Lance Berkman has lost 20 pounds this offseason.
He also says he's getting in the best shape of his life and has reduced his body fat from 19.5 percent to 12 percent. Normally, this is the type of story to ignore, but Berkman is a special case because St. Louis has him penciled in as an everyday right fielder next season. The veteran hasn't played the outfield since 2007 and hasn't been a regular outfielder since 2004. "If I have a repeat of last year I'm probably out of the game," Berkman says. "While that doesn't really bother me, I feel like God has given me a gift to play the game, and I want to take full advantage of that. I don't want to see it end because I'm not in the best possible shape. If my skills have eroded, fine. That happens to everybody. But I don't want it to be because I didn't put in the best possible effort forth to be in great shape."
Great news for Cards fans! This was a must for Berkman to keep as much weight of those knees as possible. I just hope hope LaRussa gives Berkman plenty of rest by bringing in Jon Jay late in games and starting him every now and then.