The opening farewell

TalkZone
102

In a normal market, I would agree, But a market with Arte Moreno and Steve Cohen in it is irrational. And then you’ve got the Dodgers and Yankees with their insane media deals.

As chuck points out, there is the question of which owners are actually interested in winning and which among them need a shortstop, so the particulars of the Correa situation are hard to judge. I’m referring more to general behavior. Somebody who doesn’t need a shortstop may still need a starting pitcher and therefore throw insane money at, for example, Scherzer.

I just don’t see the escalation of salaries stopping until one of these clubs is left holding the bag after some regional sports network goes belly up.

103

2029, 2030 or 2031 is so far away that worrying about how giving Correa an 8-to-10 year deal affects future Astros’ teams is something I’m not going to do.

The bottom line is this: Correa’s value to this franchise extends well beyond his play. He is the guy that always defends the club against sign-stealing scandal references, like he did again yesterday. He is frequently involved in meetings at the mound to help calm down Astros’ pitchers. He’s a team leader and one of the faces of this franchise. That needs to remain the case for the next decade.

I also found out from a friend last night with connections to the club that the rumor about Verlander flying in from Florida to throw out the first pitch during the ALDS was true and proposed by the Astros’ marketing team. Correa was the player that convinced Crane it was a bad idea on the players’ behalf because Verlander has been rehabbing away from the team all season.

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104

I have been skeptical of Houston giving him a 10 year deal but it’s abundantly clear that he’s worthy of it. He’s the guy that gets this team going and thrives in clutch moments. I love how he stands up for his teammates too. Crane needs to sit down with him after the playoffs and ask him point blank what would make him happy. With Verlander and Greinke off the books next year, there are plenty of resources to make it work. Make it happen Crane!

105

Exactly this. If Click/Crane are thinking about this in terms of maximizing WAR/$, that’s wrongheaded and they need to stop. They need to be thinking about this in terms of making Correa/Altuve this generation’s Bagwell/Biggio: era-defining, face-of-the-franchise, lifetime Astro, HOF-candidate players. Crane should make it his mission to cement that as his personal legacy. And that’s all without even considering Carlos’s performance. My gut says something in the neighborhood of $300M over 8-10 years gets a conversation started with Carlos’s agent. Anything lower and he won’t even bother to counter.

I was sad and disappointed that Springer landed elsewhere. I will be devastated if that happens with Carlos.

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106

Anyone else having Pam Gardner flashbacks? At least Crane doesn’t kowtow to her type the way Drayton always did.

Come to think of it, “at least Crane doesn’t [literally anything] the way Drayton always did” may be a universal truth.

107

Yep. Until last night, I, like most here, thought the rumor was a load of hot air. But, when a friend of mine since high school tells me it wasn’t and Correa squashed the idea, I believe him because he has no reason to lie to me about it.

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108

I wonder if Correa got wind of idea and had to track down Crane, or if Crane approached Correa/the team before signing off on the plan.

109

I wonder if it happened at all. Sometimes rumors take on a life of their own without anyone being at fault for saying what was heard.

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110

This is why that initial tweet annoyed me.

This story serves no purpose whatsoever other than to be a distraction.

It should have never been made public (i.e. whoever leaked it should not have).

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111

Springer was no Correa.

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112

Not sure. My friend and I were discussing the Astros’ keeping Correa and after I explained my desire for Crane to do whatever it takes to keep him, he told me that you’ll like Correa even more. I asked why, and, without provocation, he said that the marketing department had planned for Verlander to throw out the first pitch during the ALDS but Correa spoke to Crane on behalf of the players asking him not to go through with the idea.

It could still very well be a rumor that has no legs. I just didn’t expect to hear that when we were talking as friends last night.

113

He or his agent (both) surely know marketing…

114

Certainly, that view is not limited to sports. Money - no matter how much - can take wings when a gifted athlete or businessman has more dollars than sense. (Not saying this is Correa, but it happens.) I wonder what counsel Vince Young could/would give Correa, if he could/would listen…

Agree. I am just a fan, it’s not my money.

We thought the Astros were really going to miss Springer, Cole, & Verlander - the WS was in doubt - but it’s been a joy, seeing Meyers & McCormick begin to grow into his slot in CF - even Siri (what a story!) and the young pitchers. And Tucker starting shining… Who knew they were in the pipeline? I wonder who’s next in the pipeline. (Any word on how Meyers is doing?)

Correa is a spectacular athlete @ 27, but Yuli is 37. The four are going to be split up sooner than later.

This fan believes the game and the team is bigger than Correa. Turned out that the Astros were bigger than Springer. (Sooner or later, we will learn that no one - even Snuffy - is irreplaceable…)

Would having a chance at another WS (or more) with these guys be worth a few million less over the 10 years?

Ask Springer & Cole…

115

I came across an interview Carlos did within the last day or two with a Puerto Rican media outlet that I believe to be a radio show. I’ll provide a translation for some of it below, but the main takeaways are that he does not believe that Crane will make a competitive offer, and he wants to play in New York.

His accent will be difficult to follow for anyone who is comfortable with standard Spanish or even Mexican Spanish, but rather than try to sort of parse the translation I provide, I encourage you to watch the video at the times I indicate and see his expression and body language for yourselves.

I think this interview is significant because he is obviously far more open with these guys than he is with major national media or local media in the US. He’s quite media aware and image aware, and he drops a lot of that here, which is interesting.

The video is here:

The part about re-signing starts at about 6:30.

=====================
How much do you like the fact that the owner of the Astros is saying that the possibility exists that they will re-sign you?

It’s good to hear it but as the business man that he is, one of the best, he’s very smart, the pressure from the fans is difficult to take and you go to the park, we’re playing, the crowd is yelling Pay that man! and all that, you feel the pressure so to silence the fans you throw that out there, Hey, we’re going to try to re-sign him.

But this isn’t reality? You understand that this isn’t reality?

No, no, no, I told you in the other interview we did that I don’t think it will be possible now after the lack of respect from the beginning, I don’t think they’re going to raise the offer, and with the season I had and the playoffs, the value has risen, so to what point are they ready to go? I do know that there are other teams asking about me, and they’re ready… well, the word is ‘all-in’ for me, so if they make an offer that’s fair to both sides we’ll consider it…

You always say ‘lack of respect,’ so I think that any offer (from the Astros) would have to be higher to make up for that lack of respect.

=====================

Carlos goes on to more or less brush that aside, talking about how there’s no state tax in Texas and you have to analyze all the numbers, etc. and that you’re not after the largest round number, you have to figure out how to keep as much as you can. He’s basically acknowledging that the Astros have an advantage in this area.

He then goes on to talk about how he coaches some of the guys from the dugout, mentions instances with Machete and Yordan specifically.

Later in the interview they go back to the mention of ‘all in.’ (We’re at 18:40 now.) The interviewer asks Do you like the east coast?

=====================
Do you like the east coast?

I love it.

Do you like it if they have big pockets?

And if they have stripes, too.

But do they have to be dark blue or can they be blue and orange?

Any blue looks good.

But you like the blue stripes?

I can tell you that the stripes look good.

=====================

Apparently the main interviewer is a Mets fan so Carlos is being vague to sort of mess with the guy, but to me it is clear that he wants to be a Yankee.

tl;dr Carlos is convinced the Astros will lowball him again and wants to be a Yankee

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116

Disgusting.

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117

If he’s set on New York then would any previous offer had mattered? Doesn’t sound like it.

118

The only thing missing from that is a boras hat.

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119

I agree. If he dares go to a team, even wishes to go to a team, whose fans mantra is eff Altuve, I just don’t know what to say. He’ll be dead to me.

Tells me he doesn’t care about his “brothers” after all.

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120

If daddy steinbrenner was still alive then I could see them back up the brinks truck for Correa but the Yankees payroll is already 220 million going into next season and they played this season at 250. They need more than just a SS, I honestly can’t see Cashman going there. As for the Mets, any chance they wanna pay 600+ million to Lindor and Correa? I don’t think so. I could be wrong but I don’t think Correa ends up in New York whether he wants to or not

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121

This is my feeling, too.

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