Game Hero, 18 - 19

Craig Biggio

2 for 4, 2 doubles Walk, stolen base, 2 runs scored Leads the Astros in doubles with 12 Leads the Astros in runs with 23

He's one run scored away from 1800, he's eight doubles from Napoleon Lajoie, and he's 23 total bases from 4600.

Of course, he's 34 hits from 3000, and in the absence of a true leadoff hitter, I guess he'll do.

*     **    * Last year, the gone but not forgotten StrosDux had pestered me several times to present the Game Hero award to the team collectively, and while I was not averse to such a thing in concept, I very rarely ended up making such an award. Usually the case for the Team Game Hero would be made after the beleaguered team broke a long losing streak, or had in some other way busted a period of bad play or bad luck or both.

clack and SeoulStro and bwhite all might be seen as having lobbied for a "team" Game Hero today as each commented in their own fashion that Sunday's victory was the crispest of the season, with solid contributions in all phases of the game

JD and Brownie went with Wandy of course, and while we remain a cautious supporter of the erstwhile Sr. Cabreja, giving somebody a Game Hero award (or whatever JD and Brownie call it) just because they need it kind of smacks of StrosDux' error, of putting the cart before the horse.

I thought long and hard about "the bullpen" in general, as White-Lidge-Qualls-Wheeler were one Orlando Hudson home run from being utterly fantastic.

But I'd rather give it to one guy than four, and no-one else had four total bases plus a stolen base plus a walk. So Bidge it is, even though it's a lot easier these days to talk about his career than his season.