Did the Astros blow it?

I’ve been saying the Astros should deal Roy Oswalt since before the 2009 season… and I’ve been adamant about it.

And I warned them that if they wait too long they could end up like the Orioles with Brian Roberts… where he was the prime trade chip but they never pulled the trigger. And now he is hurt and has no value.

Well look what happened today. He has a ball hit his ankle and shortens his day.

Now it isn’t going to bring back memories of Dave Dravecky’s arm snapping, but if he comes back in his next start and stinks, then any trade suitor might think he is damaged goods. And with only 2 weeks until the trade deadline, even one bad start could torpedo a trade.

In other words, the Astros, who should have been wheeling and dealing in the spring, could be sitting on a #1 starter trade chip at the deal deadline and won’t be able to move him.

Yeah yeah yeah, his contract is big. Something could have been worked out. The Padres got a bunch of solid young players, including Clayton Richard, for Jake Peavy.

Almost every team could use a pitcher like Oswalt… and they may have let this chance to get a building block or two slip away.

To paraphrase Robert DeNiro in CopLand, you had a chance to deal Roy Oswalt AND YOU BLEW IT!

Hey Dodgers… what is wrong with this picture?

On July 21, 2009… less than a year ago, Cliff Lee was a pitcher for the Indians.
He threw a complete game 2-1 victory for the lowly Indians and as the defending Cy Young winner was on the trade block.

And the Dodgers, who made it to the 2008 NLCS, desperately needed an ace pitcher. They had some decent pitching but were also leaning on the Clayton Kershaws and Chad Billingsleys too much. They needed a stud to put them over the top.

He was traded to the Phillies 10 days later… and threw 8 shutout innings in the NLCS against the Dodgers.

He’s been traded three times in the past year.

The Dodgers still desperately need a #1 starter.
Cliff Lee would have been PERFECT ace for the Dodgers. They may have won the 2009 NL Pennant and probably would be in first place as I type this instead of being in 4th place, 6 games back of the Padres in the loss column.

And yet with the need for Lee, the minor leaguers to trade, the pitchers park for him to thrive and the big market to resign him.

And how many proposed trades did we hear involving the Dodgers?
That would be ZERO!!!

Hey Frank McCourt… remind us how your divorce isn’t affecting how the team is put together again?

The Giants won today’s game

The Giants scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th today against the Mets for a dramatic 4-3 victory and completed a 4 game sweep.

That’s what actually happened. Anyone who saw the game today saw Mets third baseman throw high in a play at the plate, scoring Ishikawa for the winning run.

It was that way with the naked eye.
It was that way with the replay.

But like Jim Joyce and Armando Galaragga’s complete game, reality doesn’t matter… only the opinion of the umpire.

Phil Cuzzi, who already unnecessarily delayed the game by jawing with K-Rod, called him out at home.

Even the Mets announcers were saying as it happened “The Mets caught a HUGE break.”

And that was BEFORE they looked at the instant replay.

And the replay was shown on the New York station while Bruce Bochy was still arguing… which spits in the face of the insane “Well, it will slow down the game” argument against instant replay.

He was safe. The Giants won the game… except they didn’t.

If the Giants miss the playoffs by a single game this year, remember that play.
And know that the entire television audience saw the call was wrong in less than 1 minute.

I guess you can’t waste a minute in determining who won or lost a game.

It’s bonkers.
Just bring in instant replay!!!