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Will Berkman be the Killer “B” Houston needs?
by George Salazar
It’s expected that Lance Berkman will make his season debut sometime this weekend for the Houston Astros. The 29-year old outfielder has been rehabbing a bad knee, even battling through setbacks along the way. In his absence, Houston has gotten off to a sub .500 start and has struggled at times to put runs up on a consistent basis. Berkman is a three-time all-star and will be counted on to lift the team up offensively. The Astros were only one game away from reaching the World Series last fall. After losing free agent Carlos Beltran in the offseason, Houston is banking heavily on Berkman to help them keep pace with the Cardinals once more.
With Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell on the decline, Berkman has become the club’s biggest weapon. His rehabbing stint in the minors on Wednesday with the Round Rock Express didn’t exactly go smoothly, as he was held hitless.
The Waco, Texas native has driven in 93 runs or more in four seasons and has a career batting average of .303. Personally, I think that without the presence of Beltran in their lineup, they don’t match up offensively with the Cards. Houston’s year to win it all was last season and they blew it. They’ll need a couple of 20-win seasons from the pitching staff to even have any shot at contending for a postseason spot.
