a book about baseball by guys who haven't played or coached at a level beyond little league... DYN-O-MITE!!!!
ensberg hitting 3rd should theoretically be the best place because he gets protection with berkman's bat. however, when he doesn't swing at the hittable pitches, it just doesn't quite work out.
Why? You have great RBI hitters at 4 and 5, normally. Bagwell (when he played), Pujols, Ortiz, etc all hit #3. The best hitter is almost always put in the 3 or 4 spot, and the #3 hitter often leads their teams in run scored as well as RBI's.
IMO the best possible offensive lineup: 1. Craig Biggio 2B 2. Chris Burke SS 3. Mike Lamb 1B 4. Lance Berkman LF 5. Aubrey Huff RF 6. Preston Wilson CF 7. Morgan Ensberg 3B 8. Eric Munson C 9. P Bench - Willy Taveras Adam Everett Eric Bruntlett Orlando Palmeiro Brad Ausmus I would make Munson the every day catcher and let Ausmus be the personal catcher for Clemens. At least Munson has shown he can hit a little, has some pop and looks at least somewhat competent at the plate. Ausmus isn't much of a defender anymore anyway. We are already sacrificing defense to have Lamb's bat in the lineup, we need to sacrifice some D to have Burke at short. Garner would routinely bring in defensive substitutions last year, he could do the same things with that line up. Bring Bruntlett in at 2nd, Everett at short, take out Lamb and move Berkman to 1st. Move Wilson to left, Taveras to short and Huff to right. We have to get the best hitters in the lineup everyday. That means removing automatic outs, Everett and Ausmus.
I just saw this thread, being caught up in the James thing. Sounds like a great move! What kind of contract does he have?
There's only so much defense a team can sacrifice. Lamb is a decent at first and Berkman is good in the OF. Burke is not a shortstop. Ausmus is still a very good catcher. He's not the throwing catcher he used to be but he calls a great game, frames pitches well, blocks pitches, has a tremendous repore with the staff and acts as an extra pitching coach. The offense needs the outfielders and corner infielders to hit. The pitchers need Everett and Ausmus on the field.
this isn't fantasy baseball here, we cant completely sacrafice our starting defense to get the strongest lineup.... leave berkman, burke, and wilson in the OF, huff 3rd - everett SS - biggio 2nd - Lamb 1st, and Ausmus at catcher. make defensive or matchup changes when necessary. this move does give us a lot of flexibility, which i totally love.
his average has been conisitanly going up these past few weeks and i hope he has found his grove now and can do it for us
Huff article by Dick Justice. Interesting because it points out some of the negatives about Huff that I was unaware of. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/4043664.html Astros GM shouldn't stop with one deal By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Tim Purpura said something about Aubrey Huff being able to play first, third and the outfield. That's what you call a generous assessment. Huff is a hitter, period. Let's not quibble over the fine print. He's a step in the right direction. His career average is .287. Only one of his new teammates with the Astros, Lance Berkman, has one higher than that. For a team that's 13th in the National League in runs and has scored three or fewer in 35 games, Huff is a nice, no-frills acquisition. He's exactly the kind of under-the-radar move that made Gerry Hunsicker one of baseball's best general managers. Dan Wheeler and Mike Lamb didn't turn heads when they arrived, either. This time, Hunsicker was on the other end of the discussions, cherry-picking two players from the organization he once ran. Advantage: Purpura Huff won't fix the bullpen or fill the other holes in the lineup. He probably won't get Purpura voted Executive of the Year. He definitely shouldn't be the last move. Still, Purpura's first substantive trade was a risk worth taking: two obscure minor leaguers for a guy who has hit .433 the past three weeks. Huff isn't as good as Alfonso Soriano, who appears to be the best hitter on the trading block. The Astros didn't have to give up Jason Hirsh or Hunter Pence, either. Trades like this come with a downside. The Devil Rays were willing to pay about half of Huff's remaining salary ($1.6 million) to get the deal done. His time had passed in Tampa. For one thing, his attitude rubbed some the wrong way. His sarcasm didn't play well with the front office or coaching staff. The Astros don't sweat attitude issues. They've got a tolerant clubhouse. Guys who had trouble elsewhere — Carl Everett and Jeff Kent, to name two — thrived in Houston. More RBIs needed Huff's also not much of a clutch hitter. His career batting average is 20 points lower with runners in scoring position than in other situations (.291 versus .271). He's 9-for-41 (.220) with the bases loaded for his career. Work ethic? Nothing special. He worked hard last winter, but the Devil Rays suspected it was because he was entering a contract year. His story is a good one. His father was killed when he was young, and his mother dedicated her life to making him a big leaguer on a teacher's salary. He just never cared much about using his life as an example to others. None of the negatives detracts from the fact that he makes the Astros better. They also were in no position to wait for Albert Pujols, having lost 11 of 17 to fall behind six teams in the race for the National League wild-card berth. If they're going to make another run, they've got to make it soon. Huff's arrival will have a significant impact on two players: Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane. Neither deserves to play. Huff will see some playing time at third. Lane was sent to Round Rock to clear a roster spot for Huff. Ensberg's right shoulder is worse than the Astros have let on, or he's in the mother of all slumps. He has hit .194 since May 1 and given no indication he'll get hot soon. Ensberg is likely to stay; Lane can attempt to regain confidence and his swing in the less stressful environment of Round Rock. His career seems to hang in the balance. In many ways, he stands as the poster boy for this strange season. He was a huge part of last season's World Series run, hitting 26 home runs and driving in 78 runs. Those weren't empty numbers, either. Down the stretch, the Astros didn't have a tougher out than Lane. No one could have guessed he would lose all concept of the strike zone and play his way out of the big leagues. His decline is the most stunning on a club with several of them. At least Brad Lidge had tipped us off there might be problems. Roster shake-ups can jolt a team. Firing hitting coaches — like the move Wednesday night with Gary Gaetti — can also put a team on notice. Everyone returns to work in Miami today knowing their jobs are a little less safe. Whether it's a substantive move or not is another matter. Having preached for the Astros to stay the course last winter and remain patient early this season, I'll take my crow fried or fricasseed. I believed this team would build on last season's success with the same group of players. I believed Lidge, Lane, Willy Taveras and Chad Qualls would get better, not worse. I believed Ensberg would match his 2005 production. I believed in Andy Pettitte, too. I even thought signing Preston Wilson was a bad idea because it meant less playing time for Chris Burke. I never imagined it would come undone this quickly. This is the same team that won the National League pennant last October and played with resilience and poise in September and the first two rounds of the playoffs. So Aubrey Huff arrives as the first significant change. Making him the last would be a mistake. richard.justice@chron.com
The number 3 hitter hits with 2 out and nobody on too much. Hard to start a rally that way. It's better to have a guy with a decent but not great OBP with a good SLG in that slot.
I would want Rolen batting behind Pujols or else Pujols will get intentionly walked almost every time.
