Comical columnist Jose of Too Many Names writes this about Craig Biggio:
McLane appreciates what Biggio has meant to the Astros organization for 17 seasons. The Kid is no longer a kid, but class doesn’t fade away with age.
For that reason, it is time to pick up Biggio’s $3 million club option for 2005. Considering that the Astros would pay a $1 million buyout if they don’t exercise the option, the $2 million difference seems like a pittance for a man who has done everything the organization has asked.
Hey, Bidge, move from behind the plate to second base. Fine.
Hey, Bidge, move your 36-year-old self to center field after 11 seasons at second base. Sure.
Hey, Bidge, move your 38-year-old self to left field after almost a year and a half of trying to adjust to center. OK.
Biggio hasn’t exactly been thrilled with every move, but he understood that each shift made the club better.
Loyalty is all well and good, and Biggio is having a better season than I would have expected of him, but is there one Comical writer who doesn’t just play suckup to the Bagwell and Biggio brigade in nearly every column?
Because of loyalty, the Astros currently have a crippled first baseman who is still better than many, but who is making too much money for a crippled first baseman who is not even close to being the player he once was.
I don’t care if loyalty and class figure into the equation, but shouldn’t the GM and owner also ask whether the guys can play? Whether the money is better spent on a younger player than Biggio? Whether the combination of salary, age, and diminishing skills hurt the club?
(06-28-04 Update) I always feel better when I’m on the same page as Rafe, since he breathes this stuff.
7 comments On Sucking Up To The Declining Bs
Yes, trying to keep Beltran should come first. I would dump Biggio and Kent if need be. Not sure what they can do about Bagwell.
By the way, how about someone who will criticize Hunsicker? Now there’s a real untouchable.
After reading James Lileks today, I was struck by the thought that watching Biggio and Bagwell these days is like watching the Marx Brothers in "The Big Store".
Off topic – I just ordered that DEA CD.
The problem with this team is neither Biggio nor Bagwell.
Exactly what is you want, a Skip Bayless type to start calling them homos?
No, just some columnists who occasionally can be more than PR flacks for those two, and who write intelligently about team needs (including frank assessments about the declining abilities of the Bs), and how the team should be spending its money, this year and in coming years.
For example, can we keep Biggio and Bagwell at inflated rates of pay (for their production) because we like having them around? Will that mean Beltran is a rent-a-player? Should extending HIS contract come first?
Things to consider before paying Biggio a ton of money because he’s a swell guy, I would think. And plenty of fodder for interesting columns.
I know a lot of you won’t agree, but here is my 2 cents.
My opinion is that the Astros will always be sub-par as long as they are owned by Drayton McLane and managed by Hunsicker.
I understand loyalty to long time players who are big names in the Houston area, but when you so that, you also make the decision not have a winning team. If you aren’t willing to pay for the big players, the good pitchers, etc. then you will never be great.
As far as I can see, the Astros have made a habit of trading their young talent and offering a place for the "old" players to retire.
It’s a sad situation and, until the owner and manager get on the ball, nothing will change.
Brandi: I think more people would agree with you than not! I certainly agree about McLane. I’m inclined to think he likes those older players because they put rears in the seats (and he cares about the revenue from that more than winning).
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