Couldn't agree more with the move to have Pence hit 2nd. I think he was going to be wasted in the 6 hole. That said, where does Matsui hit now? 7th or 8th? I guess that depends on how Towles and/or Wigginton does. Kaz would definitely be 7th when Ausmus starts.
I dunno that he'd be wasted at all. The 6-hitter in this lineup will theoretically be coming up to bat with men on base regularly. Berkman, Lee & Tejada are all pretty good to great OBP guys, but Berkman & Lee are plodders, I don't know about Tejada on the bases, but I'm assuming he's solid. Having a guy with a bunch of extra-base-pop in that spot could be a good thing for getting runners around, and with Wigginton & Towles behing him, it won't be like you're wasting him once he gets on (as opposed to if, say, AE & Ausmus were 7-8). But getting Pence a 3 dozen or so more AB's over the course of year wouldn't be bad. And with Pence at 2, you run the risk of taking him out of his "see ball, hit ball" game, especially with Bourn on 1st & wanting to run. But with Bourn on 1st, the 2-hitter will be seeing a bunch of fastballs, which plays into Pence's strengths (plays into every players strength, really). Hitting 2 plays into Kaz's game almost perfectly, bat control, take a few pitches, hit & run, etc.... I can see why they'd go either way, but I'd almost lean toward starting Kaz out at 2 when he comes back, giving it a month & seeing how he does. Pence strikes me as a guy who can & will hit wherever he is, his game is so simple at the plate. I think you could really strengthen Kaz by hitting him 2. If Bourn's getting on, and Kaz is doing the things he can do while also getting on base at a decent clip, you have the deepest lineup in the NL.
I like Pence in the 2-hole, but I am not sure I like Kaz anywhere in the lineup other than near the top. Guess we'll see how it all shakes out. One more week of Spring Training ... Thank God! Can't wait for the season to start.
The problem I have with Pence at 6 is his style as a hitter. He thrives on turning on those early in the count fastballs, and struggles to hold off on breaking pitches outside of the zone. If you put him at a spot where there's a significant dropoff between him and the batter behind him (Wigginton at 7), I'm afraid that wouldn't play well to his particular skillset. Obviously any hitter would have a better opportunity for success with Berkman behind him than Wigginton, but I think it's particularly true with Hunter. I also agree with Coop's rationale of trying to break up the block of righties near the bottom of the lineup.
My thinking is that what should be one of our best hitters gets more ab's and gets to use his speed. I really feel that he is better suited for the 3 spot and that's where he'll ultimately be within the next few years. Not only that, he could have a monster year with Berkman, Lee, & tejada hitting behind him...especially if Bourne is getting on base at a good clip.
I just watched the Bourne trilogy and kept waiting for them to tell him his real name was Michael, not Jason. Then I realized why. I'm ready for some baseball.
I suspect Kaz will bat 8th if the decision is ever 7th vs 8th. He has speed. This will make it easier for pitcher to successfully sacrifice bunt. Bourne also hits a lot of singles so it would be helpful to have a guy that can get to and score from second a good portion of the time batting 8th.
The way Cruz and Erstad are hitting, I can't wait to play some interleague games so we can DH them. It will be nice having two lefty's like these guys to come off the bench and pinch hit.
I guess after Sampson's shaky outing yesterday that the 5th spot is Woody's for the taking, so long as he doesn't suck too hard in his final start? I like Sampson and still wish he would get the starting job. I at least hope they find a spot for him in the pen.
He was doing great until his hip started tightening up. He got hit by a line drive in the 2nd inning. Sampson said when he was first hit by the line drive, he felt enough adrenaline to where the pain wasn't affecting him. He tried to keep moving around in the dugout between innings to prevent the hip area from tightening up, but "every time I went back out, it would get a little tighter and a little tighter. I finally started feeling it in the [fourth] inning." http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/...d=2458206&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou But yeah, he's missed a couple of weeks of ST, so his arm may not be stretched out enough to realistically go 5-6 innings at the start of the season. Plus he has options, so I can see them going with Moehler in the pen, Sampson starting in RR, & Woody in the rotation for the first monthish, see how Woody does (with a very, very short leash), and then go from there.
What a ST for Cheo, Jr.....2nd in all of baseball with 18 RBIs. He's earned his spot on this team, with or without his father's famous name.
Houston, we have a pitching problem. You would figure the other team would simply get tired of swinging the bat.
I agree that Kaz should be in the 8th spot. I've never understood why, if you have a speedy runner on first in a situation like this, you don't have the pitcher take a pitch or two, see if the guy can steal, and then bunt him over to third. You eliminate the possibility of the terrible double-play bunt, and you potentially have a guy on 3rd with 0/1 outs for your leadoff hitter. I hope we do a lot of that with Kaz. I thought we should have been doing it with Everett too.
I was at the game against the Tribe today. Not a good day for Roy ... again Cruz Jr. 2 more RBI. Double down third. It was nice. Do we have a chance at CC Sabbathia next winter? He was dominating.
not that it matters at all what roy does in spring training but i'd say his fielders let him down more then his pitching.
Something tells me the Indians will have Sabathia locked up long before the free agency period begins. I would love to have a shot at him, and hopefully we'd have the cap room to make a play for him, but I just don't think he's ever going to hit the market.
Sabathia has already halted negotiations until after the season, so he will hit the market. Cap Room???????
I have no idea why I said cap room. I mean BUDGET ROOM -- hopefully we've got enough money in the budget to go after someone like Sabathia. I still don't think he's going to hit the market.
