Can someone tell me why the Yankees picked up Doug Mientkiecz? We got a 32 year old baseman that just had back surgery when we have Andy Phillips and Josh Phelps. Josh is batting .435 in the Grapefruit league and they are already saying that it's going to be Senor Alphabet at first. Since when is .076 better than .435? Yankees management has said while Doug is batting in the 9th spot they are still hoping to get a better offensive performance in the regular season. Yeah you think. Pitchers in the NL hit with more consistency than this guy. As I said last year I was hoping that my PinStripers would delve a little deeper in their farm system than picking up a broken down 1B from the Royals.
And then there was the Astros. Because I live in H-Town I've been following this team closely and one thing is for certain. If you aren't 29 years old than you aren't old enough for the big leagues. You'd think that a team with such a dismal offense last year that they would be willing to try anything to get going. They picked up Carlos Lee in the offseason which was something that Lance Berkman needed. I'm sure his back is killing him after carrying the team all last season and the season before. In right field they have the same exact deal as the Yankees at first base. In the Red Corner we have Luke Scott, who put on a hitting clinic at the end of last season and has a bright future ahead of him in the big leagues. He is batting .286 with a slugging percentage of .571 and a OBP if .359. In the Blue Corner we have Hunter Pence who is rated as one of the top 50 prospects in the country right now and he is batting .571 with a slugging percentage of 1.071 and a OBP of .647. Finally in the dumb corner we have Jason Lane who has not amounted to much in the majors and is batting .286 slugging .714 and a OBP of .333. Phil Garner has already said that his opening day roster will not have Hunter Pence's name on it. Phil I think we need to do a quick math class okay. Hunter Pence is almost double the other guys stats and he doesn't get a spot on the roster? Jason Lane batted .201 last season while Scott batted .336. I think I'm going to be sick. Looks like another season of mediocre baseball. Let's look at the Astros lineup.
1. Chris Burke CF-Good speed, great charisma, and seems to make big plays. Can hit decent for the first spot. Not much of an arm but can cover ground pretty quick.
2Craig Biggio 2B-Astros legend. 70 hits from 3000. That is the only reason he is in the lineup. I love you bud but I like rings better and you seem to fall apart in the second half
3.Lance Berkman 1B- Big Puma...enough said. (It's a Houston thing you wouldn't understand)
4.Carlos Lee LF-Can mash the ball just has a hard time carrying all that weight. Don't worry Carlos if the ball is hit your way it's ending up in the Crawford Boxes anyway.
This is where it gets real scary
5. Jason Lane/Luke Scott RF-If Luke is playing we have a viable chance at getting some guys on base after the 4th spot which is something the Astros haven't done in about 2 years. You know how I feel about Lane.
6. Morgan Ensberg 3B- Mo really hasn't hit in two years and he still has not figured out how to stand in the batters box.
7.Adam Everrett SS- Touted as one of the best defensive shorts in baseball. Loved by his teammates. But couldn't hit Paris Hilton with John Holmes's ####.(that was for Shooter)
8.Brad Ausmus C- An even worse hitter than Everett, if that is even possible, but knows how to help pitchers battle and is still pretty good defensively.
9.Pitcher- And we don't have Dontrelle so there goes that idea of offense.
Offensively it's better than the previous year but I think Lane has got to go.
Pitching is getting pretty nerve racking. Brad Lidge can still see Pujols' homerun hitting off the glass at Minute Maid. (Which is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.) I think he is toast so we really don't have the Closer situation set.Oh did I mention his ERA for the spring is 13.50. And our 4th starter is Wandy Rodriguez who I can't get behind because when he is off he is way off.
Roger I could use you on either one of my squads. Look forward to seeing you this summer.
I guess you are referring to Roger? Look RedSox fan just because everyone leaves your #### team for greatness doesn't mean you have to be bitter about it.
First, I sincerely appreciate the reference on the Paris Hilton line. Nice work...
Almost makes me regret the Andy Pettitte line. But probably not enough to take it down.
Big Puma...actually, I know that one. The nickname that Berkman gave to himself, I dunno...for his "catlike reflexes". That is too funny...
I don't think Lidge will recover. Which is bad, because he was very dominant at one time. No he's turning into a right-handed John Rocker. Without the racial slurs.
Still a chance for the Astros, as no Central team is perfect. Counting on a Cy Young-type of year from Oswalt. His numbers are amazing considering the hitter's park he pitches in most of the time.
no not roger, dougie, he stole the world series ball. fat roger is a whole other ball of wax. he left your #### team too. shooter..i think lidge is a candidate for comeback player of the year.
Last edited by JoshQPublic on March 20th at 1:02 PM.
Hey Sofa. You can look at Doug's numbers 1 of 2 ways. 1) he hits safely 7.6% of the time. 2) 92.4% of the time his at-bat favors the pitcher. Neither is wanting.
Not only does Lane need to go, but so does Ensberg. In fact, I would go "Major League" on the bottom half of the lineup. Just hold a tryout.
Thanks for the comments. Josh it is in my best interest to harass the RedSox nation. Don't take it personal.
Shooter-You know about the Puma is awesome. That guy is one of the best personalities on the team. He gives the morning show guys so many soundbites it's freakin' priceless. Roy O better wakeup seeing how he can't pitch himself out of a wet papersack at the present. Lidge is done. I said it last year and I'll say it again. They should have traded him last year while his stock was still high.
LSU-I wouldn't go as far as open tryouts but take the best guy for the team regardless of age.
Gangreen-The dude just got his second hit in 26 ABs. Baseball is unpredictable but Dougie has got a very little chance at being a top producer. He might be better defensively but I don't think by much over Phelps and Phillips.
Roy is usually pretty good in the Spring...and he's not quite there yet. He's still striking people out though, and I think he only has one walk so far in Spring Training. ERA is up a little, but nothing catastrophic. He should be just fine.
Berkman does seem like a neat dude. A little sense of humor about himself is great. One of the more consistently steady players in the MLB.
Josh-That was a joke right about comeback player of the year? He is still telling his pitches and getting blasted. I see him losing his closer role this season. Hopefully before he blows 100 saves.
One thing Doug Mientkiwicz (or however the hell you spell it...doesn't look anything like Mint-kay-vich) does bring to the fold is an excellent glove at first. He is the best defensive first baseman in the game, period.
That said, Doug hits like...well, there's no fair comparison because Doug doesn't hit. His offensive deficiencies make him a role player/specialist type. He should be limited to a late-inning defensive substitute role, with an occaisional start in the field with a ground ball pitcher on the mound. Beyond that, he needs to be kept out of the lineup.
Last edited by The_Return_of_Manrub on March 20th at 4:10 PM.
You mean to tell me that you'd trade away all offense for a great defensive glove PF. I'll take two guys that have a pretty good bat and a pretty good glove.
Doug Mientkiewicz and Richie Sexson are apparently first base twins this ST, though Richie is finally hitting somewhere in the neighborhood of .100, though still well below the Mendoza line (but he can be expected to improve before too much longer, too, since he is striking out a lot less this year). All told, though, Broussard is hitting better than Richie is, so maybe they should let him play 1B more this year...
