but Daryle Ward's pathetic fielding lost this one for us. Am I being too hard on the guy or could any half-way decent outfielder have grabbed those two plays he botched in left today?
No you are right on the money...between him and Hidalgo the Stros outfield is HORRIBLE on defense. HORRIBLE !!! I would have traded one of them at the trade deadline....now we are stuck with fat slow outfielders who are less then average hitters. Weak !! DD
I'm thinking the lack of hitting is why we lost tonight. Giving up only 3 runs for an entire game is usually enough defense (whether pitching or otherwise) to win for the Astros.
Hidalgo is just fine as a RF. The problem is Berkman and Ward covering 2/3rd of the OF, when they can barely cover 1/3rd of it.
I was willing to give Ward a chance, but maybe later or next year, we can give him up in the AL for someone that can field...dunno who though. Astros need a center fielder...bad.
yeah we do need a better OF. Man at the beggining of the season i thought ward would bust out. but he hasn't. At the same time i don't wanna trade him because we have traded away some many future super stars.
If we traded Ward, we would only take a player who makes as much as him (400k), which means we would get some bench warmer. There's no way that Drayton trades Ward for a guy who makes 2 mill or more. Drayton wants to keep Ward because he is a very cheap starting OF.
Ward made a nice catch early on, but yes, I question whether or not he has the athletic ability to play out there. His hitting has come around though. Still, we should have scored more than 3 runs on Britt Reames.
An average left fielder makes that last catch for sure. He's probably the worst outfielder in baseball. Shades of Pete Incaviglia and Greg Luzinski.
I dont watch a lot of baseball but could Ward potentially play 1st or 2nd base after either Bagwell or Biggio retire or even 3rd? I know he's not the best outfielder but his bat can still be very valuable.
he wouldn't have the range to play 2nd...he was a natural 1B..he's an even more natural DH in the American League! Let's be honest, it's not like he's more likely to come back slimmed down and sleeker when he's older than he is right now...this may be as good as it gets in the field for Ward...I'd venture to say that's probably the case. That being the case, he's got AL written all over him.
Hidalgo and Ward stink... Yes Hidalgo has a good arm, but he is at LEAST 30 pounds overweight and gets to far less balls then he used to, and the next time he swings at a first pitch strike will be the FIRST time ever. DD
When Hidalgo pinch hit last night....I was like don't swing at the first couple of pitches...and he does. I guess benching him the second time around doesn't help like it did the first time.
Kenny Lofton was a free agent at the start of the season. Why didn't we pick him up. Sure he has lost a step, but it sure is hell quicker than Wards. Lofton could play center, berk at left field, and leave fatdalgo at right.
Kenny Lofton is nearing 40 - he's not very good. Look at his production this year - its terrible. And Richard Hidalgo still has very good range.
I'll agree that Ward lost the game. But it's weird that a third of the Astros Defense supposedly sucks but they have the best fielding percentage in the majors (as a team).
Chance, That is because they can not get to as many balls as other teams, thus they have fewer mistakes. DD
