: LOL...Good One ....... I was watching ESPN and thinking to myself " baseball seems so easy and the stros make it so hard." I just kept listening to Joe Morgan and saying " letes get him to coach the stros...Now that was a player...
baseball isn't easy. joe morgan is a jackass. i don't want him here as a coach. but he has become the poster-boy for fighting back against roto-geeks everywhere.
Morgan does say some pretty stupid things from time to time, but many of his in-game observations are excellent. His biggest flaw is his tendency to play the "...back when I played..." card with frequency. That said, the hardon that the Moneyball & BP crowd has for him is very amusing.
yeah..it's like he's 2 people to me: 1. the jackass 2. the guy in charge of pissing off Moneyball folks.
Check this out -- the Devil Rays don't even think that Zobrist is a major league shortstop: So basically even our trade partners admit we gave up a guy who, at best, might become the next Eric Bruntlett (versatility) or Mike Lamb (bat off the bench). Yeah, I'd say it's a good deal.
That's pretty much what people who *have seen him play*, and people who have talked to the Astros development guys have been saying for awhile. Charlie "I guarantee Ben Zobrist is *right now* a better shortstop than Adam Everett" Pallilo looks pretty ****ing stupid. Nobody should ever, ever take a single thing he says about the Astros minor league system or their players seriously again.
I think palillo was referring to Zoberist's hitting and how he's miles ahead of Everett offensively. And considering we're a team starved for offense his argument was that we can sacrifice defense for some hitting. I think he even conceded that Zoberist would be a terrible defensive shortstop.
AE is so under-valued it's silly. most folks don't understand the value he brings as a defender and what that means to the team. he makes difficult plays look to be routine, and it gets taken for granted.
Awesome deal. This is the lineup I'd like to see: 1. Biggio 2B 2. Burke CF 3. Berkman RF 4. Huff 3B 5. Wilson LF 6. Lamb 1B 7. Everett SS 8. Ausmus C
There's much more to a player than batting average. You can't ignore power, walks, contact and all the other factors that go into making a productive player. Yes, Wilson has hit for a better average lately. But he's sacrificed his power to do that. He's hit four homers since the first week of the season. He's shortened his stroke and essentially sacrificed much of his power for the sake of becoming a .280 slap hitter who strikes out a little bit less. Now, I'm fine with that for the time being, because there's no better alternatives. But, I think there will be soon. The hatred for Morgan is getting ridiculous. Yes, he's had a terrible, terrible two months or so. But it's two months! You guys sound like the Mets fans that were calling Carlos Beltran the biggest bust in league history last year... look at him this year. Two of Morgan's three MLB seasons (before this one) have been very positive, and his start to this season was very positive. He's still getting on base at an excellent clip, and he also said he's been seeing the ball much better lately. He hit a homer Friday and his swing Sunday against Isringhausen was very sound. No, the results aren't there yet, and for the time being he should sit as opposed to Preston. But history tells us it will likely come around, and when it does (week, two weeks, month?), imo he's a much more valuable player than Preston. For right now, Ensberg will likely only play against lefties... but I think in time he'll turn it around. And when he does, he's a very solid everyday player. I think long-term, the Huff acquisition either means Wilson goes to the bench against righties (unless his power starts picking up) or Lamb goes to the bench. I know that's unthinkable right now, but history tells us Lamb is likely going to cool off at some point... if that happens he may return to his late-inning PH role.
Cat -- honestly, i don't think it's hatred with ensberg, at all. that's not it. it's frustration, though. it's "get the damn bat off your shoulders and drive in a run, please!!!"
He did not say "hitter", he said "shortstop". Repeatedly. And he tellingly never talked about defense, he just read Zobrist's stat line. Repeatedly.
I hope Mo does heat up for the 2nd half of this season and into the playoffs, but even if he does I would prefer the Astros trade him in the offseason. He is far to inconsistent for my taste. I can't believe how bad he can look when he's going cold. Same thing with Pense. I've read that Pense is not near ready to handle major league breaking pitches yet Pallilo continues to say that he can't do any worse then Lane. He may be able to hit better then Lane, but just about any big league outfielder can this season. Why potentially regress the progress of one of your best prospects by throwing him in the major leagues when he's not ready.
Exactly. It's "stop ****ing around with your batting stance between pitches". It's "if you're hurt, tell the coaches & sit the **** down for awhile." It's "stop looking at fastballs over the plate with men on base". It's "stop overthinking." It's a lot of things, but "hatred" is a silly term to throw out. Unless you think that Garner & Purpura "hate" Ensberg too, cause they've pointed out the exact same things we have.
Hatred was a bit too strong of a word, so I apologize. And I understand those frustrations. I've resigned myself to the fact that Morgan doesn't have the mentality to be a great cleanup hitter. But when he picks up the ball better, he can be a tremendous asset to this team like he was the first month and a half of this season as well as in 2005 and 2003. He's slumping, but he'll turn it around, and when he's on he's one of the most beautiful hitters to watch in the game. I understand the frustration, but I think there's far too many on the "trade Ensberg" bandwagon for what equates to a bad six-or-so week stretch. You're right, he's got to get better, but history dictates he will. And it's certainly not the time to deal him... his value can't get lower. OTOH, I think Preston raising his batting average has masked a lot of his flaws this season and makes him a very overvalued commodity among a lot of fans. And if/when Ensberg is right, it's a no-brainer to me as to which should be on the field.
Not really. People on this board have been clamoring to bench Ensberg for weeks, while Garner has been throwing him out there every day and letting him bat in the 3 spot as recently as Saturday. I don't have any problem with them pointing out the flaws. My problem is those wanting to dump him permanently and giving up on his career, which certainly isn't a sentiment shared by management. The leash some fans have on Ensberg is way too short for a sport like baseball that has so many ups and downs on a regular basis. (Also, the fans I'm talking about aren't those like you and Max, Buck... it's a few others that I'm not going to mention by name but if you've followed the various threads you'd know.)
