Trading Deadline Reactions

So naturally everybody has an opinion on what transpired with the Astros over the last 72 hours. Let's find out!

Jayson Stark:
Finally, this team has let itself turn the page. Finally, owner Drayton McLane has signed off on allowing his franchise to "quit holding onto what was and what was not going to be," said one NL executive. The Astros saved themselves $15 million. They got an underrated starter (J.A. Happ) to replace Oswalt, got a big league-ready bopper (Brett Wallace) to replace Berkman, did OK in their prospect haul and started looking at tomorrow. Finally. And it's about time. There's also some speculation this set the stage for McLane to sell the team, but that's another story.

Richard Justice:
Who knows what the results will be? There's no way to know how younger guys will do until they get a chance to go out there and play. But it's the right thing to do.

The Astros weren't going anywhere with the mix of players they began this season with, and now they've decided to change it. There'll be some bumps in the road, but at least there's a future that makes sense.

Jerome Solomon, in a scathing review:
Now explain to me once more, exactly what are Astros fans supposed to be happy about?

The team just traded its two most popular players — one of the franchise's all-time great pitchers and one of the franchise's all-time great hitters — for a bunch of guys who most likely will never be the franchise's all-time great anythings. The Astros make a couple of moves that almost had to be made and some, particularly those who have been calling for the overhaul of the team for years, are optimistic?

Are you serious? Not much has changed.

Nick Cafardo:
The Astros haven’t sold off much over the years because they’ve been contenders, or simply stubborn in keeping some of their aging players. But they finally realized it’s time to retool, and began that process by selling off Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, two mainstays. This wasn’t an easy decision for owner Drayton McLane or CEO Tal Smith. But they not only obtained promising lefthander J.A. Happ from the Phillies, they also did a nice job flipping outfielder Anthony Gose, one of the prospects they obtained from Philadelphia, to Toronto for first baseman Brett Wallace.

Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers:
Only way I see the Berkman trade not working out in favor of the Yankees is if Berkman murders Jeter.

Our take: Had the Astros done nothing, they would have been blasted. Now that they have, they're getting blasted (though it's not widespread.) Whatever the Astros did, someone was going to call Ed Wade an idiot and Drayton McLane a moron. Sometimes, you just can't win.