Budget squeeze likely to ensnare Astros
The Houston Astros play in the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country, and yet Drayton McLane is locked into the "small market" mentality. Let's see; the Astros have a new ballpark and the resulting revenue. What they don't have is a decent television contract. Their payroll budget for next year may also limit their ability to be competitive in the future.
He's frequently criticized for walking a straight and narrow budgetary line, but the truth of the matter is McLane has always been willing to spend for certain players he believed would sell tickets, raise television ratings, etc.
He spent for Jeff Bagwell, didn't he? And Craig Biggio and Billy Wagner and others.
He would have spent for Roger Clemens or Mike Hampton or Randy Johnson, too, because he believed those guys were solid investments. He did not see Vinny Castilla or Moises Alou the same way.
Problem is, McLane already has around $53 million tied up in eight players next season: Bagwell, Biggio, Wagner, Richard Hidalgo, Lance Berkman, Brad Ausmus, Jose Vizcaino and Orlando Merced.
Ausmus has a complex option for 2003, but the bottom line is he's too valuable to allow to leave. Hidalgo has been on the trading block for two years, but his money ($22 million over the next three years) has far exceeded his .235 batting average.
Spending $53 million on those eight leaves around $12 million for the rest of the squad. The good news is that some of the Astros' best players -- Roy Oswalt, Wade Miller, Julio Lugo, Geoff Blum -- are still bargains.
One possible trade is with the Rockies, who have indicated they will take Hidalgo, salary and all. Meanwhile, the Astros have had a long-running interest in Juan Pierre, a bona fide leadoff man and center fielder.
Pierre's numbers aren't good this year -- a .273 batting average and .318 on-base average -- so the asking price might not be as high as it once was.
Unfortunately, the Rockies will take Hidalgo only if the Astros agree to take Hampton.
McLane truly loves Mike Hampton. He all but begged him not to leave. He sees Hampton, both in terms of ability and makeup, as the kind of guy he wants playing for the Astros. He sees Hampton as bringing some of the buzz back to Minute Maid Park.
Likewise, Hampton would like to return to Houston. He already has decided to make his year-round home here.
Here's the problem.
Money.
Were I the unsentimental type, and in this case I'll play that role, the answers would be simple. Both Bagwell and Biggio are long past their most productive days, and yet they're being paid for past performance. That sort of loyalty is commendable, but it does nothing for the future. And Richard Hidalgo is due $10 million dollars next year? How many of us would be collecting unemployment if we'd had the year he's had?
There comes a time in the life of every professional sports franchise when it is time to start over. The Astros farm system is one of the best in baseball. It's time that some of the talent that has been developed down on the farm be given a trip to Gay Paree. It's time to see what they can do. At this point in time, the Astros will never be more than a middle-of-the-pack team until they look to the future instead of hanging on to the past. Let Bagwell, Biggio, and Hidalgo go. If that means taking on Mike Hampton, well, that seems a reasonable risk to take.
Meanwhile, I'm going to get ready to watch my FIRST-PLACE Minnesota Twins in the playoffs. It's been a long time, and I'm beyond excited. It will be nice to watch a team in October that actually has a chance to make it out of the first round.
