Ciboag96 said:

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No Dickie Thon on anyones top ten? I still remember his 1983 season. What a scrappy player.

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He'd be on my top 20. Another reason to hate the Mets, Mike Torrez's fastball ruined his career.

I still remember the PA announcer would call out his name Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiickie Thon.

Maybe single Bregman. Not married with a kid Bregman.

Usually when you fly private (buy hours not the plane) you gotta let your airline know at least 24 in advance usually more.

Farmer1906 said:

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Maybe single Bregman. Not married with a kid Bregman.

Usually when you fly private (buy hours not the plane) you gotta let your airline know at least 24 in advance usually more.

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Ok big money. When is the TexAgs Astros thread private jet headed to Vegas?

Tucker will get the mega deal if he hits free agency in 3 years.

HerschelwoodHardhead said:

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I started writing my top 10, and then realized I had another idea for a topic. Who are the top 5 Astros you had the most hope/excitement for when they first got on the team? Here's my top 5, largely influenced by being born in 1985:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Yordan
3. Daryl Ward
4. Hunter Pence
5. Brad Lidge

I was in the stands for Oswalt's first start. Even in the nosebleeds it was obvious how much he controlled the mound. He's probably still my favorite Astros pitcher.

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• Eric Anthony
• Drabek & Swindell when Drayton signed both for the '93 season
• James Mouton and his bad-ass MLB debut going 3 for 5 with a run scored and a steal on opening day of 94.
• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson - went to his home debut, electrifying, and he got a hit!

Since the 70s been watching the hometown team.

1) Cedeno
2) Bob Watson
3) Nolan Ryan
4) Bagwell
5) Biggio
6) Berkman
7) Altuve
8) Springer
9) Verlander
10) Yordan

Honorable Mentions
Bregman
Correa
Yuli
Puhl
Glenn Davis
Clemens
Randy Johnson - that was a very fun 3 months!
Brantley
Wagner

The Porkchop Express said:

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HerschelwoodHardhead said:

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I started writing my top 10, and then realized I had another idea for a topic. Who are the top 5 Astros you had the most hope/excitement for when they first got on the team? Here's my top 5, largely influenced by being born in 1985:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Yordan
3. Daryl Ward
4. Hunter Pence
5. Brad Lidge

I was in the stands for Oswalt's first start. Even in the nosebleeds it was obvious how much he controlled the mound. He's probably still my favorite Astros pitcher.

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• Eric Anthony
• Drabek & Swindell when Drayton signed both for the '93 season
• James Mouton and his bad-ass MLB debut going 3 for 5 with a run scored and a steal on opening day of 94.
• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson - went to his home debut, electrifying, and he got a hit!

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I'm glad somebody else remembers Eric Anthony. I thought he was going to be a star.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Should clarify, the likelihood of a deal has increased tonight…l don’t believe anything is happening tonight in terms of actual moves being made.

— Michael Marino (@MarinoMLB) December 9, 2022

These guys are just lighting money on fire

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I know this is what it appears like on the outside. But the wilpons left the organization in a terrible mess. No farm, no investment, complete garbage. Cohen is a fan, wants to win and has the finances to make it work. Bookmark this now, he isn't spending like this forever. He is simply willing the gaps for now (-and they are numerous)...for the record I have watched Tucker and Nimmo and Tucker is not a 250M player, even in this market.

I would also like to go on record and say Senga and Ohtani will both be Mets in 2024

The Porkchop Express said:

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HerschelwoodHardhead said:

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I started writing my top 10, and then realized I had another idea for a topic. Who are the top 5 Astros you had the most hope/excitement for when they first got on the team? Here's my top 5, largely influenced by being born in 1985:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Yordan
3. Daryl Ward
4. Hunter Pence
5. Brad Lidge

I was in the stands for Oswalt's first start. Even in the nosebleeds it was obvious how much he controlled the mound. He's probably still my favorite Astros pitcher.

---

• Eric Anthony
• Drabek & Swindell when Drayton signed both for the '93 season
• James Mouton and his bad-ass MLB debut going 3 for 5 with a run scored and a steal on opening day of 94.
• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson - went to his home debut, electrifying, and he got a hit!

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Randy Johnson is a great call for this list. Was a huge deal and a massive shocker acquisition at the time. I was also at that game. I recall him warming up in the dome on the 1st base line before the game and have never seen a crowd so amped up watching a warm up.

ATM9000 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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• Eric Anthony
• Drabek & Swindell when Drayton signed both for the '93 season
• James Mouton and his bad-ass MLB debut going 3 for 5 with a run scored and a steal on opening day of 94.
• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson - went to his home debut, electrifying, and he got a hit!

---

Randy Johnson is a great call for this list. Was a huge deal and a massive shocker acquisition at the time. I was also at that game. I recall him warming up in the dome on the 1st base line before the game and have never seen a crowd so amped up watching a warm up.

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I had been out of college for a couple of years and was actually at the Bryan Eagle office visiting a couple of friends who worked there when the story on Randy Johnson getting traded came over the AP wire. I hollered out in front of a lot of people I did not know.

The Astros hyped Eric Anthony forever as like the greatest power hitter ever in franchise history, which wasn't saying much back then, plus he was a local guy - Sharpstown High School. He had that one shot into the upper deck at the dome, and one decent year where he hit 19 HR and drove in 80, but we never saw the massive power he was suppose to have. The Astros did turn him into a huge piece of the late 90s teams though, trading him to Seattle for Mike Hampton and Mike Felder in 1993.

I looked up his minor league stats this morning and you see the power dip even there.
He had 29 HR in 115 games in A ball in 1988 and 31 in 199 games between AA and AAA in 1989, and even hit 4 in 25 games in his September call up in 1989, but really regressed the next year, only hit .193 with 10 HR In 84 games with the Astros.

Nitro Power said:

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I would also like to go on record and say Senga and Ohtani will both be Mets in 2024

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Dodgers are resetting their luxury tax this year and will break the bank next year on Ohtani. All things being equal (winning and $$) I imagine he'll want to stay on the West coast.

BMX Bandit said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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7 guys. 5 ladies. That makes 2 unlucky dudes.

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Yeah, going to Vegas as single guy with money sounds terrible. Taking wife/girlfriend much better

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"A wife in Vegas, take my advice, is like going to China with a sack of rice, but I love Las Vegas"

- Dean Martin

McInnis said:

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Jet Black said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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HerschelwoodHardhead said:

---

I started writing my top 10, and then realized I had another idea for a topic. Who are the top 5 Astros you had the most hope/excitement for when they first got on the team? Here's my top 5, largely influenced by being born in 1985:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Yordan
3. Daryl Ward
4. Hunter Pence
5. Brad Lidge

I was in the stands for Oswalt's first start. Even in the nosebleeds it was obvious how much he controlled the mound. He's probably still my favorite Astros pitcher.

---

• Eric Anthony
• Drabek & Swindell when Drayton signed both for the '93 season
• James Mouton and his bad-ass MLB debut going 3 for 5 with a run scored and a steal on opening day of 94.
• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson - went to his home debut, electrifying, and he got a hit!

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I'm glad somebody else remembers Eric Anthony. I thought he was going to be a star.

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Does no one else have Doug Rader on their list? Maybe it was because I played 3rd base in little league the year I became an Astros fan and had red hair but he was my favorite. Won a bunch of gold gloves and would occasionally hit a monster home run. Funny guy too.

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It's cuz you're really old. Rader debuted in the bigs in 1967. Even I wasn't alive yet.

kegstand said:

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IF it plays out that way he almost certainly exits the Astros price range.

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The Astros budget will have to change in the future. All of the salaries are going nuts and if they do not adept even the janitor will be out of their budget.

n_touch said:

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kegstand said:

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IF it plays out that way he almost certainly exits the Astros price range.

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The Astros budget will have to change in the future. All of the salaries are going nuts and if they do not adept even the janitor will be out of their budget.

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I think it will adjust proportionally (as we're seeing with the Montero deal) but if Tucker becomes an MVP caliber player he'll still be out of budget imo.

Even with the recent free agent contracts Astros have opportunity to extend Tucker simply due to it being a bird in hand.

Injuries, a down year, anything can happen in future to make a future contract less than optimal.

Not saying an extension will be cheap, but kinda hard to say no to a serious nine figure offer today imo.

and another aspect...

smart teams will pick off these veteran players when they have 2 or 3 years left on their deals.

similar to how the Astros got JV --- find a franchise in payroll prison and/or fire sale mode

That only works when the back end of the contract doesn't completely suck. It worked for JV. It didn't as much with Greinke.

Stros fan since birth ('75). I favor guys with a little more longevity with the team.

1. Biggio
2. Ryan
3. Doran
4. Cruz
5. Bagwell
6. Altuve
7. Oswalt
8. Berkman
9. Bregman
10. Wagner

Honorable mention:
Puhl
Caminiti
Springer
Correa

Listening to baseball is dead and they're discussing JV & deGrom.

Who do you think has a better 2023 & 2024?

Both healthy, the answer is deGrom IMO. Based on recent history, the answer is JV. I could see arguments from either, but gun to my head, I think my pick is deGrom.

I think JV's production is a little more predictable the next couple years. He'll be a formidable top of rotation starter/ace but decline a little each year as he trends into his 40s.

DeGrom has higher ceiling but comes with a higher risks.

If I was a contender, I'd rather have JV and his predictability. If I was a fringe team or a team desperate for relevance (ie Rangers), I'd rather have DeGrom and his upside.

Maybe it's just me, but I am feeling less and less confident in JV due to age. The velo, innings, and what my eyes showed me says I am being irrational, but my gut (channeling Dusty here) says father time comes for him.

At this age, a drastic drop off in production could happen any year. He's a gamer, committed to fitness/longevity, etc., so I think he'll keep finding a way to get guys out. But probably more as a top 25 WAR pitcher instead of top 5.

Astros fan since 1980 (5yrs old)

1. Altuve
2. Biggio
3. Bagwell
4. Bass
5. Cruz
6. Cammy
7. Ryan
8. Scott
9. Berkman
10. Springer

Honorable Mention:
G. Davis
Bregman
Puhl
Doran
Wagner

W said:

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and another aspect...

smart teams will pick off these veteran players when they have 2 or 3 years left on their deals.

similar to how the Astros got JV --- find a franchise in payroll prison and/or fire sale mode

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JV was 34 at the time.

2-3 years left on deal, these players will be 38

big difference and age and position