Odds & Ends: Hunter, Keppinger, Swisher

Dorfmac, I 2nd that wholeheartedly. The Twins put enough money for a 3 year deal and Torii could've gone out again for another deal after that.

And I wholeheartedly Fourth It.

So by the same logic, you 5 also hate Ken Griffey Jr. for doing what he did.

I think its good that a guy wants to go get paid somewhere, and then come back where he started. What's wrong with that?

Am I the only person who gets incredibly annoyed by the fact the mlbtr staff repeatedly links to Richard Justice's blog and calls it journalism? RJ is known for his high level of sarcasm throughout his blogging. To take many of these posts and report them as true opinion on the subject matter is silly. In the past there have been references to a post where he said "this team has no flaws". Come on. Are you really reading the articles, Tim, or are you just so eager to inundate the site with "information" that you fail to read the content?

In other news, here's my 2 cents on the Sutton deal. Sutton was a 26 y/o AAA player who, respectfully, projects as, at most, a utility infielder. He might get a cup of coffee this year with September call ups, but odds are, he's going to be a perennial AAAA player, who may steal a roster spot one spring with a nice performance. Maybe we're all wrong and he'll be the second coming of Michael Young (who was similarly a late bloomer) but that is more the exception than the rule. At the end of the day they traded a prospect from a thin farm system for a known commodity with 4 years of club control left. I'm all for it, and believe that Kepp could actually slide over and play short next year for Houston. If he gives them solid defense with offense in the range of .270 with 10+ homers, that will exceed the average production from that spot over the past 5-10 seasons there.

Call it what it is: Drayton refuses to put a "rebuilding" team on the field, so you're going to see the Astros littered with the Hampton/Ortiz types for the next 1-2 seasons. Don't confuse Ed Wade for a bad GM. He's been given an impossible task - to remain competitive without rebuilding, on a strict budget, with a roster of bad contracts (see Lee, Carlos). He is doing everything possible, while Bobby Heck is charged with rejuvenating a depleted talent pipeline with consecutive deep, talented drafts.

At the end of the day, Astros fans like myself know, in our heart of hearts, that the next 2-3 years will be bland. There are no playoffs coming, but if the boys can keep it interesting we'll stay tuned. The real problem is that even if the talent pool starts to produce, the current stars will be well into their decline. In 2012 will Berkman, Lee, and Oswalt have anything left to go along with Castro, Seaton, Bogusevic, et al? My gut tells me no. Painful as it is to say, the Astros need to have a 5 year plan similar to that of Syd in the movie Big Daddy: "Don't Die"

"So by the same logic, you 5 also hate Ken Griffey Jr. for doing what he did.

I think its good that a guy wants to go get paid somewhere, and then come back where he started. What's wrong with that?"

Yeah, but Griffey didn't say that he wanted to finish his career in Seattle when he had a large number of years still remaining on his contract with Cincinnati. Huge, huge difference.

Keppinger has played more games at short than any other position. Were you not watching the 881 innings he played there last year for your team with a .980 Fielding %

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=6076&context=fielding

Maybe Keppinger can play 3rd and 2nd next year. We do have Tommy Manzella if he can figure out how to hit this year. He hasn't been awful hitting early on.

My bad, Swish didn't even say anything about Ozzie or the Sox. Still happy he's gone, terrible CF.

"My bad, Swish didn't even say anything about Ozzie or the Sox. Still happy he's gone, terrible CF."

If Kenny traded for Swisher with the intention of having him play CF long term, then he's a moron. Swish got plenty of time in CF with the A's, where he showed that he needs to either be playing 1B or a corner OF position. Plenty.

So by the same logic, you 5 also hate Ken Griffey Jr. for doing what he did.

I think its good that a guy wants to go get paid somewhere, and then come back where he started. What's wrong with that?

Posted by: B Fu | April 20, 2009 at 11:32 AM

Whats wrong with staying in Minny? He was going to get paid there. why go sign someplace else and then turn around and say he wants to end his career there?

RE: Keppinger at SS. The statement I rebutted was a very general "Keppinger can't play short". If he was so atrocious at short, I don't understand why he has played there the majority of his career. He has been solid. My assertion was that he could be another plug to fill a hole in the organization until they truly move forward. I stand by that. Manzella is a downgraded version of Adam Everett, and with him being our top SS prospect, I don't see the team elevating him above a more established offensive player. Lest you forget, the Astros have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball due to gaping holes at... well, almost everywhere. Chris Johnson seems to have a beat on the 3B job for next year and Matsui is still under (that ridiculous) contract, so the only every day spot that makes sense is SS. Is he an every day player? Not on most squads, but for an underwhelming Houston team, he may just be their everyday SS next year, with spot starts around the rest of the diamond.

Johns - Don't comment on things about which you have no clue. I'm sure you meant to say aging but still productive, Thome, Dye, Konerko - of which Thome and Dye's deals are up next year, so not stuck. And young power of Quentin, Fields, Ramirez with Viciedo, Beckham and Flowers waiting in the wings. Don't feel bad about your mistakes.