I have to agree 100% with Ivy Chat.

This trade makes me sick. This is Rolen all over again. This is Hendry not doing what's needed: The huge move.

When I heard Beltran was on the block, I said that if Jim Hendry didn't swing a deal for Beltran it would be a catastrophic failure on his part. Just not dealing for him is bad enough, but letting him go to your division rival without a fight is short sighted at best.

I am a pretty big Corey Patterson homer, and say go with the prospects instead of crusty veterans a lot. But god damn, this is Carlos Beltran, a 5 tool player ready for prime time NOW!

And I thought exactly what Ivy Chat thought. This is Scott Rolen all over again. I am sick and tired of this franchise picking up the #2 or #3 best guy. We cant get Thome because we have Choi, Choi sucks so we get Derek Lee. Nice, but not as good as Thome. We cant get Rolen because we are afraid he wont sign with us. A few years later we get Am-Ram, nice runner up prize but Rolen is way better. We cant get Jeff Kent, Bobby Hill is the future, he sucks so we get Grudz and Walker. Nice, but Kent is better than those 2 combined. Now Carlos Beltran comes along, we cant trade for him, we have Corey Patterson, and we are afraid he wont sign with us. Patterson is ok, but he doesn't hold a candle to Beltran.

If this franchise had the balls and signed just Thome and Rolen from our past we would be celebrating as World Champions already. Those kinds of players are the difference between sitting at home and winning it all. And we just let #4 slip through our fingers.

Kudos to the Astro's for not being afraid, and I bet you Carlos Beltran will resign to be a Houston Astro this off-season just like Scott Rolen did with the Cardinals. The Astro's wont have to be burdened with Craig Biggio's contract much longer.