I think its time to shake things up a bit...and if it means moving Bags out of his home at the 3 hole, then so be it. Biggio Berkman Kent Bags Doggy Everett Ensberg/Lamb Ausmus Pitcher or u could swap Doggy and the 3B platoon Tony Gwynn was the best hitter since Ted Williams and he batted 2nd...I'm not saying Berkman is Tony Gwynn, but he is going to see a lot more pitches batting in front of Kent and Bags then he is batting in front of Doggy and our 3B platoon. Unless we end up trading Hidalgo for an OF with some speed, taking Everett out of the 2 hole isn't going to hurt us. All he seems to get to do these days is lay down a sac bunt anyhow. This team is WAY to talented offensively to be struggling hitting the ball with guys on base. I'm not saying that changing the order is the guaranteed solution...but its time to see if it works.
I don't like Berkman at 2 because he doesn't run the bases well. Everett is doing great right now- his average is up to .290 and he can steal some bases. The top 2 are fine. Bags gets on base and runs well so he's good at the #3. Berkman should move to the #4. And Hidalgo needs to remember how to hit.
Biggio Everett Berkman Bagwell Kent Ensberg/Lamb Hidalgo Ausmus Berkman is the Astros best hitter and should move to the 3. I think Bagwell understands this and would not be offended by the move.
Everett is practically the prototype #2 hitter; I have no desire to move him from there. I think Bagwell will hit 3rd as long as he is an Astro, even if Berkman should be hitting there- ideally, I'd flop Berkman and Bagwell with Kent sandwiched in between, but for now, I'd like to see: Biggio Everett Bagwell Berkman Kent Lamb/Hidalgo (Lamb generally plays against tough righties) Hidalgo/Ensberg Ausmus/Chavez
Why would you have Everett, a guy who leads the league in sacrifice bunts and has only 3 homers, batting 6th, while you have Lance Berkman, whos is 4th in the league in homers and I think 5th in RBIs, as well as being a slow runner, batting second? My preferable lineup is the same as NIKEstrads.
How important is it to run the bases anyway? Biggio doesn't run like he used to anymore. Probably among the worst of all leadoff hitters. But he gets on base, which is much more important criteria for top order guys. That said, I think Berkman's a #3, because he's definitely showing more power than Bagwell this year. I'm also ok with him hitting 4th, but 5th is way too down the order for someone like him.
Depends on your team. If you don't have power, base running is extremely important. If you're more powerful, then it's less important. Just not something that can be evaluated in a vacuum. I happen to hate it when the Astros try to steal now - but it was a great idea a couple of decades ago, and might well be in the future if the power #'s diminish dramatically. With the Astros line-up, we need more OBP guys. So that's why Biggio makes some sense at the top of the order. Still, I think I might prefer Everett to bat first, because Biggio has more power.
The problem with picking guys based on "running well" is that they might not have the ability to get on base. I'd never want someone like a Tony Womack leading off, because he doesn't get on base often enough to make the steals worth it. Now, if we're talking Ricky Henderson... that would be different.
There's a difference between stealing bases and running the bases well. Bagwell isn't much of a base stealer anymore, but he is still the best base runner on the team, and indeed, one of the best in the league. It's about instinct, for the most part. Guys that are setting the stage for the rest of the lineup need to not make mental mistakes on the basepaths that could cost us runs. If they are the ones driving the runs in, then basepath mistakes hurt you much less.
