I dunno about that. It seems like every time we hang out, at least once, we both say, "damn this beer is delicious".
I think it is simplistic to think that the only to factors in whether a player needs to be replaced is how many hits he takes away vs. how many more hits the player replacing him will add. A baseball lineup is a beautiful thing. Each member of the lineup has an effect on those who bat behind him and in front of him. All our woes this year cannot be traced to the bottom of the order, but to think that it is not important both now and in the past is ridiculous. Our bottom 3 has been a black hole for years. This puts more pressure on the middle of the order. It makes the manager use up pinch hitters more quickly. If a pitcher knows the 7th and 8th hitter hit for lousy averages (Ausmus will come back to earth just like last year) and have no power, why will they ever give in to the likes of Pense. The point is that Everette's inability to hit has greater impact than just one slot in the order. Shortstops, like Everette, usually have some speed, but we have to use a slug like Ensberg at the top of the order, because of Everette's inability to get on base (can't pick up a walk either). Removing Everett from the lineup will hurt our defense, but the effect on our offense will be much greater that a few extra hits.
So, you don't care about the defense at all? Or about the first month of the season when both AE and Ausmus were hitting above their career averages, yet the team was losing?
A team defense is a beautiful thing. Each player on the field has an effect on those who play around him and on the pitcher. To completely ignore defense is even more ridiculous. Extra! Extra! Read aaalllll about it! The Astros are the only team in MLB with sub-par major league hitters hitting 7-9!! Seriously, broaden your horizons a bit--every team not named, "Yankees" has at least two bad hitters.
Not knee-jerking, just believe Everett is a horrible hitter and has been for years. I think his fielding does not make up for the damage he does to the lineup. I think the positives you would gain from Loretta in the lineup outweigh the negatives he would bring to the field. Just my opinion, but I think Astro management was tinkering with the idea last year with Burke and will re-visit that option before too much longer. The days of Dal Maxville and Tim Bogar are over in the major leagues.
You really need to look beyond Houston. You'd be surprise how many sub-.250 players start every day in the major leagues.
no one ever had a problem saying it. But I do have a problem with people who assume AE will hit .190 for the whole season just because of a bad month. His average will come up to his career norm level or thereabouts (which isn't good still, but isn't .190). Which likely will involve a hot streak somewhere along the way..
Never said that. Reynolds batted in the number 2 spot for many years and was no where near as good a fielder as Everett, yet the Astros managed to win a couple of division championships with a guy having a .262 and .274 OBP.
^i know, i'm just having fun. people are so worked up about the fact that everett can't hit the broad side of a barn. he is a great defensive shortstop though.
It's not just batting average, it's on base percentage. Here are the current shortstops with obp less than 300 for their career: Callaspo - Ariz. .283 Pena - KC. .265 Everett - Hou .299 Pretty elite company, huh?
Bring up all the stats you want... nobody here is arguing for his hitting... or hitting above the #7 or #8 hole. Now, why don't you draw some comparisons to his defensive equals? Namely Vizquel and Ozzie in their primes... pretty elite company, huh?
