i don't mean to come across like a smartass. but i think we're looking at half the picture here. if this guy ends up being again as 4th among leadoff hitters in OBP, then you can't discount that. you can't say, "yeah...but his defense is awful." frankly, i don't see him as an awful defensive centerfielder. and i think we're seeing improvement, which is what you might expect since last season was his first ever as an OF. and you should also know that i'm not a huge Bill James/moneyball/fantasy league thinker about baseball. stats are hugely important. but again...i don't see biggio costing us real games out there in CF. and i've seen improvement. my bottom line is that the guy is clearly not washed up. are you arguing he is?
sorry...i must not have been clear. my reponse should have indicated to you that i think you're a joke...that i don't take your opinions/comments/posts here seriously at all. is that clearer?
Max, the only leg you have to stand on is Biggio's OBP with regard to other leadoff players. His OBP compared to all other players is very pedestrian, as Hammer pointed out. Your argument simply holds no water. It is clear that he is an old man whose speed has left him. How you think he is improving his defense as he ages truly does astound me. How you think that despite his horrific range and his little league arm, he is somehow a good defender, is equally astonishing. So let's face facts here: Mediocre OBP as compared to MLB players, horrible defense, fat contract, and a very old man. Take off your Sic'em Bears glasses for a moment and smell the roses.
Buck, I agree with you to some extent, stats are not the end all be all of player evaluation, but they are as good a tool as we have right now. What I'm saying is that we as fans need to question conventional wisdom because the baseball fraternity is a good-ole boys network like no other. Baseball management uses largely the same decision-making processes today (in terms of player evaluation and on-field strategy) as they did 50 years ago. Can you honestly tell me that people have learned nothing about the game over that time? Why should Craig Biggio be on the field when Jason Lane is a better hitter and fielder? Is it because he's a veteran, or because he better fits the 'leadoff hitter' mold? Who cares, if Jason Lane can put up a better AVG, OBP, & SLG than Biggio can, who cares if he's not a prototypical leadoff hitter?
You've added nothing to this discussion, you just jumped in with yet another transparent attempt to get a rise out of somebody. Please don't bring it in here, thanks in advance. So, TJ, who do you suggest should play CF? Who should hit leadoff?
I'm not arguing that he is washed up. Well, I guess I am, sort of. I'm saying that he is below-average defensively (you say he's not, but how do you prove that?) and he is below-average offensively (his adjusted OPS+ was lower than the NL average last year). So what I'm saying is that if you plugged in the ML average CF, he would be better than Craig Biggio. Now, that's easier said than done. Biggio is OK if you can't find that ML average CF. But I have 2 problems with that. The first is the Biggio is making ten times (probably more) than what the average ML OF should be making. Second, there is a better-than-average ML option on the Astros roster in Jason Lane.
Buck, the problem with this question is that it is too late. The money invested in Biggio should have been invested in a better player. Therefore, you can't look at our current roster and pick a player to replace him. That's the problem.
I love Biggio. I thought it was great when the Astros got Ausmus back. I bought the MLB Pass from Dish just so I could watch all the games this year. As much as it pains me, Big and Brad need to go. Biggio is holding Lane back and Ausmus is crap. Biggio has gotten off to a fast start but I think it is time to pass the torch to some of the young guys. Ausmus could handle the pitchers before but we have veterans (Pettitte and Clemens) to help these guys out. I really really really wish that they would get these guys (B & A) out of the games.
Yeah, I messed that one up. I was looking at Biggio's 2003 salary and not 2004, so it's somewhat less troubling. However, I believe you can get a ML average OF for less than $1.0MM/yr.
Who? Not to mention risking alienating your fan base that has watched a Houston Sports Legend for nearly 15 years now.
BUT WE'RE NOT JUST ASKING BIGGIO TO PLAY CF!!! We're also asking him to be a leadoff hitter...to get on base...to score 100 runs or more. And he's doing those things. Very well so far this year....and he's doing fairly well in the field, as well. That's it. That's what my idea behind this thread was in its entirety. Are you seeing a bunch of balls so far this year that Biggio isn't getting to that a bunch of other CF's would? I think I've missed watching about 4 games so far...either in person or at the stadium. I can't think of one play where I've thought...."damn, biggio should have had that one." And last night we saw him make a play that the average centerfielder does NOT make.
Max, why are you so tied to the idea that Biggio HAS to be the leadoff hitter? What facet of his game makes it so he can't be replaced? I'm assuming you're going to say OBP, but I showed earlier that half the qualifiers in the league had a better OBP in 2003. And why do you keep assuming that his numbers will be better in 2004 than in 2003? How many players (other than Barry Bonds) get better the farther away they get from 35?
but who says he can??? you criticized me for limited sample size earlier...this is like the king of limited sample size arguments. and again, you'd have a guy playing CF out of position. with biggio, you pretty much know you're going to get 100 runs...and you're going to get a guy who bats leadoff with an OBP that ranks in the top 5 in the game.
I'm not using just Lane's major league performance, but his minor league numbers as well. They translate well into Minute Maid park. Of course this is speculation on my part and by no means guaranteed, I just believe that giving Lane a chance at 1/10 the price of Biggio is the smart thing to do. And stop saying he's in the Top 5 OBP in the game, he's not. Just because you limit the comparison to leadoff hitters does not make that technique valid.
OBP is a huge number...and i'm not moving a guy with better power numbers and a higher or similar OBP to the leadoff spot. i'm not assuming they will improve. i'm just hopeful. and there's evidence for that hope to this point. by the way...it was really his defense that i thought would improve...not his offense. just from experience at the position which he didn't have last year.
not trying to be deceptive there...but i don't care what his OBP is relative to 4 hitters in MLB...that's a whole different animal. we don't ask him to sit back and drive in runs. we ask him to get on base...we ask him to do whatever he has to do to score a run. comparing him to vlad guerrero is useless exercise.
When evaluating him as a batter, don't you think it's important to compare his to all *potential* lead off batters? This comparison would certainly extend to batters who currently do not bat in that slot in the order. For instance, the Marlins have Pierre and Castillo, two leadoff hitters in their lineup. Only one can bat leadoff. You can not limit the comparison to lead-off hitters only.
