Results tagged “edwade”

Like a furry rodent prognosticating the weather, a sign of the impending return of spring is upon us. The Astros 2009 schedule kicks off with their Winter Caravan, a goodwill tour that annually precedes Spring Training, with players, coaches and alumni signing autographs for the unwashed masses. The Caravan starts this weekend in the Houston area, and will travel to Austin, San Antonio and (gasp!) Louisiana before everyone heads off to sleepaway camp in Kissimmee.

Like many other businesses around the country, your hometown baseball team is feeling the financial crunch. Two big sponsors (AIG and Bill Heard Dealerships) won't be contributing to the coffers in 2009, leaving owner Drayton McLane unable to raise his payroll going into next season. How to improve the team in these circumstances? That's General Manager Ed Wade's task at the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas this week.

One day after Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon went Latrell Sprewell on GM Ed Wade, the team announced today that they are parting ways with the disgruntled pitcher by placing him on waivers.

Yesterday, we took at look at the Astros starting rotation as spring training starts. Today, we'll move on to the rest of the players who are currently in camp: the relief pitchers and the catchers. Last year, the Astros bullpen often had the look of Brad Pitt at the end of Seven, and reacted about as predictably, too. Despite some really talented arms, the overall effect was less than satisfactory. Fortunately, new Astros GM Ed Wade has traded and signed a lot this offseason, and one of the greatest areas of benefit has been in the back-inning pitching.

The Houston Astros have announced they have come to terms on a one-year, $1 million contract with incentives with Darin Erstard. Erstad, who can play outfield and first base, is a two-time All-Star (1998, 2000). Last year with the Chicago White Sox, Erstad batted .248 with four home runs runs and 32 RBI in 87 games.

The Houston Astros have acquired Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star closer Jose Valverde. In exchange for Valverde, the Astros have shipped Chad Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez to the Diamondbacks.

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo...

The tryptophan has worn off, we all trudge back to work, and sit down to surf the web. Between another crushing Texans loss, the Aggies poaching one of the Texans' coaches, and the Rockets finally getting their act together, it was a busy holiday season for Houston sports. Let Houstonist do the surfing for you and bring you up to speed on what the web is saying about our teams: - Ok, this is just...

It was a good weekend for football in Houston, whether that means the one with the pads or the one with the round ball. But there were things happening in the Houston sports scene outside of RFK and Reliant Stadiums. As we do every week, here's a recap of what the blogs are saying about your hometown teams: - The Dynamo are the big news today, so here's a fantastic live blog of the game...

In October of 2005, there were many voices to be heard in Houston calling Brad Lidge to be shipped out of town or worse; two years later, those voices were heard. Tonight, the Astros finalized a trade to send Lidge and utility infielder Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for center fielder and University of Houston grad Michael Bourn, relief pitcher Geoff Geary, and third base prospect Mike Costanzo. This marks the Astros' first serious move...

The Astros traded albatross-esque outfielder Jason Lane to the San Diego Padres yesterday for a player to be named later or cash. This was the first transaction by Ed Wade since he took over as the Astros general manager last week. Given the struggles that Lane has had over the past couple of seasons, and the fact that his trade value was estimated at somewhere similar to that of Cubs World Series tickets, that...

The Houston Astros have just announced a 3 p.m. press conference to introduce Ed Wade as new GM. Wade's last job was with the Philadelphia Phillies as GM from 1988-2005. Wade is the main reason the Phillies are a contender today; stockpiling their future with superstars such as Ryan Howard ('06 NL MVP), Cole Hammels (14-5, 3.59 ERA), Chas Utley (.333, 97 RBI) and Jimmy Rollins (.293, 88 RBI). Wade returns to Houston where...

The Astros search for a replacement for Tim Purpura may be coming to an end. The baseball world is atwitter with reports that the new GM will be selected as soon as today. After interviewing eleven different candidates, owner Drayton McLane and team president/acting GM Tal Smith (pictured, on left) have narrowed the field and will be making an announcement some time this week. The leading candidate right now is Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro,...

In the wake of last week's firing of Tim Purpura, the Astros have a hole to fill in the General Manager's office. Team President Tal Smith (pictured, on left) is running the show for the time being, but a long-term replacement is required. Yesterday, owner Drayton McLane, Smith, and former vp Bob McClaren interviewed three candidates, and more interviews will take place before the end of the week. Let's take a look at the candidates...