BREAKING NEWS: Biggio and Astros agree to 1 year new contract.

When PG is trying to make another silly point.

 

the point is he is declining. hitting .260 isn't any great shakes, I'm not trying to avoid the whole season. it was an alright season because of the hrs lets not go overboard.

 

They said the same thing last year... and in 2003, 2002, 2001.

The bottom line is he still produces... and he's getting more big hits at this point in his career than he did when he was younger.

I'm sorry that this dissapoints you.

 

I don't see anybody saying Biggio = MVP. That would be overboard.

Saying he had a good year for his age, and as one of this team's biggest bats (when they need big bats) is perfectly fine, IMO.

Once again... sorry to ruin your Sunday.

 

Batting average isn't everything... hell Andruw Jones only hit .263 and he is a serious MVP contender! He more then makes up for the average with his runs, RBIs and homeruns, especially since he plays on a team with VERY little pop.

 

dude first of all you have no idea what you're talking when it concerns me and my opinions. I supported Biggio playing over Burke early in the season because he was one of the only offensive positives on this team. I know Biggio declines every year in the second half but .233 is a little extreme. Age has a funny way of creeping up on players, I saw it happen to Drexler and Hakeem in '97 and I think its happening to Biggio. yes biggio's power was important this year, but with Berkman hopefully coming in healthy next year and Lane hopefully continuing his improvement, this team is going to need a better avg hitter in the #2 hole not to mention the fact he has no where near the range he had when he was younger.

 

Uhh, who do you think should be playing there? you aren't going to get a better average out of Burke, he played 110 games this season and had nearly 400ABs and hit a whopping .248. My original statement stands, the VAST majority of MLB teams would LOVE to have Biggio at 2nd and hitting either first or second in their lineup.

 

So, what is your concern/opinion? Do you want Biggio gone? Do you think they should sign somebody else? Do you think Burke is ready to be an everyday player? If you're going to complain about Biggio at this point, make some real suggestions... otherwise it just sounds like sour grapes (for which I'm not sure what you're "sour" about, since you're supposedly a Houston fan).

Drexler and Hakeem always had a job if they were healthy. Hell... Drexler was the best player on the team the year he retired. In either case, nobody was banging the drum to replace Clyde... and injuries took over Hakeem (minus the mini-resurgance he had at the end of 2000-01... when we all wanted the team to re-sign him).

Nobody is saying that Biggio is not declining... its just not to the point where the Astros are desperate to replace him. Would this team be better with a .300 hitter, high OBP guy, and defensive wiz at 2B??? Of course... but who is that guy, and how are we magically going to get him?

 

They should start playing Burke now. Aside from the hrs, Biggio doesn't offer much more than Burke.

as far as the rockets are concerned, that's my point, the last year drexler was here they were 41-41. And alot of people think the Rockets held on to that team too long trying to add this piece and that piece. Trying to hang on hampered their development.

 

And, aside from the lack of HR's... Burke doesn't offer much more than Biggio.

 

By "now", do you mean to say that Burke should be the starting 2nd baseman in Wednesday's game against Atlanta?

 

Burke's gonna get better, Biggio's gonna get worse.

 

But for now, one is still a better option than the other... and likely will be next year as well.

 

I think his argument is that in the long-run, you're going to be better starting Burke now. It uses the assumption that players need playing time to get better. So, for example, over a 3-yr period, which is better?

Biggio, one year older
Burke w/ 1-yr exp
Burke w/ 2-yr exp

Burke w/ 1-yr exp
Burke w/ 2-yr exp
Burke w/ 3-yr exp

The question is, does playing a diminishing Biggio stunt Burke's development and hurt over the long run more than it helps us next year? I don't know the answer to that, but I think there's an argument to be made both ways. For example, if Lane had been playing full-time for 2 or 3 years now, we presumably would have been better off this year, although maybe worse off in previous years.

 

I think having Biggio around to help guide the development of Burke is a good thing. The key thing in this whole equation is Biggio getting his 3000 hit. Once that happens, things will change fairly quickly.

 

The thing you don't want to do is to sacrifice the present for what may happen in the future. This has been one of the Astros "problems" over the past decade. Since they have always been in contention, it has been very rare for them to find ample playing time for young players at the expense of proven veterans.

Would the Astros have been better off in 2006 (or 2005) if Burke had been the everyday 2005 2nd baseman? Perhaps, but they also may be watching the playoffs on TV. What we do know is that they DID make the playoffs with Biggio as their everyday 2nd baseman.

If they reached the playoffs this year by hurting their chances in 2006, so be it. You gotta play for today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

 

I agree with this for the most part. But on the other hand, you could say the opposite about Lane and Taveras. We could have played veterans in those positions instead, and possible made or missed the playoffs. But if we make the playoffs next year, it may largely be because we played those guys this year.

That said, if your new option is substantially worse than your old option, you should probably play the old guy. However, the question becomes more murky if your new option is slightly worse than the old one (say Lane and Taveras, slightly worse than whatever random free agents we could have gotten). I think if you expect Biggio to duplicate his 2nd half numbers from this year, you play Burke. If you expect him to duplicate his 1st half numbers, you play Biggio. His full season numbers are just so weird (dramatically worse 2nd half, dramatically worse on the road) that it's hard to predict what he'll do next year.

 

Great news we have Mr Astro back for one year.

 

Luckily for Biggio, the Astros play in MMP.