This is great. Like anything from MLB.com would say anything negative about a player. Putting the money aside, your team probably isn't a contender if Jeff Bagwell is your 1st baseman and 3rd hitter. Last year, he was sandwiched inbetween stars like Beltran, Berkman, and Kent, but this year he's been exposed as a player in steep decline, not the bedrock of the team. If Jeff was DHing in the AL and was batting 6th, I wouldn't have that big of a problem with the money - it's a bad deal, let's move on. But right now, Jeff is collecting that massive paycheck and hurting the team - those two things should never go together. If you're playing in constant pain and not producing, the right thing to do would be to workout a buyout and retire. Isn't that what Hakeem did?
No. If I remember correctly, Hakeem b****ed about not being offered a top-tier player's contract after his last contract expired, and ended up playing in Toronto b/c they paid him what he felt he was still worth. It was painful to see the Greatest Rocket Ever playing in other colors, but that's the business. And I don't hold it against Dream--if you market yourself and can make one more year at multi-million dollars, why on earth not? Tell ya what--you succeed at the Game you love like a minute fraction of one percent of people do, racking up hall of fame credentials, get awarded (after signing lower-than-market-value contracts twice) the contract of anyone's dreams, and let's see if you "do the right thing" and hang up your cleats because you're "hurting the team". You have no idea what you would do in that situation--because you're never been there. It's awfully easy to sit in pious judgment of someone else when one has no frame of reference--NONE--other than ESPN talking heads, armchair GM'ing, and little league baseball. Oh, and Bagwell will hit .280-.290 and drive in 90 runs while swatting 25-30 this year.
Bagwell isn't near the player he once was; everyone knows that. Bagwell is not playing like a player worth $17 million; we all know that. But, he deserves that $17 mil for what he did in the prime of his career when he was underpaid. He deserves it for his service to the organization, so lay off 'em.
Make no mistake Bagwell is the number 1 reason we are in the position we are now. Making up his lack of production in the 3 slot is something this team cannot overcome this season. Look at his stats last season and compare them to every other regular 1st baseman in the NL. They were BELOW average. Do you honestly believe he will reach even those stats this season with less protection around him and being another year older? I don't. It's just a tough situation all around. Of course he deserves that money and I'm sure even he knows how much he is hurting the team right now, but what can you do? Btw, I'll bet the Yankees would take him right now, as long as we package him with Pettitte or Oswalt.
Lane's 2 for his last 22 AB's (he's streaky, big time, get used to this) & looks completely lost at the plate; MoBerg is about the ****tiest excuse for a middle of the order run producer I've ever seen; Mike Lamb is hitting under .200 as a starter; Biggio & Taveras have, not unexpectedly, cooled off since their quick starts; Luke Scott is not ready to hit MLB pitching; Chris Burke is, and probably will always be, a punch & judy slap hitter; Over the past week, Bagwell has been knocking the crap out of the ball (despite getting pitched around with men on base, regularly). The 4-5-6 spots in the lineup have been the problem. They HAVE to drive in runs, and they haven't. Berkman will fix some of this, but they need another run producer, posthaste. 3B seems to be the only position that's open to a productive change...that's a hard position to upgrade, though. The first month of the season is for evaluation, they know what the problems are with this team, now they have to make a couple of moves. Aubrey Huff makes a lot of sense, but Tampa will want MLB-ready pitching (Zeke or Wandy + another high minor league arm - a Hirsch, McLemore, Nieve type - I'd guess).
I consider that 3 slot the most important slot in a lineup. Not the 4, 5 or 6. I think the old mentality of putting your big rbi guy in the "cleanup" slot is outdated. Teams like the Cards (Pujols) and us last season (Berkman) have it right. You put your best hitter there, always. So given that, you'd have to expect more from your 3 hitter than your 4-6 hitters. Look at this lineup, do you really think that someone like Ensberg is more important than Bagwell to this teams success?
I can admire that Bagwell shows up and tries to perform, but his time has passed. When his contract is up, he needs to retire. He's not worth the check and I don't think we would get anything in return to justify losing him.
Just a comparison for the month of April... Jeff Bagwell: .263 avg / 3 hr / 13 rbi (1 more rbi today, so far) Todd Helton: .267 avg / 1 hr / 9 rbi Carlos Delgado: .300 avg / 2 hr / 10 rbi and just for fun... Carlos Beltran: .284 / 3 hr / 12 rbi / 1 steal I wanted to point out that there are other 1B in the league that are also considered stars and that aren't doing much, if any, better than Bagwell. Yes, his shoulder could fall off at any second. He is still productive with the bat. He has been notorious for slow starts to the season, even at his peak. I am with those that say that no one is worth $17 million per season. However, Jeff Bagwell (along with Biggio) has been the face of this organization for many years. He hasn't complained when times are rough. He goes out every day and plays his ass off. What he has done for this team and the city of Houston is immeasureable. I, for one, would be very disappointed to see him in another uniform. He should and will retire a Houston Astro.
I agree he has done a lot for us, and his contract was backloaded so he earned it. But those other guys on the list will be way ahead of him by the end of the season.
You may be right and you may not. I hope for the latter and he proves all of you wrong. He's not going to hit 30+ hr's, but somewhere around .290 and somewhere near 100 rbi is not out of the question and is still considered by many to be very productive, especially considering his shoulder issues.
How about a comparison for the year of 2004? ALL starting NL 1st basemen last season sorted by OPS. Just accept the fact that Bagwell is a below average 1st baseman that is hurting this team more than helping. Bagwell has been great for Houston, but these stats are sad to look at. Helton .347/1.088 ops Pujols .331/1.072 ops Thome .274/.977 ops Snow .327/.958 ops Casey .324/.915 ops Choi .270/.882 ops Wilkerson .255/.872 ops Overbay .301/.863 ops Lee .278/.860 ops Nevin .289/.850 ops Bagwell .266/.842 ops LaRoche/Franco .293/.820 ops Hillenbrand .310/.812 ops Green .266/.811 ops Piazza .266/.806 ops Ward .249/.780 ops
OPS is a totally BS stat. Way to ignore RBI's which is Bagwell's job in the lineup--he finished 7 out of 16, his lowest in years. He won't finish that low this year. You can get any number to say anything you want, but is it relevant? No. OPS is for rotogeeks who prefer to pull out their freaking calculators and make blanket statements about a game rather than *watch* or *play* themselves. I'll settle for the fact that the "OPS is proof that Bagwell is below average" post was a steaming pile.
says you, but if you look at the guys at the top of that list, most would consider them to be the top first basemen in the NL. A better comparison however would be to compare Bagwell with all the No. 3 hitters in the majors, OPS, RBI, etc.
Aubrey is an outfielder and I do not think that is where we need help. Like Burk hinted, we need an upgrade at 3rd base. Brandon Inge and Corey Koskie are the only "likely" available 3rd basemen I can think of. I do not think Texas will be willing to deal Hank Blalock same for Baltimore and Melvin Mora. Ths As made Chavez their franchise player along with Zito. We may be stock with Morgan for a while unless Mike Coolbaugh continues to tear it up in AAA and forces Tim Purpura to promote him sooner rather than later. Someone like Koskie will be a great addition imho. We have some descent arms we can ship to Toronto for him plus Morgan.
Looks like surgery might end his career: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=insidedisharthriticshoul&prov=tsn&type=lgns Astros 1B Jeff Bagwell is showing improvement at the plate, but his arthritic right shoulder remains a major concern. Bagwell, who will turn 37 on May 27, eventually could end up like Albert Belle, finishing his career with a prolonged stretch on the D.L. The Astros are believed to have insurance on his contract, but they likely would not collect any money in his first season of inactivity. Bagwell is guaranteed $15 million this season and $17 million next season, plus a $7 million buyout if his option is not exercised for 2007. . . .
That's what they've been saying all along. That's why he hasn't had it. I think he will retire after the 2006 season. Maybe a chance after this season if they were to work out a buyout. I would like to see him get one last standing ovation, though. He should be allowed to go out on his terms and that is what the Astros are doing for him.
