or, What Happened in St. Louis While I was Mowing the Lawn |
Top 5 Astros | Bottom 4 Astros | Top 3 Cardinals | |||
Score | Score | Score | |||
Berkman | 0.100 | Everett | -0.062 | Walker | 0.282 |
Burke | 0.037 | Taveras | -0.095 | Marquis | 0.244 |
Burns | 0.034 | Ausmus | -0.145 | Pujols | 0.115 |
Ensberg | 0.030 | Oswalt | -0.357 | ||
Vizcaino | 0.023 |
Looks to me like that wacky WPA machine is being a little harsh on Oswalt. Yeah, he gave up a huge three-run homer, but he also gave up no runs in five of six innings, and struck out four while only walking one. Plus, you gotta cut him sme slack coz he got hit by a pitch and had to spend a half-inning--the half-inning before the Cards did all their damage--on first base while the Astros were flailing uselessly away at Marquis . . .
Looks like if either Everett had been able to drive Lane home from second in the initial frame, or if Ensberg hadn't GIDPed to ruin what Biggio and Berkman had started in the third, or even if Ausmus hadn't hit into the twin killing in the seventh to nullify the Burke single, things might have ended up a little more happily.
You know, I was thinking this last night, and it's not news, but man, we need a hitter, and maybe even Millar'll do. We jump from our number four hitter to a number six without a five in between. It's no secret Lane's low BA with the modicum of power look like the numbers of a halfway decent six hitter. But where's the five guy? If an opposing pitcher can work through the top of the order without Berkman or Ensberg scoring, he's in real good shape, even if he's still got one of the two out on the paths. Yes, this is something of an indictment of Lane, but it's also just an acknowledgement of where we stand. The difference between this club as it stands now (and we're in pretty good shape, actually) and where we could be if we brought somebody in who could hit .275 with some power is big. And Lane would look a bit better one slot down.