There is a message board where folks post things like the following: "I still don't think Ensberg or Lamb are the answer at 3rd base. Ensberg is on a hot streak for sure, but I don't see him hitting 30 hr's and driving in more than 90 runs. This team needs to add some kind of slugging and Glaus would have been a perfect replacement for Kent's bat." It's located here: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=1859525#post1859525 I sure am glad Purpura didn't share the same opinion as THAT poster.
I agree with you. There was a thread about this being the best starting staff of all-time. If you can't make the playoffs with a staff like that, in an age where the wildcard exists, it reflects extremely poorly on management, there's no doubt about it.
Or, it reflects the fact that there were many more buyers than sellers around the trade deadline. I would agree with you 100% if we saw a bunch of contributing players move teams while we stood pat, but that just wasn't the case. I'm not going to be upset at management for not acquiring Randy Winn or Larry Bigbie.
not to be a pain in the ass, but aren't you essentially plugging in beltre, finley, drew and winn's numbers and assuming they wouldn't be difference makers? honestly, i'm not really on either side of this debate, except to agree i think the team is going to need (and has needed) another bat, if not now, certainly come october. if they make it to the postseason, berkman and ensberg will never see a pitch to hit.
You're exactly right. The only difference is that we saw how much a difference Kent's bat made in the first 3/4ths of the year last season. I was speaking more to Kent's past chemistry with the guys here (as some have posted about), but you're right, it's a fairly inconsistent position. I think everyone agrees we could use an extra bat. However, I believe in the notion that when it comes to MLB playoffs, anything can happen once you're there. Especially with the pitching staff we have. Good to see you around, btw.
That is a good point. The wild card, while it has done wonders for the sport, has, IMO, hurt the trading frenzy at the deadline due to the huge amount of teams that are within striking distance of the WC. Any team within 5-7 games of the WC is going to think that they are one bat or one arm away from winning it.
During the season, typically. Outside of keeping Kent or Beltran resigning in the offseason, I'm not sure what else they could've done. None of the guys they were mentioned as potential suitors for in the off-season have done much of anything, outside of the guys that play the same position as our best player this season. Of course, one can take this argument and my other argument about Kent and make me look a little hypocritical.
I really wanted the astros to trade for Jose Guillen, solid hitter and was traded for prospects. Some might say he or Kent could have hurt team chemistry, but chemistry can only get you so far. Edit: I meant this offseason when he was still with the angles
Guillen was suspended by the Angels at the end of last season when they were going for the playoffs and when they were actually in the playoffs. There's no way we would've traded for that guy at that point, Beltran or not.
I guess you're the only one not surprised by the season Ensberg's been having. Get real, man. NO ONE predicted this.
What magical moves has Purpura made that make you think he has a clue what he's doing? He's basically fallen into career years by several players on this team. He'll even you could have done that. It's a crime that this team isn't further ahead in the wildcard. We couldn't even pick up a freaking reliever. Even Stanton would have been an upgrade to the ridiculous signing of Franco. Btw, is that the great move you were talking about? Wait, let me get this straight, now you think Griffey would fit in the outfield and give us a nice push into the wildcard lead? WTF are you arguing with me for then? That was the whole point of my posts.
I think the great move has been not panicking and trading prospects for players that would give you a very minimal boost, if any at all. I'm not going to argue that he sucks becuase he didn't get Larry Bigbie, Randy Winn or Jose Cruz, Jr. I'm sorry, I'm just not. I never said I thought he wouldn't look nice in our lineup. My point was that it's ridiculous to bash Purpura or our owner for lacking balls when you have absolutely no idea what they're doing to try to acquire Griffey or any other bat that would actually make a difference. Now, if Griffey goes to Philadelphia for two AA prospects and Cincy takes on half the salary, I'll be the first one to criticize our front office. Until then, I choose not to b**** just to b****.
Everyone here would love another solid bat - Griffey, Alou, or any of a few others. There's a big difference between wanting another bat and being willing to pay the price (in terms of prospects, contracts, and risk) to get said bats. A good GM doesn't just pay any price for a bat. If they did, they'd be out of a job in 2 years when the team had a bad record, a bloated payroll, and no good prospects coming up.
Hey by the way.I was at the game yesterday so i didn't get to hear any commentary but is there a problem Jason Lane. They didn't use him as a pinch hitter or anything. I mean anyone was an upgrade from ausmus with the bases loaded last night.... Just curious.
Well some have argued that if you pinch hit for Ausmus there and you get a run, you're going to pinch hit for the pitcher in the next at-bat. So, if you tie it, you go into extra innings with nobody left on the bench since Humberto and Lane were the only two pinch hitters left. Personally, I say that's bull****. If you think Lane's a better option right there, you have to use him. You can't manage a game based on the chance you only tie the game and you may need pinch hitters in the 10th or 11th. It's not going to matter if you don't get there.
Get real yourself. Ensberg had a similar year in 2003. Obviously his numbers are better this year, but he hit HRs at a pretty good clip in 2003 (based on 600 at bats, he would have hit about 40 HRs) and hit .291. With a good player's natural progression, this season is not that surprising. It is well documented that Ensberg had a pretty bad elbow problem last year which led to his offensive/defensive problems in 2004. It is surprising to see fans advocating signing a player like Troy Glaus when there was absolutely no need to.
Well, when I made that post that you dug up where was Ensberg on MVP lists? That's right, nowhere. His season has surprised everyone. Even his best supporters expected at most something like .290/35/100. He still has a long way to go this season and he has already almost reached those lofty numbers. Can you honestly say that before this season started you expected MVP numbers from him? As to Glaus, I will go so far as to say had we signed Glaus we'd have the wild card locked up right now. I think a lineup like this looks pretty damned good compared to what we are throwing out there now. CF Taveras 2B Biggio RF Berkman 3B Ensberg 1B Glaus LF Lane SS Everett C GIDP Obviously this would have been the lineup after Bagwell was injured, but signing Glaus would not have meant a release of Ensberg. He would have in the position of Lamb right now to start the season and given the amazing ability he has shown he would have eventually started.
