Ty Wigginton
by maris61 on May 19, 2008 2:02 PM CDT
12 comments
After Sundays game, 65 AB for the season, Wigginton is hitting .215, with a .288 OBP and a .308 SLG. Terrible numbers, across the board.
Even accounting for his injury and projecting out his numbers to a 550 AB season, he'd hit 8.5 HR and have 34 RBI. At a "power" corner position in a right-handed hitter's dream home park.
I understand the "be patient with the rookies" approach to Bourn and Towles, though I think even that can be carried to an extreme.
But I think the biggest "how long do we carry him?" roster question at the moment (on offense at least) is Wigginton. This guy's no rookie. No one expected him to be a superstar. 25 HR (with the short porch at MMP), 80 RBI would be fine.
He's not even close. And he's below average (to be charitable about it) on defense.
How long should this guy get as a regular in the lineup? 100 AB? Half-a-season?
Neither Blum or Loretta is an adequate replacement as a fulltime starter, at their ages. Their offensive numbers aren't much better, though Blum's probably a slight upgrade on defense. The 3B in RR is Mark Saccomanno, a journeyman who's no great shakes defensively, either. Chris Johnson is doing pretty well at AA, but I doubt he's major league ready.
So there's no obvious substitute available, but I'm sure getting tired of watching Wiggington do nothing. Anyone else feel the same?
Wigginton was Purpura's last acquisition. For Dan Wheeler. Sigh.
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I agree with you.
But the available alternatives aren’t great, as you point out. It’s not like Wigginton isn’t capable of bad offensive numbers…look at his season in Pittsburgh. If an alternative becomes available on the trade market, the Astros should look into it. However, they don’t have much to trade. In the meantime, I don’t mind giving more time to Loretta at 3b if Wigginton continues to slump.
by clack on May 19, 2008 3:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Maybe we can trade him and Borks for
A-Rod?
by entropic soul on May 19, 2008 4:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Epic win if...
Dave Borkowski, Ty Wigginton and i wouldn’t want to do this but its A-rod so you’d have to throw in another player like Loretta who would be a good backup for Jeter.
A Walk Is As Good As A Hit.
by NocturnalMatt on May 20, 2008 2:25 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Good metaphor
A poster on Justice’s blog in the Chron this morning described Wigginton as “having the range of a refrigerator.” I like that description. And he’s the extra-wide, double-door model, too.
There is a bright side to the '08 season.
Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens are out of baseball.
by maris61 on May 20, 2008 8:38 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Well, A-Rod isn't realistic, so I'll set my sights lower.
one thought: Nomar Garciaprra should be coming off the DL at some point. The Dodgers are going to have a hard time finding playing time for him. LA’s young replacement at 3d base had done well, and they also have a top 3d base prospect, LaRoche. Maybe the Dodgers would send Nomar to the Astros on the cheap, particularly if the Astros will pick up his salary. He also seems to hit well at MMP, and Nomar almost signed with Houston two years ago.
by clack on May 20, 2008 8:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hmm
Not sure I want Nomar playing 3rd… Wiggy may be a liability at 3rd, but I don’t think Nomar would be much of an improvement… Nomar also gets hurt… way too much. Nomar has missed 40 games or more in every season since 2003…
Nomar is better suited as a 1st basemen in my opinion… If we got him on the really cheap, I would be willing to give him a shot, but I don’t really think he would be much of an improvement(if any) over Wigginton… then again, I still think Wigginton will turn it around once he gets back to playing every day for a few weeks or so.
Go 'Stros!
by Stros Bro on May 20, 2008 9:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'd rather Blum than Nomar...
that should tell you what I think of Nomar.
Yes, I am a nerd.
by TexSkins on May 20, 2008 10:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Blum's the best defensive 3B of those options
but he’s not much of a hitter. The only reason Wigginton is starting over Blum is supposedly superior offense. So far, he hasn’t shown it.
I wonder how much longer they’ll give Wigginton. With Bourn and Towles struggling, keeping Wigs in there at sub.-.220 gets us back to the “3 automatic outs” lineup of the last couple of years.
If you’re going to have 3 outs in the lineup, might as well go with the better one on defense … the Adam Everett theory. Same w/ Blum/Wigginton.
Hope there are some free agent 3B’s next year. We need one, with no immediate help apparently available in the minors. Scouting article this morning says Chris Johnson’s not there defensively, yet, and they’re thinking of converting the top hitter at Lexington (Cusick) to 3B from 2B.
There is a bright side to the '08 season.
Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens are out of baseball.
by maris61 on May 21, 2008 12:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Absolutely not...
We do not want Glass-cia-para. The Astros don’t want a person that gets hurt constantly and acts as a fashion model patronizing the home pinstripes.
A Walk Is As Good As A Hit.
by NocturnalMatt on May 22, 2008 9:15 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The astros offered Garciaparra essentially the same contract amount
as LA a couple of years ago. So Drayton and the Astros front office (admittedly, Pupura then) have previously shown an interest in Garciaparra. And Nomar likes Houston because he has a lake home or something in Austin. As for the injuries…a trade probably only involves one half a season or so, since his contract isn’t beyong this year. I like Garciaparra as a hitter and he has had some clutch performances for the Dodgers and Cubs in MMP.
Having said that, his hitting ability is in a declining phase, so it would be a gamble. I’m not overly wild about the idea of trading for him…I just mentioned it, since he is one of the few established 3d basemen who might be available. He is likely to hit for a high average, but it’s unknown how much his slugging ability has declined. So he may or may not be better than just slotting Loretta at 3d base.
by clack on May 22, 2008 11:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I still think
Wiggy’s going to come around, once he’s healthy and has a chance to string a few weeks of AB’s together.
by littlevisigoth on May 22, 2008 1:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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NL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis
|
91 | 71 | .561 | 0 | Lost 6 |
|
Chicago
|
83 | 78 | .515 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Milwaukee
|
80 | 82 | .493 | 11 | Won 3 |
|
Cincinnati
|
78 | 84 | .481 | 13 | Won 2 |
|
Houston
|
74 | 88 | .456 | 17 | Lost 3 |
|
Pittsburgh
|
62 | 99 | .385 | 28.5 | Lost 2 |
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