This is what happenes when you let fans vote (multiple times). At least it's not like the AL where it's 95% Yanks/Sox and where Ortiz is leading 1st base.
If Chris Burke stays healthy, he has a chance to be the third best hitter in this lineup (after Berkman and Ensberg, and just ahead of Biggio). He's showed great patience at the plate, he swings/hits the ball hard whenever he makes contact, and he shows the XBH/HR potential that the club needed Willy T to have. Then again, Richard Justice has already proclaimed him, along with Clemens, as the most likely Astros to be the team's MVP by the end of the season... so he may be f***ed already.
Once Lane is put into a position in the lineup where he gets some good looks, he seems to do some damage.
Or theoretically... even if he continues to hit .200, but draws the same number of walks, he'll help the team much more by hitting in front of Berkman/Ensberg than he would hitting at the bottom of the lineup. But, since he is going to get more pitches to hit in a better spot in the lineup, he'll draw less walks, but he won't only be hitting .200.
Aww...too bad Lane didn't get the green light. Since the ball got by the catcher. Stros looking good today. Still bases loaded and no outs. 3-0 Good Guys.
Lets go EB... Brad needs a pick-me-up. EDIT: Well, the good news about not getting a "knock-out" hit, is that Marshall gets to stay in the game...
Could have something to do with the fact that he's hitting .358 with a 1.000+ OPS playing in Dodger stadium. Dude is an offensive beast. I said in the offseason thread we should have signed him, but we got Preston Wilson for a similar price.
Nomar's legit... but he still has to prove that he can stay healthy over an entire season. I do, however, admire the way he's came back strong... there was some suspicion that he could have been a "juicer", giving his sudden drop-off in production and injury problems.
I guess I pumped up Burke with my early-game praising of him... he's simply a home-run hitting, bunt-singling, base-stealing, on base percentage machine.
As far as I can tell, he's the new permanent everyday CF, unless he gets injured, or other guys get injured (and they have to shuffle him to another position). The only question at this point should be whether he bats 2nd, 3rd, or 6th on any given day. And even when Burke isn't playing, the club has had Lane in CF... and we also know that Wilson can play there. Which makes me wonder if Willy is simply now a late-inning pinch-runner/defensive replacement (which can be valuable on a contending team... see Dave Roberts). BTW... Nevin is a big waste of talent... he could have been one of the greats, but he never seemed committed to attempting to be the best.
Curious move by Garner bringing Lidge in with an 8 run lead especially with Oswalt-Maddux tomorrow night.
Come on Lidge. Please finish this one. 3 hits in a row for the Cubbies. Thankgod this game isn't close.
He hasn't pitched since last Thursday... giving a closer 4 days off is almost as bad as pitching him 4 days in a row.
