Bisons' Lamb getting in the swing of things
Mike Lamb wasn't expecting perfection when he started his career with the Buffalo Bisons, but he wasn't expecting 3 for 38, either. Those are the numbers he put up in his first 11 games, however, burying the veteran third baseman in a hole he's just now digging himself out of.
"I didn't have timing. I had gone a month without seeing live pitching," said Lamb, who was released April 1 by the Milwaukee Brewers and signed a minor-league contract with the New York Mets on April 25. "You've got to give yourself a little bit of leeway in that situation, but it was a fine line between giving myself that leeway and saying to myself, "OK, enough's enough. Let's get going here.'"
That's exactly what Lamb has done the past week, going 11 for 25 during a seven-game hitting streak that has raised his batting average 35 points, to .219. He's hit .306 (15 for 49) in June after batting just .186 in May.
Lamb didn't have a chance to extend his hit streak Wednesday, as rain postponed Buffalo's scheduled home game with the Syracuse Chiefs. The two teams will make the game up as part of a doubleheader Aug. 20.
His next chance will come at 1:05 p.m. today, when the Bisons conclude their two-game homestand against the Chiefs. Buffalo has won five of its past seven games, including two straight against Syracuse after opening the season 0-8 against the Chiefs. In Tuesday's 2-1 win, Lamb went 4 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs.
"He's been swinging the bat well," manager Ken Oberkfell said. "He had been hitting the ball well, but it was getting caught. Now he's getting some breaks, getting some balls to find the gap, and sometimes that's what you need."
It's not as if Lamb was the only one not hitting when he arrived. The Bisons limped to a 2-17 start — worst in franchise history — and battled a horrendous team-wide hitting slump.
"We've been in almost every game, we've just lacked that hit at the right time," Lamb said. "That's something you need to experience and realize what it feels like, then for the next time you're better prepared. It just took a while to get that experience. Lately we've been getting those hits."
Lamb's experience is one of the key reasons he was signed by the Mets. A veteran of nine major league seasons, he's played in 936 games with Texas, Houston, Minnesota and Milwaukee. In 2005 with Houston, he hit a home run in each round of the postseason and became the first Astro in team history to homer in the World Series.
"I'd like to think I've had a positive influence on the team," Lamb said. "It's not something like I go out of my way and force myself on anybody, but if somebody asks me a question, I'll keep talking."
Lamb hopes his recent hot streak will lead to bigger and better things — like a ticket out of Buffalo to New York.
"I'm not Bull Durham," he said. "I don't feel like I'm playing out my career for the next couple years in Triple-A. I want to get back to the big leagues, like everybody in [the Bisons' clubhouse.]"
Oberkfell would like the same.
"Mike's a quality person. I just wish him the best and hope he continues to do well," he said.
Jonathon Niese (1-6, 6.31 ERA) will start for the Bisons today against Syracuse's Garrett Mock. Niese is coming off his best outing for the Herd, allowing just two hits in 7™ innings of a 2-1 win over Durham on Friday.
The Bisons begin an eight-game road trip Friday at Charlotte.
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