Whatchu talkin' bout, Justice?

Richard Justice's blog post this morning:

Drayton McLane has said the Astros won't trade Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman unless they ask to be traded. His thinking is to reshape the club and to hope for improvement and maybe even respectability in 2010...

...Defensively, the Astros could be dramatically better in 2010. Tommy Manzella will make plays Miguel Tejada can't even think of making. He's not going to provide the same offense, but the Astros need to take a deep breath and focus on doing one part of the game really well...

...The Astros must improve the starting rotation. That's where Miguel Tejada's money ought to be going, and if push comes to shove, that's where bullpen money ought to go too. I just have a feeling Drayton is going to be feeling very charitable this winter and reward us with both a starting pitcher and a good bullpen...

... There's also another option. Why not trade Hunter Pence? I'm just not sure his value is very high, but it seems like an option worth exploing. Likewise, why not trade Wandy Rodriguez?

Wandy probably is the only guy on the roster outside of Lance Berkman that would bring a couple of premier prospects, possibly even a young starting pitcher. To replace Wandy with a young starter would free up money to spend on a pitcher, and that buys the club a year or two as the 2008 draft class moves toward the big leagues.

I just hope the Astros are discussing all possibilities. This club didn't become terrible overnight, and it's not going to be fixed overnight. Some of us would be happy about this off-season if the people in charge simply were honest with fans about the work that needs to be done.

Justice is right in that Carlos Lee might as well have a no-trade clause, and with the huge contracts given out to Roy and Lance, the team can't afford to be blown up and rebuilt. The Astros are already spending too much money. Rebuilding teams need a payroll around $60 million (or lower), and that's close to the money going to five players next year. They're in too deep to try to rebuild now.

That said, the $3 million given to Brian Moehler is a well-documented (in my opinion) short-sighted move. Ed's just trying to buy time and field a halfway competitive team until his guys make their way up the ladder. I just hope that, unlike in Philadelphia, he's around to see it happen.