I recall in 1990 reading projections that all said Jeff Bagwell would never be a major league 3B. :grin:
Astros planning on using Lee at 1B v. LHP. Do we bring up Brian Bogusevic or Andrew Locke? Both are both having great years in Round Rock or do we give Jason Michaels some more starts?
Astros woulld probably have to eat half of Lee's contract to move him (19mil of 38 mil owed, sad truth)
More than that, probably. Carlos Lee is radioactive. Plus, they'll only have a short window to trade him (this upcoming off-season), and he can veto trades to a certain number of teams, which means the market will be limited and other teams will have all the leverage. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Astros having to pay $25M, maybe even more than that to move him, given his declining abilities and utter lack of defensive value. A more palatable option could be to trade him for another bad contract (and still include some cash), like the Angels' Scott Kazmir, but he may plan ahead for that and veto trades to any teams where that's a possibility. He's going to do anything in his power to block a trade.
Fair points, but there's more than one way to develop a prospect. I don't necessarily agree with "hiding" him from pressure situations or sitting him some games. I would value the experience more and hope to get him as many ABs as possible -- but I suppose that depends on your philosophy. You don't have to sit Wallace to give other guys a shot in the outfield.. you sit Lee. It's not uncommon for a team to sit their veterans down the stretch in favor of youth if they're not in the pennant race. You say pinch-hitting for Wallace could build his confidence -- you could also argue it could hurt it. Here's the guy you traded your star pitcher for, then call him up to the majors to be your everyday 1B.. and you pinch-hit for him in one of the biggest moments of the game. The "hitting machine", as Wade put it, was pinch-hit for when we needed a big hit. I'm not complaining because obviously it worked, but there's certainly more than one way to skin a cat. I asked AstrosCounty about the possible Lee transition and Wallace nights off, to which he responded "I feel your outrage" -- so there are certainly people in both camps.
i didn't say pinch hitting for him builds confidence. I said Mills is treating him with kid gloves to help build (and not destroy) his confidence. He is trying to keep the pressure off him and let him do what he knows, which is to just hit. I am not for or against this as a philosophy. each player is different. I suspect that while they know quite a bit about wallace's game, but they know very little about his demeanor; thus, part of the reason for the soft approach. However, if you look where chris johnson is hitting in the lineup (still), it points to the fact that this is a coaching style of mills.
"Best guess" for us? Sure. We know nothing. "Best guess" for the people who do this for a living, who have actually kinda sorta watched this guy play, studied film, talked to him, his coaches, etc...AND done statistical analysis (if anyone thinks big league clubs don't do this, they are insane, or they have a blog). Probably not.
Yeah, and his baggy Daryle Ward pants make it look like he's chunkier than he is. He has a sweet swing though.
It seems to be very compact. He appears to have short arms but his build probably exaggerates that appearance.
A little off topic but following this thread has made me curious about other minor leaguers.. i dont know how many people are aware, but i was shocked to see that koby clemens is freaking killing it this year, 22 homers, the second highest on the hooks is 8....
Clemens has slugged the ball well this year but still strikes out at a very high rate. Maybe a Carlos Pena type if things go well? Here is a good thread to read and talk about prospects: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=186661
Its amazing how much more exciting it is to watch the Stros now! Even Carlos Lee is hitting a now! If I'm not watching the game, I at least tune in to see Brett Wallace hit. Future star in the making. Hopefully we weren't wrong with Chris Johnson by keeping him in the minors for so long. Dude is a hitting machine. After a couple more years, and the young guys getting valuable experience, Wade can spend some money on some top level free agents and we are back to being a playoff team.
