My hope was that Wheeler would be enough to fetch Crisp. But, Qualls stuff is why I'd rather keep him. I suppose I have faith that he'll be more consistent in the not too distant future.
Personally though, if the Astros are going to deal, I'd rather they picked up a quality young 3b. Those are rarer today than a good CF, and the Astros have next to nothing at 3b in the minors at the moment.
I think what we're seeing from Qualls now is what we should expect from him.
Qualls' ERA has been rising steadily over his three full seasons in Houston: from 3.28 in '05 to 3.76 in '06 and 4.03 this year.
But also consider his k/BB rate over those same three seasons, which has improved this year from last as he's given up less strikeouts and walks overall: 2.6, 2.0 2.6
And his hits given up: 73 in 80 innings, 76 in 89 innings, 49 in 45 innings
So basically, his ERA has steadily approached 4 while his peripheral statistics have remained largely constant. This suggests that Qualls is turning into the type of pitcher who will throw somewhere around 80-90 innings with an ERA in the high 3's/low4's every season-- basically a 7th inning guy.
Considering that he's going to turn 29 this year, it doesn't seem likely that he'll somehow amp it up in the next couple of years and become a dominant set-up man or closer, but his ability to pitch multiple innings, ability to pitch in a variety of situations, and his injury-free history doesn't suggest a likely fall either. It seems, actually, that Qualls is shaping up to have the career of a player who will some day be labeled a veteran workhorse-- somewhere between a todd jones and a rick white-- somebody who will be the 7th inning guy, maybe even closer for a mediocre team, for a half-dozen teams before the end of a career that lasts into his late 30's
