Chris Burke was a good player last year. This year, he started three weeks in center and had one road trip after the All-Star break. Most teams aren't going to give up on a player who played well the last season and was a first round draft choice because they've had the equivalent of about a bad six weeks. He does need more playing time. Why they're playing Lane in center, I can't understand.
Agreed. If the jury is still out on Burke, stick him in center when Biggio is at 2nd. The season has no meaning anymore, might as well use if for evaluative purposes. The jury should be in on Lane by now. Verdict: HE SUCKS! If Burke is still part of your future plans, put him in center and get him regular AB's.
ummm, that's exactly what they did. now they are deciding to not trust their read and spend the remainder of this season and the better part of next "finding out about chris burke". i dont understand what the hell they expect to happen. he's going to be a mediocre player. he isnt all of a sudden going to be an all star caliber stud. you dont need to watch him play another season to find that out. it's been 3 seasons and they somehow know nothing about him. how long do they need? this organization is just run completely ass backwards.
No, they decided he wasn't the CF of the future. They made no such decision on 2B. There's a lot to find out. If 2006 is the real Chris Burke, he's at least a league-average 2B (probably slightly better) with good discipline and speed and a top of the order hitter. If 2007 is the real Chris Burke, he's a fringe bench player. They need to figure out if he'll return to 2006 form if he gets more regular work. If he does, he needs to be penciled in next season. if he doesn't, he won't be.
so, they knew there was a chance that he was our 2b of the future, and that they had every intention of "finding out". but they insisted on continuing to let biggio play in front of him rather than letting burke progress. is that not ****ed up to you?
Its the price the organization paid for committing to Biggio's 3000 hits. I'm sorry if having the greatest player your franchise has ever seen acheive a rare milestone that this franchise may never see again seems "****ed up to you". You're probably better off rooting for the Diamondbacks or Marlins... World Series winners who don't have an ounce of history/loyalty/long-time fans. Should they have done what the Rockets did, and pushed out Olajuwon for Cato?
I agree that it's definitely better for now and for the long-term future of the franchise for Burke to regularly play 2B. But with Biggio, the Astros view that as definitely a special circumstances.. that said, I know how you feel on that very well so I won't go too much further as to what I think of that.
ok, well there we have it. thank you. the admission that i've been looking for. and finally, we can agree to disagree. me: thinks it's atrocious that a team would mortgage their future and have one player's personal milestone take precedence over winning and fielding the best possible roster you guys: the opposite.
In the long run, the rare individual milestones (3000 hits, 500 HRs, consecutive games played) add more to the overall landscape of the franchise... especially if that player got the acheivement by playing their entire career with that team... than the team's performance in any given year, minus the pennant-winning/World Series winning years. Biggio's 3000 hits will be remembered far more than the organization's playoff runs in 97,98,99, and 01. 2004 may stand up for some time because of the 36-10 finish to get there (and the first playoff series win). 2005 will always be remembered. Its not black and white... especially not with a game as historic as this... there has to be special circumstances.
you need to add a qualifier that the individual milestones add to the landscape of the franchise only when that franchise doesnt have a tradition of championships. here's a prime example. hakeem olajuwon is the nba's ALL TIME leader in blocked shots. ALL TIME. that's pretty much infinitely more impressive than craig biggio being a member of the 3K hit club. here's the thing about it though....nobody gives a ****. hell, the majority of rockets fans probably dont even know it. here's what they do know though: hakeem put the franchise on his back and led this city to the only 2 major sports championships that we have. that's all that matters in sports. team sports, i should say. winning is everything. individual milestones are trivial. it's a team game. most of us were taught that at a very young age. to say that r****ding a team's progress in persuit of one players getting a certain # of hits is ok is just a crazy crazy concept to me. whatever though....like i said, we can agree to disagree. and finally, there's going to be an end to these arguments, since craig has mercifully called it quits on his career.
That was a horrible decision by Doug Mansolino. Lane would've scored easily on that Lamb single... but he holds him at third for Burke. Cla Meredith (Padres reliever) completely owns righties... that AB was doomed from the start. That's two runs the Astros have left on the field... when Biggio couldn't score the runner from third with one out, and when Mansolino inexplicably held up an automatic run in the seventh.
You want to know how r****ded you are? You equate a blocked shots record to 3000 hits (in fact, you don't equate them... you say the blocked shots record is more meaningful). When, in fact, they didn't start recording blocked shots as an ACTUAL STAT till the 70's, and had they done so, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain would likely be the all time leaders. So much for your "prime example". 3,000 hits is much more important, in a much more historically important league.
