Twins will discover the same thing the Stros did, that Lamb has a good bat and a bad glove at 3B. If you could combine his batting and Everett's fielding you'd have a superstar, as it is they're both fairly mediocre, one dimensional players.
considering the twins started Jeff Cirillo (261/327/386) and jason tyner (286/331/355) at DH for most of last year, I think Lamb is a huge upgrade for them as a DH.
Good for Everett...I guess some teams do value defense these days. And while it would've been nice to retain Lamb, the team really had no need for him with Loretta and Blum signed up as utility infielders.
The Minnesota deal signed by Lamb puts the nail in that coffin for me. IIRC, those that defended the Wheeler/Wigginton deal liked it for the financial ramifications more than anything. The contract that Lamb signed averages $3.3 mil per year, while Wigginton made $2.7 mil in 2007. If they're making the same amount of money, Lamb is a better choice than Wigginton, especially considering that Houston had to give up a solid relief arm (which they could certainly use now) to acquire him.
Undoubtably true. But consider that Lamb benefitted by playing in a hitter's park. He's still a better hitter than either of those terrible DH options, but he was 281/349/415 on the road last season. An upgrade for sure, but you have to take his numbers as being somewhat inflated by the ballpark. And as far as Wheeler, I miss his arm too in our depleted pen. But remember, he's a career 4.09 ERA relief pitcher who was nothing special in his first 5 seasons before arriving in Houston. He had 2 awesome seasons in Houston but last year his ERA was above 5.0 in Houston and worse in Tampa Bay. He's not a guy who I would be certain about bouncing back this year, at least not to his superb 05/06 form.
^ The Metrodome is pretty hitter friendly too. Not quite as friendly as Minute Maid but Lamb should do OK.
Lamb's 2 year 6.6 million contract could turn into 3 years, 12.5 million with incentives (e.g. at bats).
I think if Wheeler had still been here at the end of last season, Wade would be looking to trade him before the next season starts anyway. Looks like he wants to completely cleanse this team except for the big name guys.
