So I got to thinking last night, as I couldn't sleep, "This offseason no esta bueno." The Astros haven't made many big splashes - at least that one would consider to be major - or minor - upgrades. Which led me to begin to consider how the other teams in our division are doing this offseason. Let's take a look, shall we?
Chicago Cubs:
Re-signed Ryan Dempster
Re-signed Chad Fox
Signed Joey Gathright
Traded for Gregg Olson
Verdict so far: They have someone who can take the bat out of that God-awful Fukudome's hands. Remember his swing the last month of the season? He looked like he was using his bat to get water out of his sinking canoe. So I think they could sign that Cubs-loving Billy Corgan to play right field and it would be an upgrade. Olson is a good pick-up - but they let Wood walk to get him.
Milwaukee Brewers:
Re-signed Mike Lamb
Re-signed Chris Capuano
Signed Jorge Julio
Signed Trot Nixon
Verdict: Yeah, that makes up for C.C. not being in the rotation.
St. Louis Cardinals:
Signed Trever Miller
Pittsburgh Pirates:
Signed Ramon Vasquez
Cincinnati Reds:
Re-signed Mike Lincoln
Offered arbitration to David Weathers (who accepted)
Signed Arthur Rhodes
Verdict: Bolstered their pitching staff, but there are other issues at play in Cincinnati - like when Dusty Baker is going to let Johnny Cueto throw 631 pitches in a game.
Houston Astros:
Signed Aaron Boone
Signed Jason Michaels
Signed Mike Hampton
Re-signed Doug Brocail
--
Keep in mind it's not even Christmas yet, and there is a lot of off-season yet to pan out. We're not even to the good bowl games just yet. Just also keep in mind that the Astros are as busy as anyone in the NL Central. Nobody has made any real splashy moves yet in our division, and the Cubs and Brewers have just let high-profile guys walk out the door, too.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
