Jason Jennings is done for the year, according to the Astros' offical website. Jennings has sustained damange to his pitching elbow and will undergo surgery in order to repair the damage. He hopes to return sometime next year.
This was a bad trade from the get go and one that the Astros surely regret now.
It's also exposed two things about the Astros, which should have been taken in mind:
The Misguided Concept Of Being In Contention. The Astros fogired that they would be able to contend again this year, after seeing the losses sustained by St. Louis. They did, however, ignore the improvements of both Milwaukee and Chicago and maybe were counting on one last little bit of magic to make the run at the end of the year. They also felt a bit too much faith in their current club, which had holes as of last semester and many of them went untouched in the Astros' attempt to rebuild themselves.
The Misakes In Evaluating Talent And Improvements. The Astros also failed to properly assess their own in house supply of talent. The Astros didn't have the confidence in Andy Pettitte's elbow to hold up and they also didn't value Hirsh highly enough to actually give him a shot in the rotation. They also pinned a great deal of hopes and dreams on Jason Lane and Morgan Ensberg regaining their All-Star forms of 2005, which is rapidly looking to be an anomoly instead of a breakout.
This only adds the icing to the cake of the disaster that is the 2007 Astros season.
The team has virtually self destructed. The bullpen, once a strength, is now visably weakened, despite the re-emergence of Brad Lidge. The lineup, despite the additions of Lee and Pence, hasn't produced much, with Chris Burke's, Brad Ausmus', Adam Everett's and Craig Biggio's amenic bats contributing to a low of the problem.
Hirsh was developed into what Jennings once was, Taveras has established himself as the Rockies' everyday centerfielder and is having a breakout year. Buchholz has been serviceable as a swingman and will likely succeed in that role.
In exchange, the Astros have not only lost a set of valuable players in exchange for a bill of false goods, they've also lost their draft picks thanks to the Lee and Williams signings and weren't even able to sign their top two draft picks. This doesn't supply any talent to an already taxed farm system that is devoid of almost any impact talent whatsoever.
I though that Tim Purpura was a smart man and was willing to give him a shot. Maybe the GM of the team knew more about his own players than I did and he was selling high on a set of questioanble group.
Nearly six months later, this trade stacks up against time.
Okay, time to deal out final grades on the trade deadline for each assignment.
The Pittsburgh Pirates Acquire RHP Matt Morris From The San Francisco Giants For OF Rajai Davis And A Player To Be Named Later
This is probably the most puzzling deal of the deadline. The Pirates really didn’t need Morris, whose production had fallen fast and far as of late and what’s worse is that they’ll be assuming the entire contract remaining on him. Morris adds nothing really to the Pirates rotation except make it a lot more expensive. He’s also going to PNC Park, where he’ll get lit up a lot worse than he did at A####mp;T. As for the Giants, they get a fourth outfielder type in Davis, but the biggest coup is getting Morris’ salary off the books and allowing them to pursue a big bat. So far, the Giants will have a total of $29 million off the books, counting Bonds’ and Morris’ salary. Sexy! The only real criticism is that the Giants could have gotten something of consequence from another team if they had traded him two months earlier…maybe back to the Cardinals for the young Anthony Reyes, who needs to get out of Missouri.
Final Grade: Giants – B, Pirates – D
The Atlanta Braves Acquire LHP Royce Ring From The San Diego Padres For LHP’s Wil Ledezma and Will Startup
The Braves acquire more relief pitching, this time in Ring who may or may not be able to contribute something, but has options available, something Ledezma didn’t. The Padres get a solid lefty reliever in Ledezma, who will benefit from pitching in Petco, and anything from Startup is gravy.
Final Grade: Padres – B, Braves – B-
The Philadelphia Phillies Acquire RHP Julio Mateo From The Mariners For INF Jesus Mechan
What is it with the Phillies and acquiring ####s? Mateo, a known wife beater, should upgrade the pen somewhat. Thank god the Mariners were able to rid themselves of this ####.
Final Grade: Mariners – A+, Phillies – F
The Boston Red Sox Acquire RHP Eric Gagne From The Texas Rangers for LHP Kason Gabbard, OF David Murphy and OF Engel Beltre.
Another upside play here. The Red Sox gain Gagne, who has agreed to setup Jonathan Papelbon. The Rangers gain more parts to possibly rebuild their team from. Murphy can handle center and his bat is okay. He has good plate discipline, but not a lot of power despite his size. We'll see if he's another Rudy Jaramillo reclamation project here. Gabbard is a 4th starter with average stuff, but he does induce ground balls, a plus in Arlington, plus he's left handed. That leaves the Rangers with a lot of starting pitching options, with next year's rotaiton likely consisting of Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, Gabbard and Kameron Loe, though Eric Hurley may force someone to promote him. The biggest deal is Engle Beltre, one of the top prospects signed out of the Dominican Republic last season who is another toolsy player. He's got a ncie swing, a great arm, and loads of power potential. All in all, it's a good deal for Texas, who got parts for now and for later and could potential have a superstar in Beltre if they develop him right.
The San Diego Padres Acquire 3B Morgan Ensberg From The Houston Astros For PTBNL Or Cash
And this move was for…what? The Astros get to do good on their guy by flipping him elsewhere for a fringe prospect. And the Padres’ bench gets more and more cluttered.
Grade: Padres – C, Astros – D
The Chicago White Sox Acquire RHP Jon Link From The San Diego Padres For UTIL Rob Mackowiak
What the hell? Mackowiak was worth more than an average reliever in High A. I usually like to give Kenny Williams the benefit of the doubt, as he has done some good deals in the past and usually identifies prospects he feels will turn out well. But they could have gotten something better for Mackowiak, a solid utility guy with some thunder in his bat and his ability to play the infield and outfield corners. Nice job on San Diego getting some bench depth to help for the stretch run.
Final Grades: White Sox – C-, Padres – B+
The New York Yankees Acquire UTIL Wilson Betemit From The Los Angeles Dodgers For RHP Scott Proctor
A Rod Insurance. Pure and simple, though Betemit may finally end Joe Torre's fascination with Miguel Cairo. Betemit has some pop and can capably handle any of the infield positions. The Dodgers could have something with Proctor, who is a capable reliever and setup man, provided Joe Torre has not already destoryed his arm.
Final Grades: Dodgers - B, Yankees - B
The St. Louis Cardinals Acquire RHP Joel Pinero From The Boston Red Sox For PTBNL
Good job by the Cardinals, though I’m not sure what Pinero can do for them. Well, actually, Pinero could develop nicely if he listens to Dave Duncan and might recapture some of his old promise. It’s not a bad idea to give it a shot, especially for a PTBNL that won’t be of any consequence.
Final Grades: Cardinals – B-, Red Sox – C-
The Houston Astros acquire 3B Ty Wigginton from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for RHP Dan Wheeler.
Not a bad job here by Houston. Wigginton is a above average bat that can produce at third without killing the defense. The Devil Rays enhance their bullpen by acquiring Wheeler, a solid setup man with closing experience that was a part of the first every Devil Ray draft way back when. All in all, this helps both teams.
Final Grades: Astros – B, Devil Rays – B
The Philadelphia Phillies acquire RHP Kyle Lohse from the Cincinnati Reds for LHP Matt Maloney
A decent trade. Lohse should help the Phillies with their current pitching problems and gives them a capable Number Five guy in the back of the rotation. In return, the Reds get a decent prospect in Maloney, who could develop into what Lohse was. Not a bad trade.
Final Grades: Phillies – B, Reds – B
The New York Mets acquire 2B Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins for C Drew Butera and OF Dustin Martin
This was a great trade for the Mets, as Castillo can help them now and they’ll be able to reap draft pick compensation from him once he leaves. As for the Twins, nice job on getting organizational filler that will be playing in the American Association in two years.
Final Grades: Mets – A, Twins – F
The Atlanta Braves acquire RHP Octavio Dotel From The Kansas City Royals for RHP Kyle Davies
I don’t get this deal at all. Davies has flopped since coming up the Big Leagues and has struggled against National League lineups. His command is awful and he gets hit hard by opposing hitters. I don’t know what the Hell Kansas City was thinking. They could have gotten OF Wladimir Balentien, a solid prospect that helps them immediately from the Mariners. What were they smoking?! This is yet another reason why the Royals remain the Royals.
The End Of Morgan Ensberg, Dan Johnson Going To New York, Elijah Dukes' Child Support, Ian Snell Wants Out Of The Steel City, Taking On Keith Law, A Fitting End To Biggio's Career In Houston, and the end of Jeff Allison's comeback...again.
The End Of Ensberg
The career of Morgan Ensberg in Houston is over.
With the acquistion of Ty Wigginton (a great aquisition, more on that tomorrow), the Astros have made it clear it's time to cut bait and designated Ensberg for assignment. It's a sad end to a player that had promise during Houston's title run in 2005, but a torn ligiment in his shoulder during an accident in 2006 sapped the life out of Ensberg's swing and left him powerless, resulting in the Astros' inevitable collapse in 2006 and a big reason why they were so awful this year.
Will Morgan get another shot? Probably. There are teams looking for third base help and the Astros could get some decent roster filler if they can accomodate them, but it's still a #### end to a career for a person who looked like he would be the first stable third baseman for the Astros since Ken Caminetti.
Dan Johnson – Potential Yankee?
Dan Johnson is rumored to be headed to the Yankees at some point before the trade deadline is over.
Of course, this was mentioned by ESPN’s resident Yankee fan, Buster Olney, but I did read an article that the Athletics inquired about Brett Gardner, a outfielder in the Yankees' system, only to be rebuffed by saying he was not available. Why? Gardner looks like he's a fourth outfielder and won't be anything special. He's the return of Bubba Crosby from what I've read and seen of him.
Moving on, why would the Athletics be interested in moving Johnson, a player that has legitimate power, a decent glove, and plays hard?
Aside from the injury history, which is substantial, Johnson is a bit streaky, which is how he went from hitting over .300 to hitting below .250 in a month's time.
But there's another reason.
One is that Johnson can't be sent down because of the fact that he's out of option and would be lost on waivers.
The other is that Oakland is trying to make room for Daric Barton, a solid young first baseman that brings up memories of John Olerud. Though Johnson has more power, Barton has a solid bat and does a lot of things well. Plus, with this season looking lost, Oakland is looking to give their kids a shot and see where they can go from here.\
It's the usual Oakland policy, but should work out well for them.
Personally, I'd move Nick Swisher back for first base myself.
But that's just me.
Dukes May Be In Contempt Of Court
Things don’t seem to be getting easier for Elijah Dukes, who may be held in contempt of court. Dukes was ordered to pay the first of his court ordered payments for child support from his wife: $3,300 for his wife's alimony and $2,800 in child support for the three children they had together. He hasn’t paid a cent yet, though his attorney has said he’d pay by Monday.
If Dukes doesn’t pay by Monday, he could be forced to pay immediately, or possibly face jail time.
I used to wonder if Dukes was maybe, criminally disturbed and needed help to overcome his demons. I honestly wondered if he was just truly a soul that needed help.
One of your duties as a man is to ensure that your children are cared for. To not do so makes you a coward in my book.
Ian Snell Wants Out Of Pittsburgh
Ian Snell wants out of Pittsburgh in a bad way, calling out teammates, management, yelling several times that he hates losing and even acting like a spaze when he supposedly trembled his hand and said "I'm starting to break. I'm getting stressed out. I don't know about these other guys, but I just want to win. I don't want to be called a loser. Man, even my family calls our team losers, and I don't want anyone to say that about our team."
Ooookay.
Snell has a lot of value. He’s a young pitcher that isn’t eligible for arbitration until next season and he plays well, can dominate, and shows the potential to be a middle of the rotation horse.
Is it true the Pirates have one of the worst management offices in baseball? Yes. Is it true that they’ve been #### in almost every deal they’ve made? Oh yes. Is it fair for him to call out teammates? No. Like it or not, they’re in the same boat with you and like or not, you have to see them the next day after they read about your antics in the paper.
Snell has been on the block for a while and was most recently offered to the Braves in exchange for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. In reality, the Pirates have so many other needs, but young pitchers typically can bring oodles back in exchange.
Should the Pirates do a trade, perhaps with the Devil Rays, they could get some quality outfield talent in the process, get Snell out of the National League where he wouldn't come back to hurt them, and be rid of a headache in the process.
It's a mutually beneficial trade, but the con is that the Pirates would be down a starter and the farm system isn't exactly deeply stocked enough where they could accomodate such a trade.
It's a real catch 22 for them.
Disagreeing With Keith Law…Sort Of…On Brandon Morrow
I usually agree with most of Keith Law’s post. He’s also the only person on that staff (aside from maybe Tim Krukjin) that knows what he’s talking about.
But I disagree with him as far as the Mariners’ use of Brandon Morrow.
Should Morrow be in the majors at the moment? No. But that doesn’t mean he’s irrepariably damaged. Allowing Morrow to build innings and stamina works out well for him and it allows him to adjust to major league competition. Plus, he can be optioned back to the minors next year to allow himself to build starter’s innings and eventually allow him to join the Mariners’ rotation in 2009 or so.
But that assessment is ONLY if the Mariners are smart enough to send Morrow down to allow him to develop his breaking stuff, as he’s relying on his fastball too much and his control needs work.
If they continue to see him as a reliever, however, and treat him as such, then yes, I would probably have to change my opinion to Law’s, that the decision to draft Morrow over Tim Lincecum is one of the worst draft decisions in ages.
Biggio To Finish Career As He Begun
Craig Biggio has one more special moment coming up.
Astros ace Roy Oswalt has asked Biggio to be his catcher for a few innings during his final start of the season, likely during the Sept. 28-30 final home series against the Atlanta Braves. Biggio has agreed provided that the Braves are not in a fierce fight for a playoff spot.
I love the fact that Biggio will finish his career the way he ended it, the same way I remember him when I used to collect his cards during the early 90’s, mostly Donruss and Fleer.
As a catcher.
Biggio will be coming full circle. And I can’t find a more beautiful and fitting way to end the career of one of my favorite players ever to play the game.
That Jeff Allison Comeback…Never Mind
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the potential comeback for Marlins prospect Jeff Allison, who has been had his share of legal issues, due to drugs, criminal behavior, and addiction.
The comeback is over for now.
Allison has been placed back on the major league restricted list because of a legal issue that has come up, likely because of that stolen car charge nearly a year ago. The Marlins have said that he’s welcome to come back once all legal issues have been resolved.
Damn.
This has been a hard fall for a kid who was once seen to be the potential ace of a major league staff.
I'm a long time Texas Rangers fan who has come to love baseball as a whole. I recently began this blog as a way for me to showcase my opinions, provide some analysis, and hopefully entertain those who happen to stumble upon my little soapbox online. I'll toss in an NFL, College, or NBA nugget every now and then. Enjoy the posts everyone, and yes, getting a little love in a Deadspin post was probably the highlight of the year, blogwise.
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