Batting Around is BC Sports' look back at the week's happenings in the world o' sports, presented in a lineup card format for some undisclosed reason.
There weren't too many great NFL games this week, and my NFL picks were atrocious (seriously, I picked Buffalo over New England, no doubt the result of over-thinking at 2 a.m. on Saturday). So it's best we ignore football for one weekend, and just go John Force full speed ahead into the final week of the baseball season. Yes, the Indians and Angels have already claimed division titles, but there's still a lot to play for if you're an athlete, to watch if you're a fan, and to yell at if you're Bobby Cox or Lou Piniella.
The Lineup Card
1. 2B/CF/C Craig Biggio
2. 2B Placido Polanco
3. LF Matt Holliday
4. 1B Prince Fielder
5. 1B Albert Pujols
6. LF Jacoby Ellsbury
7. 1B Julio Franco
8. LF Barry Bonds
9. SP Fausto Carmona
Manager: Lou Piniella
1. 2B/CF/C Craig Biggio — In his 20th and final season with the Houston Astros, Biggio has played at least 350 games — so, well over two full seasons — each in the outfield, infield, and behind the plate. Initially signed with the team as a catcher, he moved to second base for much of the 90s, then to center field to make room for Jeff "Chopper" Kent in 2003, and finally returned as the second bagger when he departed.
But in his final week of the season, with his team eliminated from playoff contention, we may see him catch one last time (second item). He's said that he wants to catch Roy Oswalt for a couple innings, and he's scheduled to pitch Friday against the Atlanta Braves. Personally, I see no reason why he can't pitch the entire game. He's short enough that he doesn't have to crouch down.
2. 2B Placido Polanco — While he and his Tigers can forget about the playoffs, he does have a statistical accomplishment to shoot for. Now, it's heavily dependent on Ichiro's batting in the final week, but Polanco, at .342, is third in the batting race behind Ichiro (.350) and Tigers teammate Magglio Ordoñez (.358). All hopes are that The Big Tilde stays in front, but if Polanco can somehow sneak ahead of Ichiro, they'll be the 22nd teammates in major league history to finish a season one-two in batting average.
Article comments
1 - REMF
And what about Michael Young, who became only the third person since 1940 to collect 200 for five straight seasons.