Not to mention 3rd base as well. Remember 2006? Yeah, me too. Remember the woeful contributions of left field, third base and right field for pretty much the extent of the month of May and June and most of July? Argh, that was a painful three months. So Houston went out and acquired Aubrey Huff for some right field help last year, even though he eventually wound up helping more at third base. Then they called up Luke Scott to help in left field. They used Lance Berkman in right for some games and moved Mike Lamb to first base and then the offense fixed itself.
No more Preston Wilson.
No more Jason Lane.
No more Morgan Ensberg.
And Houston came within one game of winning the NL Central. Here is the thing, pitching and defense wins championships. Everyone was concerned with Houston making the playoffs because if you have Andy Pettitte, Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens starting most of the games, you have to concern yourself with your ability to score against those guys. But to get to the championship round, you needed some more oomph to the offense to make that push in August and September. By more oomph, of course, I mean more than being blanked or held to one run each and every night (or so it seemed). The problem then was the middle of the lineup. Not Adam Everett, not Brad Ausmus... but Wilson, Lane and Ensberg going in the tank. So Houston added Lamb, Scott and Huff to the lineup and it worked. Don't tell me that adding Huff, as per the stats, did nothing to the offense. It did. It made pitchers aware they needed to pitch to Luke Scott more.
And the kid delivered.
So fast forward to today. What is the situation this team is under right now? Left field problems? No. Third base problem? No, not really, they've addressed this pretty much and Lamb/Loretta are in. So still the struggles. Why? Well, a couple of things to consider.
Last year, Houston had some very nice production at the top of the lineup from Chris Burke... yes, the much maligned and oft criticized Burke (and quite fairly so I might add). But he was a darn good leadoff guy last year. Biggio was a much better #2 hitter and often dropped down to #6 to get him more fastballs to look at. His production last year was helped by Garner's machination with the lineup and the lack of fear of putting the elder statesman in a lower rung in the lineup for his own sake (and the sake of the team). Garner pretty much inserted Lamb into the #2 role last year and it paid some dividends for pretty much the two months he was in the lineup. The thing is, has Lamb/Loretta gotten the nod to be the #2 for a good long while?
I think so.
So the need to fix the leadoff is important right now. I know nothing is going to be done any time soon, the chase for 3K and all, blah, blah, blah. But my point is that while the chase is good and all, Houston just does not have a leadoff hitter to work into the mix right now. Chris Burke? I dunno any more. He is not looking to good in AAA. Sulking? I dunno, perhaps so. I saw one game at the Dell and while he was doing all the right things, his posture sure looked like a man who didn't feel he should be here in Round Rock. Call it a hunch, but I think he's not happy right now and it shows a little. Any way, on to other things to look at. Namely: right freaking field. This *was* the position I would've thought was the position in due time Hunter Pence would be called up to man. Like maybe a week or two from now. Except for a few small flashes of good work by Scott and Lane in a few games (both defense and offense), the corner position is not a position of strenght on this team. And it should be. I don't exactly know what is wrong with Scott and most certainly am dissappointed in Lane, but right now, neither looks like a major leaguer who deserves playing time in right field. I know Scott is the hot/cold player, he has that reputation, but man oh man, does he not realize that he has a great opportunity here to solidify a job for the next few years or what? I would think he'd have that position so strangle held right now, you'd have to pry it out of his cold dead hands before you could take the job from him. But it's turning out to be just the opposite. He's turning into jello right before our very eyes and that is strange to see. So you'd think that Lane would see his chance and take it. But he still has those nagging traits while swinging a baseball bat that create that huge hole in his swing and give pitchers that comfort of knowing it's the same old book on Lane as before, so no addedum needed this year.
So third base is not a problem, neither is the #2 hole in the lineup. Right field is a huge problem, but lookee here, the CF job by Pence is making everyone feel so good that they are not paying attention to the hole in right. Perhaps Pence should be moved to right? Seriously, maybe this should be a move to be explored soon? I think so. Houston needs to find a bonafided, middle of the lineup hitting CF at this point. Pence in right, new CF and Lee give Houston a better chance to score some runs. Lance Berkman's struggles this year in driving the ball are well known now. He just does not have the swing right now to drive a ball. Injury? I dunno, but he's swinging the bat like a player with a shoulder ouchy. Don't think the opposing pitchers don't know it either. They've challenged him more, and unless you're wearing a Redleg uni, beating him more too. Looks like what Berkman needs is time more than anything. But time has to come by way of production from others. Adam Everett? No, not him. Brad Ausmus? No, not him either. Luke Scott? Oh definitely him or someone else manning his position. Hunter Pence? He's a rookie and will hit the wall soon once the book is distributed. It is in final stages of printing now and will be three hole punched, shrink wrapped and sent out by end of this week. Carlos Lee? Yes and he's doing quite well thank you very much.
So the move that may be the most appropriate to make at this point is to really evaluate how much they think Luke Scott can actually contribute as a major leaguer. If the answer is "not much" (and they better figure that out soon), then they need to find an answer via the trade deadline for a legit CF who can hit. Move Pence to right, have a better defense up the middle and some one to hit in the middle of the lineup to give Berkman time to get his groove back on.
And then, pitching and defense will win the championships for sure. Last year, St. Louis decided to insert Chris Duncan into the lineup and move out Encarnacion. It helped. Houston might be facing the same situation soon with Luke Scott unless he turns it around soon and fulfills his promise shown last year.
