I'm a Burke man, myself. I believe he will be the best MLer of all the Astros' one-year or less players*, Lane/Zeke/Wandy/Burns/Burkett/HQ -- except for that ROY center fielder. *One full season of ML experience, April - Sept.
It's not too early to give up on him in LF. He might have a good career as a middle infielder, but it's ridiculous to put someone with his lack of power in a corner outfield position.
We all saw the answer for Chris Burke yesterday. Hit him 3rd in the batting order. The best way to see if a Major Leaguer can hit is to hit them right before a stud like Lance Berkman. You know they will get good pitches to hit. Burke did yesterday, and he responded in kind.
I've always maintained that Burke is a better top of the order hitter because he has a better approach (or a more learned approach) when he knows he's going to see pitches to hit. He looks lost at the bottom of the order... which can happen to guys who have never spent much time there in their careers (Burke has been a top of the order guy likely since grade school). But, in this lineup, he'll have to learn... I don't see him supplanting Biggio in the #2 slot.
For August, Burke now has an OPS around 0.850 - still low average, but lots of power. 8 extra base hits out of 11 total hits (4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HRs). Maybe giving him all this playing time and not trading for some mediocre bat just for the sake of making a trade might actually turn out OK and help us in the end....
who'd have thunk it?? i find myself drawn to rooting for players that others are doubting. i was not a burke fan...but the more i've seen people here pile on...the more i find myself defending him and rooting for him. he's quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Ditto. As an Astro fan, it helps that there's a vocal group of people who love to bash the players rather than enjoy the playoff race we're in. That makes me root even harder for players like Burke, Everett and Ausmus.
I have always like Burke, all he needs is confidence and maybe we have another Ensberg on our hands.....maybe not for power, but a markedly improved player. GO BURKE ! DD
I've enjoyed his play since AA. I expect him to develop into a solid doubles guy, good BA for a 2nd baseman, and in the mid-teens in homers. His "problem" is that he's playing at a traditional power position instead of at his normal position.
Well I hope I am wrong but I do not think Burke will ever be anything more than an average player. The knock on him is that his swing was slow. he cheats a little and gets started earlier but that does not work against real major league pitchers. every time he faces a scrub pitcher he shows good plate judgement and does well. When he faces better pitching he struggles. While that can be said for most players he still is so hot and cold. He has been stroking the ball very good over the last 7 days or so but has only managed a .235 BA with a OBA of .322 overall in the month of august. That is not very good. I hope he pans out because the Astros need him to step up right now, not in the future.
Dennis...come on...Ausmus has had a great career with a slow swing....I mean......well.......never mind.
You know, I'd like to see Burke hit 6th more. He's been hitting 7th or 8th for most of the season and you just don't see a lot of quality pitches down there. I don't think he'll ever hit well enough to be a corner outfielder, but at the same time, I believe that he's better than his stats indicate. It's hard for a young player to produce that far down in the order.
