i agree...but it's a more relative sample size because it's recent. i don't know for sure when Lane's ABs were against Morris. honestly, i'm with you. i don't think Burke can play RF or CF that effectively. but i don't know that it's as wild an argument as some here think.
I agree with you and Nick in regards to Burke playing every day. I always agree with riding a hot streak, but you have to look at defense, not just offense. Taveras is second in OBP, but that number doesn't determine overall effectiveness. Taveras is speedy, but he seems to have trouble reading pickoff pitches, which is why he got caught stealing last night. Taveras has a very late break when he steals, especially against Mulder, a left hander. Now, back to the OBP. OBP is great, you get on base, create some havoc. That's great for a leadoff, but he's a 2 hole batter where if batters are on, it's HIS JOB to move them over or bat them in when there are 2 outs. Willy is almost a certainty to not score anyone from 2nd base with a hit. Most of his hits are "speed hits," which means that no one's going to score from second. In many of those instances, the batter from second may not even make it to third. Based on the number of doubles that Biggio hits, that one could really hurt. Although I see the negative aspects of Taveras at the 2 hole and his rookie mistakes, I still see him as much of a must start as possible. The truth is, if Taveras doesn't start, it'll probably be Bruntlett, especailly with the LONG center field in MMP. I see Taveras as more of an initial threat offensively and defensively when it comes to 7-9 innings. He just needs to work on some mechanics on both sides of the inning. Lane has not been hitting the ball, but he has also proven that he COULD deliver with a big hit. When Lane hits the ball, there's always a good chance that our runners would score. More importantly, Lane has an above-average arm for an outfielder and covers more ground, making it that much more important whenever Berkman's playing left field. When Lane is playing well defensively and Willy playing center with that speed, it can help Berkman or Burke or whoever's playing left immensely. The whole field could shift left some to alleviate pressure for the left fielder.
Without Lane in the game last night, the leadoff hitter in the first is on third with 0 outs. Just a thought before some people have a coronary.
yeah, that was a great play. he's made more than a few of those this year. he made a nice catch up against the wall in the corner in game 1, too.
hey..i'm heading to the game with my son AGAIN this sunday. we may have to stop by for some karma. worked for us last time!
I love the pizza there, I always get the italian sausage and onion one... I'm forgetting the name right now because I only have one beer in me
yeah, that is a good pizza. my son had the pepperoni last week...i'm thinking he HAS to eat that again this week. that means i'm eating chicken fingers again this week. same table..same chairs..same everything.
These pretzels are making me thirsty. I have no idea why I thought that would be a good substitution for telling you that your post made me hungry. Um, yeah.
Did anybody see ESPN when they said that Garner would spend Friday night deciding whether Burke or Mike Lamb would get the start? Looks like Lane is in no matter what and this is the lineup dilemma. Line up Biggio 2B Taveras CF Berkman 1B/LF Ensberg 3B Lane RF Burke LF/Lamb 1B Everett SS Ausmus C Pitcher
Lane is a definate pencil in, and has been... he is our only "great" outfielder at his position, not to mention he's had success against Morris.
I think we have to keep Berkman at 1B even if it means Lamb sits. Berkman in left is the reason the Braves sent LaRoche home in game 4 from 1st. I know he was out at the plate, but you get my point. Burke's speed in left is a big plus because he can cut balls off before the get to the wall and we get to keep his hot bat in the line up. Here's the line up: Biggio Taveras Ensberg Berkman Burke Lane Ausmus Everett Pitcher
Things that can't hit. Things that realize the pitchers carry them on their back. Things that go into slumps. Things that are comcastic. WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!
I think DaDakota said it best. We are right where we want to be with the series headed back to Houston. Dance with who brought ya. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I will also say that Garner has done an amazing job so far figuring out who should and shouldn't play, at what times. So while my inclination is to stick with Lane, if Garner chooses to change the line up at all, I will fully support and trust him to do his job. I think it is safe to say that most of us would have had Bagwell batting instead of Ausmus in game 4 against ATL.
What exactly brought us "here"? And where is "here"? I am waiting to see Garner's guts. We can discuss semantics and allow our bias derail us but we cannot deny that fact that Lane is not a dependable/good RBI. We cannot deny that he is our dumbest and most indiscipline hitter at the plate. We cannot deny that he is a black hole. We cannot deny that he cannot draw a BB to save his life. We cannot deny that we have come thus far in spite of him and his oft underrated weaknesses. We cannot deny that he is flat out horrible and an eyesore. We want him to succeed but how far can we allow this to go on? How long can we allow him to continue to bea liability to our offense? We are somewhat playing with house money. Should we play it safe or go for broke? You know what - I rather try a Lance-Willy-Chris outfield and fail than stick with the status quo with a universal weaklink in Lane at the core. We need as many x-factors as possible because our teams lacks the luxury of Beltran, Bagwell and Kent to help hide borderline automatic outs like Lane who oh btw plays in the heart of our offense. Lets not leave any stone unturned.
