Free agents are out of the gate
Jayson Stark knows people who know Roger Clemens and Carlos Beltran.
And it's clear to those who know how Clemens ticks that the better their team looks, the more difficult it will be for Cy Clemens to resist playing again. Especially after a season that ended with such a powerful sense of unfinished business.That means the Astros have to make a serious charge at keeping Carlos Beltran. ...
Where will Beltran end up? Way too soon to tell. But one baseball man who talks to Beltran every few days has been telling friends Beltran will wind up staying in Houston.
If the Astros can keep Beltran, they could have an even better shot at the title next year. To keep Beltran, some solid starters — like Jeff Kent — may now be too expensive for the Astros to keep. But with a well-developed, powerful bench, the Astros may be able to shift the field around to give a talented athlete like Jason Lane or Mike Lamb the chance to take over a starting spot.
I'm not going to get into the whole "This could be our year" business, but things don't look that bad for the Astros' chances.
Posted by Matt at November 13, 2004 1:30 PM
