Wandy Gets Paid: What it Means, Sleeper Free Agent for Texans

The Astros signed Wandy Rodriguez to a 3 year $34 million contract on Tuesday.  The contract includes a 4th year vesting option that could bring the value of the deal up to $44.5 million.  Wandy was 11-12 with a 3.60 ERA last season.  He has been inconsistent at times but figured to be a hot commodity on the 2012 FA pitching market.  Wandy will actually enter 2011 as the 26th highest paid starting pitcher in MLB. 

Here's a list of the guys that make more than Wandy that I would want ahead of Wandy (in no particular order):

1. Dan Haren (Anaheim) 5-4 2.87 ERA after trade from Arizona

2. Zack Grienke (Milwaukee) 10-14 4.17 ERA for the Royals last season, but figures to dominate and get better run support in the National League.

3. Chris Carpenter (St. Louis) 16-9 3.22 ERA.  Has had some health issues, but is a true ace.

4. Tim Lincecum (SF Giants) 16-10 3.43 ERA.  Even in a down year led the Giants to a World Series Title.

5. Felix Hernandez (Mariners) 13-12 2.27ERA. Dominated the AL despite the worst run support in MLB.

6. Johan Santana (Mets) 11-9 2.98 ERA.  An ace unbefitting the crap the Mets have put around him.

7. Roy Halladay (Phillies) 21-10 2.44 ERA.  The National League's reigning everything. Cooperstown awaits.

8. Cliff Lee (Phillies) 12-9 3.18 ERA.  Struggled a bit in the regular season after trade to Texas, but made up for it in the post season.  Having Halladay and Lee back to back is criminal.

9. Roy Oswalt (Phillies) 13-13 2.76 ERA. All he did after his arrival in Philly is dominate to the tune of 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA.

10. Justin Verlander (Detroit) 18-9 3.37ERA. Hits the gun in triple digits regularly.  A guy you would pay to watch pitch.

11. CC Sabathia (Yankees) 21-7 3.18 ERA.  The most durable ace in the American League.
Here are guys making more $$ than Wandy that I would want less than Wandy.

1. Oliver Perez (NY Mets)  0-5 6.80ERA. A headcase, trainwreck, doesn't get any worse than this.

2. John Lackey (Boston) 14-11 4.40ERA. It appeared to me that the innings from Anaheim finally caught up to him. He gave up a Livan Hernandez like 233 hits in 215 IP.

3. Scott Kazmir (Anaheim) 9-15 5.94ERA. He lost his velocity and his confidence.  Looks like a shot pitcher.

4. Kyle Lohse (St. Louis) 4-8 6.55ERA.  Just another guy who throws puss and probably he thought he could get by in the inferior NL.

5. Carlos Silva (Cubs) 10-6 4.22 ERA.  He won his 1st 7 decisions last season and then fell off the map.

6. Barry Zito (Giants) 9-14 4.15ERA. It's not his fault that SF gave him a stupid contract.

7. Jake Peavy (White Sox) 7-6 4.63ERA.  He can't be counted on to stay healthy.

8. AJ Burnett (Yankees) 10-15 5.26ERA.  When he isn't on the DL, he's probably getting shelled.

The remainder of the starting pitchers that make more $$ than Wandy are debatably a little better or worse than Wandy.

1. Derek Lowe (Atlanta) 16-12 4.00ERA. He's extremely durable having made 30+ starts 8 consecutive years, but I feel like Wandy has more of a chance to take over a game than this guy.

2. Josh Beckett (Boston) 6-6 5.78ERA. He obviously has an oustanding post season record, but his regular season numbers have been very inconsistent.  Arm health is an issue.

3. Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) 11-6 3.33ERA.  Big Z has the stuff of an ace, but such a horrible attitude that the Cubs refused to pitch him for stretches last season.

4. Ryan Dempster (Cubs) 15-12 3.85 ERA. Just about Wandy's equal over the last 2 seasons.

5. Hiroki Kuroda (Dodgers) 11-13 3.39ERA.  Benefits from Dodger Stadium, but also got no run support last season.

6. Bronson Arroyo (Reds) 17-10 3.88ERA. Reminds me alot of Derek Lowe in that you know he will take the ball every 5th day and he won't get rattled if he gives up a ton of hits in any one game.

7. Mark Buehrle (White Sox) 13-13 4.28ERA.  I put him on equal footing with Wandy because of the superior AL hitting.


The Astros have Rodriguez, Bret Myers, and JA Happ locked up for the next two years.  If these guys pitch to their potential the club could remain competitive within the division.  Bud Norris would appear to be a lock to be the #4 starter and there a ton of candidates to fill the 5th spot.  The Astros' pitching staff actually looks half decent on paper.

From the people that brought you Cameron Wake, CFL'er turned Dolphins Pro Bowler, here's someone the Texans should throw a dart toward.

#53 is Phillip Hunt, a former Houston Cougar who led the CFL (Winnipeg) with 16 sacks this season. He's reportedly drawing interest from the Minnesota Vikings. The Dolphins turned CFL sack leader Cameron Wake into a hell of a player. How much you want to bet that the Texans have never heard of Phillip Hunt? 6'2 260 sounds like a 3-4 OLB to me.  Hunt lasted all of one pre-season game with the Browns after going undrafted.  The guy clearly deserves another shot to make a team, and it would cost the Texans next to nothing to sign  him.



Apparently this is the British version of the "Ron Franklin" story. Famed Scottish Soccer analyst Andy Gray was dismissed by Sky Sports for comments he made on tape that were clearly not meant for on-air consumption.  I'm not sure what makes a woman or a man fit/unfit to be a linesperson, but this sure seems a tad extreme.
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-england-soccersexism


 
 

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