Ed Wade Approval Rating

[cordscords]

Simple yes or no.

I will choose to scream no from the top of a large building.

[bleach168]

I would be surprised if "No" wins because every non-Astro fan in their heart of hearts are voting "Yes!"

[AussieDodger]

I vote no because he hasn't got much left prospect-wise that we can steal from him.
He can still deal us Lance Berkman for some magic beans anytime he wants .

[speedy27]

i'm a HUGE Astros fan and I say yes. Wade at least is trying to make something happen. I'm tired of watching the team stand pat and not doing anything somewhat risky in order to improve. So what our farm system is depleted (they weren't ranked all that high anyway). If we don't win in a few years we'll firesale and re-stock with top prospects.

Let's keep rollin' the dice Wade and see what we get!

[Pogotheostrich]

No, but as a Cardinal fan I don't mind.

[Scooter1027]

I'll say this -- Wade sees a division that does not have any dominant ballclubs, and he's taking a big stab under the premise of "anybody can win this." There is validity to this theory, and I don't fault him for wanting to try and make a run when he has an Oswalt/Lee/Berkman/Pence core to build around.

That said, he has gone about it in all the wrong ways. Look at how some of the other division teams have gone about their business this offseason:

Cubs (current favorites, in my opinion) -- Kept their division championship team largely intact, and addressed their biggest need (OBP) by unloading Jacque Jones and adding Kosuke Fukudome.

Brewers -- Have not traded a single piece of their young core away while attacking their bullpen weakness. Are in pursuit of a 3B that would fix the team's other glaring weakness (IF defense) by moving Braun to LF.

Reds -- Added Cordero, helping a major bullpen issue (albeit at a hefty price). Are in puruit of Erik Bedard. Have kept their talented offense intact.

In other words, these three teams have focused on their major needs. Houston isn't doing that, at least not yet. They added a SS on the decline (and are taking a significant defensive hit to do it), a 2B at good money who's really no better than the now departed Chris Burke, they've have traded away their two best bullpen arms, and have yet to add a starting pitcher to an awful looking rotation. They did all this while draining their farm system of any remaining potential talent and eliminating all their decent trading chips (including Luke Scott). I don't know, that Tejada/Valverde/Bourn trio needs to come through absolutely huge to make it all worth it, and even then I don't know that their rotation can keep them afloat.

[jfg]

i'm a HUGE Astros fan and I say yes. Wade at least is trying to make something happen. I'm tired of watching the team stand pat and not doing anything somewhat risky in order to improve. So what our farm system is depleted (they weren't ranked all that high anyway). If we don't win in a few years we'll firesale and re-stock with top prospects.

Let's keep rollin' the dice Wade and see what we get!

Only problem is the guys you have to sell are already at the end of their prime years if not past it. The only player that would be worth anything in two years will be Hunter Pence. There won't be a restocking of talent through a firesale if this doesn't work out because you won't have anything to sell.

[speedy27]

Only problem is the guys you have to sell are already at the end of their prime years if not past it. The only player that would be worth anything in two years will be Hunter Pence. There won't be a restocking of talent through a firesale if this doesn't work out because you won't have anything to sell.

you think in two years time Berkman, Oswalt and Lee will have all lost their trade value? I think most would still be top market players despite them being past their "prime" years.

[jfg]

I think in two years Berkman, Lee, Oswalt and obviously Tejada will have lost quite a bit of their trade value. Berkman, Tejada and Lee will be 33 years old, Oswalt 32. The Astros might get something for them but they aren't going to be able to rebuild their system around what those players would bring in. They could right now.

[cordscords]

I think in two years Berkman, Lee, Oswalt and obviously Tejada will have lost quite a bit of their trade value. Berkman, Tejada and Lee will be 33 years old, Oswalt 32. The Astros might get something for them but they aren't going to be able to rebuild their system around what those players would bring in. They could right now.

Keep in mind that Oswalt seems ready to retire once his contract is up.