Berkman played pitching coach for Oswalt on Friday.
“He asked me if I would stand in,” Berkman said of their session. “That shows a lot of intelligence on his part. When you’re scuffling, you try to get a fresh perspective. I’m honored that he thought I might be able to pick up on something.”
“He just wanted me to look and see if anything was different,” Berkman said. “After standing in there, I told him, ‘Look, your stuff is awesome. Don’t reinvent the wheel. You don’t have to come up with some new breaking pitch. Just go with what you’ve won over 100 games with and become the winningest pitcher since you’ve been in the big leagues with.”
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So he’s fixed Roy, didn’t even need jumper cables, now he explains the Puma Hitting Philosophy
“You know, to be honest with you, the only at-bats I ever think about are the at-bats I have with runners in scoring position,” he said last week when the Astros were in Pittsburgh. “I don’t want it to sound bad, but I honestly could care less about hitting with nobody on base. If I get a hit, that’s great. If I hit a double or something, a solo home run, that helps us. But, really, the ones I grind over are the at-bats with runners on base and particularly with a chance to drive in a run.”
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“I see the ball incredibly well right now,” he says. “(he says he’s) identifying the pitch as soon as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, and that’s the key. You’re not fooled by off-speed stuff, and you don’t have to cheat to get to the fastball because you’re right on it, too.”
“Every time I step into the box, the game slows down.”
“I hit by feel,” Berkman says. “I knew what I was doing wrong last year, and I know what I’m doing right this year. This is not rocket science.”
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Rehab status on Paulino
Felipe Paulino is headed to Houston, where he’ll begin a rehab-and-conditioning program with the club’s athletic training staff.
Because extended Spring Training is over, the Astros, following the guidelines of the basic agreement, had to either send Paulino home or have him continue to rehab with the Major League club in Houston.
Wade said. “(Dr Litner) said it’s not a surgical issue. It’s a case of getting whatever nerve signal or strength you need to get before you can be cleared to go ahead and pitch.”
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Wigginton confused?
Cooper (said) that he met with several players while the team was in Pittsburgh last week to tell them he may start some of the bench players more. (such as Blum)
“I don’t know anything about it,” Wigginton said. “As far as I know, I’m playing every day and that’s it. I was kind of surprised I wasn’t in there today, with the off-day yesterday. I felt like I swung the bat well lately and played good [defense].”
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