It just doesn’t seem possible, but somehow the New York Yankees have added more power to their already stacked batting lineup with the addition of Lance Berkman. Just to give you an idea of how stacked that Yankee lineup is now, consider the fact Berkman, who would most team’s best hitter, is batting seventh in the Yankee lineup! Read more.
Some are questioning this move among the other Yankee trade deadline additions, as a sign that the Yankees are insecure about their team heading towards the post-season, by others I mean the hardcore New York media. Read more. I don’t see it that way, if anything, it looks like the Yankees just want to make certain they’re the Bronx Bombers when it’s showtime.
The Yankees are currently second in the MLB in homeruns, sixth in batting average and first in RBI’s, those numbers should continue to soar with the edition of perennial allstar firstbaseman Lance Berkman. Lance Berkman had previously been the powerhouse in the Houston Astros lineup for most of the last decade. Berkman had recorded six 100 plus RBI seasons for the Astros since 99’ and has hit over 20 homeruns in each of his last ten seasons. Berkman has a career batting average of .296 and with the other powerful and dangerous hitters in the Yankee lineup now providing protection, we should see that average on the rise.
The Yankees can now platoon Berkman at firstbase and DH. The powerful lefty will certainly benefit from the bang box Yankee Stadium, where lefties thrive. Homeruns fly out of right field in the Yankee stadium in the blink of an eye, call it a short porch, call it a wind tunnel, call it whatever you like, but Berkman will now be calling home sweet home. The addition of Berkman just might be the last piece of the puzzle for the Yankees to make another World Series Run. Leading the AL Division East by just a game over the Rays, the Yankees have to be confident that they have made the biggest move out of any of their counterparts in the division. Berkman is hungry to win, he’s a class act, a consistent star and now, with another powerful clutch hitter in pinstripes, Matsui is all but a distant memory.
The way I see it, it’s only a matter of time before Berkman gets it going for the Yankees and starts raking. It’s not like teams can afford to pitch around Berkman in a lineup with threats like Jeter, Cano, A-Rod, Swisher, Granderson and Big Tex. Berkman is going to see fastballs and good pitches to hit and as he’s done over the course of his entire career, he’s going to put up numbers.
If it wasn’t a no- brainer before, betting on the Yankees to win the World Series just got easier for me.
