The Astros have placed Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list with a Grade-2 strain in his left calf. "Right now it's a nagging thing that should resolve in the short term," Astros general manager Ed Wade said. "If we were in late September then our approach might be different." Berkman singled as a pinch hitter Wednesday night in the 4-3 victory over the Cardinals, but he hasn't been able to start since Monday. "We don't need Lance to try to be heroic," Wade said. "As long as he's active he'll continue to try to test it and ask, 'am I good today? Am I good tomorrow?' .. We just think it's appropriate to shut it down for a while. He's not anxious to go on the disabled list, but he says he's never have anything like this." Edwin Maysonet will be called up from Class AAA Round Rock to take Berkman's spot on the roster. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6543923.html
This statement makes me want to escort Shawn Chacon to Ed Wade's office: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6543923.html It effectively is late September, genius. This is the season. You've got an overachieving bunch playing their hearts out, and they've climbed within a game of first place. Next week, you have seven games, all on the road, against the Cubs and Cardinals. This is the season. If it is at all humanly possible for Lance to play -- which his "if we were in late September" statement seems to imply -- the Astros need to let him play. It's the equivalent of the bonehead manager who saves his closer for the ninth inning while letting a mediocre reliever go against Albert Pujols with the bases loaded in a one-run game in the seventh. This is it, Ed. This is so depressing.
To be fair I think they just saw what we did without Puma for two of the three games vs the Cards...but Id say a bad next week could be killer for this team still it was hard to see him run on Monday...
Edwin Maysonet has been terrible in Round Rock since going back there. Hitting .154 with a .436 OPS in July. Hopefully he does better coming back here but I doubt he gets any time other than pinch running.
I'm all for making the team better, but not at the expense of our still depleted farm. So if the team did make a play for someone, whether it's Halladay or some other pitcher that helps to improve the rotation, I'd be fine with it if they had a great shot (and planned on) resigning him. And again, I said I wouldn't mind trading for a Wolf-esque pitcher if the team were to trade away prospects that just didn't figure into their long-term plans....much like the Qualls, Gutierrez and Burke trade for Valverde. One player can help improve the club for sure, but to be the sole difference maker between a .500 team and a contender...that's a stretch. Halladay may be the lone exception, but his price tag may be just too high, especially if we give away all our top prospects for him and up losing him a year and a half from now. I just don't want to see the team making the same mistakes again.
Look at who was pitching. You can win a game with a lineup of mostly us, if you have Wandy or Roy on the mound. Unfortunately, the Astros have to stay in the race with three other guys pitching, too.
Maybe that is the reason they gave him a couple of days off. We had Wandy and Roy, both going at home, then a day off today. Might've been different if this was not so...
usually i cheer for pitchers for this feat, considering this the best feat for a pitcher to accomplish.....but I can't find myself rooting for anyone who contributed to....the sweep.....
Buehrle is on my fantasy team. We have a category for no-hitters AND perfect games. I was already in first, now I'm crushing the opposition.
I have no problem with giving him a couple of days off, especially with those guys pitching. I have no problem giving him Friday off as well, considering it's a lefty (Santana) pitching. I do have a problem giving him 15 days (really, 3 weeks, he's basically been a PH-only for a week), when he says he can play and doctors said the injury required about 2-3 days off. That seems excessively conservative.
This is the thing though, if you saw him run Monday, you could tell he was struggling a little bit. So now, would you rather have Lance, who'd be such a huuuge liability on the base paths (as if we dont have enuf of those already), or would you rather have a healthy fil in? I dont think you're advocating that Lance is just resting I hope. He knows the significance of this series. Not only that, but he does not seem the type who'd take days off he did not need, even if management told him to.
I don't care if Lance runs as a speed that makes Humberto Quintero look like Usain Bolt -- I still want him out there. And I'm not advocating that Lance is just resting -- he's an incredibly dedicated guy who I think the world of. He played Monday, and he said he was ready to go Tuesday, until the doctors pulled him. This is entirely a management decision -- he can't go out there and play if Cooper doesn't put his name on the card.
Why is Ed Wade is trying to sabotage the season!? Berkman played a nice roll last night. Shouldn't he be ready to go in Chicago and St. Louis next week?
For some reason I have a hard time believing that Lance would allow even management to make that decision for him. He's very outspoken if he doesn't get his way. I'm thinkin that he actually thinks he should rest it out. Maybe i'm wrong....
I'm glad someone came out and said it, we all know Ed Wade is working against the team, freaking hate that guy!
Jeebus if the tables were turned and you were at an epic Indians game, would you really ask them if they wanted to leave? I was at this game and you would have literally had to drag me out of there, I mean who wouldn't want to watch Clemens play first base?
that is very true. if lance disagreed with their decsion, we certainly would've heard about it by now.
