Want an all-out offensive lineup? C: Munson 1B: Berkman 2B: Lamb SS: Burke 3B: Huff LF: Palmeiro CF: Wilson RF: Scott We'd still lose, but boy howdy, we'd lose differently.
Berkman has significantly more power potential than Lamb, and one shot last night could've completely changed the tone of the game.
This is bs and this insn't justice for Roger...Yeah, I know berkman is out, but still, someone make a play... However, Roger knew of this coming into the season...
And he had a chance to do that. Popped up, like everybody else. He could have just as easily torn his groin as hit a homer, who the hell knows? We *do* know that the guy he would have replaced had 2 of their 6 hits. You're acting like this is some no-brainer that Berkman plays. Nobody else, on the broadcast or in print, seems to feel that way. Nor does Berkman. "You don't want it to be a long, drawn out process, and the next thing you know, you have to go on the [disabled list]," Berkman said. Also...OP's had all of 2 ABs against lhp this season, Bruntlett's had about 40, and is hitting .380 against them. '03-05 OPS vs LHP: OP - .444 Bruntlett - .808 Stros had their chances to win, poor fundamentals & a bit of luck put the kaibosh on that. Trying to pin this loss on Garner is a bit silly, dontchathink?
i don't wanna turn this into another AE thread....but i found it hilarious that after the 'stros put up a goose egg last night, all the guys on the morning show could talk about was AE at the plate.
Hey Cat, also thought about ya last night (scary, huh) during AE's squeeze attempt. Did you hear the "SQUEEZE" yelled out when the runner broke, see the catcher jump out of his crouch & the pitcher gun a shoulder-high fastball? They were looking for it. Good scouting & execution by the Reds. Contrast with the Stros inability to execute a rundown & field a sac bunt. Poor fundamentals piss me off to no end.
yep. justice talked about him not getting the bunt down and leaving a guy on 3B. never mind that the top of the lineup didn't drive anyone in. the guy in the 8 hole didn't, and that's your problem.
i'm being dead serious. i listened this morning for a long time because i was trapped in my car, unable to get to work and unable to get back home due to street flooding. justice said, "gotta get that bunt down" at least 3x. no mention of the fact that no one else drove in runs, either. including lance in a PH role.
Then Richard Justice doesn't know a damn thing about how to play baseball. The rest of AE's at-bat wasn't good, though. His bobble in the 7th didn't help either. But pinning that loss on any one player is ridiculous.
I think we need Lamb at first from now on. I love Biggio but I am beginning to wonder if he's getting tired. He's not the Biggio of yesteryear. I am going to have to go with Burke on 2nd. I like Huff on 3rd. I will miss Mo but I think he would be happy in Cali. I think Willy T should play center, Berkman should play RF and Bruntlett in LF. I feel so weird saying all of this but it's true. I wouldn't mind seeing Scott in LF either. Whoever is a faster runner in the outfield and on base.
You surely don't mean Orlando Palmeiro. You're talking about Rafael, right? Because Orlando is probably the worst offensive option we have right now. Not only does he not hit for power, have any speed, or play especially well on defense, he's in a terrible slump. If this lineup were anywhere near possible, I'd have Bruntlett in at CF and keep Wilson in LF. IMO, Palmeiro should be released when Morgan is back. Keep Luke up here. He's simply the better option.
Agreed. Hate that they gave him a 2-year deal, but that shouldn't be a hinderance to making a move. He was great last year, but has been next to worthless this one.
Seriously Buck, do you really expect a player, broadcaster or writer to call out Phil Garner? They all have legit reasons to follow the company line. I really doubt Lance is going to come out and blast his own manager in the press... that's simply not how things work in this clubhouse. Neither will the local media, or they risk losing sources. That's not how this town's media works. New York, yes, Houston, no. As for the Bruntlett/Palmeiro OPS numbers, I understand that Bruntlett is typically a better option against LHP. But many of those statistics were from platoon starts against mediocre, run of the mill lefties with Wandy Rodriguez-like stuff. It is my opinion that against elite pitchers, Palmeiro's approach and understanding of the strike zone gives us as good a chance as anyone on this team to reach base, even if it's against a left-hander. Upon further reflection, however, I do realize that it is very speculative on my part, so I apologize for being as hard on Garner as I was for that particular move (but not sitting Berkman). As for Lance popping up, that was one at-bat. He should've had four. Yes, I recognize that Lamb had two hits. I also recognize that a home run would've significantly altered the course and tone of the game, and we had our best hitter and one of the elite power threats in the game on the bench for a game that he himself said he was fit to play. Given how important it was, that irks me. However, I'll put it behind me and cheer them on tonight as much as ever. Hopefully this is the turnaround and we still take this series.
Keep Luke and Palmeiro both... demote Willy. Palmeiro's not really in a slump. It's simply the nature of a contact spray hitter. With non-power hitters, there will be some years where those hard-hit balls find gaps, and others where they're sprayed right at fielders. There's no home run threat to be the equalizer. I don't see Palmeiro as being in a slump or hitting any different than he did a year ago... it's just a little worse luck. It's the nature of his type of hitter. Releasing Palmeiro would be a terrible, terrible mistake, imo. He gives you more quality at-bats than almost anyone on the team. He can work counts, foul off bad pitches and often gets walks in situations where he has no business drawing them. And for a team that struggles so mightily to drive in runners from third with one out, Palmeiro's role is even more important. It's imperative given the nature of our hitters that we have a bat on the bench who can be relied upon to consistently make contact and come up with a sacrifice fly when the situation dictates it. You can't judge every player by numbers. Baseball's a flukish game like that, especially when you're a pinch-hitter with an incredibly small sample size. Sometimes you simply have to watch the quality of the at-bats, and Palmeiro gives us more than any player on this roster. Combine that with our desperate need for contact hitters (runner on third, 1 out situations), and he's a huge asset to this bench.
