Astros trade for Beltran!

[curtis]

Interesting trade.

Are they hurting for hitting?

-curtis

[MRose]

Probably looking to replace Hidalgo's bat in the lineup and wanting to get good value for Dotel who they had lost a lot of confidence in (apparently he was booed his last outing)and had already starting giving Lidge the save ops. Beltran is a fantastic player but comes with the worry that he's merely a rental for the season as he is a free agent. Defensively, he's a better centerfielder than Biggio or Berkman, so that's an improvement. I'm sure Houston is on the lookout for a lefty reliever or two, but so is every other contender. I would guess its not a "pitching vs. hitting trade," more like, a "figure out a way to get the most talent on the team for the drive" trade. I would expect Houston to make another trade involving pitching perhaps letting one of their 3b's go.

[Quinn]

It's an attempt get some hitting going, improve fielding, and Dotel has blown a few saves( Clemens could have 2 more wins than his record). The Astro had a string of around 30 games in a row where they scored 5 runs or less. Hildago's bat was mia since the end of April that is why he was traded. Billy Wagoner was sent on his way it the offseason for being vocal about the owners cheapness. If they could move Bagwell's contract they would and put Berkman on first and Lane in the outfield fulltime.