Jon Paul Morosi quietly mourns the potential end of Roy Oswalt's career

And we should join him, because after 2011, Roy could be done. Says Roy:

"Oh, I'll be done. This year and next year will probably be it. I still love the game. I still love the competition. ... But when I get finished with my contract, if I'm not pitching at the level I'm pitching at now, then I'm not going to come back and hurt the team."

There is a mutual option, which Morosi reports Berkman thinks Oswalt will pick up.

Morosi:
Oswalt is eight victories away from becoming the franchise's all-time wins leader. He wants to finish his career with the Astros. (He said that Saturday.) He also wants to win a World Series. (He said that Saturday, too.) But if those desires become mutually exclusive, he would be justified in asking for a trade.

Berkman:
"I would love to see him an Astro for life, but I don't know that that's the case. As you get older, you don't want to play for a team that you feel like doesn't have a legitimate chance to win."

Oswalt:
"I've told them (the Astros) before. If we're going to go to the rebuilding mode here, then, only playing a couple more years, I would have to play somewhere else. If we're going to throw in the towel and try to get better four years from now, three years from now, I'm kind of running out of time for that."

Ed Wade, on the trade possibilities (amid Morosi mentioning Purpura almost shipped Roy to the Orioles - who else? - at the 2006 trade deadline):
"People understand the magnitude of making a deal for a guy like Oswalt. He's not the kind of guy you get a lot of calls about (from other GMs). And it's not because they don't like him. It's because they know that there are so few pitchers like that out there. I would listen on any of our guys -- and GMs say that all the time -- but the reality is, when you come down to the type of package it would take, it's probably a 'no' response. And in our case, we expect him to be our ace."

So if the Astros fall out of contention by the deadline, would Roy approve a trade? BFF Jake Peavy did, and is in a better position to win than he was in San Diego. Roy could very well ask for a trade, and if he does, Ed Wade better start listening.