Some trade rumors...

Wily Mo Peña for Brad Lidge: First of all, I don't know if this has been offered by either side, and it probably wouldn't be a straight-up deal. At first glance, I would tell Boston to go shove it. Wily Mo strikes out a TON, and walks seldom. He's never had more than 350 ABs in a season, so it's hard to assume he'd succeed in a full-time role. But he'll turn 25 in January, he consistently slugs around .500, and his defense is rumored to be above-average (perhaps Jack can confirm or deny this rumor). He can play RF and CF, so he'd give us some flexibility there. Last year was something of an abberation for him: He crushed righties (.946 OPS), and sturggled against lefties (.660). In his career, he's fared slightly better against lefties. Basically, who knows? Lidge, meanwhile, is coming off a down year. But we have him for two more years at a great price and closer or not, he's one of the most valuable commodities on the market. We do, however, have three very good relievers in Qualls, Wheeler and Miller, and Wheeler did perform very well in the closer's role down the stretch last year. In short, I'd think about it, but I'd ask about prospects. Lidge is too valuable to give up for Peña alone.

Jason Jennings for Chris Burke (or Willy Taveras): I would definitely think about this one. Jennings is a free agent after 2007, so there's no guarantee we would have him for more than a year. Burke and Taveras, meanwhile, aren't free agents till after the 2010 season. But it's a supply vs. demand equation. Burke and Taveras contribute little to the team, whereas a quality starter like Jennings would be a huge addition. This is a tough choice. There are so many question marks, not the least of which is: How will Jennings produce outside of Coors Field? Here's another oddity: He put up a better ERA at home than on the road last year, which goes against his career norm. Weird.

The Astros hired Dave Wallace to be the pitching coach. Don't know much about him, except that players and coaches alike seem to admire and appreciate him. Depending on our piching staff entering 2007, his role will either be huge or minuscule.

The Astros met with Vicente Padilla's agent. $40 for 4 years seems a bit much...