I know it may seem a bit harsh, but the guy is well past his prime and is hitting around .250. Which is HORRIBLE for a leadoff hitter. That coupled with his average speed and noodle arm, makes it clear that he is the weakest link on this team. He has been great, but it is time to reduce his role. Lane is ready.....we need all the help we can get. Biggio off the bench sounds good to me... Thoughts? DD
I was thinking that during the game today. How much improved would our offense be if only for a good leadoff hitter. Out of all the things that a team would want in a leadoff hitter (like on base percentage, stolen bases, batting average, runs, etc...) Biggio is only contributing in runs. It would be odd not to see Biggio at the top of the order on a regular basis. But seeing Biggio striking out on those low sliders is just painful. As hard as it is to type, I think Lane deserves a chance in the OF and take the place of Biggio.
biggio sucks now, i was at the cubs astros game tonight, and man did he stink up the join while everyone else was doin good. trade him, sit him, anything but he shouldnt be the everyday starter, give someone else a chance!
This late in the season they should do whats best for the team, but I'd suspect that they will keep on throwing him out there. Next year is the season when Biggio is given a reduced role, that is if he dosent retire. For this season, I think he will finish strong I bet he knows that this is his last season as a everyday player and he will go out with a bang.
Yeah I'd like to see him get benched as well. I do like the idea of Berkman at the 2 spot though. Berk for being a bigtime power hitter, has good wheels for a guy his size. He was really the guy that got the team going and got everybody going on base tonight, and it was a great way to ignite our offense and put a dent in Clements pitching. This team is very dangerous when runners are on base, and we're driving long balls. Trouble is, with guys like Bigg leading off, or Blum at the 2 spot, those 2 and 3 run bombs turn into solo homers. So Williams decision to put Berk at the 2 spot tonight was very well thought out. It put those homers to better use, and put a lot of pressure on Clement.
Wow! Someone giving Williams props for making a coaching decision that had to be based on a hunch. Before today Berkman was batting .105 for the week and Williams decides to drop him into the 2-hole. It was very fortunate Jimy decided to change up the order tonight. However, I do not see Berkman as the ideal no. 2 hitter. The Astros need him to be a RBI guy, not a "move the runner over" hitter. Heck, might as well have Berkman as the lead-off hitter. I don't see the Astros playing much small ball with the big bats of our lineup, anyway. Clement obviously did not have his best stuff, but credit the Astros for punishing his mistakes. Kent is proving to be a difference maker. He carried the Giants a couple of years back when Bonds was slumping towards the end of the season, and I think he can do that for the Astros.
Nolan Ryan once stunk it up in Houston... as did Joe Morgan. And we passed on Lofton. Hey let's trade Earl Campbell now that he's old too! And the Dream! No thanks, I'd rather keep it classy for the rest of the season and let him stay lead off.
Ummm. You bench your team leader when you'rr in first place. Hardly. Yeah. He may suck. But the game is mental. And the team needs biggio out there.
Biggio leads the team in runs, right? That's primarily what you're asking of your leadoff hitter...score! Who would we have bat lead off in his place?
Biggio leads the team in runs, right? That's primarily what you're asking of your leadoff hitter...score! Who would we have bat lead off in his place? I'd put Ensberg up in the leadoff spot. He gets on base more and can actually steal bases here and there. Biggio is 6th on the team in On-base % (Ensberg is 2nd), so he's really doing little good up there. I'd bat Biggio 6th to try to drive in any leftovers from the core of the lineup - Ensberg, Berkman, Bagwell, Kent, Hidalgo.
It would be nice if the Stros went after Javy Lopez or Kevin Millwood in the offseason. But as far as Biggio I think he should be bench but McClane lives so much in the past that he won't allow Jimy to do it.
We could've acquired Shannon Stewart as our new CF, but Minnesota grabbed him a couple of months ago.
