Buck has a serious hitch in his release when throwing, as the article says, Pena likes him & thinks he may be able to fix it. He's average I guess behind the plate, has trouble blocking balls in the dirt & isn't very "quiet" as a receiver, too much movement with both body & hands. His stick is improving and that's where his value lies. Gimenez is already a better receiver than Buck, and has a better arm. He's a switch hitter with gap power from both sides and is still young enough to develop more pop. I'd say he'll spend next year in AAA and then see where he's at. I always liked Dotel, from all accounts he's a great guy & will be missed in the clubhouse and in the pen. Wish him nothing but the best. Along with Urbina and Rhodes, Eddie Guardado of the M's and Buddy Groom/B.J. Ryan of the O's are also rumored to be coming to Houston. Rhodes has pretty much sucked this year, and outside of '01-02 he hasn't been very good much at all in his career, but he lives in Waco and he sure ain't white, so that might make some folks happy. Groom & Ryan are both lefties that get lit up by RH hitters, Groom much more so. Ryan would be my choice here: wanna know something sick? LH batters are hitting a robust 1 for 42 against him this year. Righties hit .287 but with zero to little extra base pop. If I can have any of the above pitchers, I want Guardado. He can close, can be a setup man, and has just about equal success against LH & RH batters. He signed a 3-yr $14M deal in the off season, so he wouldn't just be a rental. On another interesting note, Gerry reported yesterday that Chad Qualls has been moved to the bullpen and that the Stros project him as a setup man/closer. If you like Lidge, you'll like Qualls. Same nasty FB/slider combo, just 2-3 MPH slower. If he has success in the next month or so (mostly with command and getting his arm to bounce back from relief work) look for him in the Houston bully before September. Will be interesting to see what Jimy does with the lineup. I like a 1-2 of Biggio-Everett, don't want to see Everett-Ausmus-Pitcher at the bottom of the order. I'd leave Berkman 3rd for OB% reasons, but don't want to bat him & Beltran back-to-back since they're both weaker from the RH side and would be susceptible to late inning LH relievers. So I sandwich Kent in between and move Bagwell down to 6th. Then Ensberg/Lamb & Ausmus. The team had to make the move for Beltran, and didn't give up too much to get him. Whether or not he re-signs in the off season is not a concern at this time. The org. is in full on "Win Now" mode, and the next person that says "Drayton doesn't care about winning, only about money," needs a swift kick in the genitals. Just my .02
Buck, The only downfall to having Beltran bat behind Bidge and Everett and ahead of Berkman and Kent is that we wouldn't be able to take advantage of his base stealing as much. But in reality, I dont think you could take advantage of his base stealing to the fullest anywhere in our lineup. How about: Bidge (righty) Beltran (lefty) Kent (righty) Berkman (lefty) Bags (righty) Lamb (lefty) Everett (righty) Ausmus (righty)
Two things to keep in mind for the future concerning this trade (assuming the Astros don't resign Beltran). - If the Astros suck and are out of the race in late July, they can trade Beltran and recoup some prospects. - If Beltran is signed as a free agent, the Astros should receive a 1st round pick as compensation. Lidge came to the team as a result of Kile being signed by the Rockies.
Best place would be in front of Kent, who has the best bat control of any guy on the team. Put Berkman back at the 5-spot where he's either up with runners on (5th is probably the most important RBI spot on this team) or in a position to get on for Bagwell/EnsLamb. AE/Brad/pitcher creates a huge hole at the end of the lineup, and I'd rather space 'em out. As long as the 'Stros offer Beltran arbitration in the offseason, if he signs elsewhere they'll get a 1st rounder and a compensatory sandwich pick b/t 1st & 2nd rounds, exactly what we gave up to sign Pettitte.
Buck, Do you really think Jimy could get away with pushing Bags down to 6th?? Not that I think he will make noise (he didnt when he was dropped to 5), but .......i dunno .......just seems you wouldnt want to chance it since he already made a sacrafice and played the good solider when doing so.
Bagwell's sacrifice (thus far) has been to move from 3rd to 5th in order to accomodate the best hitter on the team (Berkman). Moving from 5th to 6th would be to accomodate the (now) best player on the team. Look at the sacrifice Biggio has made 2b->CF->LF. Bagwell will seemingly follow Biggio's example and move to 6th with no public display of disatisfaction (if he is indeed moved to 6th)
I think he'd do it in a heartbeat if it's what Jimy/Gerry think gives them the best chance to win. That's all he cares about. Plus he's been hitting like mad since the cortisone shot, that would give the 'Stros a 1-7 I'd put up against anyone in the bigs.
Unless we are hitting againt Matt Ginter or Vogelsong. I pretty much agree that openly, Bags will play the good solider. I just don't want him to stew on the inside and feel that hes been done wrong.
Did you see how, the day after he said this, he went out and took infield at 3rd just to get in another jab at the media? Frikken hilarious. bobrek, Berkman's still the best hitter on this team.
I have two questions: How many games will Jimy bench Beltran in order to get Eric Bruntlett and Orlando Palmeiro at-bats to "keep them fresh for the stretch run"? AND By how many games will we lose the division? Something tells me those two numbers will be close to even.
I go with Biggio-Everett-Beltran-Bagwell-Berkman-Kent-Ensberg-Ausumus. I don't think we can rock the boat and move Bags all the way down to 6th (though ideally, I'd flop him and Kent). Anyone else here try to resign Beltran before Wade Miller?
Some guy on 610 called in and said since the cortizone shot, Bagwell has been hitting well over .400 with some ridiculous on base percentages. Does anyone have the exact numbers?
As far as the trade, even though it's a rental, absolute no-brainer considering that Clemens, Kent, Biggio, and Miller will all most likely be gone next year, Bagwell's continued decline, and the fact that we don't know how long before Roy Oswalt's body completely falls apart. They're lucky to be getting the offensive production that they are from Biggio and Kent and need to ride this thing out and go for it all. Future be damned, I'm encouraged to see the reports that they're pursuing veteran relievers. They're never going to get this good a chance at a World Series.
