If Willy can't improve his OBP or start getting some gap power... I think Burke (or an incoming FA) deserves a shot at being the everyday CF. At least Everett gives you defense (which is valuable to our pitchers, even if we don't think its all that great)... Willy is spotty out there, at best. You could then leadoff with Burke or Biggio... and have decent gap power in either spot to get some big innings early, or have an RBI guy up there when the bottom of the order gets on base (something Willy has yet to prove he can do).
The problem with that is that Willy puts SOOO much pressure on the defense. He will only get better..... Right now, Burke does not have an everyday postion.... Against left handed pitchers, he plays. Against Righties....he sits.... DD
yeah, i took it with a grain of salt after he said that Burke became the best leftfielder in the league. having said that...i think he did a very good job in left...and i imagine he could translate to CF well.
Willy only puts pressure on the defense when he gets on base... and according to the stats, he's not doing that enough. Frankly, on most playoff teams, he'd be a pinch-runner (Dave Roberts)... but as of opening day, we had no other options. Willy's also only 21 years old... and I do expect him to get better and eventually be a gap hitting, decent OBP guy... but as long as Biggio is still going to be playing for us and hitting his HR's, Burke needs to find somewhere else to play. Right now, we're using Willy T in our lineup no different than we would use a pitcher... if Biggio gets on, we bunt with him. If men are on base in scoring position in the late innings, we pinch-hit for him. That's a huge liability for any team (let alone a playoff team), considering he's batting in the #2 spot of our weaker lineup. As I said before, our offense produces most of the time despite Willy T, rarely because of him.
I sure am glad none of you fill out the lineup card... some horrible ideas flowing through here. Remove Willy for Burke in centerfield? Willy was a ROOKIE who LEAD the league in infield hits, bunt hits and can cover more ground then the vast majority of center fielders and he is hitting OVER .300 for the playoffs. Burke doesn't have the arm to play short stop and you want to throw him in center? Riiight. For a look at Burke's outfield skills see him getting completely fooled by Molina's ground rule double in the bottom of the 7th last night. I like how simply because Burke has had a few good games people want to make crazy moves to get him into the lineup... Burke is on fire as of late and we do need to get him in as often as possible, but he isn't Beltran reborn and he shouldn't play positions he has no idea how to play. Taveras is doing his job and has NO problem moving the runner over (see yesterday's infield bunt hit while moving Biggio to 2nd) when he is supposed to. Taveras is also getting on and being stranded by Berkman and Morgan, but that isn't his fault. Good Lord.
the problem is that right now willy is killing us on offense whenever anyone is on base. he should not be batting 2nd. he is the antithesis of a #2 hitter since he cannot work the count and he should be in the 7 or 8 hole with burke batting #2 since burke is hot and he will walk a little more than willy and actually has the power to get the freaking ball out of the infield. how is that for a run on sentence? anyhow...the point is that willy t has proven that we cannot afford to have his complete lack of power in the 2 hole and we need burke in there since he has speed and some power and he is hot.
1. burke's problems with molina weren't of his own creation..it's where the outfield was positioned. blame garner for that. they were all pulled in. i didn't understand that at all....and they were on the next play, too, which i understood even less. 2. i hear ya. there is definitely a rush to get burke in because he's going so well right now. not a bad sentiment in the playoffs, though, frankly. 3. Taveras has had trouble moving the runner over in the playoffs...he had a hard time getting a bunt down a few times vs. the Braves.
Let me introduce you to the role of a true #2 hitter... it is to get on if you can, or move the runner over. Beltran from last year is NOT your typical #2 hitter. The 6 hole is a bigger RBI spot then the 2 hole ever will be, so your reasoning is extremely flawed. Willy is hitting .318 in the playoffs while the team as a whole is hitting .267, he is doing his job... he is getting on base while NOT getting driven in by Berkman, Ensberg and Lane. He has a .378OBP for the playoffs which is second best (Berkman is first) on the team for players who have started in every game.
Taveras is 2nd in OBP for everyday starters in the playoffs, and that play by Burke was BURKE'S FAULT, not Garners. He was playing in, but he also took a horrible angle to the ball and "looked" at the ball the entire time. If he would have run to the wall and turned and found the ball it would have been an easy out. I played the outfield for 14 years of organized baseball, and that is the first thing they teach you... if you are playing in and get burned run and then find the ball towards the end of your run like a wide receiver. Bragg Stockton school of baseball 101.
To be fair to Willy, isn't he batting 0.300 in the postseason (at least, someone said that, I thought)? He does cause problems for defenses and can create things on the bases, and while his fielding has been spotty at times, he has improved there as well and does have excellent range. With the size of MMP, I think that's huge. Willy's problem is that he's not an RBI guy, and got moved into a semi-RBI spot in the #2 spot with Biggio getting on a fair bit. Both him and Biggio are better #1 hitters than #2 hitters. I think you consider moving Brad up to the 2 spot (or Burke if you fit him into the lineup) - he can hit and bunt as necessary - and put Willy in the 8 spot like he started the year. That way, you strengthen the top of the order, and Willy can get on with his infield stuff and get bunted over by the pitcher for Biggio. Right now, if you're going to bench anyone, it's got to be Lane. He's the one not producing. Willy at least has brought something good to the table this postseason.
Thank you. I love how Burke has shown up in these playoffs, but we cannot forget how lousy he was at the plate in the regular season. Do I think he'll continue like that? No, I don't, but let's not get carried away here. Burke going to SS is like Lidge being a starting pitcher. Once again, DaDakota is convinced he knows more about baseball than the Astros.
i played a little baseball, too i hear ya...he didn't take a great angle....not at all. but why in the world was the outfield playing IN to begin with??? the next time they panned out, they showed the entire OF and they were ALL playing in. i don't get it. i agree with Major, though...if you're putting anyone on the bench at this point, it's Lane.
Like I said above (clarifying your first paragraph, not directed at you alone) Willy is hitting .318 for the playoffs which is 2nd most on the team behind Berkman for everyday starters, and has a .375OBP for the playoffs which again is only 2nd to Berkman... taking him out of the lineup would be ridiculous considering that he leads the team in hits (7). This doesn't even take into consideration that he is our only true outfielder on the team and the only one who knows how to play center field... all the other outfielders are playing out of position and are far from great outfielders. Lane is the only other "outfielder" and he, Everett and Ensberg are the ones killing us at the plate.
carlos burke all the way. lane can play again when he learns how to get the bat off his shoulder. he's been awful.
How about the one option no one has mentioned, yet... Biggio 2B Taveras RF Berkman LF Ensberg 3B Lamb 1B Burke CF Ausmus C Everett SS Willy has a very strong and accurate arm. He can make the throws from right field. The only worry is that he doesn't have expierence there. The spin coming from a right handed batter is a lot different when a hit goes to right. I wouldn't be suprised to see Palmiero get the start, though. It's up to Garner to decide whether Lane's defense is more important that his offense. At the least, I would move him to 6th or 7th in the lineup. Berkman can of course play in RF, but I'd be worried that he can't cover enough ground with the knee. He's having a hard enough time doing it in left.
I did not this about this earlier. This indeed is a great idea but I am not convinced Garner will bite. Great thinking Leroy420. Hey Nick, what do you think about this linup now? The point you made earlier about Burke not playing RF is fair and since Garner has confidence that he can handle CF duties, I will not see anything wrong having Willy T in RF. Willy's numbers in this series and playoffs like svper pointed out is still very good (much better than Lane's). Garner knows his players best - I hope and expect him to do the best for the team with dynamic boldness.
Burke is a sub-par to average outfielder (doesn't know the outfield mechanics well enough yet) and you want him to play centerfield in a the MASSIVE Minute Maid outfield and then move Taveras to right where he has yet to play? So, you want to play two guys OUT of position at home in the NLCS just to get one guy in the line up? No manager in their right mind would do that unless it was Barry Bonds on Albert Pujols they were trying to inject in the line up, no Chris freaking Burke. This talk is about on par with the "far out" trade talk on Sports talk shows... "why don't we trade Babin for Ray Lewis?!" kinda crap.
