Shock de la Shock, the Astros did NOT pick up Jeff Bagwell’s 18 mill option, but are paying him his 7 mill buyout. Much as I luuuvvv the boy, truth is:
1 – he’s been finished for a good two, probably three years now, and he really hasn’t played for 2 years, and
2 – playing him for old times’ sake in the WS was not exactly a good thing for the team. Yes I know that he didn’t lose it for us, the relievers did (yeah Brad, I’m talking to YOU.)
Unlike 05, Baggy wasn’t around this year. Not sure why, but I certainly hope he wasn’t miffed that he was put on the DL – his spring training at bats cost the Stros 15 mill in insurance money. Best I can tell, the Stros would like to get something for the 7 mill Baggy is getting this year – they would like him to instruct (ahem..) but he doesn’t seem to have any interest.
At least so far.
Not many guys can just walk away from baseball like that when they are WANTED in SOME capacity, but I guess Baggy really has said goodbye. For now, that is.
I did a retrospective on Baggy’s career for his birthday last year. Click here to read. with updated stats…
lifetime .297 BA
.408 OBP (#44 all time)
1402 walks (24th all time)
202 steals (72 % success)
TWO 30 – 30 seasons, which NO other first baseman has done in the history of baseball
449 HR (#33 all time – it was 28th just 18 months ago – sigh)
488 doubles (tied for #52 with Mel Ott and Harold Baines)
2314 hits,
1529 RBIs (tied for #41 with Tris Speaker)
1517 runs (#54 all time)
4213 total bases (58th all time)
lifetime 150 OPS+ which is #30 on the all-time list – tied with Nap Lajoie, Honus Wagner and Jason Giambi.
Speed:Power# – 278.64 – 28th all time
Biggio thinks he should be paid more than 4 mill for next year. Like Chris Burke wouldn’t be more than an adeequate replacement. Not sure why he thinks he deserves a raise, other than the fact that MLB is rolling in dough. I seriously doubt that his getting 3000 hits will exactly raise a lot of money for the team, or get much more than a paragraph in headlines outside Houston – after all, we’re not NY/Boston/Chicago/LA, so it didn’t count as much. Or something.
What makes me sad is that so many sportswriters who think that America ends west of Philly will say – well, Craig has 3000 hits, guess he should go in, and the rest of his incredible career will be ignored. He certainly is in the top ten second basemen of all time, and, I think, better than Ryne Sandberg. Craig needs 70 hits to reach 3000. He always has started off the year hot, and he tires as the year goes on – he WILL be 41, which is kind of old to be playing second full time, so hopefully, his appearances will be for home games after mid May. Anyhow, he will be signing a contract for right around 5 mill because he’s getting moren 4 and less than 6. He’ll sign before tomorrow because he does not want to declare FA.
I hear that the Stros are interested in obtaining Gary (ex-roider) Sheffield. Drayton McLane traded away Billy Wagner because he didn’t like Billy’s mouth and Billy is quiet and shy compared to Sheffield. Sheff would cost 13 mill for one year only (even though he SAYS he’s gonna cause a lot of unpleasantness if the team he’s traded to doesn’t immediately give him an extension.) Yeah I know that 5 mill of that is deferred, but it STILL has to be paid. He isn’t very good in right, but at least he’s bettern Luke Scott. Or even Aubrey Huff.
For all the complaints about Barry Lamar Himself, I really think there is no bigger jerk than Sheffield in the major leagues. In fact, I’d really MUCH rather sign Himself for a year – the guy was one of the ten top hitters in the NL last year, and especially if Roger doesn’t come back, we’ll need SOME draw and I would bet that Barry’s agent is right – Barry would mostly pay for Himself. (And as much as I appreciate Biggio, I disagree with John Lopez that Biggio’s run to 3000 hits will be a big draw – the 3000th hit might could be HERE IN HOUSTON, but I would be real surprised if it is anywhere else.)
And speaking of Himself, I am not real too happy about the way he is being portrayed as Satan by the Dallas writers. Jim Reeves speaks of the home run record as “hallowed.” Yes. You read that right. HALLOWED???!!! Excuse you Mr. Reeves, that is flat out blasphemy. To insist that a ballplayer is Satanic/Evil because he did drugs (like a WHOLE lot of other baseball players) or cheated on his wife/wives (which very few ballplayers do NOT do) or acted like a primadonna superstar (which is what he is) is just insulting to everyone. He is no more a “rat” that anyone else who is a pain in the ass ballplayer (like a WHOLE lot of them they know who they are…) I don’t wanna hear how I am excusing his behaviour. OK. I am saying that calling one ballplayer “Satan” for the same activities that a WHOLE lot of other ballplayers guilty of is pretty sick.
OK
Enough Barry Lamar.
Back to Adam Everett. Check out what famous stat geek graph master Dave Studeman had to say about Adam in The Hardball Times: “And the real shame is that Adam Everett keeps getting snubbed by the Gold Gloves. Let me say this unequivocally: Adam Everett is the Ozzie Smith of our time. According to the Handbook, Everett made 43 more plays than the average shortstop last year; the Gold Glove winner, Omar Vizquel, made less than seven more. That’s a difference of almost 40 plays.”
Check out this article:
then scroll down to the graph on Adam Everett (sorry, I can’t reproduce that graph here with this particular software of this blog.)
I also remind yall that Adam gets most all of the popups to left and left center because most of the LF we have had out there are lousy and the 3B not named Mo Ensberg are lousy.
Last – I was checking AFL stats and found that Hunter Pence wasn’t playing. I thought maybe he might could have gotten hurt, but he wasn’t – he was suspended by the club for getting a DUI. There hasn’t been talk about this I’ve heard, but the guy IS our best prospect, so I would bet he is not gonna be released.
You don’t wanna hear the winter league stats on the pitchers. Taylor Buchholz was a total ace in a total hitters league last year, but unfortunately, none of this year’s pitchers have followed in his footsteps. I’ll talk about our minor leaguers who might could help us in 2007 in an upcoming entry.
Me, I don’t wanna talk about how Roger don’t know if he wanna pitch, how he is flattered that the Yanks and Red Sox still talk about him (and I am SO positive that he will not sign with either of them to play a FULL season starting in April 2007 that I promised Husband that if he does, I will agree to have another baby right away. And there it is in writing so he can’t say I’m weaseling out of it.)
Andy is pulling a Roger too – gee, HE don’t know if he wanna pitch neither. Well dudes, poopoo or get offn the potty. I’m sick of this act. Unless either of them signs with someone or gets caught doing something newsworthy, I refuse to even discuss them again.
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
