBP and 18 stolen bases.  Thats not a great batting average but the on base percentage is good and thats a lot of SBs for 119 abs.  He was the Phillies 4th outfielder last year with Rowand, Victorino, and Burrell.  I believe Bourn was brought in a lot for his defense and speed and was able to steal bases.  This trade probably means the phillies will try to re-sign Rowand.  Reading the Phillies message board, most of the posters were not happy to see Bourn go, so they must have seen some good upside in the 24 year old.  My impression in the limited time i got to see him play was that he was a pretty good player.  Geoff Geary should be a solid reliever for the astros.  The 31 year old played 3 seasons for the phillies posting a 3.72 and 2.96 era the first 2 years then going 4.41 last year.  The minor leaguer Costanzo had good minor league numbers, displaying some power hitting .270 and hitting 27 home runs, although i read somewhere he struck out 290 times in 2 seasons in the minors.  I think the Phillies considered him a pretty good 3B prospect and with his power, if he gets a little more plate discipline he could help the astros possibly down the road if Ty Wigginton is not the answer at 3B (which i fear is probable).  Overall, this trade could be pretty good for the astros, mainly because Lidge is going to cost a lot of money now and he has injury concerns and other concerns.  Bourn is a young outfielder with tools to be pretty good (and i think he comes at a pretty cheap price) with Geary being a solid arm for the bullpen.  You never know how the 3B prospect will turn out, but there is potential.  Bruntlett was a good super utility player for the astros, but was never going to start for them so i dont know that he was a big loss, i think hes replaceable.  At least we know now we probably wont be throwing a lot of money at big time free agents Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, who i believe will probably both be grossly overpaid.  I'm not sure just how good Rowand will be long term, and i think Hunter is on the downside of his career. 

What do yall think of my assessments??  Do yall like the trade?

[KFDM COOP]

Very good post!!!!

[DenisGScott]

This deal makes sense on a lot of levels, Lidge face it was never going to be the closer he was before that Pujols HR ever again.  Bruntlett was a nice utility player but those are easy to come by.  This keeps Berkman at 1b now and sets the outfield with Lee and Pence.  Now the question becomes with the money Drayton saved in this deal and by obviously not going to go after Hunter, will he draw deep on some possible free agent pitchers, thats what the Astros need more than anything.

[bullets13]

I think this is a good move as well.  Bruntlett can be replaced, and in all seriousness, we don't really want to replace lidge at this point.  Michael Bourn has tremendous potential.  He's going to probably end up being the type of player that Reggie Willetts is for the angels.  Not too much pop, but on the bases a lot and causing problems while he's on by stealing bases.  The pitcher Geary worries me though... everytime i watched the phils he was putting up lidgeintheninth type performances.

[JMay]

Finally a pure leadoff hitter.  The Astros haven't had one of those in a long time.  Bourn can fly and set the table for Pence, Berkman and Lee.  He is an ex-UH Cougar and he was pretty good in college ball as their everyday CF.  I really like this deal and think it has lots of upside to it.  I agree that the moving of Lidge was only a matter of time and this one should help the Astros line-up for the next 5 years.

[STiger85]

I do not know the players coming from Philly. This is why I like the trade. Berkman will stay at 1B, he is a good outfielder but he is one of the better 1B in the league and for him to get better he needs to stay there. If there is one person on this team that you need to be hot all season it is Berkman. He is the one that carries the offense. If Bourn is the CF and Pence movies over to RF with Lee in LF this is looking like a very good outfield. If Bourn has the speed then he can make the RF & LF more agresive. I seen Lee get more agresive when he seen that Pence would be there to back him up. The infield has a little question mark on it. We all know that Berkman will man 1B and Burk will take over 2B. Burk is a good 2B he and Berkman will be a good tandum on that side. Burk has some power at the plate but will he be a cluch hitter like the man that just left. Whigiton at 3B. Is it his? Are the Astros going to have to go into spring training wondering about 3B & SS? I would like to see him there. Just needs more power at the plate. And now for SS. This is a  need for us. Lets see and defense player like Everett that can hit .300 or above maybe have a little power also, that should do it. Catcher now this is intrasting. Ausmus wants to stay and catch evey fourth or fifth game, now the guy that moved up at the end of the year didn't do a bad job. Is this how we go? Ausmus teaching that guy. Mite not be to bad. Pitching i'm not even going to go there. I'll just say this I like our #1 starter. I guess Geary will replace Qualls(spelling) in the rotation when he moves to the closer spot.  Costanzo well time will tell. With the money we saved with Lidge being gone we need to go out and get a QUILITY starting pitcher. This is JMO. What do ya'll think.

[AJ25]

great news coop!