Bill James on Craig Biggio

[homer]

I agree that's what SHOULD happen but if a team is struggling to win and a guy is in there that sells tickets, they'll keep him in there until he's eligible for AARP enrollment.

[JimH5]

That was a weird article.

 

It's like Bill James was describing some really cool garage band, who he really likes, and nobody else knows about--but then they make it to the mainstream audience, and then James declares they now stink.

 

Of course Biggio hung around too long--they all do. He could have written the same article about Willie Mays or Steve Carlton or Robin Yount. Guys at the end of their careers aren't as good as at the peak of their careers. That's why they're at the end.

 

Biggio played with a lot of effort, and was a signature player for his franchise. If they wanted him to hang around, and he wanted to hang around, then so be it.

 

Sorry that Bill James doesn't approve.

[Big Reed]

for those that feel Biggio hung around too long, they should review Willie Mays' career. or perhaps Bert Blyleven's. if bert had retired two years earlier, he'd be in the hall of fame by now.

 

many people have indicated biggio actually hurt the Astro's team by sticking around too long. it's not as if the Astros had anybody better than him on their roster or in the minors that could play second base. people here are quick to point out Biggio's stats and his faults.. Were Chris Burke's stats that much better that Biggio should retire so Chris burke could play full time? That's another reason I hate people who use stats. Stats never tell the entire story and are often slanted to the posters' point of view. Burke had an OPS in 2005 of .676 and he was vastly improved in 2006 all the way up to .765, but fell on his sword in 2007 with a devastating .661 OPS.. biggio was obviously blocking burke's path to stardom. Now that Biggio is no longer with us, Chris will finally get his chance to shine. OOps, he's no longer an astro, but a back-up for the dbacks.

 

Biggio never put his personal glory ahead of the team. my guess is that it was the team that insisted that Biggio keep playing. And it was for two resons- they had nobody in their system to replace him, and the team wanted to milk his 3,000th hit for all the marketing money they could get out of it. if you want to blame anybody for biggio sticking around too long, don't blame biggio- put the blame on the rightful owner - the owner of the houston Astros. He's the same guy who gave Clemens a 10 year personal services contract to generate publicity and sell tickets for the Astros.

[endaround]

Biggio could have gone to Garner and had him stop hitting lead off. He didn't. He could have accepted less money to play in 2007 after he collapsed in 2006. He demanded a raise. If the Astros didn't think they could compete they wouldn't have signed Lee.

[Fike85]

James was heavily reliant on batting average and ERA to make his point. I don't like this one bit.

[jcr0nk]

on page one biggio is as valueable as griffey, on page two he never really could hit a good pitcher. strange.

 

he almost speaks of him as if he was an ex that he has broken up with.