Morgan Ensberg, Master of the Obvious

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Gee Mo, did you think no one else noticed?

Return to form: Ensberg felt right at home in his first game back in nearly a month on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a single and double. He also scored the only run in the Astros' 1-0 win over the Padres.

Ensberg did not make a single throw from his third-base position, but he said his shoulder felt fine during his at-bats.

"I think what you saw yesterday was what it [was] when I went down to the rehab assignment," he said. "You saw what my traditional swing is, what my normal swing is -- very aggressive and pretty big. If you were to look at film in the six weeks I was hurt, those swings didn't look anywhere near each other."

 astros.com article

scroll down a bit..

[Fredia]

another thing he failed to mention was his dear in the headlight look is pretty much gone. and as for mr obbious whay does he think he had to do the rehab assignment in the first place

[JGrave]

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another thing he failed to mention was his dear in the headlight look is pretty much gone. and as for mr obbious whay does he think he had to do the rehab assignment in the first place

wow!

[Taras Bulba]

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another thing he failed to mention was his dear in the headlight look is pretty much gone. and as for mr obbious whay does he think he had to do the rehab assignment in the first place

My dear typically likes the headlights off.

[Alkie]

Well, THAT was obbious.

[mihoba]

Whay was that obbious?

Mo looks like he's going to grind his bat to sawdust before every pitch. Whatever works.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Well, I will say I'm glad to see the aggressive swings.  However, did he have the Nomar-esque tendencies with the batting gloves before the injury?  Man, I had forgotten how annoying his pre-swing routine could be.  That, and he looks like he's on speed.  When did he become so jittery?  Maybe I was not paying attention before.

I shouldn't complain.  As long as he's hitting and being aggressive, he could do a dance routine in between pitches for all I care.

[VirtualBob]

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Well, ... did he have the Nomar-esque tendencies with the batting gloves before the injury?  Man, I had forgotten how annoying his pre-swing routine could be.  

He's had that since at least his first season in RR.  Annoying, but the results are often worth the wait (as long as he is not in injury denial).

[Alkie]

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That, and he looks like he's on speed.

That's what I said last night.  And I wasn't saying it in a funny way.

Mo looks amped to the gills.

[jeffrey]

I'm curious as to why experienced players, such as Ensberg for example,  effectively deny an injury by quietly playing through pain when they are of little help to the team (offensively in this case).  I assume it's due in large part to pride, but I wonder if established players still have that slight fear of replacement or the "this is my one shot at the bigs" type of attitude more often found in younger players.

In any case - jitters aside - it's great to see Mo healthy and back with the team.

[mihoba]

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That, and he looks like he's on speed.

That's what I said last night.  And I wasn't saying it in a funny way.

Mo looks amped to the gills.

That's what Backe looks like ALL the time, to me.

[Alkie]

That's what I said last night, and not in a funny way.

Brandon looks amped to the gills.

[Rebel Jew]

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That, and he looks like he's on speed.

That's what I said last night.  And I wasn't saying it in a funny way.

Mo looks amped to the gills.

I was thinking that too.  He looks real excited and jittery when he comes up, a different kind of excited from Backe, Sammy the Clown-like in a muted way.  It looked like it took a ton of restraint for him to take that walk in the 6th last night.

[Arky Vaughan]

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That, and he looks like he's on speed.

That's what I said last night.  And I wasn't saying it in a funny way.

Mo looks amped to the gills.

He and Backe must be sharing greenies in the clubhouse.

[Arky Vaughan]

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I was thinking that too.  He looks real excited and jittery when he comes up, a different kind of excited from Backe, Sammy the Clown-like in a muted way.  It looked like it took a ton of restraint for him to take that walk in the 6th last night.

Didn't Jimmy D. say that Backe looks like that even when he's just walking through the hotel lobby?

[Rebel Jew]

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I was thinking that too.  He looks real excited and jittery when he comes up, a different kind of excited from Backe, Sammy the Clown-like in a muted way.  It looked like it took a ton of restraint for him to take that walk in the 6th last night.

Didn't Jimmy D. say that Backe looks like that even when he's just walking through the hotel lobby?

I saw where Pravata recapped what happened during the trainers walk to the mound, but can anyone guess what Ausmus said when he went to the mound a few pitches before Walker's double in the 4th I think?  He said something 'funny' that seemed to take Backe by surprise, as though it was highly inappropriate for the occassion or something.  Whatever it was, it seemed to almost blow Backe's mind for a while.

[Golden Sombrero]

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That, and he looks like he's on speed.

That's what I said last night.  And I wasn't saying it in a funny way.

Mo looks amped to the gills.

That's what Backe looks like ALL the time, to me.

Yes, I too made the comment that Brandon and MoBerg looked like they did lines together before the game.