a couple of stats i just saw on mike and mike in the morning... *since he joined the team in june, roger clemens has the best ERA in the majors. *best record in MLB in september/october since 2003: 1. roy oswalt 19-2 2. andy pettite 9-1 3. johan santana 14-3 or 14-2, i forgot
All about pitching. This club should try their hardest to retain Pettite/Clemens... without both of them,there's really no suitable replacement that could have us anywhere close to contention (unless they break the bank for Jason Schmidt).
Yea... those 3 hits yesterday really carried us to a win. But in all fairness, yes the offense has been good when we've most needed it. A middle of the lineup of Berkman, Scott, and Huff is about as solid as you'd need it to be, with a team full of ace pitchers. I'm just saying that its been proven that a team with great pitching and mediocre offense can still be in contention... whereas the opposite (great lineup, no pitching) has NEVER been in a position to win anything. Some fans were so frustrated with our lineup issues a couple of weeks ago, they were gladly ready to dump Pettite/Clemens if it meant we had a shot at Soriano and Carlos Lee... that team may score 150 more runs for the season, but they won't be playing any meaningful games in September if they don't get suitable replacements for those departed pitchers.
absolutely. they called last year a fluke. if it happens again, it's called a trend. pitching wins. pitching gets you there. just stay close and even a mediocre lineup can scratch out a win.
On Scott - can someone elaborate? Admittedly, I had stopped following the team until a week ago and saw that he is STILL in the .350's. At first glance, this is unheard of, but why is there not more national publicity? Is the sample size too small? He is 28 - is this a fluke or can we confidently pencil him in as a mainstay in the middle of the lineup for years to come? The reason I'm asking this is because at the beginning of the year it appeared Chris Burke had arrived but it seems he has come back down to earth so it's hard to tell with young players.
The main difference is that he's yet to experience an extended "slump" that would severely hurt his confidence, and bring his numbers back to earth. He's getting plenty of good pitches to hit, and is taking advantage of it. He also has the luxury of having a man on base the majority of the time, since Berkman is in front of him. He's also done an amazing job of hitting left-handed pitching... a big reason why his average has stayed so high. But, will he keep it up year after year? I'm not saying anything, after watching the downfall of Ensberg and Lane this year... and Hidalgo many years before that. The club should and will go after Carlos Lee... and if they get him, either Huff or Scott is going to be the odd man out... but so far Luke's consistency will give him the inside track to a starting OF spot next season. He's a good guy to have at the #5 or #6 spot in the lineup... but I don't see him projecting as a perennial all-star, or MVP candidate (like Ensberg has the potential to be, if he rebounds next year).
i looked it up and actually he's hitting the same whether anyone is on base or the bases empty.... .350 either way..... (and actually about 100 AB's for both "runners on" and "bases empty") http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?statsId=7521&type=batting&year=2006 By Situation AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 1B Only 46 4 19 2 2 3 8 6 0 7 1 0 .413 .481 .739 1.220 Men On, 2 out 49 10 16 1 5 1 15 9 0 13 1 0 .327 .431 .612 1.043 Man on 3rd, <2 out 7 7 3 1 1 0 6 2 0 4 0 1 .429 .500 .857 1.357 Lead Off Inning 52 0 21 12 0 2 2 5 1 7 0 0 .404 .466 .750 1.216 On Second 14 5 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 3 0 0 .143 .333 .143 .476 On Third 4 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 .250 .400 .750 1.150 First and Second 20 7 7 2 1 2 11 3 2 3 0 0 .350 .480 .850 1.330 First and Third 10 2 3 1 0 0 3 1 0 5 1 1 .300 .364 .400 .764 Second and Third 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 .500 .667 1.500 2.167 Bases Loaded 4 5 2 0 1 0 6 1 0 1 0 0 .500 .500 1.000 1.500 None On/Out 54 2 21 12 0 2 2 6 1 8 0 0 .389 .459 .722 1.181 None On, 1/2 out 49 3 15 2 0 3 3 6 0 11 0 0 .306 .382 .531 .913 Close and Late 35 4 15 7 0 1 7 7 2 5 0 1 .429 .545 .714 1.259 None On 103 5 36 14 0 5 5 12 1 19 0 0 .350 .422 .631 1.053 Runners On 100 26 35 5 6 5 32 17 2 21 2 1 .350 .450 .670 1.120 Scoring Position 54 22 16 3 4 2 24 11 2 14 1 1 .296 .426 .611 1.037 Scoring Posn, 2 out 26 9 8 1 3 0 11 7 0 8 1 0 .308 .455 .577 1.032
lamb and huff....i think. i hate to say that, because i really like ensberg from a fan's perspective.
That's a tough question. If you go by this year alone, the answer is obvious. (Lamb, Huff), but I think Ensberg's slump isn't truly indicative of the type of player he can be for us. If you look at what is best for the team... you'd love to have all 3, with Ensberg continuing to get starts against lefties, while Lamb goes back to his customary PH, fill-in role that he's excelled at the last 2 years. Ensberg should get his arbitration 1 year deal... and see if he can turn it around (or do his usual "odd" year MVP imitation). Lamb should get the usual 1 year deal (assuming he likes the team, and his non-everyday player role). Huff should get a fair 3 year deal, with his primary role (OF or 3B) dependant on whether or not we can sign a big-time hitting corner OF (like Lee). Its a good problem to have... as the only guy who the team has to decide on whether or not to make a serious commitment to beyond 1 year is Huff.
i'd say the only guy with any proven track-record is huff, and he'd be the guy i'd keep. pretty sure he'd happily sign on to stay around.
So for the "no such thing as clutch in baseball" crowd - does that only apply to hitting? Just curious.
I'd take Ensberg and Huff. I like Ensberg batting second with the way Berkman and Scott are hitting. I doubt they could keep both since I think they'll try to go after someone like Lee to play OF. I expect the astros will keep Ensberg and Lamb. On pitching vs offense, I generally value pitching more than offense and offense more than defense. Generally speaking, pitching is the easiest way to score more runs than the other team if you don't have resources to do all three. I think a well rounded team has the best shot, because they can take advantage of the opposing teams' weaknesses. Pitchers like Ben Sheets make me realize the importance of offense. He probably is just over a 50-50 winning percentage despite being a top notch pitcher disregarding his injury from last season.
So, you let Ensberg's 20+ HR, and 80+RBI, when healthy, just walk away for nothing? In a year that he wasn't healthy, he still got his 20+HR, as well as showing amazing plate discipline. His average took a sharp decline... but I don't see that as the norm. They still don't have to give him a multi-year deal (which they would be considering right now, had he continued his success from last season). Lamb is the one I worry about... he needs to be retained as a part time player, but I have a feeling that some desperate big money team will offer him a contract to be an everyday guy... i'm not sure what his priorities are, but I don't think he could pass that up.
