Stupid as I sound for saying so, I'm beginning to wonder if he would. Probably because he disagrees that Luke is the best option--but some of this stuff boggles the mind. --Craig Biggio, a shell of a shell of his Hall of Fame self both in the field and at the plate, starting on the road, against tough righthanders no less. --Jason Lane in CF. What, like he's got a range advantage over others? Now, THERE is where you can argue that someone's D doesn't make up for his lack of O -- Lane with his All-Star .167 average. --Revolving door at third, "solved" by trading a solid reliever for a guy who offensively produces less than one of the 3B we already had and is a defensive hack? ???? --Are we going to see if Burke can play or not?? This is exasperating and irratating, frankly. I can't tell what on earth the Astros are doing (and it may be because I don't know what on earth I'm talking about!). They say they want to win, then they run Jason Lane out there and trade pitching away--in the midst of horrid SP struggles--for a 3B who marginally, if at all, improves the offense while NOT improving the defense--and offense hasn't even been the problem lately. They say they want to see what Chris Burke can do with an everyday chance, then he doesn't start every day. It all appears either disingenuous or incompetent to me--but I don't know what these guys know, so I'm unwilling to label them or their performance in that manner. So, I'm appealing to those with more savvy to explain it to me, as it's perplexing and frustrating to watch.
There is no explanation. They need to find out about Burke and Scott. If you have to play Lamb to make him happy and be able to re-sign him, then play him at 3b. We have Wiggington, or whatever his name is, locked up for the next 3 years. So your everyday lineup until Pence gets back should be: Burke CF Loretta 2b Berkman 1b Lee LF Lamb 3b Scott RF Bruntlett SS Munson or Towles C You can occasionally move Loretta to Short to get Biggio in and it wouldn't hurt to give Berkman a day off here and there to move Lamb to first and play the new guy. If they continue to run Jason Lane, Biggio, and Ausmus out there on a regular basis both Purpura and Garner should be fired (unless of course, Drayton is forcing their hand).
Garner and many within the Astros considered Burke to be as good of a defensive LF as anyone in the league. I'm not saying that's what I think, but to say he was a "disaster" is a stretch. I think he was passable in CF as well... not good, but he came in at a bad time after fans were spoiled by Taveras. He also made some plays uncharacteristic of him (even Adam Everett has had multiple errors in a game), and he didn't have the sample size for it to all even out. Why are homers a valid way to override batting average, but doubles, triples, walks, OBP, SLG, etc. aren't? The point is, BA is one isolated statistic, whereas OPS is an all-encompassing statistic that includes BA as well as other relevant factors. In that sense, he's doing fine. Why he sat on the bench last night against a right-hander after going 6-for-8 over the weekend with two doubles and a homer against righties is ridiculous.
I've never heard anyone refer to Burke as a good defensive LF. Maybe he is adequate, but never have I heard good defensive LF or OF. He misplays ball, takes bad routes, and has a poor arm. Between that and all his b****ing, I wish he was the one that was DFA'd. If you want to use the argument that we suck, so stick Burke in the OF.. to each his own. But that's not what I would want to do - putting Burke in the OF. I only said HR hitting machine to say if he was a raw power hitter like a Dunn or A. Jones, then him hitting under .250 wouldn't be so bad. But he isn't. He gets his EB hits just like any other hitter, so .250 is just not good.. any way you want to slice it. I like Luke Scott, and I'd like to see him stick on our team, this year and next, so don't get me wrong. But I don't see why he deserves to have the RF position all to himself, any more than Lamb deserves to get PT and Wiggington deserves to play. Should he always play over Lane - definately. But Lamb and Wiggington bring as much if not more in terms of offense, so Garner is gonna keep switching up the lineups.
With Wigginton being named the 3B for the next few years, Garner has said he's "thinking about" making Berkman the permanent RF with Lamb at 1B. This is insane. If there's 2 things the Astros need to know before the end of the season it's if Burke will be the 2B and if Scott will be the RF next year. Thank God I get to see Jason Lane play CF everyday.
I'm honestly starting to think that Luke's comments to the media a few days ago may have pissed off management and now he's in the doghouse... Free Luuuuuuuuuke.
The thing is, I really don't think Lamb is going to be here next year. I'd like to have his bat in the lineup, but the season is over and Luke is going to be here next year.
That's the same thing many thought last season and even the season prior to that. Lamb likes it here. He's stated several times he'd rather be in Houston than anywhere else. But honestly, I'd say it's 50-50.
Actually, no one has said that, because he hasn't been able to go anywhere the last two years. He's been under club control (arbitration eligible).
i cant take people hearing saying that any more. i'm gonna go postal. it's akin to nails scratching on the chalkboard. it's just such a bizarre and nonsensical thing to say.
It makes perfect sense. Neither has ever been given consistent playing time over the course of a season. If they both play the rest of the season the Astros will have a good idea of what they have going into next season. Thus knowing if they need to spend money or make a trade for a 2B or OF or to use that money on other needs. If they continue to play like they've been playing, it's just a guessing game.
it's just so vague though. at what point have you "found out" about somebody? what #'s or requirements do they have to meet for you to say that you are comfortable with them being starters for the next 3 or 4 years? did they already find out about wiggington? or did the rays find out about him for us? dont they need to make lamb an everyday starter for a couple seasons so they can find out about him? what about loretta? he's just been platooning with people around the infield. they'd better find out about him to see if he can be an everyday starter somewhere. you apparently have to leave him in only one position and let him start every day to find out about him. what the hell do you still have to "find out" about burke? he's an adequate defensive 2b (as is everybody else in the majors who calls 2b their position aside from craig biggio), and, at best, he's going to be a decent hitter, with virutally no power. so, in other words, at best, he's a dime a dozen. how hard is that to determine? what do they expect to happen? him to hit .400 and 15 homers and steal 20 bases the final 60 games of the season? we have a front office of complete clueless idiots with seemingly no baseball knowledge whatsoever.
I agree. Loretta is in an 0-for-17 slump right now, something like that. The only problem is that Scott can't just take his place on the field. If we had Wigginton, Lamb, Berkman, Lee, and Scott in the lineup, where would they all go? I hope Scott gets a legitimate chance to play, or he'll be the next one sent packing because of his poor offensive numbers in the first half of the season.
