Lance Berkman is having an MVP type season. Right now he leads the majors in HR (tied w/Steroid Sammy) and has an overwhelming lead in RBI. If he can pull his average up above .300 and if the 'Stros can get back into the race, he is a legit contender. Rice U represent!
He is more than legit as of now. If he gets his average up and the astros get back into the race, he is MVP hands down. What a badass!
Correction: The ball Lance hit tonight went 467 FEET!!! 3rd longest homer ever at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
I don't understand Jimy. Borbon sucks vs. Right handed batters. Aramis Ramirez is a right handed batter.
Well, I guess it's because Armaris had only 6 HRs this season and he'd take the chance. I would've put in Ricky Stone. He's a very surprising rooking this season.
This is great, and I've got news for everybody. Lance Berkman is not even in his prime yet. He is still a young player and could continue to develop. How scary is that?
Sammy is on steroids. . . but berkman COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE ON ROIDS ... rrriiiggghhtt I wonder why that is . . . Rocket River Just noticing when roids come up . .Sammy and Bonds are the names but never Berkman, or McGuire. . . . .
First of all, he never said that Berkman could not possibly be on roids. Secondly, I think people basically agree to the possibility that Lance is on sterioids. Thirdly, PLENTY of people have claimed McGwire was on steroids.
uhhh... you guys must not watch much baseball, because Lance Berkman could not possibly be on steroids. He has ZERO bulk. The guy has the most mechanically sound swing in the league, and he has a proven track record of hitting for power. His junior season at Rice he hit 41 homeruns and drove in over 100 RBI in something like 70 games. His power comes from technique, not brute strength. Stand Lance up next to Sammy and Barry and you tell me who is the one on 'roids. And Raven -- don't know what Mark McGwire you were watching, but every time he stepped to the plate after the 70 HR season, they mentioned his use of the *supplement* andro. sigh
oops -- sorry Raven, meant to point the finger at Rocket River on that one, not you on the McGwire issue. Although I still disagree with your statement on people agreeing to the possibility that Lance is on roids.
Well, Lance isn't built in the sense that Sammy Sosa is built, but he does have very strong arms, and certainly steroids can help with that. And him hitting for power throughout college doesn't necessarily mean he isn't on steroids. It is possible for college players to get on the roids. I don't, however, believe that Lance is on steriods, because they are known to have negative effects on a person's mood, and Lance seems to be one of the easiest going players in the league, from what I can tell. But I do acknowledge the possibility that he is on steroids.
Everybody assumes and talks about McGwire's possible steroid use. Rocketman95 laughing at RocketRiver always bringing up race
We'll have to just agree to disagree on Berkman's alledged 'roid usage. Rich Lord just made a good point on Channel 13's extra points show. Sammy really brought Rick Reilly's antics upon himself by saying he'd be first in line for steroid testing *if* the player's union consents to it. He said this will full knowledge that the player's union would never agree to something like that. But when Reilly asked him to go take the test, Sammy exploded in anger like we've never seen before. That explosion leads people to believe he's got something to hide. Without saying he uses them or not, you have to agree that he has put on *major* muscle mass since his days with the Rangers. Additionally, his power ramped up from being only an average power hitter to one of the game's best, seemingly overnight. The facts are what they are.
Berkman is not on steroids. He may have strong arms, but roids get you bigger. Berkman has zero muscle definition. Im not saying Sosa is on steroids, but if you are going to compare the two, Sosa is the one getting outside help with his homers.
I guess Daryl Ward is on 'roids also. He hit one 479' into the river. He's the first one to hit one directly into the river in the two years that the stadium has been open. It's gotta be the 'roids. http://sports.excite.com/news/07062002/v9174.html Ward hits first PNC Park splashdown homer Jul 6, 2002 9:20 PM (EDT) PITTSBURGH (AP) - Daryle Ward of the Houston Astros hit the first home run into the Allegheny River on the fly in PNC Park's two seasons on Saturday night. Ward's grand slam in the fifth inning against Pittsburgh's Kip Wells easily cleared the right-field stands and splashed down several feet beyond the concrete wall alongside the river bank. A man in a pleasure boat parked just beyond the wall dove into the water and retrieved the ball, which the Pirates were hoping to secure for Ward. The drive was estimated at 479 feet. When PNC Park opened last year, the Pirates estimated that the shortest distance a homer could travel down the right-field line and into the water on the fly was 456 feet. Six homers previously struck the walkway beyond the right-field wall or the slope leading to the river and bounced into the river, but Ward's was the first to carry into the water. The homer came in the 127th regular-season game played at PNC Park. After no homers were hit into the river on the fly last season, a sponsored sign inside PNC Park listing the number of splashdown homers was changed to one denoting how many times the Pirates homered at home.
Man...this is just small taste of how unstoppable this offense will be as soon as Berkman, Bagwell and Ward are all tuned in at the same time. You know, Nelson Cruz has quietly been pitching a hell of a lot better lately. The guy now has his ERA below 4.00. If he can stay consistent, and if our starting lineup can get healthy, this team has a shot to make the comeback against the Cards.
The reason Bonds and Sosa get mentioned and not McGwire and Berkman is that Bonds and Sosa have had radical changes to their build - McGwire was always huge, and there WAS talk of his andro usage - Berkman is still the same pudgy guy he always was.
