I completely agree with Ensberg being a managerial nightmare and I have no problem with how Garner has handled him this season. He let him play alot and tried to let him work through his issues and it just didn't work out. My problem is with Lane and that is mainly because he has never shown the ability that Ensberg has over an extended period to warrant the playing time that he got. Ensberg had the potential to bust out and really help this club. I don't think there were too many people that even believe that was possible for Jason because we have not seen it before.
thanks 740 didnt work anymore...pirates station might be but somethigns strange on it, like 2 different streams at same time
Did you not see that Jason Lane was the 2nd best Astro hitter over the last 3 months of last season? Did you not see his decent power showing throughout the playoffs as well? That qualifies as an extended time for me.
I'd rather have it like this, then start the game with Oswalt... and then force him to stop, and start again, etc.
If it is me I want it in my own hands. Especially if the Cardinals would have to throw someone other than Carpenter. We would have the option to throw Roy on short rest. As a coach I always want things in my own hands. I don't want to have to rely on the Giants to beat the Cards. Who's to say they wouldn't throw out a crap lineup for the game. If my season is on the line I don't want to have to depend on another team winning a game.
From what they said on TV, there is expected to be steady rain throughout the day, but not really heavy. There is a yellow patch coming through in a bit, so the plan is to wait for that to pass and then just play in the light rain after that. Not sure how far out that patch is. But yeah, the worstcase would be Oswalt pitching a few innings and then having to be pulled due to a rain delay.
Would it be a break if there is a rainout? We could finish in Atlanta with Oswalt, Clemens, Pettite. Problem would be the Monday makeup game- we'd have to go with Hirsh or Sampson.
Bigger problem would be then if there's a Tuesday game vs. St Louis, it would be Carpenter vs. Sampson/Hirsh/Albers/etc. If at all possible, it's ideal for Oswalt to pitch today, so we set up an Oswalt vs Carpenter Tuesday game if needed (and if manage to win the division outright somehow, we have Oswalt for day #1 of the playoffs).
man, these pitts guys are talking about techniques of how to steal bases go away rain get on with the game already
No I see a guy who has .203 batting average for the season and his .250 career average with some limited power numbers who was placed in the cleanup role for some of the most important games of the season. 2nd best hitter the last 3 months? No way.
Last season, after the all-star break, Lane hit 0.305 with a 0.900 OPS. His numbers were virtually identical to Ensberg over that period (0.005 OPS less, 2 more RBI, equal HRs, higher average, etc).
Ooops! My math was off - for some reason, I thought his last start was his last of the regular season, but that does make it a bit more interesting on Tuesday!
OK Sorry I just reread what he said ... I thought he was saying the last 3 months of this season which really blew my mind. I still don't think he's done nearly enough in his career compared to Ensberg to deserve the extra playing time that Mo deserved. I mean what did Mo finish in the MVP race last year ... 5th? .... Mo has put together an entire season, while Jason has put together a few months. I think Jason Lane was left out there too long and definitely should have been a 6-hole hitter at best. Like I said, I don't have a problem with him playing against leftys, but no way should he ever bat 4th while he is in the middle of this season long "slump".
I tend to agree, but if you look at his splits, it's actually a bit more difficult. He had a decent April, June, and August, and a sucky May, July, and September. In April, he had an 0.870 OPS with lots of power (low BA) and people thought his BA would come around. His May was terrible (0.540 OPS) and he only played half the time in June, so he sorta got benched. But in his June role, he had a 0.840 OPS again so he showed signs of coming back around. Then in July, he played very little (19 at bats) and sucked. In August, in limited playing time, he had a 0.950 OPS and 11 RBI in 29 at bats, but then he's sucked in September. But if you look, he really only got about 2 1/2 months of real consistent playing time (April, May, part of June), and he was decent (not great) for April and June: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6855/splits;_ylt=AqS5rC7_KWGv_RPQMOLrFpSFCLcF
