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12-19-2002, 09:05 AM
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20021218&content_id=187412&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp
Yet another surprise by the Astros
by Jim Maloney
HOUSTON -- Superman Kent is a Houston Astro.
That development shocked many in the baseball world -- not to mention most of the media -- but the signing of free agent slugger Jeff Kent wasn't entirely unexpected to those who know Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr., team president Tal Smith, general manager Gerry Hunsicker and Assistant GM Tim Purpura.
That quartet has a track record for pulling off unexpected deals at the eleventh hour. Remember Randy Johnson? Moises Alou? So despite the rather large hurdle of payroll limitations and the question of where Kent would fit in what figures to be the most expensive payroll in franchise history, you knew there was always a chance Houston's brain trust would find a way to make this happen.
The first contact with Kent's agent Jeff Klein was Friday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, and after daily talks the next five days the two sides hammered out an agreement that would satisfy Kent (guaranteed $18.2 million) without taking a wrecking ball to the budget (only $3 million out of pocket to Houston in 2003).
Who would have thought it possible?
"We looked for the most capable person that we could get and he was head and shoulders out there above everybody else," McLane said. "We have always been focused on being a champion and if we hadn't moved on Jeff Kent he would have gone somewhere else today or tomorrow.
"There were a lot of teams looking at this guy, including the Giants. When Gerry and Tal called me Sunday night, they were in shock. When it finally sunk it that we could do this deal we knew we had to do everything we could to get it done."
And get it done they did, late Tuesday night. Kent drove over from his South Texas ranch early Wednesday morning to sign the paperwork to make it a done deal.
In a way, however, this wasn't all that surprising. Houston had to find a way to make a splash. Not only were division rivals St. Louis and Chicago clearly strengthening for a possible playoff run in 2003, the Astros had come off a disappointing season, finishing nine games worse in 2002 than they had in 2001. Among National League clubs, only Chicago and Milwaukee had fallen further.
Some scouts say the Astros had become an aging, slow team offensively. Teams were finding it too easy to pitch around Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell, and when one or both fell into an occasional rut the Houston offense could be anemic. The thinking that more than a tinkering was in order had gathered more advocates in the front office. It was time for bold action.
There were other, off-the-field reasons motivating the Astros. They had also fallen a bit in the community consciousness behind the National Football League's fledgling Texans and the Houston Rockets, who had made an international splash with rookie Yao Ming. Adding Kent certainly should provide juice to the winter season ticket sales drive.
"The real focus wasn't anything with the Texans and Rockets, although we certainly admire and respect them," McLane said. "We're trying to get to the World Series and win."
The Astros, while not exactly passe, needed to do something big. And make no mistake, the signing of Jeff Kent is the biggest free agent signing in franchise history since Nolan Ryan in 1979, bigger than the dual signings of Greg Swindell and Doug Drabek in '92.
"Without Drayton stepping up to the plate in a very, very big way we don't get to first base," Hunsicker said. "(Kent) was not in or plans, was not in our budget and was not on our radar screen so the last five days have been quite a ride for all of us."
The question wasn't that the Astros were interested, but whether they would be out-bid for Kent's services. The fact is they were outbid monetarily, but Kent wanted to play here and wanted to be a part of this organization. He truly went with his heart instead of his wallet. Kent wants to play and will give the Astros a major stick in the middle of the order to protect Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell, something the club has sorely lacked each of the last two years.
I think the complications came from the fact that there are a number of teams coming at Jeff and we felt there was no need to talk about the teams that were chasing him," said Klein. "A lot of (free agents) talk about all of the teams that are chasing them when there really isn't anybody out there chasing them and the people that don't talk don't need to talk.
"There was a quiet confidence in what was going on and an attractiveness to Jeff by a lot of teams. A lot of the things that people read in the paper were simply not true. They were things put out there by people trying to dampen the market, by people trying to push him one way or the other and none of that was true. The people that I was talking to had an enormous amount of respect for Jeff. I've had three of them call me this morning and say thank you to Jeff and to thank me for the way we conducted negotiations. Some of them said thank you for not sending him to my division."
The Astros are thankful too. For Houston, Christmas came one week early this year.
Yet another surprise by the Astros
by Jim Maloney
HOUSTON -- Superman Kent is a Houston Astro.
That development shocked many in the baseball world -- not to mention most of the media -- but the signing of free agent slugger Jeff Kent wasn't entirely unexpected to those who know Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr., team president Tal Smith, general manager Gerry Hunsicker and Assistant GM Tim Purpura.
That quartet has a track record for pulling off unexpected deals at the eleventh hour. Remember Randy Johnson? Moises Alou? So despite the rather large hurdle of payroll limitations and the question of where Kent would fit in what figures to be the most expensive payroll in franchise history, you knew there was always a chance Houston's brain trust would find a way to make this happen.
The first contact with Kent's agent Jeff Klein was Friday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, and after daily talks the next five days the two sides hammered out an agreement that would satisfy Kent (guaranteed $18.2 million) without taking a wrecking ball to the budget (only $3 million out of pocket to Houston in 2003).
Who would have thought it possible?
"We looked for the most capable person that we could get and he was head and shoulders out there above everybody else," McLane said. "We have always been focused on being a champion and if we hadn't moved on Jeff Kent he would have gone somewhere else today or tomorrow.
"There were a lot of teams looking at this guy, including the Giants. When Gerry and Tal called me Sunday night, they were in shock. When it finally sunk it that we could do this deal we knew we had to do everything we could to get it done."
And get it done they did, late Tuesday night. Kent drove over from his South Texas ranch early Wednesday morning to sign the paperwork to make it a done deal.
In a way, however, this wasn't all that surprising. Houston had to find a way to make a splash. Not only were division rivals St. Louis and Chicago clearly strengthening for a possible playoff run in 2003, the Astros had come off a disappointing season, finishing nine games worse in 2002 than they had in 2001. Among National League clubs, only Chicago and Milwaukee had fallen further.
Some scouts say the Astros had become an aging, slow team offensively. Teams were finding it too easy to pitch around Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell, and when one or both fell into an occasional rut the Houston offense could be anemic. The thinking that more than a tinkering was in order had gathered more advocates in the front office. It was time for bold action.
There were other, off-the-field reasons motivating the Astros. They had also fallen a bit in the community consciousness behind the National Football League's fledgling Texans and the Houston Rockets, who had made an international splash with rookie Yao Ming. Adding Kent certainly should provide juice to the winter season ticket sales drive.
"The real focus wasn't anything with the Texans and Rockets, although we certainly admire and respect them," McLane said. "We're trying to get to the World Series and win."
The Astros, while not exactly passe, needed to do something big. And make no mistake, the signing of Jeff Kent is the biggest free agent signing in franchise history since Nolan Ryan in 1979, bigger than the dual signings of Greg Swindell and Doug Drabek in '92.
"Without Drayton stepping up to the plate in a very, very big way we don't get to first base," Hunsicker said. "(Kent) was not in or plans, was not in our budget and was not on our radar screen so the last five days have been quite a ride for all of us."
The question wasn't that the Astros were interested, but whether they would be out-bid for Kent's services. The fact is they were outbid monetarily, but Kent wanted to play here and wanted to be a part of this organization. He truly went with his heart instead of his wallet. Kent wants to play and will give the Astros a major stick in the middle of the order to protect Lance Berkman and Jeff Bagwell, something the club has sorely lacked each of the last two years.
I think the complications came from the fact that there are a number of teams coming at Jeff and we felt there was no need to talk about the teams that were chasing him," said Klein. "A lot of (free agents) talk about all of the teams that are chasing them when there really isn't anybody out there chasing them and the people that don't talk don't need to talk.
"There was a quiet confidence in what was going on and an attractiveness to Jeff by a lot of teams. A lot of the things that people read in the paper were simply not true. They were things put out there by people trying to dampen the market, by people trying to push him one way or the other and none of that was true. The people that I was talking to had an enormous amount of respect for Jeff. I've had three of them call me this morning and say thank you to Jeff and to thank me for the way we conducted negotiations. Some of them said thank you for not sending him to my division."
The Astros are thankful too. For Houston, Christmas came one week early this year.