Richard Justice thinks the Astros need to move Carlos Lee, dadgummit!
To give a player a nine-figure contract, an organization has to be absolutely certain about his desire, work ethic and skills. If the Astros didn't understand that Lee occasionally had a laid-back attitude, shame on them.
But enough about the past. What's done is done. The Astros aren't going to turn any kind of corner in the hearts and minds of fans until they give Lee his walking papers. Fair or not, he has come to symbolize the organization's stupidity.
If there is an unmoveable contract in baseball, it's Carlos Lee's. And now that Barry Zito had a good first couple of months, Lee's contract looks like the worst in baseball. After this season, Lee will be owed $37 million. And he's hitting .235 with a .282 OBP and a .387 SLG. Among the major-leaguers with a qualifying number of ABs, the following players have higher slugging percentages: Yuniesky Betancourt, Howie Kendrick, Brett Gardner, Shin-Soo Choo, and 130 other major-leaguers.
Had Carlos Lee been hitting .330 with a .620 SLG, his contract may have been more valuable. But who wants a left-fielder who looks like he couldn't give a crap hitting .235 with $37 million owed to him? No one. So what, you're going to flush $37 million and release him? Nope. Nice suggestion, Justice. I think if the IRS wants to work its way into our hearts and minds, they should suspend income tax. But that isn't going to happen either.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
