14 games into the season of a notoriously slow starter. I guess nobody would want Mark Teixeira since he's having a worse season then Berkman right now. Or how about Derek Lee & Todd Helton? Contenders who could be very interested in Berkman at the deadline: Rays Giants Mariners A's Braves Marlins Diamondbacks
Can you provide links? I'd say I follow them pretty well, being in the clubhouse myself for a fair share of games. I was in on a daily basis in Biggio's 3,000 season, and let me tell you - he wasn't the typical "rah rah" leader he's made out to be, either. In fact, I'd argue that Berkman does more of that than Biggio did, having watched both of them. Don't fall for the scapegoating. When a team that's traditionally been good falls off the cliff the way the Astros have, people struggle to accept the simple reality: that the team's talent just isn't good. So, in an effort to appease this segment and have more to write about, certain fan and media types try to spew "leadership" and other hogwash to detract from the obvious, which isn't as sexy of a story. Have you been watching the Spurs in these playoffs? There's no way that Tim Duncan guy could lead his team to four championships - looking at his facial expressions, he's just so quiet and never looks like he cares!
That would be a fantastic point you just made if it were true that he in fact does not contribute in the stat sheet. Since that is not the truth at all, your post was irrelevant.
Berkman's wRC+ & OPS+ have both been over 130 every single season since 2000, including the "bad year" last year. He's a very good player that contributes to the stat sheets in a pretty significant manner.
cool story bro. I'm sure If Biggio was on this team right now we would notice his displeasure a lot more. I'm not falling for it or blame him. This team just sucks. He has very little to do with it. The pitching sucks, the talent sucks, Him, Lee and Pence are sucking. I'm just evaluating his value. Except that team has a vocal loud leader that is HUGE part of those championship teams...Manu
Come on. You know Berkman sucks. If you don't post an OPS over 1.000 every season, you just aren't that good. A .900 OPS is just awful. Not everyone can be Albert Pujols.
You you must have really hated it when we traded the Great Tracy McGrady. The fact is that Lance's struggles are not just from this season. He's been struggling since last year. There is a pattern and Clubs will exploit that pattern and say, "he sucks now". If you don't believe that then you're in for a rude awakening.
Yeah, that .908 OPS he put up last year is a sign that Berkman just can't play anymore. Because he had a bad April last year, that means no team would want him.
How - through facial expressions? And I guarantee you, if Biggio were on this team, certain people would still blame "leadership". It's funny how it works - if you look at every baseball team in the history of time and ask a standard fan to evaluate, you'll see "leadership" universally praised on teams that are good and "leadership" blamed on teams that are bad. To start with, "leadership" has very little value in baseball. It has some in other sports, but in baseball, it's you and the opponent. When Tim Lincecum throws a 96 mile-per-hour heater at you, you have a split second to determine the pitch, where it may go, and whether you should swing. In that split second, you're not thinking about the "rah rah" pat on the back you got in the clubhouse. Baseball is a game of quick instincts and reactions. It's not a game like football where emotion and adrenaline can have a lot to do with it. If there's any significant value to baseball leadership at all, it comes via teaching by example, not by facial expressions and shouts. Teams will evaluate his value by how he hits the ball, and to a lesser extent, how he defends. That's pretty much all there is to it.
He had a good year last year. There aren't any teams in the league who would be unhappy with a 900 ops in their lineup. And thankfully most GMs are not as ignorant about what constitutes a good player as you appear to be.
Biggio and Bagwell got criticized a lot locally in the media for their "leadership" and how they ruled that clubhouse. Fans are just silly when it comes to "leadership" in sports.
Of course, I'm just making light of the situation. I vividly remember the days when Biggio/Bagwell were criticized over leadership, and they coincided exactly with the Astros' underachieving in the playoffs. Then after the successes of 2004 and 2005, it was absolutely amazing to watch the quick perception change that occurred with Biggio and how he became a "great leader." :grin:
I'd be happy, it could be the beginning's of a fire sale, and everyone knows we need help in our farm system. The Astros are going to have a rough next 2-3 years, we desperatly need to rebuild the farm system and get rid of these ridiculous contracts. Hoping for the best!
reeko makes me want to slam my head through a wall in this thread i give you guys a lot of credit for being willing to argue rationally after the first few posts. As for the article, it's cool that Lance is willing to look at it in terms of the team's interests. Given Lance's prior slow starts and 2nd halves heating up, there would be plenty of interest in him barring injury As for Lee, I hope he starts hitting and is willing to accept a trade as much as Lance is. Though he'll definitely be harder to move.. but maybe there's a small chance
It doesn't sound like Lance wants to be traded, but that he would do it to help the organization. The guy seems to truly love the organization and Houston.
Especially since he essentially had no spring training. His swing is probably in mid-March form right about now. It's an even #'d year, so I still fully expect him to finish well over. 300 with 30+ hr's and 100+ rbi.
I wonder if the Astros could package Berkman and Oswalt to the Rangers for a boatload of their prospects? Would solve all the Rangers key needs - an ace pitcher, a 1B, and experience/veterans - and they are loaded in their farm system.
