Time to give Burke some run in CF? I'd like to see Burke get 4 starts a week, having him split time with Willy in addition to subing for Biggio. I'd like to see if Burke could consistently hit .300 with doubles power. I think he could, but like Bruntlett, he needs steady PT to see what he can offer.
The Reds are the team directly ahead of us, and we are now guaranteed of losing another series to them. This team is struggling mightily, and even though I am in favor of more Burke time, it is the pitching which is SUCKING right now. Outside of Oswalt (who goes today) the team's pitching - starters and bullpen has been awful at worst and inconsistent at best. I don't know what is wrong with Pettit, but he has been terrible, and he has no excuse for it as the other young pitchers are at least inexperienced. DD
I cant beleive the Stros are two games under now. the wrost part is that cubs are surging and they are coming into town next. Hope the Astros find a way to get out of this funk. They have done it before... I believe.
I think the team is better than this last month or so of baseball. With Roger back in the rotation, that will take out a significant number of starts by an inexperienced pitcher, and also provide the bullpen with extra depth. I think the main problem right now is lack of production from the corner outfield spots. If Preston starts producing better but Lane doesn't, I would expect to see Burke starting. This lineup needs a left handed bat.
Mike Lamb is that left handed bat right now. They need Berkman & Ensberg first and foremost (4 multi-hit games apiece the past month, .244 & .215 BA's respectively). PW's been hitting about .300 for a month or so, but only 5 XBH in his last 75 or so ABs. Lane - I just don't know about him. He did the same damn thing last year in May, but he turned it around. He can get really hot for stretches, that's a tough call. Burke has shown nothing since coming off the DL, wouldn't at all mind Palmeiro getting more starts. p.s. Aubrey Huff's been terrible this year, worse than Lane by a good bit.
I know it's been said a couple of times here. And I'm feeding the fire, still. But I was at the game last night and moving around the best defensive SS in the game is a mistake to me, when that guy bats in the 8-hole. It's like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titantic. It's insignificant. Bruntlett nearly blew a double play last night with an errant throw...fortunately Lamb was able to come off the bag and still tag the runner. Everett got in the game...got on both times he was up...and scored both times. He's batting about .040 points lower than his career average right now. He had a torrid April and an awful May. You gotta give the guy a shot to hit his way out of it, I think. Particularly when his glove is that good. If AE were batting at the top of the lineup, my answer may be different. But we're talking about the 8-hole. On a team where the guys at the top aren't hitting right now.
exactly....the guys at the top aren't hitting right now either. that's why a change needed to be made. start with replacing who is by far the worst hitter in the lineup. offense is our problem at this point, not defense.
Is it the hamstring? Or something else? According to the Astros Notes section at Astros.com, he felt great after his bullpen session on Friday.
Yeah - that's bizarre. Yahoo says the start of the game was delayed and as of earlier today, Oswalt was scheduled to start. Did he have an injury problem during warmups or something?
It had to be something like that, so they could allow Nieve all the time in the world to warm up... he only found out that he was starting 15 minutes before gametime. I kinda wish Gar would just go with a bullpen by commitee... well, I guess since Nieve is practically bullpen, he still may.
Nice to see Burke in CF today... since we can't expect great pitching today without Oswalt, I'm gonna focus on this lineup and see if they look better without Willy getting a ton of AB's by being in the top of the lineup.
i think lamb at first and berkman in right would make this our best possible lineup...it's close enough though
I think Lamb is a solid hitter... but even with him in the everyday lineup, and everybody performing at max expectations, this would still be a middle of the road lineup. And, if the team doesn't get good pitching, that lineup is STILL going to lose a bunch of games. Lamb is pretty valuable because he's our only potential HR threat off the bench... and with a team that's not pitching well (and thus is going to have a lot of pinch-hitters), power off the bench can be important as well.
oh, believe me...i completely agree. and it will always be until biggio and ausmus (and taveras and everett) are gone and replaced with capable hitters.
Buck - I agree that Lamb could be that bat, but I'm not sure Berkman can handle playing the outfield. If he can, than yes the solution can be found internally with Lamb. About Huff's season: Exactly why it could be a good move. I would imagine his value is sitting low right now with his current season, and him due an extension. I wouldn't imagine that it would take much for Tampa Bay to move him.
You don't think Biggio is a capable hitter? Are you trying to make inane comments intentionally to get a response out of posters or are you just extremely unintelligent?
no, i dont, nor do i feel like getting into another verbal assault with you, but i will defend this, and i'll preface this by saying it's my opinion, since i know how sensitive most of you are about biggio. biggio coming up with a big hit comes around once in a blue moon these days, despite how frequently he is presented with the chance to. and i'm referring to the past 3 or 4 years. his 25 hr's was fine last season, but you compare his other #'s to most other 2nd basemen in the league, and he's pretty low on the list. by the end of this season, at least 2/3 of the 2nd basemen in the league will outperform him. now throw in the fact that he's 50 years old, has no arm, and absolutely the worst range in the league, bar none. you talk about how many runs everett saves with his defense...who knows how many biggio gives up because of his. and for somebody like you who thinks that everett is lightyears ahead of vizquel, especially considering age, i'm surprised (well not really) that you would even argue us needing to move on from biggio by now.
