Vindicated -- and other business

Alright, this is a rather multi-faceted post, but we promise that it will leave you satisfied.

First and foremost, Vindicated:

After singing his praises for two weeks, Chris Sampson gave the Dome Doggers reason to cheer on Tuesday, pitching five solid innings and recording the win in a 8-7 win over Cleveland. He allowed three hits and a run over those five innings, while pitching the kind of efficient baseball that is needed to fill out the backend of the rotation. Of his 61 pitches thrown, 38 were for strikes, resulting in seven ground ball and only four fly ball outs. Chad Qualls continued a strong spring pitching a perfect sixth inning. On the same day former ‘Stro Wade Miller was named the Cubs fifth starter, Phil Garner has remained mum on the subject of who will fill out the Astros starting rotation. However, retiring 10 straight Indians at one point Tuesday could not have hurt his cause.

This glorious news (well glorious if you aren't Wandy or Matt Albers) was also accompanied by an interesting line-up which leads to the next section...

Shufflin' Around

the batting order for the game on Tuesday? It looked a little different than the one that Astros fans have come to expect from Phil Garner:

1. Biggio
2. Ensberg
3. Berkman
4. Lee
5. Scott
6. Burke
7. Everett
8. Ausmus

I for one am in favor of a lineup like this. Morgan Ensberg may not be the hitter for average like Chris Burke can be, but his .398 batting average last year was astounding, considering he hit a paltry .235. Lance has always wanted a .400 OBP guy to hit in front of him, and now he may get that chance. Couple that with having some much needed protection behind him, and the effect on the Astros offense may be significant. Also, I wouldn’t worry about having Chris Burke bat in the six hole either. His fairly high OBP of .347 bodes well for getting on consistently enough to have the turnstiles move at the bottom of the lineup. As we have all come to know, the 7-8-9 hitters on this team have been cakewalks for pitchers in the recent past. Now, with Burke hitting in front of them, they at least have a chance to do some damage, while also using the tools that they excel at (situational hitting, bunting).

In the spirit of projected lineups, we have prepared our 25 man rosters too:

C- Brad Ausmus
C- Humberto Quintero
1B- Lance Berkman
2B- Craig Biggio
2B- Mark Loretta
3B- Morgan Ensberg
3B- Mike Lamb
SS- Adamn Everett
LF- Carlos Lee
CF- Chris Burke
CF- Orlando Palmerio
RF- Luke Scott
RF- Jason Lane

SP- Roy Oswalt
SP- Jason Jennings
SP- Woody Williams
SP- Fernado Nieve
SP- Wandy Rodriguez
SP- Matt Albers
RP- Chris Sampson
RP- Dave Borkowski
RP- Trevor Miller
RP- Chad Qualls
RP- Dan Wheeler
RP- Brad Lidge

25 Man Roster (with 11 pitchers)

C- Brad Ausmus
C- Humberto Quintero
1B- Lance Berkman
2B- Craig Biggio
2B- Mark Loretta
3B- Morgan Ensberg
3B- Mike Lamb
SS- Adamn Everett
SS- Eric Bruntlett
LF- Carlos Lee
CF- Chris Burke
CF- Orlando Palmerio
RF- Luke Scott
RF- Jason Lane

SP- Roy Oswalt
SP- Jason Jennings
SP- Woody Williams
SP- Fernado Nieve
SP- Matt Albers
RP- Chris Sampson
RP- Dave Borkowski
RP- Trevor Miller
RP- Chad Qualls
RP- Dan Wheeler
RP- Brad Lidge

Phil said that the 11 man pitching staff is a real possibility to start the season. The pitchers can be rotated around a first with options up and down – i.e. last season. This would keep them getting plenty of inning, but would put some hurt on Roy O et. al to take less time off early in the season, which could be detrimental. Also, there is no sense to hold onto Bruntlett if we have Loretta. Of course the omission of Wandy is our fervent hope and dream, but it's our blog and we do what we want.

Finally, we need to tie up some loose ends and continue our road trippin':

After careful deliberation, it has been determined that for the sake of timeliness, we are not going to write previews for every single MLB team. Instead, we thought it would be more prudent to ask the three most important questions for each team. It’s more concise, efficient, and if you don’t agree that it’s either of these things, tear into us for it (through the medium of comments…not with axes).

AL East Continued:

Boston Red Sox:

2006 Record: 86-76

-How will Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett react to frustrating years in 2006?

-With mainstay (and Southwestern University Alumnus) Mike Timlin starting the season on the disabled list, can Joel Pinero and Brendan Donnelly hold down the bullpen until his return?

-How will new additions J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo and rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia react to playing in the AL East?

Baltimore Orioles:

2006 Record: 70-92

-Will their much improved bullpen (they added Danys Baez and Chad Bradford) be able to counteract their troubling mix of age (Steve Trachsel and Jaret Wright) and youth (Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera) of their starting staff?

-Can Aubrey Huff offer the lineup protection from the five spot that Miguel Tejada and Nick Markakis need in order for this team to contend?

-This team needs repeat good seasons from CF Corey Patterson, and C Ramon Hernandez. Is that in the cards?

Tampa Bay Devil Rays:

2006 Record: 61-101

-In his third full season in the majors, can Cy-Falls product Scott Kazmir stay healthy enough to fulfill his billing as one of baseball’s top young arms?

-Will the next generation of Devil Ray outfielders- Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and rookie Delmon Young turn into the type of 1-2-3 hitters that this hapless franchise can build around?

-The team did little to nothing to improve one of baseball’s worst bullpens. Despite the emergence of James Shields as a viable second starter, how much will lack of bullpen depth hurt this team’s chances?

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