Sometime this week, barring an injury or an absolutely terrible stretch in an already abysmal season, Craig Biggio will get his bat on a pitched ball and bang out career hit No. 3,000. When he does, all of Houston, and all of baseball, will celebrate.
After that ... well, after that, we'll have to see what comes of Biggio and his Astros. Be prepared, though. It's liable to get pretty ugly.
For a stretch during most of the 1990s, Biggio was among the best players in baseball, a high-average (.297 from 1990-'99), high on-base (.441) doubles-hitting machine (362 in those 10 years). He was a four-time Gold Glover in the '90s, and a seven-time All-Star. But his numbers have been in decline for some time now. In 2002, he hit .253. Last season, it was .246 (with a .306 OBP).
Last winter, after some wrangling with the Astros, he signed a one-year contract to go after No. 3,000. Biggio has struggled from the beginning of the year, amid growing criticism from a frustrated fan base. He's hitting .238, with a.279 OBP. He's hitting .235 this month.
But No. 3,000 is now at hand. Biggio enters the week with 2,996 hits. His Astros have seven games in the next seven days. Even a 41-year-old in the midst of the worst season of his career ought to be able to muster out four hits in a week.
When he does, the fireworks will go off and the speeches will be made. The Hall of Fame is just around the corner. But the next few weeks, after this one, won't be fun for Biggio, the Astros (No. 22 in this week's Power Rankings) or their fans. After years of having his name etched in stone in the Houston lineup, Biggio likely will find himself on the bench more often than not.
So enjoy this while it lasts. It was a long time coming.
On to this week's Power Rankings ...
| MLB Power Rankings |
| 1 |
1 |
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Other than Vladimir Guerrero, the Angels don't have a single player in their lineup who is in the least bit intimidating. But when the Angels hit -- they've been doing that a lot lately -- and start whipping around the bases, challenging the defense with every ball out of the infield ... "I mean, that team does every little thing just perfectly," Pittsburgh's Ian Snell said during the Angels' weekend sweep of the Bucs. Exactly. |
| 2 |
2 |
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Josh Beckett is making a heck of a run at becoming the All-Star Game starter, but over the past 10 days or so, he might be only the second-best starter on the team. In 13 innings over his past two games, Daisuke Matsuzaka -- heard of him? -- has two wins, 17 strikeouts and has given up just one run (an 0.69 ERA). Pitching like that makes it possible to keep Julio Lugo (.193 average) around. |
| 3 |
5 |
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Seven straight wins, a pitching staff that is getting better by the second, arguably the first-half MVP (come on, All-Star voters, where's the Magglio love?) ... what's not to like about the Tigers? With Kenny Rogers now back and Nate Robertson on his way, and with that lineup, the only blemish the Tigers have is the bullpen, and they're working on that. That Boston series right before the break should be fun. |
| 4 |
4 |
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Interleague play was not kind to the Tribe. Really, a mere .500 against the NL? The Rangers did better than that, for crying out loud. The Indians spent the weekend rolling over for the Nationals, scoring a lone run in each of two losses and getting bailed out by Victor Martinez's ninth-inning three-run homer in their single win. What's wrong? Well, Travis Hafner (.197, 0 HRs in June), for one. |
| 5 |
6 |
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I'm not quite sure how the flawed Diamondbacks came up with the best record in the NL. It probably has something to do with the flawed NL and better play vs. the AL than most. Whatever, you can't argue with the numbers, and they say that the D'backs are the best of the senior circuit. I will give credit to Eric Byrnes (.317, .882 OPS), but when he's the steadying influence ... whoa. |
| 6 |
3 |
 |
Jake Peavy, despite his madcap dashes all over the diamond Sunday, came out on the short end against Josh Beckett in what could have been a matchup of All-Star Game starters. (Cue the purists' whines: Interleague is even ruining the All-Star Game!) The problem with the Padres? If one hitter falls into a slump (Adrian Gonzalez, .259, .777 OPS in June), the whole team's in trouble. |
| 7 |
8 |
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Maybe that sweep of the A's was some kind of a sign. Maybe the Mets -- who, admit it, have no business holding onto the NL East lead with a 7-14 June -- have somehow turned the corner. I mean, 20 runs in three games against that pitching staff? That's legit, isn't it? Carlos Beltran snapped out of his funk with five hits in the series. Jose Reyes had five, too. Maybe the Mets are back. But maybe not. |
| 8 |
9 |
 |
Since Detroit's Justin Verlander no-hit them on June 12, the Brewers are raking and winning. They're 9-2 with four straight series wins (including the series with the Tigers), hitting .309 with a .909 OPS. An overlooked part: Corey Hart is hitting .400 in those 11 games, with six homers and a 1.244 OPS. What's even better is that the team's remaining schedule until the All-Star break is cake (Astros, Cubs, Pirates, Nationals). I'm beginning to believe. |
| 9 |
7 |
 |
We know that the Dodgers, like many teams in the NL West, are a bit run-challenged. On Saturday, they took that to ridiculous new lows when they loaded the bases in three separate innings ... and came away with not a single run. Against the Devil Rays, no less. They had 11 hits in that game. They worked nine walks. And they scored just three runs. Three runs! You've got to work at it to be that inept. |
| 10 |
14 |
 |
Lost in the Ken Griffey Jr. love-in last weekend was the return of reliever "Everyday" Eddie Guardado, who saved 59 games in 2 ½ years with the Mariners just a couple of seasons ago. OK, so Guardado is now on Cincinnati's DL. Maybe that's why the whole reunion thing was a flop. Anyway, Seattle took two of three from the Reds. The M's are better, no doubt. The Angels still aren't scared. |
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