Tarevas is batting .500 with more speed - he should be leading off Jason Lane is batting .500 and more experience - he should bat 5th Luke Scott I dunno might be alil nervous but he's unproven in the reg. season should go down to the 7th spot. Taveras Biggio Bagwell Ensberg Lane Everett L. Scott Ausmus better?
I don't know about that lineup, but what good is Tavares speed when you don't even give him the chance to steal and instead, bunt him over on the first pitch to the next better?
Put Mike Lamb in Left instead of Scott because he seem overmatced and Lamb could just flat out hit. Lamb in left wont hurt since at MMP, left is so small. I think the first two games, Scott has only had like 3 balls hit to him.
This is what Garner said. I'm not sure if he said it before the season or more recently. I must say, it doesn't make much sense... "Batting order: The season is still very young, but Garner likes Ausmus hitting seventh and Taveras eighth. Garner realizes the No. 8 hitter doesn't see a lot of good pitches because he's hitting in front of the pitcher, but he feels Taveras has the instincts to handle the job. "He has a pretty good eye," Garner said. "If they're pitching around him, he's got a good eye and he stays on the ball good. To me, that's a real plus." Garner also likes having Taveras hitting closer to leadoff man Adam Everett and No. 2 hitter Craig Biggio. "If (Taveras) gets a stolen base, the pitcher bunts him up, and now Everett's on base and you've got Biggio," Garner said. "You've got three rabbits right there in a row. If you're going to do something, you've got to get them in a row. If I've got Ausmus in between, you lose your rabbit flow. If we get to a point where Brad's not driving in runs or not hitting the ball well, then we may have to make an adjustment." http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050406&content_id=1001770&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou
Exactly. This lineup has absolutely zero power. Which makes it all the more important that we can string hits together. Otherwise we'd just waste a whole bunch of singles every inning with nothing to show for it. There's definitely a case to be made to bunch up our best hitters right next to each other at the top of the order. Which definitely means Taveras needs to lead off. Lane should also move up considering his experience and at least a history of decent power.
Really? How many spring training games did you see where Lamb played outfield? Don't make blanket statements you can't substantiate.
Would people stop complaining about the number of hits and the lack of runs? 15 hits is a crapload for any game and it shows that they have no problem hitting the ball. Were they all in a row, no but they'll eventually start stringing them together on a more consistent basis and get more aggressive on the bases. The good news is just about every one of their starters have gotten on the board... it was the second game for pete's sake. He's "supposed" to be a third baseman, but doesn't play it much because he's a defensive liability. He has played a total of 19 regular season games in the outfield, and none since 2003... I think there's a reason they chose to start two rookies over Mike Lamb in the outfield. Hell their own team writer even made mention of it... http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3495578
One positive thing about Lamb coming off the bench is that he excels in situations like yesterday... and he's probably our only player who can do that. You're always going to have close games that you're either tied, or behind in (no matter who is in the starting lineup)... and if you have a guy like him who can just come off the bench and hit right away, despite not being in the game thus far, that's an asset that only the truly great teams can afford (Yankees - Ruben Sierra).
One negative thing about Lamb is that he really does not have a position on this team. Astros (appear) committed to Ensberg @3rd. Bags has a lease/purchase at 1st. The OF experiment was incomplete. Thus, this is his role + part time starter, and he is excelling at it. The question I have is with Bruntlet and Burke, as well as Lamb, why don't the Astros exchange the underrated but very valuable Vizcaino for an arm or OF upgrade?
Fellas, we're 2 games into the season. A .500 batting average doesn't mean much when you have a grand total of about 6 AB's. I'm excited abot Willie!! Don't get me wrong. I just like having a guy named Willie playing CF for my team, even if he spells it wrong. But Garner spent all spring with these guys...his ass is on the line if the team doesn't produce...I imagine he's thought about these things a bit more than we all have....what do ya say we give his lineup more than 2 games before we substitute our own?? Sound good??
We MUST get Adam out of the leadoff spot. When you get the bottom of the order on base, you should look at the leadoff guy and say...wow, if we could get guys in scoring position with our leadoff guy coming up, we can break the game open. Unti lBerkman gets back, we don;t have that "part of the order" that you hope comes up in a crucial spot....and that includes our 3-5 guys. I think we need to switch Ensberg and Lane in the lineup....and do the same with Willie and Adam....or at least let Biggio leadoff and have Willie bat 2nd. Luke will be fine ( i think). We need to find a way to get Lamb's bat in the lineup on an everyday basis....or at least 3 times a week...the guy has done nothing but hit since he has been here and has earned the right...even if it means sharing time with Ensberg...i mean, lets not make Ensberg out to be Brooks Robinson please...he is an OK defender...not that much better than Lamb...and he isn't, IMO, as good of a hitter.
I'll get flamed for this but I'll say it anyway...I think, occasionally against righties, Lamb should play 1st and let Bags sit.
