King Solomon's Mind: Purpura's no Kevin McHale ... not yet anyway
Are sports in Boston better than in Houston? '
August 01, 2007
Purpura's no Kevin McHale ... not yet anyway
World Series run aside - and no one in his right mind should put a run to the Fall Classic aside, so give him credit for being involved - Tim Purpura is off to a slow start in his first few years as Astros general manager.
Has he just had bad luck? I mean, even those of us who were against the Jason Jennings trade, didn't actually think he would pitch this poorly.
Or is Purpura not capable of getting it done? That is something Drayton McLane will have to decide before he gets stuck like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been run into the ground over the past decade by Kevin McHale.
One thing I love to do is check local newspapers for reaction to major trades.
Boston, home of the Eastern Conference favorites, is ecstatic. Minneapolis, home of a Western Conference lottery team, is ticked off.
The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy: "Christmas Day. Graduation Day. Wedding Day. The day you got your first good job. The day you moved into your dream house. The day your first child was born. And then there's July 31, 2007."
Take Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan: "Trading Kevin Garnett is a good idea, in the same way that climbing onto a life raft in the middle of the ocean is a good idea. It becomes a good idea only after you scuttle your boat on a reef, and your choices become boarding a life raft or drowning."
Pioneer Press columnist Tom Powers: "Settle down. Put away the torches and pitchforks. The sun will come up tomorrow. Unless, of course, Kevin McHale is somehow put in charge of the solar system. In which case the sun will implode and we all will die."
As bad as the performance reviews he has received have been, Purpura hasn't been so roasted in Houston as yet. But it's probably coming. We tend to not call for somebody's head until it is all but severed anyway.
It would have been good for Purpura to have made a sweet trade or two yesterday, proving he can hold his own with general managers around baseball. Instead, he seemed to indicate that teams were trying to take advantage of him, and he is not about to have that happen again . OK, he didn't say again, but every time Jason "Six Innings" Jennings takes the mound, you can hear the laughter of Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd.
We might not find out what Purpura turned down, but yesterday he said it "made no sense, to give away our players." And he is right. Let's see how long Mark Loretta and Mike Lamb remain Astros players, and if the team ever gets anything for them.
When Purpura traded Willie Taveras and Co. for Jennings, he said, "You have to give up talent to get talent." And he was right. Well, right about the clich
While the Astros didn't jump into the trade deadline festivities, they stepped in it, sending Morgan Ensberg to San Diego on the condition that the Padres pick up his air fare.
Speaking of Ensberg, he is a clubhouse favorite for teammates and the media and one heck of a guy, but we can't let him leave town without chastising him for the shot he took at TexMex. Ensberg, a Southern California native who owns a home in the San Diego area, said "I can't wait to go have Mexican food." Ok, I like fish tacos as much as the next guy, but I'll take Mexican food here in Texas over that in California any day.
Amen to that Jerome. Tex Mex rules. After spending 2 1/2 years in Phoenix eating Sonoran Mexican "food"...I couldn't wait to get back to Texas.
One thing I like about y'alls radio show... You keep the Astros blather to a minimum. I know it's a slow sports day and you're obligated to mention what happened at the trade deadline but...please stop talking about Baseball until the playoffs. No one cares, and no one has cared about the Astros since June.
It's football season. Football, Football, Football.
It's soccer season too...but I know you don't like MLS.... you can leave that to Jorge.
King-
First, the WS team was not his roster. All he did was stand pat at the trade dealine and get some lucky breaks. Then to "improve" on the WS roster, he went out and got Preston Wilson and Aubrey Huff. We have since cut ties with both. Then he lost Petitte and Clemens, and replaced them with Jason Jennings and Woody Williams. He also sent Willie Taveras and Taylor Bucholz to Colorado to get them. He did get Carlos Lee and Mark Loretta in here. He didn't trade Everett or Lidge in the offseason and offered arbitration to Morgan Ensberg. Then he sent Pence back to the minors to give Jason Lane a chance. Then he traded Dan Wheeler for Ty Wiggington. My point in writing all of this out is to show it's not too soon to rush to judgement. 2 good moves, a bakers dozen bad ones. At what point do you add all this up and say decide if this guy deserves his job? I guess it's the same math they are using with Jason Lane and his endless pool of opportunity.
Thank you Jerome. I am absolutely thrilled that we found somewhere to move Mo, and especially somewhere he was happy to go. But I was shocked and devestated by the shot he took at the Mexican food here! Uncalled for! I mean, I can think of some of the best food in town, all less than 3 miles away from my house, all Mexican food.
Disappointed...just disappointed!
Good luck Mo! We all hope you turn it around!
The Pioneer Press quote is classic.
Despite his self-congratulation after the World Series run that he "let the kids play" (that is, the 28-year-old kids), Purpura's real claim to fame is he went to the World Series with Gerry Hunsicker's roster and had Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and flash-in-the-pan Brandon Backe. What has he done since then ? Three of the four starters that got the team to the Series are gone. Acquiring Carlos Lee was great and he's been worth every penny if you consider the team's offense was one of the worst in baseball the past few years, but offering $100 million to a guy isn't exactly negotiating wizardry. Lee helped the offense this season...just in time for Pupura to turn the pitching staff into a batting practice staff. Signing Loretta was a good idea, except he wasn't given a position to play every day, despite having one of the better bats. Shouldn't you sign players that will actually be able to help ? Of course, you can always call up young talent from the minors (like, say, the Braves have done). The Astros have done just that- they called up their minor league talent, Hunter Pence. Of course, that was their ONLY minor league talent...
So I ask again: what, other than having one of the best pitching staffs in history hurl you to the World Series, other than the $100 million magic trick he pulled to acquire Lee, has Tim Purpura done that shows he deserves another year as GM ?
Yeah. Listen. I love Morgan Ensberg as much as the next fella, but I for one am not sorry to see him go. He is the biggest reason that the Astros did not win the WS in 05 (with his miserable lack of clutch hitting...well...hitting period) and he has stunk up MMP since. He's done. He's washed up. Caput. I mean, I'm glad he's a nice guy and all...but please...nice ain't gonna cut it when you're hitting the Mendoza line with zero power and no RBIs. As for knocking our Mexican food...I noticed his comments yesterday when he made them and it kind of threw some fuel on the fire. Well Mo, enjoy your pansy Cal-Mex food to go with your pansy Socal home and your pansy play on the baseball diamond. Adios.
"As bad as the performance reviews he has received have been, Purpura hasn't been so roasted in Houston as yet. But it's probably coming. We tend to not call for somebody's head until it is all but severed anyway."
You always seem to be ahead of this soft houston media. You are different. That is why we like you because you state your opinion whether it is popular or not. I do believe you do your job right by not letting personal friendships get in the way like Justice and McClain (remember the "class act", "nice guy" crap we are fed daily). I recall your entries about JVG. While you stated your case why he should be fired, we got a case stating why the Rox will not find a better coach than JVG from Justice, Jonathan, Fran and J Lo. I do believe they have changed their tune just a bit with all the moves Morey has made. Remember, these moves would not have been approved by JVG. JVG likes old, slow veterans...
On to Purpura, if he is not yet Kevin McHale why do you want to keep him around? I mean, does the guy need to perform like McHale in order to lose his job. Are you going soft on us now? And what makes you so sure he's going to turn it around? Examine every trade or acquisition he's made so far(please leave Lee out of this because it was made obvious to us Lee wanted to play in Houston). It is not that he hasn't learn from his mistakes but he is not respected around baseball. Every GM is looking to hose the guy. I guarantee you every GM called to see if they can get Pence, Oswalt or Lidge out of him for a couple of minor league prospects. If it wasn't for his history of bad trades, he might of done it. Or better yet, Drayton may have pulled the plug on it. Who knows?...
LEO
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I know where you're coming from Leo, but to be honest, I was on the East Coast for much of his tenure, so I'll be a little more patient than I normally am in this situation. I don't think I'm yet qualified to give a full breakdown on Purpura's performance. I could go with the chalk, and cite on-the-field results, and by that he has been horrible. But there are often behind-the-scene circumstances that play a part in many moves. I might have been first in the Carr-must-go line and the engineer on the "JVG's departue would be a good thing" train, but I'll wait a little bit longer (the Christma holidays?) to come to a conclusion on Purpura.
I'm sure Ensberg meant Taco Bell when he said, "Mexican food."
I could care less if Morgan was a "Class Act." What is the fascination with, oh, I wish him well. I hope he does good. He needs a change of scenery. Screw Ensberg! Can I say that?
He can take that lady-like kick, when he throws, back to San Diego and keep his pinky out when he eats his Taco Bell, since he's a classy guy.
The Ensberg deal will come back to bite Pupura. He was the second best Astros' hitter since the All Star Break (with an OPS over 1.0), and I suspect he will hit well in San Diego. The Astros did everything they could do to drive down his value (making it obvious he was on his way out), and they should have gotten more for him. But the fans bash Ensberg and demand he be traded, so Pupura took the easy way out. However, he should remember Parcells' line that if you do what the fans want you will find yourself sitting in the seats with the fans. The more logical choice? Don't trade Wheeler, since the bullpen only gets worse without him, and play Ensberg for the remainder of the year, so that you have a chance at increasing his trade value.
