Chron: Commitment to Biggio has more than been met

nope.

 

Well, if Richard Justice is correct, Bagwell isn't leaving anytime soon.

"And Jeff Bagwell is once more Jeff Bagwell. He was 10-for-18 with two home runs and seven RBIs in the four Chicago games.

He has vowed to rework his swing this winter to compensate for that bad shoulder, but this weekend he again looked like the guy headed for the Hall of Fame."

 

Richard Justice is now giddy as a school-boy.

I'm all for Baggy staying... but I don't want it to be the reason we can't attempt to offer Beltran a great deal, or why Berkman/Oswalt/Miller can't all be brought back.

If Clemens is going to give it a go next season again, everything must be done to ensure that he can have the best talent around him.

Richie... tell Drayton to break the bank, and sell his soul for one year only... then, sell the team that will be mired in debt and the large back-loaded deferred money contracts of Beltran, Pettite, Bagwell, and possibly Berkman/Oswalt.

 

I do know that Biggio will never play second for the Astros again. It's not saying much for Biggio's defense when Kent, who is downright awful at second, has taken your spot. I don't know why you assume that Burke will not get the job, how about watching how he plays in september before jumping to conclusions. I know you said that you are unsure one way or the other, but why the negativity? Only 22, and an all-star, Burke "still" actually has promise. Hopefully, Burke shows that he can swing the stick at the major league level in september.

 

Of course, that's not why we acquired Kent. The reason we moved Biggio was to make room for Kent, a power-hitting 2B who really couldn't play anywhere else, whereas Biggio had played some games in the OF the year before. I'm not sure whether or not Biggio would play 2B next year or not, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

 

He'll be 25 before opening day; but i agree, i'd like to see him given a chance at 2nd.

 

I made the assessment that Biggio is worse than Kent at second. Biggio was well below average at second two and three years ago, and I'm confident in saying that he would be worse now. Kent was an upgrade at second when he was aquired.

 

it won't surprise you to know i strongly disagree. jeff kent never has been, nor will he ever be, biggio's equal at 2B, defensively.

 

Bagwell has already said he wants to play until he gets 500 hr. So just like biggio, I think they will be playing at least two to three more years.

 

Yes, I agree that earlier in their careers Biggio was better than Kent at second, but when Kent was acquired, he was a better option defensively than Biggio. Maybe you have selective memory when it comes to remembering the way Biggio covered second base, but I don't. He tanked routine plays on a weekly basis, similar to the way Kent is playing this year. Kent wasn't a huge upgrade defensively by any stretch of the imagination, but an upgrade nonetheless.