Tagged: Lance Berkman
Leaving Arlington
These have been some very good days to keep an eye on your Astros, haven’t they? Many things are floating around our heads after this final game against the Rangers:
– It looks like the Rangers will always pound the Astros no matter what. It was different today, though. It was to be expected to see one or two losses in a row for the ‘Stros after this latest roll. We don’t think losing will become a new pattern in the near future.
– Lance Berkman, Lance Berkman, Lance Berkman. He finished this game very near the .400 mark (just one tiny point). This run by the Houston first baseman has been unbelievable. He has always been a top-notch ballplayer, but what he’s done these past few days defies description. It’s a 17-game hitting streak now, folks. You’ll see something we wrote on him very soon at Cronicas de los Astros, the Spanish-language official magazine.
– We hope Roy Oswalt’s pain is not an indication of anything too big. Oswalt has been a factor of stability among a very shaky starting rotation. And there are a few days left for Wandy’s return.
– José Valverde has picked up the pace. Thank God. This team is not Berkman alone, they have “a truck full of lumber” as they say where I come from. But the pitching is always a reason for concern.
– Some interesting series we have coming up. Astros, Cubs, a division rivalry, Berkman on fire. What else can you ask for? The Juicebox should be packed.
Berkman NL Player of the Week
Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros has been named Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week for the period ending April 27th. Bank of America, the Official Bank of Major League Baseball, is the presenting sponsor of the National League and American League Player of the Week Awards, which reflect Bank of America’s long-standing tradition of promoting and recognizing higher standards of accomplishment.
Berkman led the National League with 12 RBI and a 1.136 slugging percentage and tied for the N.L. lead with four home runs and 25 total bases. The 32-year-old first baseman hit .455 (10-22), including one double and one triple, and recorded a .517 on-base percentage. On April 24th at Cincinnati, the four-time All-Star went 3-for-3, including a three-run home run and a double. The home run was the 18th of his career at Great American Ball Park, giving him the most for any opposing player at the park since its 2003 opening. The Rice University product hit two homers against St. Louis on Saturday. Lance recorded three multi-hit games and four multi-RBI games and hit safely in six of seven games en route to capturing his third career weekly award.
Other nominees this past week included Berkman’s teammate Miguel Tejada (.414, 1 HR, 7 RBI); Washington’s John Lannan (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 SO); Arizona’s Brandon Webb (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 12 SO); Colorado’s Garrett Atkins (.344, 3 HR, 9 RBI); Philadelphia’s Pat Burrell (.375, 2 HR, 8 RBI), Chase Utley (.379, 2 HR, 4 RBI) and Jayson Werth (.323, 4 HR, 7 RBI); Cincinnati’s Edwin Encarnacion (.357, 2 HR, 3 RBI), Brandon Phillips (.321, 4 HR, 8 RBI) and Edinson Volquez (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 17 SO); James Loney (.300, 8 RBI), Russell Martin (.524, 3 2B, 3 RBI) and Brad Penny (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 6 SO) of the Dodgers; Aramis Ramirez (.296, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and Carlos Zambrano (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 9 SO) of the Cubs; Florida’s Hanley Ramirez (.273, 3 HR, 4 RBI), Dan Uggla (.393, 4 RBI) and Josh Willingham (.458, 2 HR, 7 RBI); Pittsburgh’s Xavier Nady (.296, 4 2B, 8 RBI) and Paul Maholm (2-0, 1.20 ERA, 8 SO); Albert Pujols (.455, 6 RBI) and Adam Wainwright (1-0, 2.81 ERA, 12 SO) of the Cardinals; Atlanta’s Matt Diaz (.391, 3 RBI); Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder (.304, 3 HR, 7 RBI); Luis Castillo (.429, 2 RBI) of the Mets; San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez (.296, 2 HR, 8 RBI); and San Francisco’s Fred Lewis (.393, 2 HR, 5 RBI).
Tourneau, the world’s largest watch store, will award Lance Berkman with a luxury Swiss Timepiece, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishments as Bank of America Presents the National League Player of the Week.
Welcome home
We’ve heard a lot about the Astros’ initial woes. That’s our topic for a feature at astrosdehouston.com, the official Spanish-language website of your Houston Astros. For those of you already swearing to tune in to Grey’s Anatomy or whatever else is on TV, I have a message for you:
Don’t panic yet. There’s a very long way to go.
In fact, this isn’t the Houston team that was destined for the cellars last year; not even the 2005 team which rode all the way to the World Series, with pitching so good they could bear a lack of hitting so bad I wouldn’t even want to think about it again. And they were NL champs with that.
You can see all Astros starters have had at least very decent outings. Some even could be considered brilliant. That was the case tonight. Wandy Rodriguez was again at home, and you could feel it. Heck, he has even pitched great on the road.
7.1 solid innings, and he had his teammates’ support to back him up this time. Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and J.R. Towles went yard. All Astros runs were scored courtesy of the good old homerun.
Jose Valverde’s missteps were erased with a Miguel Tejada walkoff homer. Yes, you read that right. The Dominican-born player couldn’t have dreamt with a better welcome to Minute Maid Park, turning the tables for good against the Cardinals.
Fans can’t say they didn’t get their money’s worth tonight. It was a very entertaining ballgame to watch, defined in the most dramatic way possible. They have not won the World Series, very far from it. They’re celebrating their season is starting to show different shades and colors, instead of gray.
The Space Race 