Wade facing a dilemna
Ed Wade did his best in the offseason but it might not be enough. The Astros have shown when they are firing on all cylinders they can beat anyone, but they don't seem to do that all the time. A current 10 game stretch which has seen the Astros go 7-3 against the Rays, Rangers, Red Sox and the last game against the Dodgers saved the Astros from complete meltdown in June, where they lost 8 games in a row including sweeps at the hands of the Yankees and Orioles.

Shawn Chacon is now gone and the Astros need someone to fill that hole in the rotation. I think Cooper will be hesitant to move Chris Sampson after such a good stretch in the bullpen, giving him another sixth/seventh inning guy when Geary or Brocail can't pitch, but is Runelvys Hernandez really the answer, or could the Astros snag someone before the non-waiver trade deadline to solidify their rotation?

Lets step back and have a look at the Astros franchise as a whole for a minute. The Astros liked what they got in the draft, but it will be at least 2/3 years before they can consider bringing these guys anywhere near the majors. Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee are here to stay for the next few years, signed to multi year contracts, Michael Bourn wont be hitting arbitration until after 2010, and nor will Hunter Pence, Matsui is signed until the end of 2010, Tejada can leave the Astros after next season, and I wouldn't see the Astros having the money, or wanting to give him the money at that point. Roy Oswalt has another few years on his contract, Wandy Rodriguez and Brandon Backe will be staying pat, but Valverde and Wiggington might not be around after 2009. So what I'm trying to say is, not many pieces are leaving in a hurry. The Astros will not have to dip into their free agent pockets to hill huge gaping holes in the near future.

So the trade I propose is highly controversial, and I know a lot of Astros fans wont like it, I don't know whether I really like it, but I'm throwing it out.
The Indians get HUNTER PENCE, the Astros get C.C. SABATHIA. Perhaps the Astros could sweeten the deal with a pitching prospect such as Brad James. There are stumbling blocks. The first is the Astros would be loath to give up Pence, a bright star, fan favourite and already one of the faces of the franchise. The Astros aleady have $54m investing for 2008 in four players (Tejada, Berkman, Lee and Oswalt), but Tejada could leave at the end of 2009, and the Astros payroll is $88 (10 teams now have a payroll above $100m). McLane wants to win, and he extended the payroll for Clemens so he might do so for Sabathia. It is doubtful whether the Indians would give the Astros that 72 hour window to negotiate or even if Sabathia would want to negotiate at this point of the season, or if he would even want to come to Houston.

I don't know how consoled the Indians are to losing Sabathia yet, but with the season Cliff Lee has had, they might take a player like Pence over the draft picks they would get at the end of the season. Sizemore and Pence in the outfield would appeal to many Indians fans. I admit i am no expert to the Indians, but Pence is a promising young player who could patrol their right field for years to come, and is not even arbitration eligable yet.

Astros fans might not like it but Ed Wade will have to do something if the Astros are to get a sniff of the playoffs this year.