Richard Justice has another scathing article out today. He thinks Garner will end up benching Bags if he doesn't get his act together. Does anyone really think hell do that??
Yeah, I believe it as well. This team can no longer afford to allow unproductive players to play simply because of legacy considerations. This season's embarassing crash and burn has used up any goodwill that Bagwell, Biggio and the rest had stored up over the years. They will now have to produce results or sit down and nurse whatever bruised egos they may have on the bench. Garner has no margin for error and no time to put up with what just got Williams fired. They are in 9th place and must pass either the Cardinals or the Cubs or the Mets or the Dodgers/Giants to make the playoffs. That's the ONLY thing that matters at this point.
Why include Biggio? He is the ONLY astro who has pulled his weight from Day 1 I do agree that Bagwell will find a spot on the bench if he doesn't pick it up soon.
It seemed like he was setting the tone for a move like this during his press conference yesterday. Whether he does it or not is another story, but it seems clear that he'll at least consider it.
Ill believe it when I see it. Thats going to be a tough situation. Almost makes me think that Bags pride will tell him to retire before he gets benched. Interesting to say the least..............
I guess Viz could take his place at 1st, hopefuly this change will light a fire under everybody's a$$.
I think that is why they said it was a temporary solution. That way, he can bench them without any fear of long term reprecussions. I would rather seen Lane at first base then Bags. DD
Or maybe Mike Lamb? What about putting Lane in the outfield and moving Lance to 1st? Which would be easier for Bagwell to take- a rookie taking his spot at first, or a proven all-star? I would do any of these before using Viz at first. I'm with codell though, I'll believe it when I see it.
Lance has not played there since College. I do not believe it would be wise to do that in the middle of the season. I would tell Bags that he will play a few days then get some bench time and be a pinch hitter for a few games. Have Viz or Lane man the postion of Bags' off days.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that was a typo, but if not, why are you including Biggio with Bagwell? Biggio has been very productive at the plate this year.
For all you Bagwell haters, hasn't he always been a second half player? I hate watching the guy struggle at the plate, but as I recall, he typically works better over the second half. Also, why are Berkman, Everett and Ausmus not being lumped into the same group of struggling Astros? And please for the love of god, stop lumping Biggio and Bagwell together in every sentence. Two very different players. By the way, for the Lamb advocates, Lamb is a poor defensive player at 3rd, so how can you trust him at 1st? I have seen plenty of Richard Justice's remedies for the Astros. Rick is ready to trade Kent. Idiotic. Justice was also the same guy who pushed to move Bags out of the 3 hole (in favor of Berkman). Now, both guys are struggling at the plate. Somehow Justice (and Williams) seem to have forgotten that a large part of hitting comes from timing, rythm and confidence. You don't just throw someone out of their routine and hope it all works. I'm very tired of the experimentation.
I don't think he does. However, he should not be leading off, why not let Beltran lead off? He can put significant more pressure on the defense with his ability to steal a base. Biggio should be moved down in the order...where all those doubles can benefit the team better. DD
i disagree. biggio's doubles down the order are less important than beltran's ability to drive in runs down the order. i think it would be a waste of beltran's abilities to have him leadoff.
Beltran is too good an RBI guy for the 1 or 2. But I have a novel idea - why not let Scrap Iron figure it out? If it were me, I'd try to see where guys tended to do their best historically and then slot them that way. Biggio has always been his best in the leadoff and he's hitting over .300 right now. So, he's doing his job and setting the table. You have to give him preference right at the moment.
I'm not a Bagwell hater but I do think his days as an everyday player are over. At this point, I feel that he'd be better playing DH in the American league but his lack of RBIs sort of puts a damper on that idea. You are right in that Ausmus, Everett & Berkman have also sucked big time and that they, too, should be placed on notice. All 3 play positions where you should be getting far more on offense than they have provided. Kent will be gone next year so that's a moot point. This team is out of options this year and it will take a minor miracle for them to even make the playoffs as the wild card. It may very well end up that all they did yesterday was to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
