Jeff Bagwell is finished. He is no longer a threat at the plate and his defense (throwing to be specific) is a liability. There is only one player in Astros History that I cared more about and that was Cesar Cedeno. It breaks my heart to watch Bagwell bat. His shoulder has ruined his career. Much like Hakeem, I will will still pull for Bags, but it is so sad to see a great career come to an end.
What he really needed to do in the off season was completely redesign his swing. There was alot of talk of him doing something in the offseason, but he showed up this year with exactly the same crap. It is sad to see.
I hope he retires this year for his sake and the Astros's sake. If he continues to play this way, his ticket to the Hall could be in serious jepordy like Albert Belle. For the Astros, if he retires, they clear about 17 million dollars since I think insurance pays for it.
Man, you'll soon see that there are a half-dozen guys on this board that will defend Bagwell no matter what. Even if his arm literally fell off, they'd say: "Though he is one-armed, he still brings leadership and grit to the clubhouse." OR "I don't care if he's trying to bat with one arm because he's done so much for the club. He should be allowed to retire on his own terms." OR "He's not stealing money by trying to play with one arm. He's earning that $18 million this year because he was slightly underpaid for several years in his prime." They don't see that, if wasn't for the big check and a chance to get 500 HRs, Bagwell would quit right now.
ha, because you know him, his personality, and his motives, right? You understand how everyone works--because every person is exactly the same. Right. good point. idiot
Thank you. Anyway, when someone like kaleidosky results to insults, I think that just strengthens my point.
Or maybe he just didn't like you insulting the integrity of one of Houston's sports heroes and vaguely insulting those of us who respect Jeff Bagwell.
I respect the hell out of Bags....but I do hope he retires or gets shipped to the AL (highly unlikely) soon. There is no reason for him to be out there playing in pain and busting his hump for us....especially when there are only like 3 or 4 teams worse than us right now. There is nothing he can contribute to this team. The guy gave us his all and, while I'd love to see him hit 500 HRs, I'd rather see him try it in a different city or not at all. My guess is that he hangs em up at year's end.
I respect and admire him too.... but the guy did get paid a boat-load by us, so it isn't like he did us a great favor or anything by deciding to play through the pain... he did it because he owed his team that much due to the extreme investment made in him. If anything, we are where we are currently (lack of flexibility to make moves) because of the aging bodies of the Bagwells and Biggios (although not as much because he's still producing some offense), and their continual contracts. Its much like the Celtics of the 80's (without the championships, and freak deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias). They never got rid of Parrish, Bird, or McHale till the end.... and they knew they'd eventually pay for it.
What is a "sports hero" anyway? A ball player who rescues kids from burning buildings? The very fact that you think of Bagwell as a hero is part of the problem here. He's not a hero. He's getting paid to do a job that he's no longer physically capable of doing, forcing his coworkers to pick up his slack. However you define hero, that ain't a hero. And I do think it leaves his integrity open to question - and there's nothing so wrong about that opinion that someone should refer to me as "idiot" for having it. And hey, if I wanted to insult you, personally, it wouldn't be vague - trust me on that. That being said, I have no reason to insult you nor do I intend to. I'm sure you're a lovely person.
Do I really need to define sports hero. I think everybody knows when one says that, they don't mean heroes in the "9/11 firefighters" sense.
I agree, sadly. Retire, please, JB. (I hope that insurance will cover the remaining $, but if not, just retire with a very fair settlement from Drayton.)
ok i really don't care if you think sports icons are heroes or not, but you question a guy who is working his ass off to try to continue playing and to be a contributor. you are saying that he is only around because he is selfish when nothing in bagwell's career points to a selfish person. he has been a humble, hard worker for his entire career and you call him materialistic, selfish, and stat driven for continuing to work hard and trying to get healthy so he can play. so basically you are damning him for being a hard worker and someone who doesn't quit since he is getting paid a lot and is close to a significant statistical achievement. did you ever stop to think and put it in the terms of how bagwell has been his entire career? someone who is a quiet leader that maybe is thinking if he can get healthy then he can add a little more to the struggling lineup. his numbers are not bagwell-like but they are not bad either. man i dunno what to say if you are that cynical.
