that's kool and the gang. i just think it's ridiculous that this argument comes up so often...that tinkering with the 7-hole is the answer to our problems in a lineup where the 3/4 guys are just starting to come around.
Apparently the 7th and 8th hole on this team is some magical spot where all our offensive potential lies...if we can just put hitters in those spots, everything will be ok...screw the guys that get paid to hit...the 7th and 8th spots are where it's at. How bout this...let's move Biggio back to catcher so Loretta can take over 2b... That is probably about equal in effectiveness in starting Loretta everyday at ss. Just let it go people...Everett is not going anywhere..and that BENEFITS the team more than it hurts.
Also like to point out, as an aside to this discussion: Morgan Ensberg has a BA of under .200, and an OBP of exactly .300 while batting in the top 2 spots of the order this season, and with Scott heating up & Pence very well suited to the 6-spot, that looks to be where he'll stay if/when he plays. Think about it: why would you mess around with Ensberg & nibble at the corners? Why would you risk a walk? He's shown that he's going to take a ton of pitches, and cannot hit for power this year. Why wouldn't you challenge him with strikes? He cannot hurt you as much with the bat as he can by not swinging it & getting on base for Berk/Lee. Pitchers ain't dumb, advance scouts ain't dumb, this is exactly what you'll see until/unless Morgan shows the ability to hit hittable pitches. If this trend keeps up, Mark Loretta will look very, very good playing 3rd & hitting 2nd, especially against RHP. Mo still crushes lefties. He should start every game at 3rd against LHP, with Lamb/Loretta both hitting RHP well. Mo's also had great success as a PH in his career, so if as expected Lane gets moved somewhere at some point, he could be an excellent RH bat off the bench and defensive replacement. But this is getting the cart way ahead of the horse right now. This lineup's looked pretty good the past week plus, maybe Garner can let these guys settle in for a couple of weeks.
You guys have convinced me, that's for sure. We should trade for Vizquel and Eckstein put them at 3rd and 2nd and we'd be the best team in baseball.
hooray for fun stupidity. the argument is that everett belongs at the bottom of the lineup. getting a bunch of those-type guys doesn't help
The argument is that his lack of hitting is made up by his defense. This is true to some extent, but not when he's batting .190.
This statement is true, but out of context with the other argument. If he's hitting .190, he doesn't even belong in the *bottom* of the lineup. If he hits .240-.260, he's a 7-8 hitter.
that was the argument for someone batting towards the end of the order. not for everyone down the lineup.
Who cares when the guy cant get more than 19 hits in a 100 at bats. I mean seriously. Ive been a Stro's fan since back in the Jose Cruz days, and this is just insane. When the man hit 250, his glove made up for it. When he hit 220, his glove made up for it. When he hits 190, his glove makes up for it. If the dude hits .001 Still the same people will defend him. Every "routine" ground ball that Adam gets to, that someone else may not, does not automatically = a run for the other team. But getting on base 9 or 10 more times in a 100 at bats can make a hell of a difference for the offense. Especially when you already have weak ass Ensberg, and weak ass Biggio, and weak ass Jason Lane, and Weak ass Ausmus hitting in your everyday lineup. And yes we all KNOW Ausmus will finish the season at around the 220-250 mark when all is said and done. Hell even Ozzie Smith would of been benched if he couldnt break the 200 mark. Since Adams second full Season his batting average has dropped Every year. Pretty drastically every year. 25 Points, 9 Points, and now (yes I know its early) 34 points. Thats 70 points over a three year span. This isnt a one year, or hell even a two year fluke here people. For as great as Everetts season was last year, he and his self proclaimed miserable start to this season Error wise, is a life time .97X ish fielder....to include this year so far. Lets not get to carried away.
"From what I'm hearing, the club isn't entirely comfortable with Loretta at short. He'll get a start there every once in a while, but I wouldn't expect to see it very often." -- Footer's Mailbag, today
So, you're predicting AE will finish the season at .190? I mean, seriously. Ozzie Smith was a full-time SS for seven years--seven years--before he broke .260 in his 8th season. His first four seasons were Everettesque: .258, .211, .230, .222. By comparison, AE's first four full seasons: .256, .273, .248, .239. Everett's RBI and SLG were also better. So, I'm glad you bring up Ozzie. OK, you're using fpct to measure a defensive position. Accordingly, I now understand that you know precious little about how to evaluate defense. AE is the consensus best defensive shortstop in the game, rated so by folks outside of Houston. And, the apostrophe key is to the right of the semicolon key on your keyboard. It comes in pretty handy when employing words like "let's" and "can't", or possessive proper nouns such as "Everett's".
Well his average has dropped over 70 points the last 4 seasons. Dropped every year since his second full season. Is there a sign that shows you there is a greater chance of him batting 270, or 200? Please enlighten us as to your conclusion on this one. What I see from those first four years are: Up, down, up down. Yet I believe, without looking it up, Ozzie was a lifetime 260-270 hitter. You have any reason whatsoever to believe that Adam is going to get better, as he ages, in this department? I mean he has been doing you right the last 4 years now, hasnt he? Good argument here. Yes I am, because it is a tool indicative to ability to field your position. Its not the end all, but I do know if you have a .900 fielding percentage, then you pretty much suck. Dude, your a hoot. Please, OH please, dont bash on grammar, when your responce is LAAAAAAAAACED with sentence fragments, improper sentence structure, poor abbreviations, misuse of punctuations, and reads like a 5th grader put it together. Seriously man, using grammar correction, in a debate over the internet is indicative of losing same said debate. That, or its just tHE gHeY yo! LOL.
actually, thru his first 8 seasons, ozzie hit .243 with a .318 OB% and 12 total HRs. he was 32 when he "turned it around." people forget, AE's only totaled 618 games (that's roughly 4 full seasons), but only twice - in '05 and '06 - has he played in more than 130 games in a season. he played in 104 in '04 (the year he got hurt); 128 in '03 and just 49 in his first two seasons. so there's no reason to conclude AE is what he is at this stage - ozzie rang up a .358 OB% and hit .281 between his 9th and 16th seasons.
Other than Ozzie are there many cases of players getting it and hitting better later in their careers? Or is he an aberation? DD
this is such a moot point, it's not funny. newsflash: AE is the starting SS. Loretta isn't gonna be a regular at SS. The end.
He'll hit near his career average. Up, down, up, down, all lower than Adam's. And, with fewer RBI's and a lower SLG. I'm not arguing AE is an offensive juggernaut here--but it is just as possible that he improves late in his career in the same manner that Ozzie did. So, how many major leaguers own a .900 fpct? If that's all you use, you don't know jack about evaluating defense. That's hysterical! This is a battle you want to avoid. You're charging into a sword fight armed with a peacock's plume. First of all, I was joking. You took it personally, and that's rule #1 on the Internet: take nothing--especially yourself--personally. Secondly, I didn't "lose the debate". We have different opinions. Your opinion I respect. My opinion is correct.
