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Slugger's sizzling streak keys Astros' turnaround

Phil Rogers | On Baseball

May 18, 2008

Enter the usual suspects. The Houston Astros have joined the St. Louis Cardinals as surprise guests near the top of the National League Central.

Credit goes to Lance Berkman and a thunderous lineup, which will be challenged to overcome mediocre pitching if the Astros are to show staying power.

While teams such as Tampa Bay and Florida have gotten more headlines, the Astros entered the weekend having gone 18-6 since April 20. They had moved from six games below .500 to six above, averaging 5.9 runs per game during the turnaround.

This was the style of winning that first-year general manager Ed Wade envisioned when he added Miguel Tejada to a lineup that already included Carlos Lee and Berkman. But who could have pictured the way Berkman has hit?

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Entering the weekend, the 32-year-old first baseman was second in the majors with a .391 average and leading the majors in home runs (15), doubles (16) and slugging percentage. He had driven in 43 runs, more than anyone except Texas' Josh Hamilton (44).

But those rankings don't really show the scope of the havoc Berkman has wrought in the first seven weeks of the season.

Consider that his .808 slugging percentage entering the weekend was 103 points higher than the major-league runner-up, Chipper Jones. Consider that the last player to lead his league in home runs and doubles was Albert Belle in 1995, when he carried Cleveland to a 100-44 record in a strike-shortened season.

"We've been riding him pretty hard, and he has been responding," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "Just an outstanding performance so far this year."

Tejada, who won the American League MVP with Oakland in 2002, senses something special.

"Lance always is a great hitter," Tejada told the Houston Chronicle. "He's a great player. He's a guy who plays hard, who likes to play. I think Lance feels the same way I'm feeling. I think he's feeling this team has a chance to win. And the reason this team has a chance to win is because Carlos is here, I'm here and he's here."

Berkman has been a part of good Houston teams before, going to the playoffs three times and driving in six runs for the Astros in the 2005 World Series. He's a four-time All-Star, originally as an outfielder and most recently as a first baseman in 2006. But he has spent most of his career in the shadows behind other teammates, including Roger Clemens, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.

"It's not that [the ball] looks any bigger or easier," Berkman said. "I just feel like, mechanically, I'm in a good spot. I'm not really having to think about my swing when I go up to the plate. I'm just kind of seeing the ball and reacting to it."

Berkman had 16 hits in a stretch of 20 at-bats at one point. He says he has gotten more than his share of broken-bat hits, but it has been the ones he has hit on the fat part of the bat that have fueled his career-best production.

"Definitely, I've felt this good before in the big leagues," Berkman said. "… I don't think I've ever come up with this many hits in a short period of time, but I've certainly felt similar to this. When things are going well for you mechanically you feel in sync."

Cooper points out Berkman has been doing more than hitting. He has been making plays at first base and running the bases well for a big man, as he always has.

"He just has been the complete player," Cooper said. "We've ridden him, like I said, pretty hard."

The middle-of-the-order production from Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome has been the biggest key to the Cubs' impressive start. But the combined numbers of Lee, Ramirez and Fukudome (.310, 18 homers, 71 RBIs) look ordinary alongside those of Houston's trio of Tejada, Berkman and Lee (.340-29-103).

In the end, the Astros may not have the depth and the pitching to trade punches with the Cubs all summer. But it's going to be fun to watch Berkman & Co. try.

Hope floats

The Marlins' commitment to shortstop Hanley Ramirez and the Rays' latest-ever appearance in first place could help baseball's two weakest franchises sink deeper roots in Florida's loose soil. Stadium efforts in Miami and St. Petersburg have gained momentum that weren't foreseen a year ago.

The Marlins have a deal in place for a baseball-only facility near the Orange Bowl. They are worried a lawsuit former Philadelphia Eagles owner and South Florida resident Norman Braman has filed challenging public funding could delay it but didn't let that get in the way of paying Ramirez.

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Related topic galleries: Jeff Bagwell, All Stars, C.C. Sabathia, Houston Astros, National League, Lance Berkman, Aramis Ramirez

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