That leads me to the topic of this post. Our new General Manager, Ed Wade, took one hard look at the team he inherited and decided it needed to be nearly demolished. That's not to say that the Astros have gone into rebuilding mode. Far from it. Wade decided that he had a core of star players that he could build around. The problem, from Wade's perspective, was that every other player on the roster was worthless.
His first bold move of the off-season was to trade the much-maligned closer, Bad Lidge. Oops. Left out the "r". That's supposed to be Brad Lidge. Freudian slip I suppose. Anyways, in that deal, Wade sent Lidge and fan-favorite Eric "Brunt" Bruntlett to Philidelphia for three players. The Astros received AA third baseman Mike Costanzo, righty relief pitcher Geoff Geary, and speedy centerfielder Michael Bourn.
The key player for the Astros is (hopefully) Mike Bourn. He's everything that Wade was looking for in a centerfielder. Leadoff hitter with great speed, high on-base percentage, and great defense are his credentials. With luck, Bourn will be the centerfielder for the Astros for the next 5 years, and we finally get to start saying, "Willy T. who?" Oh, did I mention he's from Houston and played his college baseball at UofH? He'll be a fan favorite before April 1st I can promise you that.
Geoff Geary represents Wade's desire to retool the bullpen. What used to be a strength of the Astros had become a liability in 2007 when the bullpen blew game after game. I think that Roy O. probably aged 10 years last season as he saw his leads (and his chances at a Cy Young award)slip away in the 8th and 9th innings. Geoff Geary was the first piece of Wade's new bullpen puzzle. It remains to be seen if he'll be any better.
The last player the Astros got in the Lidge deal was an unknown minor league third baseman named Mike Costanzo. All the reviews say that he is a hitter with tremendous power, but he strikes out waaaay too much. Apparantly he had value, because just a few weeks later he would be packaged in another deal for a great player. That'll be in Part 2...coming soon.
Analysis: The Astros got rid of Brad Lidge when his value was fairly low. However, they almost HAD to get rid of him this off-season because he was practically the face of 2007's disaster season. He's a great guy and potentially an elite closer, but the page had turned for him in Houston. Eric Bruntlett will be missed by many Astros fans (my wife especially), but he had little chance of making the team in 2008. The Astros got two players who will be huge contributors on the 2008 team, and a third guy who helped make another deal.
My initial reaction was that the Phillies got the better end of this deal, but subsequent moves have changed my opinion. Now it all boils down to the fact that if Michael Bourn is half of what I expect him to be, then the Astros will have come out on top of this trade.
Go 'Astros!
