With each player move, Asstros GM Ed Wade solidifies his status as the most idiotic GM in baseball (non-Brian Sabean Division)

Astros signed RHP Brian Moehler to a one-year, $2.3 million contract extension with a mutual option for 2010.
Moehler has been the Astros' biggest surprise this year, somehow managing to maintain an ERA under 4.00 two years after amassing a 6.57 ERA as a starter for the Marlins. That he's turning 37 in December and has an abysmal strikeout rate doesn't bode well for his chances of keeping it up in 2009. He'll probably be penciled into the rotation, but it'd be no surprise to see him off the roster by Memorial Day.

Astros signed outfielder Darin Erstad to a one-year, $1.75 million contract extension for 2009.
The Astros remain very much content with mediocrity. Because he's a left-handed hitter backing up a left-handed hitter, Erstad wasn't a great fit for the Astros in the first place. He's actually done a pretty good job, posting a .293/.325/.384 line in 263 at-bats. However, he's no longer a basestealer, he's lost a little something on defense and there's little chance his power is coming back.
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Ed Wade: Get a Brain Morans

Astros acquired LHP Randy Wolf from the Padres for RHP Chad Reineke. Wolf will take Roy Oswalt's rotation spot now and maybe Runelvys Hernandez's later. He was 6-10 with a 4.74 ERA for the Padres and 1-6 with a 6.63 ERA away from Petco Park. It's doubtful that he'll be an asset in Houston, and any fantasy value he still had is now gone.

Does Ed Wade honestly think the Asstros are a playoff calibre team? 5th in the division...10 games out of the wild card...seven teams ahead of them for the wild card. Hell, the Padres probably have a better chance of winning the NL West, given the awfulness of that division. And certainly, even if Houston was "a player away," hard to see how Randy Wolf fits that description. Maybe you should have gone for Rich Harden, Ed. Though, of course, Houston's minor league system is a virtual dustbowl of a talent: vast rigor mortis at every level. What a maroon.
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Ed Wade: he's a modern-day Robin Hood...

...for crappy, veteran relief pitchers:

Oscar Villarreal has refused his assignment to Triple-A, with the Houston Chronicle reporting that the Astros will release him if they can't find a taker via trade. Villarreal was designated for assignment last week, just three months after inking a two-year, $2.85 million deal with the Astros.
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When someone as stupid as Ed Wade is involved, it's hard to say who's to blame...

Shawn Chacon, who was suspended indefinitely by the Astros, said he threw Ed Wade to the floor Wednesday after being asked to attend a meeting with the general manager and manager Cecil Cooper. Chacon said he was told sternly by Wade that he was going to have the meeting, something he didn't want to do. "He started yelling and cussing," Chacon said of Wade. "I’m sitting there and I said to him very calmly, ‘Ed, you need to stop yelling (at) me. Then I stood up and said 'you better stop yelling at me.' I stood up. He continued and was basically yelling and stuff and was like, ‘You need to (expletive) look in the mirror.’ So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him because at that point I wanted to beat his (butt). Words were exchanged." Chacon was pulled away from Wade by a teammate before he could do any damage, which may end up saving his career. It's still hard to imagine another team being eager to give him a chance this year.

Kill Kenny empties minor league system...

Maybe he should have done this last year instead of signing Darin Erstad (and did you see dat Dead Weight in Houston signed him?). And it looks like Billy Beane is shooting for 110 losses this year...

White Sox acquired outfielder Nick Swisher from the Athletics for LHP Gio Gonzalez, outfielder Ryan Sweeney and RHP Fautino De Los Santos. It's going to be interesting to see how the White Sox try to fit these pieces together. If they're willing to use Swisher in center field, they're improving their lineup immensely with the deal, though it's at a steep cost in the team's top two pitching prospects and the still promising Sweeney. If they're doing it with the idea of using Swisher in left field, leaving no room for Carlos Quentin, then the deal could prove to be a major bust. We're guessing they'll pencil him into center for now but continue to look for alternatives. Either way, Swisher gets a nice upgrade in fantasy value with the switch to the AL's best home run park. He'll be a threat to hit 35-40, especially if the White Sox are smart enough to hit him second.

Dead Weight Is Back With A Vengeance

Didn't take him long to reclaim his previous standing as the "Worst GM In Baseball." Just horrendous...

Astros signed second baseman Kaz Matsui, who had been with the Rockies, to a three-year, $16.5 million contract. Matsui gets an extra $1.5 million from what was originally reported. "Kaz is an ideal fit for our club," Astros GM Ed Wade said. "Kaz runs extremely well. He steals bases, moves runners and takes the extra base. He plays the game the right way." Getting redundant already? He's also injury-prone, he doesn't hit lefties and his career high in RBI is 44.

The Brain-Dead GMs Steel Cage Death Match

Astros GM Ed Wade is in Los Angeles talking to free agents Kaz Matsui and Randy Wolf. It seems that the Astros and Matsui aren't quite as close to a deal as Tracy Ringolsby and Richard Justice indicated last night, so maybe the Cubs could still steal him away.

Pizza Man vs. Dead Weight: A Battle of Idiots for the Ages. Who is going to be the first to say "I am a moron" and sign Matsui to HYOOOGE contract he doesn't deserve? I mean, the guy had a couple of good months playing in Colorado. Before dat he totally sucked with the Mets, who traded him to the Rockies for--are you ready for this?--Eli Marrero. Do Messrs. Henry and Wade not have access to, i dunno, baseball-reference.com? Am i the only who can find this on the internets? Well, if anyone in the World Series-free (since 1908) organizations spent 5 minutes to look at his stats they would find his gawdawful road numbers for 2006-07: .260/.293/.397 & .249/.304/.333. He's the same player he was with the Mets: not good and now older. Is there some kind of aspiring GM-school these guys go to and have their brains removed before embarking on their careers? The Cubs and Asstros would get similar (or better) production out of players they are already have (Chris Burke, The Riot &tc.). And why don't the Cubs just play Eric Patterson for crying out loud? The mind boggles with how idiotic these idiots truly are...

He's Back: Ed Wade Still An Idiot

Astros acquired outfielder Michael Bourn, RHP Geoff Geary and third baseman Mike Costanzo from the Phillies for RHP Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett.
Mike Costanzo: He's a long shot to contribute in the majors.
Geoff Geary: Impossible. There was simply no way Ed Wade was going to pull off a five-player deal without getting himself a veteran middle reliever. It couldn't happen.
Michael Bourn: If you look at it as one year of Lidge for five for Bourn, it doesn't seem so bad. Still, the Astros just weakened their pen and their offense with this stroke.... Bourn wasn't a great OBP guy at the top levels of the minors and he strikes out quite a bit. He's a terrific defender and baserunner, but if he doesn't get on-base enough to be a leadoff guy, he'll barely be an adequate regular.
Brad Lidge: We're not at all impressed with Ed Wade's first move as Houston's GM. Bourn could have a long career as a fair regular, but he's basically another Willy Taveras for the Astros. If Lidge's arrival in Philadelphia results in Brett Myers' return to the rotation, this could be a big winner for Pat Gillick.

funny...

Puppet regime ahead in Houston by John Heyman, SI.com
While the Pirates at least appear to have a clue, the Astros just completed one of the most pathetic GM searches in baseball history by hiring Ed Wade, a proven failure.
Everyone who has ever worked could tell you that the best person often isn't the one hired. But what's remarkable about this search is that Houston interviewed a succession of retreads (plus a few logical young candidates who were spurned) and managed to pick the worst of the retreads. Not easy to do.
Wade's record as a GM in Philadelphia wasn't just poor, it was putrid. In a recent interview with Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Wade cited his two great regrets as trading Curt Schilling and firing Terry Francona. But that is really the tip of the iceberg. As GM he gave Pat Burrell a $50 million extension, Mike Lieberthal multiple extensions and David Bell a $17 million free-agent deal. He also engineered what has to be one of the all-time worst two-steps, by trading Scott Rolen for Placido Polanco, then swapping Polanco for Ugueth Urbina.
Wade didn't make the playoffs once in eight years in Philly, while Schilling, Francona and Rolen have won four World Series titles between them since leaving Philly.
But take heart, Astros fans, Wade -- who is known to some co-workers as "the biology teacher'' for an abject lack of charisma -- is merely signing up to play puppet to club owner/head puppeteer Drayton McLane. Wade's greatest qualification appears to have been that he once worked as the p.r. director for club president Tal Smith, and will say "yes'' to Smith and McLane.
"The idea normally is to hire someone to lead,'' one competing GM said. "They hired someone so they can direct him.''
If that was the Astros' goal, they probably got the right guy.