Kuzul

The 2011 MLB Trade Deadline is just over 24 hours away, and some big moves have already happened. This week alone, the New York Mets traded Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants, and last night, Hunter Pence was traded by the Houston Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Today, the Milwaukee Brewers made a move as they acquired utilityman Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Double-A prospect Erik Komatsu.

Yet, the biggest name on the trade market that still appears to be floating around is that of Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez. Earlier today, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian tweeted that the New York Yankees were “all over” the right-hander. This is certainly an interesting development as it was rumored earlier this week that the Rockies’ asking price for Jimenez was too high for Yankee GM Brian Cashman.

Still, with the Boston Red Sox reportedly interested in Jimenez, don’t be surprised if the Yanks end up making a deal for Jimenez as the deadline approaches. The Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays have also shown interest.

It’s sure to be an exciting weekend, folks. Stay tuned for more updates on deals involving your favorite teams and players over the next two days!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies made a big yet somewhat expected splash when they received All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and $1 million from the Houston Astros in exchange for four minor-league players, including their top two prospects—starting pitcher Jarred Cosart and first baseman/outfielder Jonathan Singleton.

Despite the ridiculous comment made by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. earlier this season that the Phillies “would not make a major move this year” at the trade deadline, Amaro has gotten the job done again for the Phillies.

This is the third major move he’s made at the trade deadline in as many years as the Phillies general manager—two years ago, he traded four prospects to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco, and last year he traded pitcher J.A. Happ and two prospects to the Astros for Roy Oswalt. This year, he got the Phillies the right-handed bat they needed since Jayson Werth signed his mega-deal with the Washington Nationals. And us Phillies fans are happy about that.

However, just because Amaro has made this big trade with Houston doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s done for the year. While most reports indicate that he’s done dealing for the year—he’s even stated that he’s “very comfortable with the ballclub“—but as we’ve come to know with Ruben Amaro (as mentioned above), most things he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Phillies are now the team to beat in the National League. With a major league-best 66-39 record, not only are they the team to beat in the NL, but they very well could be in all of baseball.

Sure, the San Francisco Giants just got New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran in a trade, who was arguably the best all-around bat on the trade market this year, but he’s only with the team for the remainder of the season. And with the Phillies’ acquisition of Pence, he’s not only with the team this year, but also the next and the year after that.

In short, the Phillies have basically one-upped the Giants.

But does that mean the Phillies will stop here?

Earlier in the season, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel asked for both a right-handed bat and a relief pitcher. While Ruben Amaro has granted one of those two wishes (and the more important one as well), could he potentially look to get a deal done for a bullpen arm?

In the past when Ruben Amaro has made his trade deadline splashes, he has stood pat for the last few days following his deals. But could this year be a change to his status quo?

Prior to the completion of the Pence trade, Amaro had released a list of his top three priority players to acquire at the deadline this year. That list, from top to least priority, was Pence, White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin and Padres setup man Mike Adams. Now that the Phillies have Pence, Quentin isn’t needed anymore, so Adams technically becomes the Phillies’ top priority should they continue to pursue other players. But will Adams be theirs for the taking?

As we’ve already covered, the Phillies have traded their top two prospects, Cosart and Singleton. Due to their departures, the Phillies’ new top prospect is starting pitcher Brody Colvin. If the Phillies, or any team for that matter, wants Adams, then they would most likely have to part with at least one top prospect. Should the Phillies pursue Adams, could Colvin be that prospect?

Even if the Phillies decide not to go the Adams route, they could trade for a smaller-market reliever like Chad Qualls of the Padres or Jon Rauch of the Blue Jays. It could be very interesting to see which reliever the Phillies get if they choose to go hunting for one.

And while the Phillies’ other primary target is a bullpen arm, they are also supposedly looking for a power bat off the bench. They inquired about Jason Giambi of the Rockies prior to his injury and they even asked the Minnesota Twins about the availability of their former first baseman Jim Thome, who is just four home runs away from reaching the 600 home run milestone for his career. Wouldn’t it be something if he did it in a Phillies uniform?

Yes, the Phillies have done something special in acquiring Hunter Pence. They’ve got the right-handed bat they have coveted and they’ll have it for two and a half years. But there’s still one lingering question: with just over 24 hours before the trade deadline (as of 1:35 p.m. EDT), will the Phillies make another move?

Only time will tell.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Astros are about two weeks into spring training and played their first game yesterday. I am sure no one wanted to start off the 2011 season like they did, falling to the Atlanta Braves 13-3.

However, after only nine innings of real baseball and a handful of practices, here are 10 things that we have already learned about this team.

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The Houston Astros decided about halfway through last season that it was time to enter that period that no fan wants to hear, and that is rebuilding. The Astros decided to trade away the only remaining players from that 2005 team that made the World Series.

They decided to finish out the season with a lot of rookies and young players, but if the way the Astros finished last year is any indication of things to come, this team is ready to grow up quick and make some noise in 2011.

Within three days, the Astros traded Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and two other players. One of those other players was OF Anthony Gose who they quickly turned around and traded to Toronto for first basemen Brett Wallace.

Two days later, Lance Berkman was traded for two minor league players.  Then players like Chris Johnson, Tommy Manzella, Angel Sanchez and Jason Castro were called up to the big time. Before Astros fans knew what happened, they had almost an entirely different team.

At the start of August last year the Astros had a record of 45-59 and many people thought it would only get worse with the fact they basically had a minor league team wearing a major league uniform.

However, this team showed some talent and grit down the stretch and actually finished the season 32-27 from that point, including a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. The way the season ended gives Astros fans hope for this coming season.

Now at this point they will not be competing for a World Series, but a third place finish in the NL Central with a record above .500 is not out of the question and this a brighter outlook than what many fans thought back at the end of July. It looks like the Astros have found a player that will secure the hot corner for years to come in Chris Johnson, who hit .308 last season with 11 HRs and 52 RBIs in 94 games.

They also have two players with great potential in Brett Wallace and Jason Castro who benefited from the playing time in the majors last season. Add in Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee with Michael Bourn leading off and wreaking havoc on the bath paths and the Astros have the potential for a solid batting lineup

The Astros have also been able to build a solid pitching rotation by adding a couple of young pitchers. They were able to trade for J.A. Happ and called up Bud Norris last year who will be paired in a rotation with veterans Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers.

Bud Norris finished strong last season going 6-3 since August, Wandy was consistent throughout finishing 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA and 178 strikeouts. The real surprise last year was Brett Myers who finished the year 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA and 180 strikeouts. Myers pitched well enough that the Astros rewarded him with a two-year extension.

Now this team has a lot of questions surrounding them.

Will the young players be able to continue to improve and develop while playing at a high level? Will Brett Myers be able to step up and be the ace of this rotation? Will Clint Barmes and Bill Hall be able to be able to hold down that middle of the infield? Can Carlos Lee still play in the outfield?

It is hard to say at this point, however, I think manager Brad Mills has a team that will play hard and compete. I also believe that the future looks much brighter than it did back at the end of July and the dreaded “rebuilding period” may be shorter than first thought for Astros fans.

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For years and years, and it seems like decades that we’ve been playing a 6 inning game in a 9 inning battle (take out SS, C, & Pitcher –all batting below .230). First all, for those following the Astros, in between Miguel Tejada and Ricky Guiterrez, we’ve had a disaster at SS. Do you want a 300 +20hr guy at SS? No need to answer that. We’re all tired of a slick fielding SS that can’t hit; you can pick them up on any waiver wire or minor league systems, including your own. Manzella, trial is still out on him, looks like he maybe a grade above of Everette in batting or maybe not. I’m not taking my chances. I will take Sanchez’s batting average any day. As long as the guy can hit 270+ avg & plays good defense, I’m good. Wait..wait..’that SS defense can save you runs!’ True, Tim Bogar.Would you take a number 7 / 8 slot hitter with great defense or a 2 slot hitter with average and good defense? Especially for a team have been notoriously known to not provide runs for their pitchers. Should we flip a coin?..It’s a two-way street for production, to help out your team in every aspect of the game as much as you can.

Same lack of offensive production with the catcher situation. Humberto Quintero, who has proven to be an active defensive catcher that brings his value up..but don’t stick and settle for a Brad Ausmus clone. Don’t give the ‘he’s good at calling games!?!’ Really? We’re in the majors and we want someone that will put up batting average; not asking for G. Soto (Cubs) power. As if we haven’t notice in this era, it’s a plus to have a 8 position players that can get on base. Just get on base with a 270’s avg or so. J. Castro….sure strikes-out a lot! He’s on trial for potential, we are all waiting for him just to hit for average. Castro potentially can bring us to another lever if he can hit. Can’t ask too much of him right now, but we want to from a 1st rounder. Who wouldn’t right?

Who’s dogging J.Mike? Age is an easy excuse for not understanding. So what’s he’s having not so great 2nd half, tons of star players have that dilemma year in and year out. But Age..age..give me a break. He can hit with power with some clutch and not be in the 220s, be grateful for a pinch hitter.

Bourn is a true defensive miracle that we really really like…need…like him to hit at least 270-280. I’m going to start counting how many super fast center fielders that we’ve had that can steal bases at will and track down fly balls like a hawk, but can seem to get on base for the life of them. Start with Gerald Young, if you like.

Biggest upgrade problem goes to Espn’s LVP, Carlos Lee. The Manny Ramirez jog to 1st, right? Is he truely a Least Value Player? Hands down for the first half, but not the second half. He’s got clutch, more than I can say about Berkman (super streaky & liability with southpaws). Put him at first and get an OF or get a 1B? Will Lee go cloak and dagger next season with the 1st half again & carry that to the 2nd half too? Will B.Wallace develop soon? There you have it, offensive upgrade tweeking indeed needed.

Remember Pence and L.Scott was tearing up the league in their first full extensive season? Then they came down because they’re not the Tony Gwyn batting average type of player. Chris Johnson is having that type of season. Finally, a 3B that can start and can hit for power with some average. Sophomore stinkers coming up? I just don’t know, but I’m enjoying his production right now. Can he hit 280 or 290 with +20 hrs and maybe sneak up in +100 RBIs? Depends on adjustments of the league and him improving.

Even without the Great O (he deserves where’s he’s going to this year, Amen), This is the best I’ve felt of the pitching staff coming somewhere near the consistency of the ’05 season (Roger, Andy, Roy & scraps).

Paulino looks promising breaking out of the 5 inning barrier of last year where he complete implodes. At least TBD right now after injury. Norris finally putting his zips into keeping the game to winnable situations. We all know he can strikeout the side. Paulino and Norris can easily put up back to back 10k days. Myer’s..getting in age right??? He’s been a miracle man striking out lots and lots of folks; finally living up to the potential? Up in age right? Who cares! Keep it up Myers, I was wrong about you at the beginning. Wandy‘s got the second half magic…wait we have potentially 4 guys that can maybe average a strikeout an inning? Impressive! Wait, did we forget JA Happ, he’s no Roy, but we’re expecting him to be, can he be?…I don’t know, but he looks good enough to be excited over.

Figga who? Figga what? Figueroa, a pleasant upgrade from the inconsistent Moehler. Good to know that we’re not a rehab center for a needle in a haystack for next year’s ‘what might he do next year with his pitching?’ Bullpen may need more work…hmmm. Who knows how these rookies are going to do or how long they are going to last next year..looks a little over worked to me. Lindstrom and Lyons are doing an exceptional job in the close out department. No, Valverde or Wagner, yet if we do get a superstar closer, our bullpen will look lock-down ready. Can we get that superstar closer to show up or drop in? Or should we concentrate on the Lee/contract/true prototype Josh Hamilton / Joey Votto / Pujols type of a cleanup hitter addition or replacement? Overall, we have great potential at pitching front end and back end.

Hunter’s lodge. Pence is really coming to his own in becoming a clutch hitter, but to ask him to be SF’s Will Clark & Keith Mitchell and/or Matt Williams that brings chills down a starting pitcher? Nope. Can he be? We like to and want him to…as of right now? No way. We can’t ask that of him or expect him to be. As of right now, he looks like an ideal guy that can be a great asset to lineup with true & consistent 4 and 5 hitters. This again leads to the Lee 1B experiment.

Question is, if somehow you get rid of Lee’s contract, who can hands down replace that power and clutch? Can we add some else with him? Can a realistic deal be done to replace him and his contract? If so, are we ready for a two or three year of searching, testing, and finding that elusive elite clean up hitter? Can it be Wallace? C. Johnson? Pence?

Can we survive off of the 2nd half power surge of Pence, Lee, and Johnson? Maybe, but don’t rely on power alone to win games.

2011 looks like we’re able to compete. To put on paper as a postseason threat to win? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That remains to be seen with trades and development of maybe players.

Remember, going into last year and this year, we had the seventh highest payroll with $107 mil and ++$90 mil or so. Now, we’re looking at $70 mil payroll including the eating up Berkman’s and Oswalt’s contract. If we play it cheap, then we wait til after the 2012 season assuming their contract does get picked up by their current team. Or should we get up into the $100 mil to get that TRUE Elite Superstar? Whatever you do, don’t trade half of our farm system again for picking up declining stars such as Lee &Tejada or junk quick fixes as Matzsui & Feliz. Let’s not make that same mistake, please don’t. We’re not in the mood to hear..’making the team more competitive’, Cecil Cooper. We want the later, TRUE Elite Superstar now..but is Drayton going to sit & play with… ‘A bunch of these guys are eligible for arbitration and new contracts’. Isn’t that what the GM is for? Wheel and deal this time again…Mr-I-Have-My-Own-Award, GM (google Ed Wade Award).

Simple formula, not solution to winning it all, yet effective.

Elite Superstar Hitter = Higher Percentage of Clutch Game Deciding Hits = Higher Fan Expectation & Interest = Higher Ticket Sales + Higher Jersey/Product Sales = Higher Revenue.

Was that so hard to figure out? We’re in a position to financially make that commitment with our strong push..it won’t guarantee a World Series, but give a boost in the attendance bubble where Drayton has been hurting all season long. AKA, it shows the owner is really listening to the fans’ demand for excellence, oh…we’re also speaking for whole team too. We know what happens when non superstar speak up.

Will Ed push that confidence into Drayton and can he pull it off? It’s not just a team effort, it’s an organization effort.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Although the Houston Astros have spent a majority of the 2010 season in the cellar of the National League Central, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the team’s future.

Today, we’re going to look at 15 solid reasons to get pumped up about next year’s Astros squad.

Let’s begin by taking a look at five honorable mention candidates before quickly narrowing down to the top 10 players on Houston’s young and talented depth chart with the highest probability of becoming future MLB stars.

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Nothing is better for a struggling Houston Astros team than a trip to St. Louis? That doesn’t make any sense. St. Louis is in first place in the NL Central. Houston? They aren’t in first place, or second, or third or fourth. Nope, they proudly reside in fifth place, one game back of the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates.

And this is after a three game sweep of the Cardinals.  

Astros baseball! After two eight game losing streaks, a third place finish isn’t impossible, just improbable! I think that would be a great slogan for the rest of the season.   

Now, don’t get too excited Astros fans, I don’t believe we are about to launch ourselves back in the division race.

But maybe, just maybe, we can compete for third or fourth place in the division. And truthfully, if we somehow finish ahead of the Cubs, then I consider this season a resounding success.

To move ahead of some other teams, we’ll need more games like Thursdays. Timely hitting against a good pitcher. Good defensive plays at the right time and starting pitching that dominates.

Lance Berkman and Hunter Pence provided the clutch hitting.  

Berkman made a great defensive play in the eighth inning to prevent a run.  

Bud Norris did what he always does to the Cards. Dominate them. He is now 4-0 against St. Louis, including 3-0 at Busch Stadium. He needs to pitch like this against everyone.

Heading into yesterdays game, his E.R.A. was closer to 10 than three. Both of his victories this season have come on the road against St. Louis.  

It must have something to do with his nickname. Bud. The relationship between the Cardinals and Budweiser must give him some type of special power.

Maybe he can also have some success against the Brewers.

Someone give Felipe Paulino a cool nickname. He could really use some wins.  And control. 

All kidding aside, it’s a good feeling to see the team starting to hit.  

I know Berkman and Pence care and want to win. When they produce like they did this weekend, the Astros will take a game or two, even the odd series from a better team.

If Norris can continue to improve the starting pitching wouldn’t seem that bad. Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriquez and a consistent Norris would be a decent 1-2-3 start to a rotation.  

Norris has the stuff of at least a no. two starter. His success like most pitchers depends on his command. Staying away from the one big inning has also been a problem.

Of course, if Bud continues to pitch well, it makes it even easier on the Astros to trade Oswalt near the deadline. If they can get one or two top prospects for Roy, they need to pull the trigger.  

The bats this season are never going to be great.  

Outside of Michael Bourn, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence and Carlos Lee, the hitters are below average at every position. So more often than not, pitching is going to have to carry the team or at least nudge it towards victory.

Enjoy the sweep over the Cardinals in St. Louis.  It doesn’t happen often.  And after the start to this season, no one would have predicted it happening this year.

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Believe it or not, the Astros have won four games in a row; and three of those victories have come against the first-place Cardinals as Houston swept St. Louis at Busch Stadium.

How, exactly, have the 13-21 Astros taken all three games from the 20-15 Cardinals (on the road on top of that)?

From Lance Berkman heating up at the plate to Hunter Pence’s re-awaking offensive outburst, Houston is on a tear right now.

And it’s a damn long season, so don’t count them out yet.

Here are five good reasons why Astros fans should be smiling, and five solid pieces to Houston continuing their climb from the MLB grave and back into contention in the National League Central…

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