It's almost time for Spring Training! This is a very exciting time for all baseball fans. It is still January and raining outside, but I can tell April is just around the corner.
The Astros have done so much this off season, it is hard to remember all that happened. One big pick-up for this team was trading for Arizona closer, Jose Valverde. He will be the glue that holds this new bullpen together. The negotiations between him and his new team did not get off to a great start, as shown by him (and Mark Loretta) heading towards the arbitration hearings in early February. I am afraid this is a big mistake by Ed Wade. We absolutely need Valverde and we need him in a good mood.
It is no secret that Valverde plays with all his emotions. One can assume this type of aggressiveness is not easy to turn off once off the field. I am afraid by taking him to arbitration and not allowing the team to come to agreements on its own, the Astros are pushing his wrong buttons. The team needs him to be 100% committed to this season. Without having any other options for the back end of the bullpen, he is the Astros' only man.
We can only hope Valverde realizes the business aspect of the job and disregards the negative comments heard at the hearing and allows his pitching to speak volumes this season.
(Mark Loretta is old and has only one/two good seasons left in him, so I'm not too worried about him being upset about the hearing process.)
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