» Lance Berkman

What a bad time to get super busy at work! Lots to blog about, especially Lance Berkman.

Berkman has a biceps injury that has kept him out of Spring Training all week. He hit off a tee a few days ago, and took some batting practice yesterday, so that is a good sign. Lance was also able to do some light throwing. Berkman is done for the spring, and I don’t think he will start the first few games of the season. The Astros need to be very careful with this injury, if we lose Berkman our season is done before it even began. I’d rather see a patient appraochand not risk anything.

In other news, Astros traded a player to be named later for the Reds Jeff Keppinger. Keppinger can play 2B, SS, and 3B, so he is another utility infield player for the Astros. This move makes sense since Aaron Boone is out for the season following successful open heart surgery, but I can’t help but note that Ty Wigginton would have been the perfect solution and if we kept him we wouldn’t be in such a dire position power wise.

Finally, with the start of the season so close, check out my fantasy baseball blog. I’m going through final rosters of my teams before the big day!

Not much going on in Astro land it seems, so I thought I would highlight some key players and how they are doing in Spring Training

Michael Bourn has 5 stolen bases through 37 at bats…very impressive, but he is only batting .189! Seems every time he gets on he is good for a stolen base, he just doesn’t get base often enough, and that worries me a lot. I’ve griped about Bourn before though.

Hunter Pence is showing shades of his brilliant rookie season of 2007. He is one of only six Astros to hit a home run in ST (YIKES!!), and the only one to hit two. Throw in a stolen base and a .270 average through 37 at bats and you have a very fine young player. Hunter Pence is going to be exciting again this year. He does have 8 strikeouts though, which is a little bothersome

Lance Berkman is being Lance Berkman. More walks than strikeouts and a .316 average in 19 at bats. Nothing to worry about her folks, the Puma is in good form.

There is something to worry about in Carlos Lee however. The all star slugger is hitting on .067. He also only hit .143 in the WBC. Carlos needs to turn it around fast or the Astros are in for an even tougher 2009.

Miguel Tejada had a home run in both ST and the WBC, and is batting .300 in spring games. Miggy looks primed for a much better 2009 campaign and can greatly help this Houston lineup.

And as a final note, if anyone plays Fantasy Baseball be sure to check out my blog http://myfantasysports.blogspot.com/. It isn’t your typical fantasy sports and news blog or my personal player projections, but rather a look at how I draft and manage teams throughout the season.