He finally had an outstanding year after signing his BIG contract! Do we take the chance that he'll have another good year next season or should we trade him while his stock is at the highest it may ever be again?! We still have Jason Lane to plug in his place. IF we can move him in a package for a front-line starter, should we go for it?! Of course, we can always keep him AND sign a front-line starter BUT would "Poppa" Drayton open his wallet in the off-season? Our best chance may be in a trade rather than the FA market.....
IMO, the best scenario for this franchise is to trade Bags and Bidge for pitching. Then fill out line up like this. Lineup CF FA/Porter 3B Ensberg/Blum 1B Berkman 2B Kent/Blum RF Doggie LF Lane C Ausmus/Raul What's his f__k SS Everett/Blum SP 1 Ozwalt 2 FA (legit 1/2)/Miller 3 Miller/FA (legit 2/3) 4-5 Redding/Robertson/Hernandez BP If it ain't broke, Don't fix it. If not Kent at 2B then either an upgrade or Blum. If you think Ensberg is better in the 6 then put Lane in the 2. W/O Bags and Bidge's salaries you have some room to make a lot of choices. I like this lineup and am ready to start fresh. I am tired of the same old. This team would be exciting to watch and I could give them a year to jell. The NL Central will be tougher next year. SL will get pitching over the winter. Cubs will upgrade a position or two. Reds will be healthy and may pick up some pitching. Pirates pitching will be a year older. It will be tough for anyone to run away with the division in the next few years. I think the same 3 teams will contend next year and all will improve their teams. Astros need a pitcher or two. But I think the lineup above will be good enough next year. I think Ensberg and Lane can offset enough of Bagwell's production to make him exendable. The key is to replace Biggio's top ten production at lead off either next year or in two years. As far as Doggie, he is probably one of the top OF's in the game this year. I would rather gamble that he is going to be consistent then expect Bags to reverse his production donwtrend in his last years. Doggie has more upside long term and therefore more value now AND in the future.
Upgrade Jeff Kent at 2B??? Who are we going to get, Soriano? Top ten production? In what categories, getting hit by pitches? Ground outs? Strike outs? Biggio did score over 100 runs and was second on the team in hits, but with his low OBP and batting average, no team would consider Biggio a good lead off hitter. I do agree that Hidalgo is a top defensive outfielder in all of baseball. Considering the ball park in which he plays for half the season, I believe he should be able to keep up if not improve his numbers. However, consider a player such as Preston Wilson. His 36 HRs and 141 RBIs are impressive. Wilson still has horrible SO numbers, but when he does make contact, his impact is impressive. Could another good player come into Minute Maid and put up great numbers? I think so, but it has to be the right type of player. Mainly one that can hit with runners in scoring position. If the Astros can't find a player to fit, then keep Hidalgo.
It is tough to see Biggio as a top ten lead off guy. If you look at the stats though his OBP and run production are all pretty good. There just are not that many great leadoffs anymore. Never the less in the next year or two we are going to have to find someone to replace him. Either we see who other than Bidge may blossom into that role next season or we trade Bidge or move him to another spot in the rotation and then try/get someone new in the leadoff spot. As far as 2B is concerned, Kent has the goods, no doubt. I just wonder how well his wrist holds up. I also think that since I am suggesting moving the vets for next season that he may be worth a lot in trade to the right contending team while we see if Blum is the succesor or get Burke up here to see if he is. This thread was about Doggie and I think he can still be contributing mightily years after Bags, Bidge and Kent are gone. I just say why not "re-build" now when you have such a good core in Berkman, Hidalgo, Ensberg, Everett and Lane.
I guess I'd say yes if we could get a solid 1 or 2 starter, a good pitching prospect, and a backup better than Merced (shouldn't be too hard to find). I don't wanna trade him really, but last year was his first good season in 3 years - he could easily return to his sucky for, next season. No! They aren't what the once were but we SHOULD NOT, CAN NOT, MUST NOT trade them. Either move Biggio to a backup role or cut him, but not trade him. Bagwell is still awesome, unless you call another 30+HR/100RBI a sign of bad things to come.
Sigh. Why do people insist on bashing players before they even bother to check the stats? bobrek posted this in another thread, but since you apparently haven't read that one and didn't bother to look up any stats before you claimed Biggio wasn't a top ten leadoff hitter, allow me to cut and paste it here: Now, does Biggio look like a top ten leadoff hitter to you?
Ok, before you start throwing out these wild and crazy rumors i want you to understand something. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio are both 10/5 players. This means they both have no trade clauses. There is no chance in hell, i repeat Zero chance of either of them waiving their no trade clause period. Let's not get carried away with trades like the GARM forum. At the most Wagner is moved, perhaps there is a slim chance Hidalgo is traded but that's all.
Instead of relying on bobrek, RL, you should "bother to check out the stats" yourself? ESPN has a sortable stats section which breaks down the players according to how they batted as the team's lead off hitter. Going by the minimum of 300 ABs to qualify, Biggio was 3rd in AB, 4th in Runs, 11th in OBP, 21st in BA and 23rd in SBs. In a lead off hitter, one typically wants a speedy player that can get on base, reak havoc on the base paths and score a lot of runs. Biggio did have a good OBP relative to other lead off hitters and scored a lot of runs. But Lance Berkman had a better OBP, more runs, home runs, RBIs in almost 100 fewer ABs and only a few less SBs. Does that mean Berkman should be the Astros lead off hitter? Biggio still has a productive bat compared to other lead off hitters. But is he a lead off hitter? No. Biggio is a player that happens to hit first in the batting order for this ball club. Hopefully the Astros can improve upon this weakness in the offseason.
Nice try. I did bother to check. It seems you must be comparing the production of all the leadoff batters in the AL and NL combined. bobrek was referring to only NL leadoff batters of 300 ABs or more, as was I. I know I didn't openly state that, which is partly because I had thought the "top ten production" was a reference to only NL leadoff hitters. I see now that NL was not specified. So whether or not Biggio is a top ten leadoff hitter in the entire MLB, he IS a top ten leadoff hitter in the NL, which is good enough for me to not lambast him for hitting there. Besides, if he is getting on base enough to be the 4th best run scorer in the entire MLB, then I have no problem whatsoever with him batting there. As for the idea that a leadoff hitter should be a speedy player that can wreak havoc on the bases...well, that's trying to be a bit too fine with my expectations, if you ask me. There really aren't enough of those guys out there for me to expect the Astros to get one. I just feel like people put too much emphasis on a leadoff hitter having to be fast and steal bases for him to be productive. Biggio scored more runs than all leadoff hitters save 3, and I bet he is a lot slower than most of the guys below him. Sure, the people hitting behind him had something to do with it, but getting on base is a lot more important to me than being able to steal a base once they get there. And as for the Lance Berkman thing, that's ridiculous. If Berkman had a higher OBP than Biggio, but his power was at a comparable level, then yes, Berkman would be a better leadoff hitter. But Lance hits with plenty of power that Craig doesn't, so there is no good reason to bat him leadoff when he needs to be driving in runs.
I would. His value is high right now, but I think he gets too nervous at the plate during pressure times (need a run to win) to ever be a clutch hitter.
I must admit that I believe Craig Biggio's production ranks in the top 10 of the 16 National League teams. Even though only 11 NL players qualify at 300 ABs or more while hitting lead off, Biggio's production in the categories of runs scored and on base percentage are impressive. I believe Biggio was the best option for the Astros as a lead off hitter last year. I agree that ideal lead off hitters are hard to find. Dusty Baker acquired Lofton two consecutive seasons to fill that need on his teams. Shannon Stewart is credited with leading the Twins into the playoffs with what he brings from the lead off spot. Everyone has knowledge of the ideal roles that each spot in the lineup should produce. Whether or not Biggio has the threat of speed to cause problems for opposing pitchers is not stopping him from scoring runs. Yet scoring runs is only a part of what I believe a lead off hitter should do. If the Astros can find a player that can intimidate the opposing team with his speed and get on base, then that player will be an upgrade to Biggio. The Astros have tried in the past to get a player of that caliber a season or so ago when they were trying to trade Hidalgo to Colorado for Juan Pierre, I believe.
Unless you get a great return, no way. Hidalgo slimmed down, regained his bat speed and plays tremendous defense in right field. Not unless I'm overwhelmed and I don't think that will happen. I'd trade Wagner in a heartbeat before I traded hidalgo.
I definitely agree with that. And if we can find such a player and don't have to give up more than Wagner, or maybe Hidalgo (depending on how solid this speedy leadoff hitter is), then I say go for it. What would be great is if Adam Everett could continue to improve his hitting skills and get that OBP of his up to around .350 like Biggio. Then he would be a great leadoff hitter. He already has the wheels.
NO. Don't trade Hidalgo. Get that washed up Biggio to retire and bring in Lane. Our outfield is set of years. Trade Wagner for a starter. Move Dotel to closer and Lidge as setup
