This week's Pinwheel gem

[MusicMan]

Today's column - June 25, 2007:

Leads the column with:

If a general manager is to be evaluated strictly by the players he acquires and the roster he shapes, there's not much debate about the job the Astros' Tim Purpura has done. He has been lousy.

From his blog two days prior:

Leads the column with:

We're going to spend the next week celebrating the career of Craig Biggio. I vote that we put aside all complaints about the current sorry state of the franchise and appreciate this amazing player. He deserves every tribute, every positive article he's going to get. He should be a role model for every other player who plays for this franchise both in terms of performance and desire on the field and work off the field.

And caps it off with:

Once the party's over, we're going to be left with a harsh reality. There's work to do. The truth is, I don't know if Tim Purpura is capable of doing that work. I'm not saying he's great and I'm not saying he should be fired. I'm saying I don't know.

I'll be back in a minute, I'm a little dizzy.

[WulawHorn]

Today's column - June 25, 2007:

Leads the column with:
From his blog two days prior:

Leads the column with:
And caps it off with:
I'll be back in a minute, I'm a little dizzy.

Purpura did a good job bringing in Loretta.  Carlos Lee has been everything he's been advertised at. Woody Williams is a disaster as a number 3 pitcher (servicable as a #5).  The jury is still out on Jennings trade. Pence call up was good- and part of why Wily got dealt was b/c they wanted pence up in the bigs no later than 4/1/08.  Hirsch and Bucholtz haven't shined in Colorado. That trade- while maybe not great, isn't a disaster anyway.

He has had a reasonable percentage of hits on the moves he made. The rest of the team (moberg, berkman, lane et al) have scuffled.

I'm fine with the stros going a different direction. I'm fine with Purp coming back- he hasn't been the unmitigated disaster he's made out to be.

[Arky Vaughan]

Purpura did a good job bringing in Loretta.  Carlos Lee has been everything he's been advertised at. Woody Williams is a disaster as a number 3 pitcher (servicable as a #5).  The jury is still out on Jennings trade. Pence call up was good- and part of why Wily got dealt was b/c they wanted pence up in the bigs no later than 4/1/08.  Hirsch and Bucholtz haven't shined in Colorado. That trade- while maybe not great, isn't a disaster anyway.

He has had a reasonable percentage of hits on the moves he made. The rest of the team (moberg, berkman, lane et al) have scuffled.

I'm fine with the stros going a different direction. I'm fine with Purp coming back- he hasn't been the unmitigated disaster he's made out to be.

Two biggest deals he's made:

Re-signing Oswalt and Berkman long term.

Those often seem to get forgotten.

[Andyzipp]

Two biggest deals he's made:

Re-signing Oswalt and Berkman long term.

Those often seem to get forgotten.

But they're tempered with the insistance that Ensberg, Lane and Burke were/are going to be good MLB players.

[Hornstros]

RJ even goes on to say that Willy Tavares was the centerpiece of the offseason trade....correct me if i'm wrong but isn't that the deal that would not have got done without Hirsh being involved??

So Willy T is playing better than Hirsh/Buchholz and he is suddenly the cornerstone of the deal??  Where the hell does he come up with this shit?

[Froback]

Uhh, we have beat that horse dead, but Wily was the centerpiece of the deal.

There was even "overheard" conversations of some Rockies officials by OWA posters, that Hirsh and Buchholz were not highly thought of by them.

So while Pinwheel is an ass without limits, he is right on that area.

[homer]

RJ even goes on to say that Willy Tavares was the centerpiece of the offseason trade....correct me if i'm wrong but isn't that the deal that would not have got done without Hirsh being involved??

So Willy T is playing better than Hirsh/Buchholz and he is suddenly the cornerstone of the deal??  Where the hell does he come up with this shit?

It's trading away Jason Hirsh that makes [RJ] uneasy. He's just 24 years old and coming off a season in which he was virtually unhittable at Triple-A. He's 6-10 and has star written all over him. The Astros could regret this trade because of Hirsh, not Taveras.

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2006/12/this_trade_stin.html

[MusicMan]

My original point was that two days after saying that he will put aside all complaints, and that he is unsure of Purpura's performance, he leads his column with "He has been lousy."

He has no credibility as a journalist, or as a human being.

[Hornstros]

Uhh, we have beat that horse dead, but Wily was the centerpiece of the deal.

So while Pinwheel is an ass without limits, he is right on that area.

I really haven't been on this site for that long.  If Tavares was not doing that good and Hirsh was doing well this year i still beleve Hirsh would be dubbed the 'centerpiece' of the deal.

Hirsh dominated the minors as if he were the centerpiece

[Noe]

I really haven't been on this site for that long.  If Tavares was not doing that good and Hirsh was doing well this year i still beleve Hirsh would be dubbed the 'centerpiece' of the deal.

Hirsh dominated the minors as if he were the centerpiece

Actually, it wasn't the media's position at the time, which is your point and well deserved for it's accuracy.  Pinwheel and others rarely if ever mentioned Taveras as a centerpiece.  Hirsh was who all the media fixated on, especially P-Dub.  It was, however, a very prominent discussion in here that Taveras would be severely missed.  I wasn't part of that majority opinion, but they turned out to be more right than anyone like me expected.  I fully expected Burke to make Taveras a non-issue.

Silly me!

[Hornstros]

He has no credibility as a journalist, or as a human being.

He is a walking contradiction.  For a city as big as ours you'd think we'd have a reputable journalist or two

[Random]

But they're tempered with the insistance that Ensberg, Lane and Burke were/are going to be good MLB players.

I would think it would be important to ask - could other GM's have resigned Oswalt, Berkman or reigned in Lee?  Probably.

Would other GM's have stuck with Lane, Ensberg and Burke as long as he has?  Or signed Ausmus and Woody Williams to multi-year deals?  Probably not.

Alls I'm saying is, Purpura's "great moves" are moves that any half way competent GM would have made.

[Random]

He is a walking contradiction.  For a city as big as ours you'd think we'd have a reputable journalist or two

Not that I would classify him as a journalist, but Carl Dukes called this year a "rebuilding" year.  Because apparently all one needs to have a rebuilding year is to not be in contention.

790's morning show is awful.  AWFUL.

[JimR]

Would other GM's have stuck with Lane, Ensberg and Burke as long as he has?  Or signed Ausmus and Woody Williams to multi-year deals?  Probably not.

and you know this how? i can make a case for sticking with all of them, but he has been trying to trade Ensberg and Lane. why do you think he has not?

Ausmus was a "bad" deal?

[Trey]

and you know this how? i can make a case for sticking with all of them, but he has been trying to trade Ensberg and Lane. why do you think he has not?

Ausmus was a "bad" deal?

Other GMs would have traded them all away in July of 05, and OBVIOUSLY, that would have been the smart play.

[Random]

and you know this how? i can make a case for sticking with all of them, but he has been trying to trade Ensberg and Lane. why do you think he has not?

Ausmus was a "bad" deal?

While you could definitely make a case for sticking with the three of them, and Purpura has, I'm not certain they were the team's best options.  I think it's the responsibility of the GM to field a team that is likely to win...That we've gone into the past few seasons relying on Ensberg, Lane and Burke to help carry this team to a championship has been a bit of a mistake.  In other words, I don't believe he constructed a team that you can feel confident in. 
It's not even that they were put on the field that really bugs me.  It's Purpura (and to a lesser extent Garner) INSISTING that these were productive players just waiting to break out of prolonged slumps that bothers me.  Maybe they were bullshitting us, but Christ, how long can you play that game?

[JimR]

While you could definitely make a case for sticking with the three of them, and Purpura has, I'm not certain they were the team's best options.  I think it's the responsibility of the GM to field a team that is likely to win...That we've gone into the past few seasons relying on Ensberg, Lane and Burke to help carry this team to a championship has been a bit of a mistake. 

you mean, like the 2005 WS?

who were the better options? which teams were willing to take them?

[pravata]

Other GMs would have traded them all away in July of 05, and OBVIOUSLY, that would have been the smart play.

Maybe.  But it's difficult when no GM will trade for a player.  Purpura made serious efforts to trade Ensberg before the season.   Lane went through waivers earlier this season, so that should tell  you about his trade value.

[pravata]

I would think it would be important to ask - could other GM's have resigned Oswalt, Berkman or reigned in Lee?  Probably.

Would other GM's have stuck with Lane, Ensberg and Burke as long as he has?  Or signed Ausmus and Woody Williams to multi-year deals?  Probably not.

Alls I'm saying is, Purpura's "great moves" are moves that any half way competent GM would have made.

Several teams asked about Ausmus when he was an FA.

[Bench]

Maybe.  But it's difficult when no GM will trade for a player.  Purpura made serious efforts to trade Ensberg before the season.   Lane went through waivers earlier this season, so that should tell  you about his trade value.

Stop channelling Alyson. She is much prettier and more succinct than you.

You cannot trade players who interest no one, and that's the case with Lane and Ensberg.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070625&content_id=2048204&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

[pravata]

Stop channelling Alyson. She is much prettier and more succinct than you.

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070625&content_id=2048204&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

Locked in.  She has to respond to the current Internet attached dunderheads.  We knew Ensberg and Lane weren't tradeable months ago.  Probably because we read Footer.

[Random]

you mean, like the 2005 WS?

who were the better options? which teams were willing to take them?

Not meaning to cut down the 2005 team as a whole, but any weaknesses the team had were offset by 3 dominating starting pitchers and a superb core of relievers.

The offense has been improved considerably merely by internal moves that came a little too late...Lamb as an everyday corner infield, Pence in center field and Loretta somewhere, anywhere.  And I'm not even saying trade them, but to serve them up to Garner and the fans as competent Major League talent is pretty shitty.

But even when Purpura and Garner have managed to improve the offense, the rotation has taken a dive (though I don't think it is all Purpura's fault), the rotation is what it is and the core of the bullpen has followed a typical path of middle relief/set up man careers.  So where one area is improved, the rest flounders.

A big part of my assertion is the feeling (yes, merely the feeling) that this is in no way the most competent product that the Astros could be putting on the field. 

Do you honestly feel Purpura could not have done a better job with this team?

[pravata]

Not meaning to cut down the 2005 team as a whole, but any weaknesses the team had were offset by 3 dominating starting pitchers and a superb core of relievers.

The offense has been improved considerably merely by internal moves that came a little too late...Lamb as an everyday corner infield, Pence in center field and Loretta somewhere, anywhere.  And I'm not even saying trade them, but to serve them up to Garner and the fans as competent Major League talent is pretty shitty.

But even when Purpura and Garner have managed to improve the offense, the rotation has taken a dive (though I don't think it is all Purpura's fault), the rotation is what it is and the core of the bullpen has followed a typical path of middle relief/set up man careers.  So where one area is improved, the rest flounders.

A big part of my assertion is the feeling (yes, merely the feeling) that this is in no way the most competent product that the Astros could be putting on the field. 

Do you honestly feel Purpura could not have done a better job with this team?

Is that really a question?  Your feeling, which is another word for opinion, which we've dealt with recently, means nothing if it doesn't put the decisions the Astros made in context.  No, turns out Jennings was not the best they could do.  In hindsight would Pettitte have been?  Purpura would have prefered Garland but we can't always get what we want.  He wanted to trade Ensberg, he may have wanted to sign Huff.  How can anyone quibble with the decision to keep Qualls, Wheeler, and Lidge together?  Especially as teams were offering nickels on the dollar for Lidge.  Lee, Berkman, Oswalt, Everett, Lidge, these are quality players and could be a strong nucleus for a group that just played fundamentally sound, smart baseball.  Blaming Pupura is facile.  But the fans will do it and Mclane just might do it himself.  Doesn't make it right.

[HPFRic]

Blaming Pupura is facile.

i disagree (sorry: late to the party). i think one could make a pretty strong argument that he's been more responsible for this team's performance than any other individual. he misevaluated taveras, scott, lane, ensberg, burke and pence - and then built a team around those misevaluations.

[Limey]

i disagree (sorry: late to the party). i think one could make a pretty strong argument that he's been more responsible for this team's performance than any other individual. he misevaluated taveras, scott, lane, ensberg, burke and pence - and then built a team around those misevaluations.

I don't think it's a clean as that, but this is a team that has 75% of the players (seemingly) fielding out of position.  That's because it hasn't been built right.  And that's because Purpura has banked on a number of things, none of which have come to pass.

Mistake?  Hindsight says, "yes".

Is he crap?  Let's see how he gets out of this shithole.

[HPFRic]

Is he crap?  Let's see how he gets out of this shithole.

yes, i agree. assuming they lose again in milwaukee, the next 30-40 days should prove fascinating.

[pravata]

i disagree (sorry: late to the party). i think one could make a pretty strong argument that he's been more responsible for this team's performance than any other individual. he misevaluated taveras, scott, lane, ensberg, burke and pence - and then built a team around those misevaluations.

If you say he "misevaluated" Scott, Ensberg, and Burke, and also Pence, you're not being fair.  Everyone based their opinion of Pence on 1 month of ST.  Take one month early 06 for Ensberg, one month in the middle for Burke, when he played CF, and one month late for Scott and you have to fairly assume that these are major league players.  Pence has adjusted in exactly the way that Purpura suggested he should.  So the evalution of Pence was dead on.  No one misevaluted Lane, when was he ever given the starting job for any length of time?  And as for Taveras, there is some selective memory going on. 

[JimR]

If you say he "misevaluated" Scott, Ensberg, and Burke, and also Pence, you're not being fair.  Everyone based their opinion of Pence on 1 month of ST.  Take one month early 06 for Ensberg, one month in the middle for Burke, when he played CF, and one month late for Scott and you have to fairly assume that these are major league players.  Pence has adjusted in exactly the way that Purpura suggested he should.  So the evalution of Pence was dead on.  No one misevaluted Lane, when was he ever given the starting job for any length of time?  And as for Taveras, there is some selective memory going on. 

why should he be fair? it is pile on time at OWA.com.

[pravata]

why should he be fair? it is pile on time at OWA.com.

Only if the grownups allow it.

[JimR]

Only if the grownups allow it.

so far, they are.

[pravata]

so far, they are.

Well, I'm a grownup, and I'm doing what I can.

[JimR]

Well, I'm a grownup, and I'm doing what I can.

good for you. me too, but i did not get very far.

[pravata]

good for you. me too, but i did not get very far.

whatarya a quitter?

[JimR]

whatarya a quitter?

not sure.

[Jacksonian]

Only if the grownups allow it.

I suppose I count as a grownup since I'm driving the bus.  What can I do, without letting go of the wheel?

[pravata]

I suppose I count as a grownup since I'm driving the bus.  What can I do, without letting go of the wheel?

I think "No Whining" has been one of the unofficial slogans of the OWA.

[utastro]

I think "No Whining" has been one of the unofficial slogans of the OWA.

Ah, but that's the problem.  No Winning and No Whining do not go hand in hand.

[Jacksonian]

I think "No Whining" has been one of the unofficial slogans of the OWA.

Right, no whining.  Do I get a backhoe to help dig it out of here?

[pravata]

Ah, but that's the problem.  No Winning and No Whining do not go hand in hand.

As Garner said in the postgame (regarding tomorrows pitching matchup) "What do you want me to say?"  Some people can not help themselves.

[pravata]

Right, no whining.  Do I get a backhoe to help dig it out of here?

That would be a big help.

[ybbodeus]

Will the ESPN chumps EVER stop saying BEE-jee-oh?

[JimR]

Will the ESPN chumps EVER stop saying BEE-jee-oh?

truly the least of my worries. my last name has been mispronounced my entire life, and there are no permanent scars.

[Andyzipp]

truly the least of my worries. my last name has been mispronounced my entire life, and there are no permanent scars.

How many ways can someone mispronounce Grumpy Bastard?

[MusicMan]

Fork off?
Funk off?
Flock off?

[JimR]

How many ways can someone mispronounce Grumpy Bastard?

aren't you clever?

probably just me, but i do not think i am a bastard of any type.

[Limey]

i disagree (sorry: late to the party). i think one could make a pretty strong argument that he's been more responsible for this team's performance than any other individual. he misevaluated taveras, scott, lane, ensberg, burke and pence - and then built a team around those misevaluations.

I believe the word you're looking for is "misunderestimated".

[HPFRic]

Everyone based their opinion of Pence on 1 month of ST.

who's everyone? i'm not overly concerned about the fans' evaluations; i'm concerned only with purpura's, and he's had these guys in his system for years, including pence. he should have had a MUCH better feel for them than he's shown thus far.
 

No one misevaluted Lane, when was he ever given the starting job for any length of time?  And as for Taveras, there is some selective memory going on.

huh? jason lane was the starting RF last year; he totaled 160 ABs thru may, a 485 AB pace. and no, no selective memory with taveras - he was an OB machine in the minor leagues (.402 in his ONLY year in double A; .383 in his last two seasons of A ball), and has now posted a .364 OB% since last year's ASB (covering some 400-something ABs).

they had much too short a rope on him, while they continued/continue to feed lane and scott all the rope they could ever want. i'm at a loss how purpura and/or garner determined at some point that a burke/scott/lane/lee outfield was better than a taveras/pence/lee alignment.

this is not a "fire purpura - he's fat!" thread, btw; it's more of a "this team has been poorly constructed; purpura shares in that blame; let's see how he fixes it." i'm intrigued/fascinated/excited... unless they roll out stay-the-course bullshit.

[JimR]

who's everyone? i'm not overly concerned about the fans' evaluations; i'm concerned only with purpura's, and he's had these guys in his system for years, including pence. he should have had a MUCH better feel for them than he's shown thus far.
 

this is the worst kind of second-guessing crap. ask around at RR. they did not think he could play CF in AAA, much less MMPUS. no one there believed he would do as well as he has. using Pence to "make" your point destroyed it.

have you turned in your application yet? i'm looking forward to your showing us how to run an organization.

[Arky Vaughan]

they had much too short a rope on him, while they continued/continue to feed lane and scott all the rope they could ever want. i'm at a loss how purpura and/or garner determined at some point that a burke/scott/lane/lee outfield was better than a taveras/pence/lee alignment.

This was not necessarily the determination -- the determination may have been that it was more important to have Jennings in the rotation than to have Taveras in the outfield.

[Jacksonian]

who's everyone? i'm not overly concerned about the fans' evaluations; i'm concerned only with purpura's, and he's had these guys in his system for years, including pence. he should have had a MUCH better feel for them than he's shown thus far.
 

I'll speak to Pence.  Purp's eval was in large part based on Pence's up and down season last year at AA.  Pence did not demonstrate major league readiness at the end of the 06 season.  His stint at AFL was abreviated.  Then he lit up spring training and the early part of the AAA season.  But, that's just what he did last year before going into a prolonged tailspin.  There is no way, using Pence's previous performances, that Purp could have expected Pence to hit the way he has for this long into the season.

I have my own opinions about why Purp loves Lane, Ensberg, and Burke, but they're based on my observations not personal knowledge.

IMO, the state of the Astros isn't just on Purp's head, it's also on Drayton's, and to a lesser extent Hun's.

[pravata]

who's everyone? i'm not overly concerned about the fans' evaluations; i'm concerned only with purpura's, and he's had these guys in his system for years, including pence. he should have had a MUCH better feel for them than he's shown thus far.
 
huh? jason lane was the starting RF last year; he totaled 160 ABs thru may, a 485 AB pace. and no, no selective memory with taveras - he was an OB machine in the minor leagues (.402 in his ONLY year in double A; .383 in his last two seasons of A ball), and has now posted a .364 OB% since last year's ASB (covering some 400-something ABs).

they had much too short a rope on him, while they continued/continue to feed lane and scott all the rope they could ever want. i'm at a loss how purpura and/or garner determined at some point that a burke/scott/lane/lee outfield was better than a taveras/pence/lee alignment.

this is not a "fire purpura - he's fat!" thread, btw; it's more of a "this team has been poorly constructed; purpura shares in that blame; let's see how he fixes it." i'm intrigued/fascinated/excited... unless they roll out stay-the-course bullshit.

Right, Purpura had seen Pence in the minors, so had several people on this website and they all agreed, plate discipline is his big problem.  Purpura has said recently that he has been working on that and has improved.  He still has some very obvious flaws at the plate.  The defense wasn't widely addressed but, he is clearly a liability in center.  I am shocked at his throws.  Burke took over center last season when Taveras was struggling with his defense and played decently.  It was reasonable to expect him to continue.  He didnt.  He forgot which foot to catch a fly off of. 

The reason the Astros traded Taveras and tried Burke was offense.  I don't know anyone who thought that Taveras was a better hitter than Burke.

Lane was the starting RF for half a season in 06.  The second half they went with Scott, who tore the cover off the ball until he strained his groin.

[Limey]

I don't know anyone who thought that Taveras was a better hitter than Burke.

He is this season, and they were closer than you might think in previous years.  They're both in their 4th season in the bigs, and Burke is only marginally better at slugging but trails Wile E. Taveras in all other offensive categories excluding nose hair.

[HPFRic]

jim, at no point did i make any claim i could do a better job, competent job, or any other job - in fact, it's a silly retort because of course it's second-guessing: the astros don't pay me to first-guess. they do, however, pay tim purpura to first-guess, and he was wrong with ensberg; wrong with lane; and has thus far been wrong on burke, scott and pence.

so let me ask you, sincerely: what's your evaluation of this team, these players, and our management?

arky, fair point; i was not a fan of the trade. i understood it, but wish they had been more hardline; ie hirsh or taveras, but not both, etc. i'm going to try not to overstate taveras' worth, but i'd hesitate to trade any 25-year old CF with a single year of AA and a history of getting OB for a FA-to-be pitcher each and every time.

[JimR]

jim, at no point did i make any claim i could do a better job, competent job, or any other job - in fact, it's a silly retort because of course it's second-guessing: the astros don't pay me to first-guess. they do, however, pay tim purpura to first-guess, and he was wrong with ensberg; wrong with lane; and has thus far been wrong on burke, scott and pence.

so let me ask you, sincerely: what's your evaluation of this team, these players, and our management?

arky, fair point; i was not a fan of the trade. i understood it, but wish they had been more hardline; ie hirsh or taveras, but not both, etc. i'm going to try not to overstate taveras' worth, but i'd hesitate to trade any 25-year old CF with a single year of AA and a history of getting OB for a FA-to-be pitcher each and every time.

i watch the games. as i said, your using Pence to make your point destroys it. it is the most ridiculous thing you have said.

i am a fan. i root for a team and whoever is on the team at any given moment. i can tell you how the team is playing. i can discuss what happened in the game. i can discuss how/why certain plays or misplays happened. i can discuss techniques or methods of playing baseball. i can discuss strategy and game decisions. i do not evaluate the team or its management.

[HPFRic]

i watch the games. as i said, your using Pence to make your point destroys it. it is the most ridiculous thing you have said.

(blushing) awww. gosh. thanks.....

i am a fan. i root for a team and whoever is on the team at any given moment.

i'm sorry, but that's a cop-out. and boring. and obvious. i readily concede it's silly to talk in knowing terms of what's really happening with any team. but why is reacting to what we see such a bad thing you feel you have to consistently comment upon, especially if the person is reasonably intelligent, open-minded and egoless enough to admit when he's wrong and not get too concerned with when he's right?

i know i, for one, am a better fan for it.

[JimR]

(blushing) awww. gosh. thanks.....

i'm sorry, but that's a cop-out. and boring. and obvious. i readily concede it's silly to talk in knowing terms of what's really happening with any team. but why is reacting to what we see such a bad thing you feel you have to consistently comment upon, especially if the person is reasonably intelligent, open-minded and egoless enough to admit when he's wrong and not get too concerned with when he's right?

i know i, for one, am a better fan for it.

you obviously are quite impressed with yourself. good for you.

[homer]

(blushing) awww. gosh. thanks.....

i'm sorry, but that's a cop-out. and boring. and obvious. i readily concede it's silly to talk in knowing terms of what's really happening with any team. but why is reacting to what we see such a bad thing you feel you have to consistently comment upon, especially if the person is reasonably intelligent, open-minded and egoless enough to admit when he's wrong and not get too concerned with when he's right?

i know i, for one, am a better fan for it.

better fan for what? spouting your opinion to people who aren't interested in it?

you say you are open minded, but after 4 people have responded to you, you continue to beat us over the head with the same opinion? are you trying to convince someone that you are right?

[Arky Vaughan]

better fan for what? spouting your opinion to people who aren't interested in it?

you say you are open minded, but after 4 people have responded to you, you continue to beat us over the head with the same opinion? are you trying to convince someone that you are right?

I was interested enough in his opinion to write a response to it.

[Jacksonian]

better fan for what? spouting your opinion to people who aren't interested in it?

Don't presume to know what I'm interested in, esp if I don't have a response to the opinion.

[homer]

I was interested enough in his opinion to write a response to it.

Don't presume to know what I'm interested in, esp if I don't have a response to the opinion.

Uhmkay, going back to sleep now.

[JimR]

Don't presume to know what I'm interested in, esp if I don't have a response to the opinion.

why don't the powers that be just shut this place down till ST 2008? might be a good idea.

or, the techie geniuses can set up two boards--one for baseball (the Boring Copout Obvious Zone) and one for bitching/criticising/second-guessing (the Egoless Better Fan For It Zone).

you do not have to pay me for this brilliant idea.

[pravata]

He is this season, and they were closer than you might think in previous years.  They're both in their 4th season in the bigs, and Burke is only marginally better at slugging but trails Wile E. Taveras in all other offensive categories excluding nose hair.

I don't think people remember that Burke had surgery on his shoulder in the off season.  Also, I havent kept up with Taveras this season so I dont know the reason he's doing better.  But definitely, last season, if you had to pick, Burke would have been the choice.

[pravata]

jim, at no point did i make any claim i could do a better job, competent job, or any other job - in fact, it's a silly retort because of course it's second-guessing: the astros don't pay me to first-guess. they do, however, pay tim purpura to first-guess, and he was wrong with ensberg; wrong with lane; and has thus far been wrong on burke, scott and pence.

so let me ask you, sincerely: what's your evaluation of this team, these players, and our management?

arky, fair point; i was not a fan of the trade. i understood it, but wish they had been more hardline; ie hirsh or taveras, but not both, etc. i'm going to try not to overstate taveras' worth, but i'd hesitate to trade any 25-year old CF with a single year of AA and a history of getting OB for a FA-to-be pitcher each and every time.

At what point was he "wrong" about Ensberg?  This season.  That's when.  Ensberg hit very well at the beginning of last season, slumped a little, then hurt his shoulder.  It has been very difficult to tell which part of Ensberg's problems are due to his approach or his injuries.  If you think you know, you're fooling yourself.  You're making the same mistake with Scott.  How long has he been in the majors?  You are completely ignoring the many factors that suggested all of these players could play and ultimately, you dont understand why the Jennings trade was made. 

[HPFRic]

you obviously are quite impressed with yourself. good for you.

and i guess being a cockstick is just easier. glad some things never change.

anyway, if no one at RR, as you said, "believed he would do as well as he has." - doesn't that speak to the larger point that they were wrong?

[Spack McGrimm]

why don't the powers that be just shut this place down till ST 2008? might be a good idea.

or, the techie geniuses can set up two boards--one for baseball (the Boring Copout Obvious Zone) and one for bitching/criticising/second-guessing (the Egoless Better Fan For It Zone).

you do not have to pay me for this brilliant idea.

I'll take this under consideration.