He will... but only when we probably have enough offense w/ Berkman back. (and, he'll start every road interleague game, w/ Baggy being the DH) Right now, I'd still take Bagwell's bat over everybody else in our lineup.
It was a hit and run, which Scott didn't make contact with the pitch that was high... the baserunner normally gets thrown out if that happens. Garner was likely trying to ease Scott's mindset at the plate... by putting the H&R on, you don't think anymore... you just swing (but you DO have to make contact, or attempt to). It wasn't too criticical, it only being the 2nd inning. Had he tried that in the 8th of a 1-1 game, I would have been thinking like you.
gotcha...makes more sense now....i was at the game and i didnt realize that the timing of the steal was a hit n run
The current line up is a decent one. Putting Taveras as lead off after only his second game is a bad idea... and putting him in the two spot is ever worse. He's a ground ball hitter and if you put Biggio at leadoff and then Taveras behind him you'll have a lot of double plays on your hands. Eventually Taveras will be our leadoff man, but you have to be patient. He needs to be eased into the league because he's a decent (not great) hitter making the jump from Double A to the big leagues. Everett has proven that he can get a decent on base percentage and has good speed, it's only been two games he'll be fine. If anyone should be moved into the lead off spot it should be Biggio, but again you can't make changes simply because of what you've seen after two games. Tha majority of you guys are obviously not baseball fans first, because you sure as hell aren't patient... the season is 162 games long and generally speaking what happens in the first couple of months (good or bad) is usually erased by the All-Star break. Lots of teams start out quick and then slow and others start out slow and get better, it's a marathon not a sprint.
Nice sample size, there. Your lineup is a sorry idea. The only thing I'd change, *maybe*, is swapping Bidge and AE (who both thrived in their roles last season)--but not yet. Geeeeez, there are a grand total of TWO FREAKING GAMES by which to judge the current lineup's production. Talk about your ADD.
When did that happen? From Baseball Prospectus http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3912 Won't Someone Set the Table?: At this point, in the Year of Our Sabermetric Enlightenment 28 (a gold star if you recognize what we're counting from), you would think that we'd have most of these things figured out by now. What old-school baseball people refer to as the Book is pretty much written--through research and simulation, we've got a pretty decent understanding of the optimal strategy in a given situation. Of course, that doesn't mean that it will be followed. How does this relate to the Houston Astros? Well, Astros fans, say hello to your leadoff hitter, Adam Everett: Year Team Lg AB H BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG EqBA EqOBP EqSLG 2002 HOU NL 88 17 12 19 3 0 .193 .297 .227 .191 .293 .236 2003 HOU NL 387 99 28 66 8 1 .256 .320 .380 .251 .315 .379 2004 HOU NL 384 105 17 56 13 2 .273 .317 .385 .271 .313 .382 Yes, that's right, Phil Garner has decided that the leadoff spot in his batting order is best filled by a player who sports a career on-base percentage of .315. Just to put that into perspective, the average OBP in the National League in 2004 was .329, so a player who is below average at the essential skill required for a leadoff hitter--getting on base so that he might, you know, score some runs--will be frustrating fans until the hue and cry becomes so large that he'll be moved down to the seventh or eighth spot where he belongs. To put it another way, Everett would have to outperform his 75th percentile PECOTA projection just to get to the league average for OBP. Why would a presumably knowledgeable man like Garner make a decision like this? He explained his rationale on MLB.com. "At this moment, Biggio handles the bat really well," Garner said. "He's probably a little better hitting to all fields than Everett is. I think Everett's strength is left-center field and from second base around. I don't want to put Everett in a position where he's taking away from his strength to try to hit behind a runner or try to take pitches." Garner said Biggio's game is "see it, whack it," so it would make sense for Garner to try to have someone on base already when Biggio comes to the plate. "The trick is having Everett on there, who we know will steal bases," Garner said. "[If] Biggio sees something he likes, he's going to hit it. I think that puts pressure on the opposition." From this discussion, it seems like Garner has only considered batting Everett first or second--which is crazy--but we're going to let that go for now. Garner, correctly, recognizes that Craig Biggio is a better hitter than Everett, and has a greater ability to hit to all fields. So far, so good. Even the part about not wanting to ask Everett to hit behind runners (this is where it seems like batting second is the only other thing Garner has thought about) is reasonable, we guess. But you have to love a line like "the trick is having Everett on base." We're not major league managers around here, but yes, it does seem like the trick is having your leadoff hitter on base. Too bad that the selection of Everett makes that highly unlikely. This is the same thing that causes some people to think that players like Alex Sanchez (pre-steroids, one supposes) are credible leadoff hitters. You take a player with no power and some speed, like Sanchez or Everett, and you think that they're potential leadoff men, somehow failing to recognize that their limitations are just that, and not somehow a job qualification.
I don't know about great OBP, but last year AE was absolutely thriving in the 2-hole before that blasted broken wrist--all the little things--bunting (albeit a lil too much), hitting behind the runner, a nice number of doubles, and hitting the ball hard. It was a pleasant surprise considering his featherweight-hitting history and all. I was thinking, man we found a prototypical 2-hitter! Oh, well. C'est la vie.
I do remember him doing well... but ironically, it was only after he went down that we decided to move Beltran to the two spot... and then we started the 36-10 streak. It wasn't neccesarily because Beltran did well (because he reall.y didn't hit well down the stretch), but for some reason, it drastically improved the offense. Anyways, I think he'll be back at #2 and Biggio will be #1 before June... Jimy Williams (remember that guy) tried this same thing in 2002 (or was it 2003... both his years were pretty forgetful), and it didn't last long. Biggio is just as good of a leadoff hitter as he is a #2 hitter (and it won't really matter if he's batting #2 if nobody is on base anyways).
There are a few reasons that Garner has Everett leading off to start the season. First, it gives Taveras a little time to get acclimated to the league and find a groove before moving and having the pressure of leading off. Second, it's not a bad combo in the first place. If Everett can get on, with his speed he can make some things happen when Biggio and Bagwell come up. Biggio and Bagwell are going to hit a boat load of doubles which will create a lot of easy scoring opportunities with his speed. Lastly, it limits the number of changes in the line up once Taveras earns the leadoff spot. Rather then having Biggio at 1 and Everett at 2, and then moving Taveras to 1, then Biggio to 2 and then Everett to 6 or 7 it gives Biggio time to get used to his role in the 2 hole. Either way, the line up is only two games old... and I'm sure it will change many times over the coming months. I want to see Biggio stay at the top of the lineup in the 2 spot because he'll lead the team in doubles like he does every year.
Are we done with this Everett leadoff crap yet?????????????????? The guy CANNOT HIT...period! Switch Willie and Everett....and Lane and Ensberg. Better yet, get Lamb's bat in the lineup and sit Ensberg against righties. Did anyone else see Ensberg's facial expression after he swung and missed last night? He had that "what the hell am I doing wrong now because I certainly cant blame this on my elbow anymore" look.
Can't argue with this logic. Willie currently has the hot bat, so Garner should make the switch. BTW, I think Wille is leading the starters in SLUGGING percentage.
I really think they are going to move Taveras up to top of the order eventually. They probably wanted to see what he can do with the bat for a few weeks or something before making the choice. Based on the production in 3 games he definently should move up to 1 and Everett should move down. When i saw him lay the bunt down and run out the single it was a nice site. The guy has some great speed and we can use that at the top of the order. With this speed if he is batting 8th we have to rely on the pitcher to get him to score and that is not going to happen much and it will be a waste of his speed on the bases.... Im pretty sure he will be leading off as long as he continues his progress in hitting.
I agree. However, getting picked off 1st last night against the Reds will delay his move to the leadoff spot. Willie T.'s gonna be a good one for us. I loved that charge up Tall's Hill for JR's long fly ball. Now as for Scott, will someone convince him to hit somewhere becides dead straight away center. He had a 420' & 400' fly ball last night that resulted in a triple & an out. Anywhere else & they are 2 home runs. That guy has some power. My voice will be sore for a week from yelling LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!! last night.
Ok....are we done with the whole Adam Everett experiment? Other than walking 3 times, he is batting .111 with a whole run scored. If you dont want tavares to be put in that situation so quickly, then let Biggio lead off and Tavares bat 2nd. This is ridiculous.
Garner is going to be more patient with veterans (weird to say Everett is a veteran but he is) then he is with the rookies. I imagine he'll give Everett a week or two more before he makes a switch.
Everett definitely needs more time up there. And Taveras is producing in the 8 hole...I wouldn't readily move him. Sometimes you get better pitches because pitchers aren't up as much for the bottom of the order..
