Good, I wonder if the organization is thinking about replacing Everett at least some of the time with a more offensively gifted player? I sure hope so as having Ausmus and Everett and the pitcher in the lineup everyday means that 33% of your at bats are easy outs... DD
He might can technically play all infield positions, but he's played three games at SS since 2003. Given the lack of offensive productivity at that position, if he had it in him to be a regular SS, you can bet someone would've played him there. Also, his range seemed to decrease significantly at 2B last season. He might can play there in a pinch - maybe a game a week if we get lucky - but under no circumstances is Loretta a realistic starting option at SS.
Everett will be the mainstay at SS to be sure...but I know Garner has mentioned givng Loretta plenty of playing time and at bats and essentially using him all around the infield, not just at second base.
4-3 final Stros Roy O threw only 50 pitches through 5 innings and allowed no runs. He was also throwing his "new" changeup. Lee drove in 2 RBI's.
yeah, i'm not sure how dominant you can be against the elite junior high teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates lol
Miguel Asencio was optioned to AAA, Scott Sauerbeck was sent to minor league camp. More roster moves later today, per the broadcast. Lane hit a bomb in the 2nd off Scott Olsen, Nieve pitched well.
Are these the only roster moves that have been made so far, aside from offering our rule 5 pick back to the Cubs?
No, they've sent a dozen or so guys to minor league camp. Rick White went another 2 scoreless innings today (10 scoreless total this spring) against the Fish regulars. He's pretty much secured his spot in the bully, I'd think. If I were Bork, I'd be nervous.
5 HRs for Lane so far this Spring. Seems he'll make the team, or maybe he upped his trade value enough to get something back for him.
Few things (in regards to the Astros) scare me more than Lane having a good spring. I just don't think he's a major league player. His mentality and skillset caps at AAA. On Friday, 610 ran a sound bite from Lane where he intimated that he was a scapegoat last year, and that if you looked at his numbers, his production was on par with the previous year. He was completely oblivious to the fact that his strikeouts were up, and power production was down coupled with the fact that he couldn't hit the side of a barn. But, oh yeah, his walks were up.
His power production wasn't down. He got far fewer AB's last season. In effect, he's right though. He struggled and shortly thereafter he started being yanked in and out of the lineup, never knowing when he's going to get playing time. Pretty hard to work your way out of a slump when the leash is that short. Ensberg on the other hand stunk it up and they kept trotting him out there time and time again before they finally started benching him. He was given far more time than Lane.
He had a sucky season, but his power numbers were NOT down. 2005 517 AB 26HR 78 RBI 2006 288 AB 15HR 48 RBI
slugging percentage (which I find to be more reliable than just hr's) went from .499 down to .392. His swing was just horrible, but he was still powerful enough that when he did make contact, he hit some out.
