bruntlett's error was sweet. and by sweet, i mean totally awesome. 3 errors for him already this season in about 15 total games played. hey, everett has a total of 3 in about 50 games.
Not that fielding percentage is a great way of measuring defensive ability, but that was pretty funny.
He had nothing. Couldn't spot the fastball. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains." Stros could have done without the roof tonight.
pretson wilson did his best jeff bagwell impression tonight. one-run homer when we're down nine. j/k i love jeff.
they both share that unmistakeable charm and the intense desire to win the championship of internet message board smack-down. which as you know, is a very prestigious accolade to achieve.
You guys could ignore them and not even see their posts. I don't mind, I agree with some of the things both sides of the argument are saying. Does this make me a republicrat? DD
It's serious when Everett takes a seat By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle You figure this was a night when the Texans visited for early batting practice and the Astros followed suit by playing like a bunch of Charley Casserly second-round draft picks. You figure Dr. Seuss would even run out of ways to sugarcoat the way the Cincinnati Reds demolished the home club — one run, two runs, three runs, four. Six runs, eight runs, nine runs, more. You figure it's time to just crumble up the result and forget about it. "Chalk it up to an anomaly," Astros slugger Lance Berkman said. "Everybody was mentally over by the third inning." But one thing should stick from the lineup Astros skipper Phil Garner trotted out for this embarrassing 14-3 loss. This was the lineup of embarkation. Adam Everett's ship may have sailed. Searching for answers Among all the quirks and twists on Garner's card that showed just how desperate he is to find something that works, not to mention the limitations he faces in search of personnel, Everett's absence was most meaningful. Sure, Mike Lamb started at third base for only the third time, but you have to get his bat in the lineup, and two consecutive nights off are just what Morgan Ensberg needed. Slumping Jason Lane was back in the lineup, but you have got to get him back out there at some point and find out what he can do, don't you? Lane responded with a walk and a single on an otherwise gloomy evening. Eric Munson spelled Brad Ausmus behind the plate, and Preston Wilson remained a mainstay batting fifth, putting together a nice 2-for-4 night for a change, despite Chris Burke itching to take his spot. But all those moves are just part of the desperate search to find a spark. In Everett's case, the message is different, loud and clear. The light-hitting shortstop has breached the so-called Mendoza Line between his value as a defensive whiz and his liability at the plate. On this team, with the way things are going and Everett's batting average down to .205, no longer can his presence at shortstop every day be justified. And, well, it shouldn't. Defense not enough Of all the tough calls Garner has had to make trying to find an answer for a club that has fallen under .500 for the first time this season, no doubt this was the toughest. Benching Lane — a favorite of the front office — was simple. Moving around Burke and Lamb while trying to find them more at-bats was obvious. Sitting Wilson may come next. But Everett represents what this team is all about when the lineup card is complete and the team is at its best. He doesn't knock in a lot of runs, but he saves so many. On a good offense and when he is not trying to pull the ball, Everett takes the right approach on every at-bat. He moves runners over, slaps the ball up the middle and maybe yanks a sacrifice fly or bunts home a run with less than two outs. On the 2004 Astros team — with Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, Craig Biggio, Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman and Morgan Ensberg — you could get away with pitchers all but knocking the bat out of Everett's hands. A year ago, when things were rolling, you could excuse it, too. But now you sit him. You have no choice. No matter how slick Everett's fielding may be or how much teammates understand his greatness defensively, it is not Everett's plummeting batting statistics that must send him to the bench. It is those of his teammates. "The last guy to have hands like his was Ozzie Smith," Ensberg said of Everett recently. "People have been rolling their eyes the whole time he's been here. People have been talking about the hitting, but I'm telling you, he is the best fielder I've ever seen. By far. There is no other. "You would have to hit over 60 home runs to be comparable to what he does defensively. That's his ability. That's his level, defensively." The problem is, where once the Astros mashed the ball, today they rank 13th in the league in OPS — the on-base average plus slugging percentage statistic widely considered the most important in the game. Garner characterized Everett as the kind of guy a man wants his daughter to marry. Berkman says he enjoys watching Everett play his position more than he does any other player in the league. Biggio has said Everett is the best shortstop with whom he has played. And closer Brad Lidge said that when Everett is behind him in the field, "I've never had as much confidence in anyone as I've had in Adam. It's never even been close." But on the just-completed and dismal 3-7 trip, Everett batted just .125 (4-for-32). Garner could live with that, if the rest of the team wasn't 89-for-347 (.256) on the trip. In Everett's place Friday night, Eric Bruntlett may have committed an early error — half of Everett's season total — but this team and this season never was about what the Astros could do defensively at shortstop. Bruntlett is hitting .333 for the year and Burke .279. This isn't 2004 anymore. On this team, the best defense will be a good offense. That is, if Garner is ever able to find one again. john.lopez@chron.com he's like me, except i'm savvy enough to not have to wait after the changes happen to understand it, and he doesn't have to be met by idiots bashing him and thinking they know what they're talking about by citing some random author who they've never heard of's book!
Seems this article answers your question about whether Everett is the best fielder in the league "far and away". "The last guy to have hands like his was Ozzie Smith," Ensberg said of Everett recently. "People have been rolling their eyes the whole time he's been here. People have been talking about the hitting, but I'm telling you, he is the best fielder I've ever seen. By far. There is no other. "You would have to hit over 60 home runs to be comparable to what he does defensively. That's his ability. That's his level, defensively." ... Biggio has said Everett is the best shortstop with whom he has played. And closer Brad Lidge said that when Everett is behind him in the field, "I've never had as much confidence in anyone as I've had in Adam. It's never even been close." [/QUOTE]
1)The author of your article claims that OPS is "widely considered" the most important statistic in the game. Based on that statement, I'm not inclined to consider him a knowledgeable baseball writer. 2) Again, batting average is a poor measure of offensive production. 3) This article is extremely poor journalism. The writer is making a completely unsubstantiated claim (that Everett is benched for Bruntlett). The evidence which he does include is predominantly quotes from the organization about how Everett's defense is invaluable. This will be my last post on the Everett vs. Bruntlett topic. It's absolutely insane that some people want to start Bruntlett. Even if he provides an offensive upgrade, it won't be a substantial one. There are very few players I'd rather have at SS over Everett. Defense is a premium at that position. That is all.
