Saying Everett needs to go doesn't make sense. Simply getting rid of him won't make the Astros better. Saying I wish we could package Everett in a way to get a more solid hitter might make sense. Everett doesn't need to stay, but simply getting him off the team doesn't mean we win 4 games against the White Sox. It only makes sense if we get something we need in return. I think that should be how we look at almost all of our players. We lost out to only 1 team in the entire major league. That is great. It isn't as if Everett was a two ton anchor that we managed to drag along to the WS. He contributed. His batting or lack there of was a factor in us not winning some games. But he wasn't the only one who's bat disappeared.
If you watch a lot of SS, you'll see all of them do that, b/c they often throw off-balance or hurried. Everett was 17th in the Majors this year with 14 errors (as in 16 SS had more than he), and he had that many because he got to some balls that some SS's wouldn't get to--in other words, with AE it's an error and with Vizqel it's a basehit. You're not the only fan saying his defense is overrated, but I believe the facts state otherwise.
I disagree. I think the Astros would be better off by simply subtracting Everett. He was absolutely horrid in this post-season run at the plate. We already carry too many light hitters as it is and the Stros will insist on keeping Ausmus so something has to give. Getting rid of Everett perhaps gets Burke at SS or even someone from the farm system, either way they are bound to be much better than everett at the plate. So great he can play defense so what? The poor world series showing proves that is a metric that doesn't wash and with all the RISP that Everett had a chance to knock in, he clearly needs to move out.
Just replacing Everett doesn't get us looking better at the plate automatically. Have you seen Bruntlett bat this season? I think the Astros weakest point is their bottom of the order hitting. They actually did well against the Cardinals but disappeared in the series. Everett is in that group. We need a solid hitter on this team to go along with Berkman, and people like Morgan Ensberg need to not fall off the face of the planet when it counts. Which player can the Astros most afford to move in a deal to land a solid hitter? Everett. But getting rid of him doesn't make the Stros better automatically, I guess we just disagree.
Oh and while we are getting rid of Everett, might as well get rid of Ensberg. What a sad showing!!! For the 4 biggest games of your career/life, he failed miserably, looking absolutely defeated before taking the 1st pitch. It didn't even matter who the pitcher was, Ensberg was afraid to step up to the plate. Nevermind his 36 homeruns, he was a total non-factor and as the clean-up man this is unforgiveable.
Too bad it was the post-season which we got into the WS. Somehow his slump would be more bearable if we got knocked out earlier. As it is we got to the WS in spite of his slump.
i understand that. but you don't give up on a young player who just hit around .290 with 36 HR's because of 40 or so playoff at bats.
If Ensberg, Taveras, Lamb, Lane etc had produced scoring hits when we had runners on base then we wouldn't need to be having this conversation. If they could have scored some RBI's when we needed them then the WS could still be going on as far as I'm concerned. It reminds me of last year after STL knocked us out that people were calling for Everett's head as the weak link in the lineup. I was as frustrated as anyone by the bottom of the lineup's miserable hitting (possibly with the exception of Ausmus who went from instant out to probable out) but I don't think that is where this team needs to improve the most. SS is the most crucial defensive position, and the amount the Everett contributes is severly undervalued IMO. People talk about arm strength and wonder how Burke can play in the outfield but not at SS. The answer is that it requires a different kind of throw and a different kind of strength, clearly Burke doesn't have it otherwise they would have tried it. In the same way, when Kent came in we didn't move Biggio to short to get an extra bat in the Outfield. Throwing from SS to first needs to be an extremely explosive, flat throw which zips through the air to get to the base before the runner at a height which is comfortable for the 1B to catch. Having sat on the 3B line I am truly impressed with Everett's fielding skills. If this guy hit .300 we would be looking at a perennial all star. I also think that Everett's hitting was also inhibited by Garner. I felt that at a lot of at bats, Everett wasn't sure whether he should bunt or swing and wasn't able to concentrate on doing a good job of either as a result.
I suggest you go tell that to the Whitesox, because that team's defense is what really helped their pitching be as dominant as it is. Heck see Juan Uribe game 4 if you want proof, not to mention having two CF's playing in the OF together and Joe Crede at 3B. Adam Everett is a good shortstop, nothing less nothing more. He plays Gold Glove caliber defense at the position and that is a shortstop's primary job, believe it or not. Furthermore, if Everett doesn't turn that DP in game 4 vs the cardinals, the Astros very well don't make the WS. Plus, let's not forget Willy T's great catch on the hill on John Rodriguez as well. I guess that play was nothing. Defense does matter, and it matters the most up the middle: catcher, short, second and CF. The astros are well above average at 3 of those spots, and that is a big reason for their success. Back to everett though, the only possible upgrade is furcal, and he will command 8-10 mil just like Renteria did last year. Don't even bring up Garciaparra. At this point, he's lucky if he can play 3rd or 1st without hurting himself. And do you still not see the value of Brad Ausmus? Watch his gamecalling, and how he blocks pitches behind the plate. That is a catcher's job, not run production. You want to know the real reason for the trouble scoring runs this season: the loss of Jeff Bagwell, plus Lane was hit or miss as a rookie. It really is that simple. It has nothing to do with your 7th/8th hitters in the national league. Jason Lane as your 6th hitter is one thing, but having him bat 5th because of the loss of one of your better hitters in his rookie season is asking for trouble. And Brad Ausmus had a fine season at the plate for a catcher as well, just to let you know. If you want to look at the struggles against the White Sox, it falls on Morgan Ensberg's shoulders. If he has a DECENT series, we would be playing tonight at least. It really is that simple. The White sox dared him to beat them in game 1, game 3 and game 4, and he failed. Whether it was his wrist bothering him, a slump, or a combination of the two(I think he was hurt myself and it affected his grip on the bat) he killed the Astros vs Chicago. The bottom line is the Astros need to decide if Bags can be a solid offensive ML 1B again and if he can, that goes a long way to fixing the offensive issues. If he can't they need to get a solid OF/1B type to take his place in the lineup and give Morgan and Lance protection. Guys like Matsui, Giles, Overbay, Huff and Dunn all come to mind, either via FA or trade.
Not sure where the arguement here is. I agree with 99% of what you said below, except for the "gold glove" description of Everett. He's a decent defensive player but his total inadequateness at the plate has hurt the Stros not only in the playoffs but in the regular season as well. Again, yes, I do see the value in Ausmus as a catcher which only exacerbates keeping such a poor offensive SS. If the Stros accept weakness in offense in more than 1 position then they need to choose between Ausmus or Everett to make that call. But I would say that Ausmus is not the defensive catcher he was a few years ago (see his pickoff numbers) but if I had to choose which one to keep, Ausmus would be my man. We already have poor hitters in the catcher's and pitcher's spot along with Everett, the percentage of a 1-2-3 inning because of this is exorbitantly higher than necessary. Its no surprise we were shut out as much as we were nor is it much of a surprise that the we failed in so many RISP situations. I think you are spot-on with Taveras and Ensberg. Taveras is more than what I expected, he is a huge talent and seems unfazed in clutch situations having delivered much better than Ensberg in pressure-cooker situations. In many ways he reminds me of the talent Loften once promised before the Stros traded him away. As for Ensberg, I just have this feeling that his season of "power" was more a fluke than anything. I hope I'm wrong on this if he continues to be our clean-up hitter. But damn, his showing in the NLCS and WS was too horrid to be simply forgotten. When he stepped up to the plate, it seemed like the opposing pitchers breathed a sigh of relief and just dominated him. I also cringed when he came up with RISP. Not the feeling you want when you clean-up hitter comes up to bat. You are right about the Bagwell situation. But let's face it, the Astros exceeded everyone's expectations this year considering the fact that we also lost huge offensive production when the Stros lost Jeff Kent and Carlos Beltran. Can you imagine if we had 1 or both of them for this year's run? That fact and what we saw in the playoffs prove that the Stros could be only 1 or 2 players away from winning it all next season.
Everett needs to go because he is a horrible batter and at best, a decent defensive player, but not a gold glover.
I would take slight issue with throwing Taveras in this situation. Taveras rarely had runners in scoring position when he came up to bat, and judging him on the few chances he did see during is rookie year in a world series isn't an accurate assessment of what Taveras can or can't do. Overall Taveras was insanely great both at the plate and in the field. The guy usually bats either 1 or 2 in the order and won't have that many opportunities to bat with RBI's so that shouldn't be the primary concern with him.
You don't give up on an old player who just hit around .290 with 36 HR's because of 40 or so playoff at bats, either.
i wish you would nitpick my posts more in the future. do you do that with everyone, or is it just me?? thanks in advance for the careful attention.
I think Everett is a scapegoat here. He is the freaken 8th hitter, 9th with DH. It is a much bigger problem when your clean up hitter strikes out (12) as much as he gets base (singles included) hits (12) in the playoffs. But at least as with Everett, Ensberg played some mean, run saving defense, so I won't totally slam him. Both Everett and Ensberg had some horrible hitting series, it happens. (I personally think Garner should have Everett bunt a lot more, but of well). But I think improving upon Everett's position is one of the least likely ways to improve the club. The best oppertunnity to make an upgrade is to add a great hitting vet fielder and moving Berkman to full time 1B. Let's face it, except for Berk there is no Stros fielder with an above average OBP or steller power/average numbers. The 2nd best oppertunnity is upgrading at catcher. Ausmus is an above average defensive catcher, but he is no Yadier Molina or Pudge. His playoff hitting was better than Everett, but for the season it wasn't, and career wise his average and pop are very poor for an everyday player who doesn't play SS. You take a young elite defensive SS who is light on the bat over an above average aging catcher who is light on the bat any day of the week. Again though, OF is the most viable way to improve the Astros offense w/o gutting the defense. If fact adding a LF not only improves the O but improves the D by having Berk play solely 1B. Of the free agents, Matsui and Giles best fit the bill. (I can tell you to stay away from Reggie Sanders, the last thing these Stros hitters need is another role model for swinging at bad breaking balls). Have Roger and Andy give Matsui a big tour and hope George won't offer crazy money. Or course trade for Manny if we can get out of Jeff's contract. If you want to improve the O a move like this to increase the hitting discipline and efficiency in the middle of the line-up makes much more sense than an upgrade of Everett in the 8 spot, or even than an upgrade of Ausmus in the 7 spot.
