Bagwell's Shoulder

Based on my previous rants on the topic, Cathy thinks I will be displeased by the latest Chron article on Jeff Bagwell's ailing shoulder.

I'm more puzzled by the timing than anything.

Bagwell had an excellent July, as did Biggio, and there's no doubt that their recent productivity (as the two players who take up a big chunk of Astros' payroll) has been critical to the Astros' ascent to contending status.

But until July, neither player had put up numbers anywhere close to what was needed from them, given the Astros' payroll constraints and the amount of payroll those two players consume. And while Bagwell was struggling, it seemed too convenient to read in the paper almost every day the same articles about his ailing shoulder, along with the admonition "Bagwell refuses to place blame on that..." My question then was -- okay, then who IS leaking this stuff to the beat reporters, and why is it being used almost as an excuse.

Interestingly, while Bagwell has been hot in July, I don't recall seeing one of those articles. Admittedly, I've been reading much more NFL and College Football stuff lately, so I could have missed it. But there didn't seem to be the daily dose of whining about Bagwell's shoulder.

Now there's today's story. And given that nothing has (apparently) changed with his shoulder -- but that it's still killing him -- and he STILL put up Bagwell-like numbers in July, then was it that out of line to criticize his production earlier in the year?

Drayton McLane invested a lot of payroll in Bagwell and Biggio. If those two players have sub-par years, then the team is likely to have a sub-par year. If they are hurt, aging, or whatever, it's unfortunate -- but that doesn't change the fact the team as currently configured needs big production from both of them.

All of that said, this isn't a bad story, especially coming from the Chron. But how about mixing in some features on the guys who are helping the team this year who weren't even expected to contribute? Kirk Saarloos, Pete Munro, and Ricky Stone all have earned a little ink, and so have Orlando Merced and Jose Vizcaino, veterans who were underutilized by Larry Dierker and who have had a good go of it under Jimy Williams. The team isn't JUST Bagwell and Biggio (even if Drayton's payroll choices make fans wonder sometimes).

[Posted at 17:23 CST on 08/04/02] [Link]