Mills is dead man walking now. If Biggio calls and says he wants the job Drayton would fire Mills on the spot.
We have 4 players who were starters last year and are starters this year. Bourn, Berkman, Lee and Pence. They batted a combined .286 last year. This year, they're batting .252 combined. That's a 34 point drop. That's significant. Wade is right that while they're not great, they're better than the way they're playing. Our best 4 players shouldn't be hitting .252. Who knows how much Berry is to blame but our hitters have significantly underperformed for over half a season now and it's worth taking the chance to see if a new hitting coach could help turn the tide. Often times when hitting and pitching coaches get fired, you hear people say that if they've been there long enough, eventually they give all the advice they have to give and can't offer any new insight. The players have already heard everything he's had to say. Berry has been here for five years. Maybe he's helped these players as much as he's capable of helping them. Maybe somebody with a fresh perspective based on a different set of experiences can say something that will finally make something click in the brains of our hitters.
I want all Astros to be required to have a stance like Bagwell. I promise i will go to every single home game.
According to Bagwell, he is only definitively on the job through the end off the season. At that point, they will make a more permanent decision.
Just read the justice article, and for as much as he gets on my nerves I totally agree with the piece. I love Baggy and am glad he's a part of the team, but it's not the answer. Seems to me Uncle D may think it will put butts in the seats. I really like Mills and hope he's with the team longterm. I believe he knows the game, knows how to manage the game, is straight with his players and commands the respect of the players. We just don't have a very good team, it's been constructed poorly. I hope Drayton sells the team to someone who can turn this thing around, yes it looks as though that's not happening for a while. I just don't see the team being successful again until it happens. So welcome Baggy, glad you're back with the team, hasn't been the same without ya. Pretty sure it's not gonna make a heap of difference though.
I see nothing wrong with Berry's reassignment. They have had hitting woes for the better part of the past 3 seasons. Of course you can blame some questionable management decisions, but you can't simply cut and/or trade every player who has been performing poorly. Berry has never done anything noteworthy with turning any player into a great hitter and I suspect he has not been the downfall of many (if any) of the players. it seems like a very innocuous move. They are allowing Berry to stay with the organization if he chooses and they are going in a different direction with regards to a hitting coach. I suspect if this move had been made prior to the season, Justice would have been incredibly on board with it.
This is good news IMO. Even though Bagwell had a crazy ass stance, the guy knew how to hit, and has a great baseball mind.
Biggio is not calling Unlce Drayton. He's coaching his kids at St. Thomas and one of them was a frosh or is going to be a frosh this year.
Yeah, I don't see Biggio giving up his current job anytime soon. Hes enjoying time with his family, and loving his coaching job. Maybe in a couple of years when his kids have graduated, that maybe be a different story. I could see that happening.
The odds of seeing a no-hitter would be very high. You'd probably even see the Stros suffer through another 20 strikeout game.
For the sheer hilarity of it, Berkman should go into the Baggy crouch the first time he bats right handed after the All-Star break :grin:
Im saying as a "what if" type of situation. If Biggio said he wanted the job Drayton would have no problem firing Mills. In his mind that could be an extra 3,000 fans to show up.
What are Bagwell's qualifications as far as being a hitting coach? Has he ever coached before? Wade and others are making it sound like an important position.
I doubt it cause Nolan Ryan wanted a front-office job and Uncle Dratyon said he didn't have an opening for him and now he has the Rangers in first place as a legit contender since he came on.
Bagwell, IMO, is the best hitter the franchise has ever seen and that includes Biggio. Whether he bats in a squat or upright doesn't matter as long as he understands the mechanics and philosophy of hitting and he surly does. I know the club sucks so viewership may be down but if you listened to him Saturday nights it could easily be seen that the guy knows hitting. Is this a marketing ploy, of course but could also turn into a VERY wise choice in the long run even if it isn't this year.
He has been working as a roving instructor in the minor leagues as well as spring training as well as the 'hitters and pitchers' camp they hold during the winter.
