Surveying the wreckage. Lineup possibilites for 2005.

No thanks, Whiteman is a horrible defender, and Everett has improved with the bat every season.

 

I didn't say anything about him hitting at the top of the order. But I'd much rather have a guy like him who will hit .260-.270, with good speed and play great defense at short than a guy who will hit .300 and boot a ton of balls like Whiteman. Burke is the future #2 hitter for us, with Taveras leading off, Everett will move down to 7 or 8 where he belongs.

 

Most will agree that Bagwell is here to stay but I'll go out on a limb and say that Bagwell will resurrect his career next season and get back to 40 hrs and 120 rbis with 100 walks and a 100 runs. I'm basing this on hearing that this winter he would work his shoulder out and tweak his batting stance to cut down on some holes. I realize that it's easy to say that he probably did this last off season but it wasn't true because he was injured and wasn't able to workout his shoulder well.

My line up
Lf - Biggio
Cf - Beltran
1B - Bagwell
Rf - Berkman
3B - Ensberg ( He'll have a bounce back year)
SS - Everett
2B - Burke
C - Ausmus

Can Lamb play 2nd Base well enough because if so I'd play around with the idea of Lamb batting 6th playing 2nd base and moving Everett down to 7th.

Biggest change to me will be the improvement in pitching with Pettitte and Miller returning even if Clemens leave I think our 5 man rotation will be set.
1 Oswalt
2 Miller
3 Pettitte
4 Backe
5 Hernandez

Bullpen doesn't seem that bad with Lidge, Wheeler, Qualls and Harville and the rest can be filled in.

I wouldn't be too upset if Biggio wasn't here and Lane played Left Field, I'd like to see him perform over a full year and see what he's really about. If Beltran leaves I'd be upset but would be satisfied enough with Taveras playing centerfielder or whoever else picks the Astros pick up. In that case I'd have Taveras lead off and Everett/Burke bat 2nd.

 

He can't even play 3B well. Otherwise he'd be starting over the weak hitting, always have to hit everything to the opposite way, Ensberg. I really like Lamb. I wish he was used more be it a 1B, 3B or a corner OF spot. Dude can hit.

 

120 ribbies?!?! talk about pipedreaming. Kent had the hight of 106 on our team and he doesn't have a messed up shoulder. People got to face the facts and that is bagwell's age and his arthritic shoulder. Its sad to see because he's the face of the organization and is a class act but to see him take slow/late cuts at fastballs that are 88-89 mph is just depressing. He isn't a 3-hole hitter anymore and his arm on defense is a liability.

The way i see it, with bagwell working on the stance and swing, he'll have a .300/30/100 season and that's good but it isn't 15 million dollar good anymore. I really had hoped if anything that we won the world series so that guys like bidge and baggy can retire and we can move on with the youth movement. I love baggy as much as any other astro but he just isn't that good anymore and its hard to watch him bat and throw.

 

What i would like to do in the offseason is pretty simple.

1) Resign Beltran. I know its hard to compete with major market teams like the yankees but deep down if we make a competitive offer and money is thrown out the window and we resign roy-o and lance, i can see Carlos giving us a serious look.

2) If we can't sign Carlos, then i would like to go after someone like Mike Lowell. He's gonna get waived by Florida and he's almost as good as rolen i think. He's a gold glove 3rd baseman and he's got good pop.

3) Talk to Kent and Clemens about coming back. Its up to Roger but i would love to have him back for another year. If he doesn't i understand because of his mom but also keep in mind that a big part of his success this year is because he's faced the majority of the batters for the very first time. I know that a lot of it is he's a badass but it'd helped that he just came from the american league. As for kent, i love his bat in the lineup and though his range is terrible, i think he's a guy that if you can get for 2/3 million then you do, if he wants more, and it impedes Beltran's signing, then cya Jeff, it was great having you here.

4) Trade a combo of Redding/Duckworth/Ensberg and Wade Miller to get some relief help. Somebody's gonna take a chance on Redding's "potential" and we could really use a setup man for lidge.

5) Pick up Bidge's option but he's not starting. He's past his prime and is a terrible left fielder. There were so many times runners would run from 2nd to 3rd or 1st to 2nd and it wouldn't even be close. I'm okay with him spot starting at LF/2nd but that's it. His role should be mentor and super pinch hitter. Lane should be ready and if given a whole year's worth of playing time, then i could see a stat of .280/25/85. But more importantly, more range in the outfield.

6) Other than that i'm pretty comfortable with our everyday lineup and starting rotation. With Andy coming back and Backe solidifying himself as a stud, then i'm excited about our starting rotation. One thing i hope is hernandez getting back that 92-94 mph fastball (if not, he's not gonna be any good) If we resign Carlos and maybe make a run at lowell or somebody of that nature, then i can see Roger signing for one year to make a world series run.

 

About Bagwell as poorly as he did this year he still had 27 and 89 if he fixes his stance some more I do think it's very possible for him to have over 30 homers and over 100 rbis. As bad as his stance was he still put up those decent numbers, I think with his adjustments he'll be back on top of his game.

 

As is obvious Bagwell has always been and will always be my favorite player. I already lost Pippen, I couldn't bear to lose Bags, at least I got 2 more years with him.

Edit

Not stance but swing.

 

Imagine Mike Lamb at SS. That is the same as Whiteman. I like Tommy. He is a good player. He couldn't hold Everett's jock when it comes to playing defense.

Everett was starting to kill the ball when Gaietti was promoted. I think he needs to learn to be a contact/slap hitter. He's got the speed to beat out infield hits. If he can get it down, he could be a .300 hitter.

 

I would like to see the Astros do something about keeping Brad Lidge long term. This should be an off season priority, right up there with retaining Beltran.

 

lidge still has some service time for the organization so he isn't going anywhere and he can't test free agency anytime soon. He'll be the closer next year and will be making only 2-300 K.


EDIT: I'm not totally sure so if someone can reaffirm this, that'd help.

 

Lidge made $360,000 this year and is still under club control. I believe that he has another season before he is eligible for arbitration. He should get a long term deal, but the Astros aren't going to give it to him until it's necessary.

 

Next years line up could really go alot of ways and it all depends on whether management thinks they can go one more year with the guys they have this year. If Rocket comes bakc and with Pettite and Miller healthy they again have on of the top 2-3 rotations in the game. If that were the case then Beltran would be great but his production could be replaced with an upgrade at third like Beltre or Glaus. Seems like Kent is gone regardless. Would not hurt for Burke to play a year a the end of the order. We nned to keep some money back to get the bullpen solid.

Stay pat lineup:

Bidge
Everett
Berkman
Bagwell
Beltre/FA
Lane
Burke
Ausmus

O
Rocket
Pettite
Miller
Backe

If Management goes with youth then

Burke
Everett
Berkman
Bags
Lane
Ensberg/White/Alfaro
Tavarez
Ausmus


O
Pettite
Miller
Backe
Hernandez

I would pay to see that lineup any day. Speed, Good D, Poser in the middle and potential for great improvement. It will be tough for the organization to step back attendance wise but that will be inevitable if Rocket retires. In the meantime we have a pretty good rotation and an exciting, faster, better defensive team which may jell after a couple of months together.

 

you got to put into perspective that for the whoe 1st half of the season, Jimy made everett then the 2-hitter, bunt over the runner on first. Not until Garner came as manager did everett get to freely swing and it showed that he's a competent hitter and i think his obp was tarnished from all the sac. bunts and bunts for hits he did.

 

To try a new perspective, I'm going to do this position by position:

#1 starter - Oswalt. Time to get paid. Something starting around $8-10M for 4-5 years sounds about right.

#2 starter - Pettitte. Done deal.

#3 starter - Clemens OR Miller. For about $7-8M. With Oswalt and Andy both making $10M plus, I don't see how we can afford to keep both. If Clemens returns, we or going to have to trade Miller. I like the guy, but I think his terrible mechanics may result in chronic arm problems that will follow him for the rest of his career. Better to move him now than get stuck with an overpaid, broken-down pitcher later.

#4 - Backe. He has earned this spot and is a bargain. Done deal.

#5 - Hernandez/Buckholtz. One of the two needs to step up and deliver next year.

2B - Burke. Kent is too expensive, old, and poor defensively to come back. His production will surely be missed, but Burke's speed at leadoff could offset some of that. As for Chris, his time is now. He is our highest pick since Nevin, and he has steadily progressed through all of the minor leagues. Making him wait behind Kent or Biggio for another year seems pointless. It's now or never for 'the next Biggio' and his speed and defense are just what the doctor ordered for this team.

SS - Everett. Could team with Burke for a potent DP combo. Still cheap, and provides decent production as #8 hitter.

CF - Beltran/Taveras/Finley - This is where it gets tricky. Obviously Beltran is option A, B, C...etc. He is the type of franchise player that only a handful of teams are lucky enough to have. I think $105M for 7 years should be enough. But if he leaves, hope is not lost. First of all, I do not want to see Biggio moved back to Center. He is flat-out terrible there, as evidenced by his repeated struggles in LF. So assuming Beltran leaves, my plan would be to promote Taveras AND sign Steve Finley. He is still an excellent defensive player, and is a very productive hitter as well. He could start and hit sixth while taking the pressure off of Willy. I'd offer him a 1 year, $6M deal with a team option for a second year. If he wants more than that, start Taveras and sign a guy like Singleton for depth.

LF - Biggio/Lane - Bidge returns for one year, $2M. With the understanding that he will be more of a super-utility guy at LF/CF/2B than an everyday starter. Get him 400 ABs and the rest to Lane.

RF - Berkman. He has earned a huge raise that will probably start around $8-9M a year for 5 or 6 years. Another year in right before the much-needed move to first.

3B - Ensberg/Lamb/Koskie - Again, heavily dependant on Beltran. If he leaves, along with Kent, we absolutely MUST add another solid bat to the middle of the Lineup or Lance Berkman might break Bonds' BB record next year. I think Koskie could be a reasonable pickup and a good player. If Beltran stays, the platoon thing is good enough.

C - Ausmus/Chavez - Although it would be great to add a guy like Varitek, it just ain't gonna happen. With Gimenez waiting in the wings, this is just a one-year stopgap. Besides, how many teams actually have a productive catcher anyway?

Bullpen -

Lidge
Wheeler
Qualls
Steve Kline
Scott Williamson
Gallo
Buckholtz

It is painfully obvious Lidge needs help...if he had it, we'd probably have won game 6 and be in the Series. A lefty like Kline could probably be had for around $3-4M, and another power arm like Williamson would be nice as well.

So, to recap, the pitching staff would round out like this:

Oswalt $10
Pettitte 11
Clemens 7
Backe .3
Hernandez .2

Lidge 2
Kline 3
Williamson 2
Wheeler .2
Qualls .2
Gallo .2
Buckholtz .5

That's a total pitching-staff payroll of about $37M

The lineup, with Beltran, looks like this:

Burke $1.5
Biggio 2 / Lane .5
Beltran 16 / Taveras .3
Bagwell 17
Berkman 8
Ensberg 1 / Lamb .5
Ausmus .6 / Chavez .2
Everett 1.5 / Vizcaino 1

Without Beltran, like this:

Burke
Biggio / Taveras
Berkman
Bagwell
Koskie $5 / Lamb
Finley $6 / Lane
Ausmus / Chavez
Everett / Vizcaino

Which, finally brings us to the following total 2005 payroll:

With Beltran: $86.7M
Without Beltran: $80.7M

Sorry about the length, but I just took some Aderrall, and this is what happens...

 

Lf - Garret Anderson/Lane
Cf - Beltran
1B - Bagwell
Rf - Berkman
3B -Lowell
SS - Everett
2B - Biggio
C - Ausmus/varitek

 

Put Soriano on second base.

 

Just for kicks, let's see what this lineup would cost...

Assuming the other 17 players total about $40M:

Anderson $8M
Beltran $15M
Bagwell $17M
Berkman $8M
Lowell $8M
Everett $1.5M
Biggio $2M
Varitek $10M

Even with (IMO) conservative salaries for the newcomers, that is an additional $70M just in the eight regular position players.

Which adds up to a total payroll of $110M...

Unless you plan on donating $30M of your own money to Drayton, I don't even see the point of this post.

Unless it is a joke, in which case, here is my joke lineup:

3B Beltre $15M
2B Kent $9M
1B Bagwell $17M
C Varitek $10M
SS Garciaparra $12M
LF Berkman $8M
CF Beltran $15M
RF Ordonez $15M

Now I know that $140M payroll seems a little high, but...