I Love Carlos Lee

Perhaps no Houston Astro in recent years has been both loved and reviled as much as Carlos Lee. He has had a fan club, and yet his past lack of hustle had brought derision from other fans.

So who is Carlos Lee? I can tell you that he is a somewhat shy star. He loves baseball. He also knows his limitations and is embarassed when they show. He has no speed on defense or running the bases so he tries to hide it. If he figured to be out on a routine ground ball he won't sprint down the baseline because that exposes how slow he really is. If he is playing left field and a ball is hit into the corner he won't sprint over to retrieve it because it is going to be a double no matter how quickly he gets there.

This reaction is not uncommon. A lot of players try to hide their shortcomings. It doesn't really work, but is often given a shot.

Now Carlos Lee has been one of the best hitters in baseball for most of his career. He has not been a super star or All Star, but has been a solid .290-.300 hitter good for 30 homers and 100 rbis. May be hard to believe but he may approache the latter two numbers this season. He has 20 homers and 82 RBIs and while it is likely he will far short it won't be by too many. His average may not hit .260, but that still represents a great comeback from the first three months of the season.

Carlos Lee loves to play baseball. He loves to play baseball with the Houston Astros and desperately wants to finish his career in an Astro uniform. His contract has protected him so far. Reportedly some of the "no trade" clauses are less stringent after this season. Carlos doesnt want to go anywhere and it shows.

Ever since franchise icons Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt departed and the Astros agreed to pick up the bulk of their remaining contracts Carlos has known that he could be next. Wonder why it has been constant hustle (even sometimes "false" hustle) for Lee ever since? He doesn't want to be next.

I don't think he should be barring one of those deals that simply cannot be ignored. Lee, especially since he has shown that he probably should have been playing first base years ago, is too important.

With Brett Wallace still not showing the hitting skills that his minor league records show he must have--and reportedly not being the most receptive to coaching--Lee is looking more and more like a strong candidate to play first base for the 2011 Astros. He can really play it. He has made all the plays including a nifty scoop of a one hop throw from Tommy Manzella on Saturday after a superb stop by the SS that prevented a run. As an outfielder Lee never saves runs than any other outfielder could not have saved. As a first baseman he can help with the glove as well as his bat.

As for the bat... well, his three run homer was his fifth game changing hit of the year. Pretty good for a player under performing. He is a key to the 2011 resurgence of the club. The Astros need his bat. Where he plays is the key.