I agree he has been the Stros best hitter so far. He should always 1st base versus lefties with Berkman shifting to right field. Lane sucks but he continues to get starts. Also Loretta should play the majority time at 2nd on the road and play shortstop at times like right now when Everett is 0 for May. He hasn't reached base in his last 16 plate appearances which is absolute horrible.
Even with Biggio's traditional semi-hot start and Morgan's somewhat slow start, Ensberg's OPS is still approximately the same, and was far and beyond ahead last year and every other year. There's absolutely no logical basis to expect Biggio to contribute more offensively than Ensberg.
Who would you want at the plate in a clutch situation with a runner on third, two outs, & the game on the line? Biggio or Ensberg? Although I admit, it is kind of entertaining watching Ensberg jump & dive out of the way of picture perfect strikes right down the middle of the plate.
Yea. He's come through in clutch situations for us so many times. There's a reason he ends up losing his starting job during the season, which has happened each of the last three years. He's horribly inconsistent, and the antithesis of a clutch hitter.
3 more hits for Loretta today....he is pretty efficient. I wanted us to resign him back in 2001 I belive, when he had that stretch and hit over .400 to close off the season with us. Plus wasnt he an all-star last year? or was that the year before?
It happened in 2005? When was that? The reason he split time with Lamb last season, and in a few instances early on this season, is because Lamb is a terrific alternative. He's a very good bat with power potential. There hasn't been an alternative anywhere remotely close to Mike Lamb at second the last few years; if there was, I guarantee you Biggio would've lost his job at certain points as well. Anyway, antithesis of a clutch hitter. OK. Ensberg, RISP, 2007: .387 OBP, .417 SLG, 8 RBI in 24 AB Ensberg, RISP and 2 out, 2007: .350 OBP, .400 SLG, 4 RBI in 15 AB Ensberg, RISP, 2006: .438 OBP, .402 SLG, 33 RBI in 102 AB Ensberg, RISP and 2 out, 2006: .442 OBP, .455 SLG, 21 RBI in 55 AB Ensberg, RISP, 2005: .461 OBP, .604 SLG, 63 RBI in 134 AB Ensberg, RISP and 2 out, 2005: .464 OBP, .662 SLG, 33 RBI in 65 AB Biggio, RISP, 2007: .257 OBP, .438 SLG, 13 RBI in 32 AB Biggio, RISP and 2 out, 2007: .357 OBP, .500 SLG, 5 RBI in 12 AB Biggio, RISP, 2006: .324 OBP, .356 SLG, 41 RBI in 118 AB Biggio, RISP and 2 out, 2006: .388 OBP, .456 SLG, 19 RBI in 57 AB Biggio, RISP, 2005: .340 OBP, .432 SLG, 41 RBI in 132 AB Biggio, RISP and 2 out, 2005: .403 OBP, .508 SLG, 23 RBI in 61 AB There's the data. There's simply no logical basis to argue that Biggio, over the past 2-3 years, has been a better hitter than Ensberg in pressure or "clutch" situations. You can argue what you want, I suppose, but you'd be wrong.
2004 - Replaced as everyday starter by Lamb down the stretch when the Astros made their miracle run to the playoffs. 2005 - After a monster all-star first half, Ensberg stinks it up after the break. Lamb platoons with Ensberg for the last month of the season. Ensberg regains the starting role just in time to put together an extremely unclutch playoff performance, capped by a 2 for 18 showing in the World Series. 2006 - Astros trade for Aubrey Huff because Ensberg is stinking it up so badly. 2007 - Now being forced to split time with Lorretta and Lamb. Ensberg is inconsistent as hell. How many years can he blame it on injury?
If there's JUST a runner on third with 2 outs...I'd rather have Biggio, who has a higher AVG and SLG right now, has more total bases, more rbis, more home runs and twice as many extra base hits. Ensberg is just not aggressive at the plate anymore and I don't trust him over other guys in RBI situations. Now, if the bases were loaded, then Ensberg all the way, since he has the higher OBP and can get walks.
Ensberg's one off year. Stunk it up, after the break? If by that you mean hitting .275 with a .388 OBP and .507 SLG with 12 homers and 36 RBI in 229 ABs, then I guess he did. However, I would like to hear some more about his supposed sucking after the break. Those numbers seem to show the opposite. And Lamb's "platoon" lasted all of two weeks while Ensberg recovered from being drilled in the hand. Huff started about as much in the outfield as he did at third. Second, you seem not to understand the difference in positions. Some positions are power spots, while others are not. If Ensberg goes through a slump, he's much more likely to be replaced because third base is a position where teams depend on consistent power production and can also easily find it, whether it be from within (Lamb) or by trade (Huff). Second base is very different, and a position where good hitters are somewhat of a rarity. So, arguing that Ensberg hasn't started every game doesn't really work unless you're trying to compare him to someone of the same or similar position. Look at the numbers Loretta and Lamb are putting up so far.. you'd be an idiot not to play them a bit more while they're this hot. But, as the season progresses, players will revert to their normal levels, and Ensberg will have both more ABs than Biggio as well as be more productive.
Given that, that's why you do what Garner has done in the last few days... move Ensberg to the top of the lineup to fully utilize his strengths. If he draws the walk, you have Berkman and Lee behind him.
