Two Cheers for Sweet Lou

Maybe it's exhaustion caused by too much racquetball, but Lou Piniella is starting to grow on me as an announcer. During games three and four of the Angels-White Sox series, he pointed out a couple of times that the Angels were being hampered by their inability to draw walks, thereby deviating from the Joe Buck-Tim McCarver company line that on-base percentage is an overrated Moneyball concept that real baseball men disregard.

Tonight, he seems to be getting his announcing legs under him. He is anticipating managerial situations -- should your catcher throw to third base if a runner tries to steal it with two outs late in a close game? should you pinch run for a slow-running slugger if he gets on base late in the game with the potential game-winning run? -- and adding information that the person watching on TV would not have otherwise. Was I too hasty in dismissing him? Of course. The rule with my opinions, is, as always, "Trust, but verify."