only caught his last 3 pitches, but they looked alright. i'm just glad garner decided to put him in, it was a perfect situation for him to regain some confidence.
Yea... after we all blew our top yesterday, Roy and Gar confirmed it in the post-game show. Solid win today.... Roger is helping already.
The mechanics have improved. There was likely a confidence issue, but only after his mechanics started getting so out of whack, and he started blowing saves, was he gonna start quesitoning whether he "had it" or not. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he started developing some bad habits that he got away with towards August and September of last year, it started catching up with him at the end of the regular season, and it exploded in the playoffs. They've essentially hit a "reset" with him right now... got him back to making quality pitches, instead of him relying on the "lights out lidge" aura to get him thru it alone.
Amazing how much my mood changes when the Astros win. Good game tonite, but I still contend that Everett needs to be benched.
"Light's Out Lidge." That's funny. Nice win, nonetheless. Now C'MON!!! We need a win streak ... like, BAD! Get back in this thing. P.S. FIRE Garner!
16 more and Honus Wagner eats his dust. 18 more and he takes down Yaz. All doable by end of this season.
If the rest of the offense is mediocre, or basically Berkman is the only guy hitting, then yes... Adam is a black hole, and we might as well try to get something from our 8th hitter, instead of nothing. But, there are guaranteed 7 other guys who are supposed to consistently perform better than that #8 guy, not the same as him. And when the offense has been bad, its basically because only ONE of those 7 does something (and more often than not, its Ensberg or Berkman). The bench (which may be the only strength that the offensive side has relative to other teams) was big tonight... but it was Biggio's timely HR (that nobody saw coming) that provided the biggest blow. More timely hits like that... or like Burke's double... are what has to sustain the offense in innings where there 3 or 4 guys aren't coming up to bat.
I am so glad that Garner pinch hit for Everett, he needs to do it more often. If Adam is not going to hit above the Mendoza line, he should be a defensive replacement instead of an every day starter. Same for Lane. DD
You don't sit one of the best defensive shortstops in the league just like you don't sit one of the best defensive catchers (Ausmus). There are other places to find some offense.
Pretty much what the Astros are probably thinking... except that now, Phil will be more inclined to pinch-hit for Everett in "game-winning" situations, like he did tonight. He'll let the rest of the offense try to show up first... but if they don't, he'll take guys out and PH for them as needed.
If Bruntlett can make 95% of the plays that Everett can and hit 50 points higher in average, I will take the trade off. DD
I like that philosophy better, as it's the same as if you were to bring in Bruntlett as a defensive replacement for Biggio late in the game when the team has the lead. If the team is down late in a close game, bring in an offensive replacement for Everett, Willy and Lane until they prove themselves capable. I'd be fine with that. The problem is, based on their career averages, Everett and Bruntlett are about even. The situation is compounded by the fact that Everett is hitting 50 points below his average while Bruntlett is hitting a whopping 75 points above his. I would expect those to even out over the course of the season. Plus, when Bruntlett comes into the game, things happen. He seems to provide a spark off the bench, and I'd much rather have him in that role, at least right now. If he continues to hit .300+ throughout the season, maybe a case can be made to find a starting spot for him. I just don't see that happening though.
I am the exact way man, I've had a great night because of the Stros etc. Too bad summer classes have started.
Just so we all know intellectually how silly this is ... If Bruntlett hits .250 and Everett hits .200, in 20 at bats Bruntlett get ONE more hit than Everett.
This was the case his rookie year, but in 05/06 there's nothing to support it. Qualls, BA against: leading off an inning | w/ bases empty | w/ runners on 2005: .369 | .263 | .234 2006: .250 | .245 | .233 His OPS allowed is substantially lower w/ runners on than without. (career .617 vs. .734). His inherited runners scored percentage is slightly better than Wheeler & Lidge. 2005-2006 combined: Qualls: 30.5% Springer: 34.2% Wheeler: 35.6% Lidge: 37.5% We don't always see what we think we see.
