Open Thread - Game 58: Mets vs Astros (06/07/2005) on MSG

Starting Pitchers  R. Oswalt HOU vs.  P. Martinez NYM 6-6 Record 6-1 3.06 ERA 2.62 60 K 92 22 BB 12 7 HR 6

Lineups  Houston  New York O. Palmeiro, CF J. Reyes, SS C. Burke, LF M. Cameron, RF C. Biggio, 2B C. Beltran, CF L. Berkman, RF C. Floyd, LF M. Ensberg, 3B M. Piazza, C M. Lamb, 1B M. Anderson, 1B C. Everett, SS D. Wright, 3B B. Ausmus, C K. Matsui, 2B R. Oswalt, P P. Martinez, P

I'm going to let you guys in on a conversation I had when I read the lineup card for tonight:

Me: Hey, is Willie's head up there?
Willie's Ass: Nope. Wait, yep, here it is.
-- end scene --

In what bizarro-opposite world should Marlon Anderson be batting ahead of David Wright? Can someone please explain this to me? Is Willie so afraid of batting two right-handed hitters in a row that he would knowingly bat Anderson, a career .266/.314/.382 hitter, ahead of the best hitter on the team?

This Astros lineup is just plain awful. There are only two guys with an OPS over .800: Biggio at .814 and Morgan "The New Richard Hidalgo" Ensberg at .938. The Hidalgo comment is a reference to that outfielder's propensity for alternating ridiculously good seasons with ridiculously bad ones. Ensberg has put up OPS marks of .907, .742, and now .938 over the past three seasons.

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