Burrell's bat is back

Most fantasy owners figured Pat Burrell's numbers would drop with the move to the American League.

It's been much worse than expected.

Burrell is hitting just .238 and is in danger of posting career-lows in homers and RBIs. So why in the whole-wide world would we tell you it's not a loser's move to pick him up?

"Pat the Bat" might have finally found the hat to keep his bat warm.

I gave Burrell his very own special shout-out in today's edition of Pickup Lines. Here's an excerpt:

"Burrell has three homers in Tampa Bay's last 10 games and he's hitting .290 in August.

Part of the reason for Burrell's drop in production in the league switch, but he's also been battling neck injuries for most of the season. He's missed 35 games this year, and the problem resurfaced Aug. 15.

Burrell, however, has five multi-hit games in seven tries since coming back Aug. 18. He's 11-for-26 (.423) with a homer and four RBIs in that span. Burrell is a notorious for streaky hitting, and it should continue into the final month of the season.

With the recent hit streak, Burrell is proving he's a capable mixed-league play at home. The Rays' schedule in September features trips to hitters' ballparks in New York, Boston, Baltimore and Texas. That should help pad his lowly .221 average on the road.

Here's my unsolicited Burrell story: I drafted Burrell in a H2H league and tried to stay the course. I dropped Burrell on June 22; simply couldn't take it anymore. Burrell, however, was available when I was looking for an extra bat to throw in the lineup Monday. I put him in and was rewarded with a 2-for-5 performance.

He's earned himself a few more days, perhaps more. If you can, pick him up.



(sportingnews.com)