Author Topic: Well that's kinda surprising... (Read 5466 times)

OregonStrosFan · « **on:** June 04, 2011, 12:09:05 am »

Thought this *should* but a bit surprised it actually did...

Levine (via Twitter): Astros release Bill Hall, bring back Jason Bourgeois. -Z

ETA- Footer (via Twitter): Roster move: The Astros have asked for unconditional release waivers on Bill Hall and will activate Jason Bourgeois from DL tomorrow

Uncle Charlie · « **Reply #1 on:** June 04, 2011, 06:29:46 am »

I like it. Given the IF/OF split, this was likely when JB came back.

Of course, I don't know how Hall is in the clubhouse, but it will be good to see JB's energy out there.

David in Jackson · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2011, 09:23:38 am »

Pedro Feliz, meet Bill Hall.

Noe · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:12:11 am »

Bill Hall was a good guy in the clubhouse. His desire to help and do good just did not match his actual performance and typically, when you have a veteran who isn't performing, the leash is short. What I gather, if you give Keppinger enough ABs, he might prove a very valuable trade commodity, even if it is a low minor league talent.

Good luck Billy Hall, sorry to see you go but that is usually what happens around Memorial Day for some guys!

Reuben · « **Reply #4 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:19:21 am »

I think I read that Bourgeois was playing 2B on his rehab. If they do trade Keppinger, is Bourgeois' defense good enough to play 2B regularly?

I almost thought Michaels would be the one let go, even though I like him a lot. Hall's versatility is an asset, despite how much he bugs the shit out of me. But "who would we rather see PHing in a crucial late-inning spot?" is probably what the Astros asked themselves on that one.

VirtualBob · « **Reply #5 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:54:12 am »

Quote from: Reuben on June 04, 2011, 10:19:21 am

I think I read that Bourgeois was playing 2B on his rehab. [/lazy] If they do trade Keppinger, is Bourgeois' defense good enough to play 2B regularly?

Nope. CF.

strosrays · « **Reply #6 on:** June 04, 2011, 12:44:51 pm »

In addition to being a versatile veteran who is good in the clubhouse, Bill Hall would make a nice right-handed side of a platoon for someone. Of course, when you are carrying 12-13 pitchers on your staff, a full-time platoon is an exotic luxury. Bill Hall was born about 30 years too late.

jbm · « **Reply #7 on:** June 04, 2011, 09:42:56 pm »

Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there, but the wording of the mea culpa by Wade (it represents a failure of judgement on my part) took me by surprise.

chuck · « **Reply #8 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:03:19 pm »

Quote from: jbm on June 04, 2011, 09:42:56 pm

Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there, but the wording of the mea culpa by Wade (it represents a failure of judgement on my part) took me by surprise.

He knows he fucked up. He knows he's fucked up on nearly all of the veteran acquisitions or contract extensions that he's done. He has Wallace to hang his hat on. That's it. The Ed Wade years have been an unmitigated disaster. I don't care what sort of constraints the owner gave him. He has been a ridiculous failure as a general manager and I cannot wait for Jim Crane to shitcan his sour ass.

Ebby Calvin · « **Reply #9 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:08:32 pm »

Quote from: chuck on June 04, 2011, 10:03:19 pm

He knows he fucked up. He knows he's fucked up on nearly all of the veteran acquisitions or contract extensions that he's done. He has Wallace to hang his hat on. That's it. The Ed Wade years have been an unmitigated disaster. I don't care what sort of constraints the owner gave him. He has been a ridiculous failure as a general manager and I cannot wait for Jim Crane to shitcan his sour ass.

Wow. I know hyperbole is the best thing ever, but do you really think this is true? I guess I'm still comparing him to Poopura, but think he's done an alright job. Bourn, Myers, Kepp, Wallace, Villar, etc come to mind. What's your view on Heck?

austro · « **Reply #10 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:15:38 pm »

Quote from: Ebby Calvin on June 04, 2011, 10:08:32 pm

Wow. I know hyperbole is the best thing ever, but do you really think this is true? I guess I'm still comparing him to Poopura, but think he's done an alright job. Bourn, Myers, Kepp, Wallace, Villar, etc come to mind. What's your view on Heck?

I had great hopes for Heck because of the Milwaukee pipeline. But I have not been particularly impressed here. Hindsight is always better, but the Mier instead of Trout pick is especially galling for me. Of course, there are a million other misses after that, so I'm cherry-picking. But I was really hoping for somebody who would pull rabbits out of hats, and that definitely hasn't happened.

chuck · « **Reply #11 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:25:39 pm »

Quote from: Ebby Calvin on June 04, 2011, 10:08:32 pm

Wow. I know hyperbole is the best thing ever, but do you really think this is true? I guess I'm still comparing him to Poopura, but think he's done an alright job. Bourn, Myers, Kepp, Wallace, Villar, etc come to mind. What's your view on Heck?

It's not hyperbole at all. The team is in last place an a significant number of his signings have been bad.

As for Heck, I really don't know. How could I? Let's reconvene in five years and see what he did. Like austro I'm not going to cherry pick. But at this point, among the guys I've seen, there are far more guys about whom I'm skeptical than excited. But the cupboard is so bare that marginal guys stand out.

Ed Wade is the major league general manager who - for no reason - extended Oscar Villareal. Mull that over for a while. And then think about his other greatest hits. The guy is a disaster.

geezerdonk · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2011, 09:26:41 am »

Best of luck to Hall elsewhere.

MusicMan · « **Reply #13 on:** June 06, 2011, 09:41:43 am »

Quote from: chuck on June 04, 2011, 10:25:39 pm

Ed Wade is the major league general manager who - for no reason - extended Oscar Villareal. Mull that over for a while. And then think about his other greatest hits. The guy is a disaster.

He's also the guy who managed to get a legit 8th/9th inning arm for what was left of Lance Berkman; traded for Brett Wallace when many were saying he wouldn't have any ML impact; signed Brett Myers (contra: extended Brett Myers); etc.

"Disaster" should be reserved for things like the Astros' drafting of the 00s.

JimR · « **Reply #14 on:** June 06, 2011, 10:17:12 am »

Quote from: MusicMan on June 06, 2011, 09:41:43 am

He's also the guy who managed to get a legit 8th/9th inning arm for what was left of Lance Berkman; traded for Brett Wallace when many were saying he wouldn't have any ML impact; signed Brett Myers (contra: extended Brett Myers); etc.

"Disaster" should be reserved for things like the Astros' drafting of the 00s.

agreed. imo, there is hyperbole in the room.

Reuben · « **Reply #15 on:** June 06, 2011, 10:22:12 am »

Quote from: MusicMan on June 06, 2011, 09:41:43 am

He's also the guy who managed to get a legit 8th/9th inning arm for what was left of Lance Berkman; traded for Brett Wallace when many were saying he wouldn't have any ML impact; signed Brett Myers (contra: extended Brett Myers); etc.

"Disaster" should be reserved for things like the Astros' drafting of the 00s.

Traded for Randy Wolf, Hawkins, etc. I agree that there have been questionable signings, but what GM doesn't have those? Wade has been OK; not great, not terrible. His biggest FA "busts" have also (partly due to budget limits) been guys who only make $4 or 5 mil a year, not $18mil/year albatrosses like Carlos Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Zito, etc. or even mid-level ones like Suppan or Carlos Silva.

Reuben · « **Reply #16 on:** June 06, 2011, 10:36:07 am »

Quote from: VirtualBob on June 04, 2011, 10:54:12 am

Nope. CF.

Hey, take it easy on me, VB, it was my wedding day! Thought I'd seen McTaggart or someone say 2B.

Navin R Johnson · « **Reply #17 on:** June 06, 2011, 10:40:31 am »

The reason I won't consider Wade a "bust," is simply for the fact that he was able to convince Drayton to spend money on prospects again, including building an academy in the DR. Some of the signings have been suspect, but as Reuben stated, none of the contracts were albatrosses.

Mr. Happy · « **Reply #18 on:** June 06, 2011, 10:58:42 am »

Quote from: Reuben on June 06, 2011, 10:36:07 am

Hey, take it easy on me, VB, it was my wedding day!

Congratulations!!!

94CougarGrad · « **Reply #19 on:** June 06, 2011, 01:17:56 pm »

Quote from: Reuben on June 06, 2011, 10:36:07 am

Hey, take it easy on me, VB, it was my wedding day! Thought I'd seen McTaggart or someone say 2B.

What the hell is this, subliminal news anouncement time? Or did I miss a thread in the middle of Metroplex Mavericks Madness?

Russ99 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 09, 2011, 08:48:23 am »

Quote from: chuck on June 04, 2011, 10:03:19 pm

He knows he fucked up. He knows he's fucked up on nearly all of the veteran acquisitions or contract extensions that he's done. He has Wallace to hang his hat on. That's it. The Ed Wade years have been an unmitigated disaster. I don't care what sort of constraints the owner gave him. He has been a ridiculous failure as a general manager and I cannot wait for Jim Crane to shitcan his sour ass.

BTW - At the time, Wade wanted to trade Keppinger along with signing Hall, but Keppinger's injury prevented that.

Double fuckup, if you ask me...

GreatBagwellsBeard · « **Reply #21 on:** June 09, 2011, 10:58:17 am »

Quote from: Russ99 on June 09, 2011, 08:48:23 am

BTW - At the time, Wade wanted to trade Keppinger along with signing Hall, but Keppinger's injury prevented that.

Double fuckup, if you ask me...

It's only a hypothetical fuck-up for one, and for two, you have no fucking clue what the Yanks (or whoever) were offering for Kepp.

Ron Brand · « **Reply #22 on:** June 09, 2011, 11:10:45 am »

Quote from: GreatBagwellsBeard on June 09, 2011, 10:58:17 am

It's only a hypothetical fuck-up for one, and for two, you have no fucking clue what the Yanks (or whoever) were offering for Kepp.

Or if it was all Wade's idea to trade Keppinger, or what his motivations were. He's no Branch Rickey, but he's not Cam Bonifay either.

JimR · « **Reply #23 on:** June 09, 2011, 11:11:20 am »

and three, i do not recall anyone asking.

JackAstro · « **Reply #24 on:** June 09, 2011, 04:22:01 pm »

Quote from: MusicMan on June 06, 2011, 09:41:43 am

He's also the guy who managed to get a legit 8th/9th inning arm for what was left of Lance Berkman; traded for Brett Wallace when many were saying he wouldn't have any ML impact; signed Brett Myers (contra: extended Brett Myers); etc.

"Disaster" should be reserved for things like the Astros' drafting of the 00s.

This. When you're trading away the core of your team and patching holes with inexpensive veterans where you can, there are going to be some big misses. But since he also brought in Bourn, Bourgeois, Happ, Keppinger, Wallace, Myers, Melancon, Lindstrom, Sanchez, Lyon, Castro, Lyles, Barmes, Fulchino, Pudge, Tejada etc, it's a hard argument to say that he's a disaster. Some of the players have been very good, some just so-so, but I think there are more hits than misses along the way.

OregonStrosFan · « **Reply #25 on:** June 11, 2011, 02:00:12 pm »

Bill Hall is a Giant (signed to replace the injured Freddy Sanchez). LINK

astrosfan76 · « **Reply #26 on:** June 16, 2011, 09:23:20 am »

Per Levine retweet:

Quote

Bill Hall said 30 minutes in a cage with (Giants hitting coach) Meulens and he fixed a 3-year old flaw.

In '08, Hall hit .225 with a .689 OPS and struck out once every 3.26 AB. Yeah, have fun with that.

Limey · « **Reply #27 on:** June 16, 2011, 09:29:30 am »

Quote from: astrosfan76 on June 16, 2011, 09:23:20 am

Per Levine retweet:

In '08, Hall hit .225 with a .689 OPS and struck out once every 3.26 AB. Yeah, have fun with that.

I have a golfing buddy who has horrible technique around the greens, particularly in bunkers. He never follows through on any short shots, so he ends up with a stunted chop at the ball, and it either goes nowhere or it goes fucking miles. Bear with me. So, every month - coincidentally after the arrival of Golf Digest magazine - he shows up and proclaims "I know how to fix [insert problem here], I just need to [insert unrelated stance/grip change here]."

He's still shit around the green.

jbm · « **Reply #28 on:** June 16, 2011, 09:41:13 am »

Didn't Hall already proclaim a fix earlier in the year. I think it was after one of those games, I mean the game, where he got hits, I mean a hit. I thought he did at least. Maybe something about more open stance allowing him to see it better.

Limey · « **Reply #29 on:** June 16, 2011, 09:42:34 am »

Quote from: jbm on June 16, 2011, 09:41:13 am

Maybe something about more open stance allowing him to see it better.

Are we still talking about Bill Hall, or have we moved on to members of Congress?

Author Topic: Well that's kinda surprising... (Read 5466 times)

Noe

strosrays