I'm glad someone sees the light. I think too many of our fans are obsessed with Dunn, Manny, Abreu and the other big names. Yes, it would be great if we got one. But it shouldn't be a choice between either having an absolute stud or going with no change at all and starting Burke or Scott (.650 OPS type outfielders as of now). There is a middle ground, and while it's not as good as Adam Dunn, it's still a significant improvement over the current lineup and more than worth an investment.
Nomar can still hit. He finished with a 283 average and 9 HRs in 230 at-bats last season, after starting off the season injured and hitting under 200. If he can stay healthy he can easily hit 300 with 25 homers. The Astros can certainly use his bat. Give him a chance at SS. I'm sick of Adam Everett and his non-existing offense.
I think our worst case is that Nomar can;t play LF.....so we move him to SS and Bidge platoons with Burke in LF
If he can't play LF you move him to SS? Think about that for a minute. Why is Bidge moving back to the OF? Why would this be a good idea?
Why do you think that the teams reportedly expressing interest in Nomar are interested in him NOT as a SS?
White I'd pass on, but I'd like to Nomar on our team. SS would be my first choice but if he can't handle that then LF. Hey if Biggio can do it, Nomar can - no offense Craig.
White was having a good year last year before his season was cut short due to injury in August. He's only 35 and is a great fastball hitter. It wouldn't be my top choice, but it defintely wouldn't be a horrible signing.
He's 33, will be 34 when the season starts. I like him as a 4th OF type, and he'll likely come on the cheap.
Would we be signing him for the next couple of years or for five years from now? 35 is not terribly old. Of course, he's only 33 now as I was rightly corrected. I wouldn't mind him as our LF. I think it'd be better than a Scott/Burke platoon. He won't be expensive either.
Nomar is not a SS anymore. Not if he wants to stay healthy and be productive. Furthermore, both White and Nomar seriously help an average lineup as it currently stands. In fact, you want to know something interesting: I calculated the runs in April and May, compared to the rest of the season. If the Astros had similar production in the first two months that they got in rest of the year, they would have scored 747 runs, placing them 5th in the NL in runs scored. The reason I factored out April and May was because Lance Berkman wouldn't have been 100% and had his timing back until june at least. I don't see why they can't come close to that number this year. They have Lance for a full year, Lane at the least should be similar in production, and if Ensberg/Biggio drop off a little the addition of a solid regular in LF like White or Nomar should come close if not totally balancing it out. Plus, look at this bench: Bruntlett(super sub defensively), Lamb(nice LHB), OP(takes some of the best at bats on the team), Bags(nice RHB off bench), and one of Burke or Scott possibly, unless they desire to keep 6 relievers. That is a deep bench. Rondell White or Nomar may be high risk high reward moves, but they make a major difference for this team and would be quality acquisitions.
I don't think White would be high risk. Depending on how serious the Yankees are about Nomar, he probably will be.
When I said high risk, I meant as far as them staying healthy. Supposedly the Yankees offered the same 1 year 4 million dollar proposal he's been getting all offseason according to the NY Post. They also indicated that he may decide by this weekend and that the Indians, Yankees and Astros were his finalists.
I was wondering about this. A quick look at his career stats shows that he's only played more than 130 games once in his career (and one year at 130 games). Is he injury-prone? I don't know anything about the guy. Oh, and can we quit saying "If Nomar can play SS blah blah". He cannot play short anymore; every single team looking to sign him is looking at putting him somewhere but short. Even Nomar himself has said he'll play any position but pitcher and catcher. Think he'd say that if he could still play short? It's much more productive to talk about Nomar as a potential OF/super utility guy since that's what we'd be signing him for. Sorry, Everett-haters!
Well, I saw the answer to my question in another thread: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...t_id=1281664&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/58741.htm Yanks are only offering 1 year, $4mil, and he will likely decide this week out of the Yankees, Indians, and Astros. We're in the final 3, guys.
Personally, I like the team's chances with Nomar. The yankees only want him as a platoon 1B/sub, and the Indians interest has been out there since the winter meetings(if he liked them that much, he would have signed already). As far as White goes, his injuries are why he would be a solid signing because his demand would be in the 1-2 mil range or so.
