Series done, with us taking two out of three, but you guys could have easily taken the series if not for a monumental Wagner blow-up . Here's what I came away the series thinking. Miller is solid, Sarloooooooooos looks good, but Milicki blows chunks. I don't know what you guys are feeding Berkman, but he is a beast with the bat. Merced is not that good, I know he tore us up, but he just CAN'T be that good ,right? Dotel is a stud, You guys should consider moving Wags for a big bat and move Dotel to the closer spot....thats just my opinion though. Lugo and Biggio make a damn good heart of the infield. Lastly, Merced CAN'T be that good, am I wrong? What did you guys think of Atl?
It was fun watching Bobby Cox intentionally walk Merced a couple of times this series (if I remember right). The one on Sunday wasn't even for matchup reasons - another left-handed hitter was behind him, and there were already two outs, so it wasn't for a double play. Just didn't want to face him. This just seemed like every playoff series we play against ATL. The team plays well enough to win but always manages to lose. We're always one hit, one pitch, or one player short. Same old story.
Merced is an extremely solid player who does everything right. While not the most graceful outfielder, he has surprisingly good speed with an average, accurate arm. He is the same type of player Bill Spiers was. Clutch with the bat. Steady in the field. When all is said and done, he hits around .300 and is one of the most clutch players on the team. Also, bear in mind that if the Astro had won the first game, the entire series would have been different. Perhaps Wagner would have blown a save in game 2. Changing the results of the first game, would change the results of subsequent games as well.
Atlanta is: 1-2 vs. LA 2-2 vs. SF 3-3 vs. Hou & Az They have a winning record against all other teams. All in all, a pretty good series for the 'Stros; and Atlanta looked like I expected: solid in all areas of the game, as usual. Personally, I was in favor of trading Wagner last offseason. Closer is the most overpaid position in MLB, and $7M+ for a guy who cannot pitch more than an inning, and b****es & moans when used in non-save situations is money better spent elsewhere, in my opinion. Especially when you have a perfect (better?) replacement waiting in the wings. One of the problems with trading Wagner after the season is all of the teams that could afford a top-$ closer already have one (both NYs, Bos, Atl, LA, SF, Sea, Stl, Ana). The White Sox would be a good fit, but other than Magglio Ordonez (who they'd be crazy to trade for a closer) they don't have anybody I'd want. Maybe they'd be interested in Wagner-Ward-A/AA pitcher for Mags + minor leaguer. I dunno.
Yeah right. When the playoffs roll around, Biggio is a rally killer at the plate and Lugo can't even complete the simplest of throws to first. The Astros will never win a playoff series with Biggio on the team. As for the Braves, who is their hitting coach? When their players make contact at the plate, they absoulutley kill the ball, and they are the best at hitting the ball where it is pitched, not pulling it.
Lugo looked ok to me, although I guess you can't get a great look at someone in only three games. He looked really good in regards to baserunning and seemed to have a very good feel for when to steal and when to concentrate on distracting our pitchers. Terry Pendleton is the Braves hitting coach this year. He's done a damn good job with Furcal and Chipper(Larry to you Astros fans ) but can't seem to get through to A.Jones or Castilla. These guys refuse to go the other way with stuff on the outside of the plate. Sheffield has always been a masher, just couldn't get his head straight. That doesn't seem to be a problem this year though. (knocking on wood).
Lugo is playing great this year....I'm so impressed with him in the field! he was a huge part of our offense on Friday night... he is, right now, an above-average SS...something the Astros have not had in quite some time.
