Checking in with the Houston Astros, where Jon Heyman suggests Ryan Theriot could land with the Astros if he's non-tendered by the St. Louis Cardinals, a dose of hope in the future of GM/Blogger relations, and Steve Phillips describing (however vaguely) what Astros fans can expect out of new General Manager Jeff Luhnow:
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Twitter / @Jon_Heyman: #astros may have interest ...
#astros may have interest in ryan theriot if cardinals non-tender him. Good stick, versatile <<--Why does every Heyman tweet read like a Thrifty Nickel ad? Or, if you're not 80 years old: why does every Heyman tweet sound like a craigslist ad? "I got this entertainment center here, 100 bucks. Holds TV, stereo, two plants if you position it right. Good glass, versatile. Will listen to trades." -
Astros may have interest in Ryan Theriot if he’s non-tendered - HardballTalk
"Theriot earned $3.3 million this past season while batting .271/.321/.342 with one home run, 47 RBI, four stolen bases and a .662 OPS over 483 plate appearances. The 32-year-old made 17 errors in 91 games at shortstop in 2011 and advanced defensive metrics haven’t been kind to him over the past two seasons, so he may be better suited as a second baseman moving forward."
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Is Theriot Really On the Astros' Radar? - The Crawfish Boxes
"Yes, Theriot might improve the team if he replaced Sanchez on the roster. But is the improvement significant enough to justify the difference in salary? Theriot was paid a little over $3 million last year, while Sanchez was paid $440,000. Sanchez is not yet arbitration eligible--but even if we assume that Sanchez would get a pay raise to $900,000 and Theriot accepted a pay cut to $2 million, Theriot increases team costs by $1.1 million. That doesn't seem like a lot, but if the Astros are in a severe cost cutting mode, increased costs will be under the microscope." -
Luhnow's Blogger-Friendly Background - The Crawfish Boxes
"TCB is the home of Astros bloggers. That's why I'm surprised that we haven't talked about new GM Jeff Luhnow's blogger friendly past. As an executive with the Cardinals, Luhnow had a number of notable interactions with fan bloggers. That has to be a welcome trend for those of us who write for TCB and spend time reading other baseball blogs..." -
Former GM, ESPN analyst Steve Phillips understands direction of Astros - Examiner.com
"In their words, it's probably having an Astros' way of doing things. They want to develop players with an understanding of what the expectations and consequences are. They want youngsters with an understanding of what the development process is like, how to go about doing thing and letting it all play out."