Berkman seems always to be relaxed ....whether on the field or on the clubhouse ... but manager Cecil Cooper does see one big difference in Lance this year,"I think he brings a little more intensity to what he's doing everyday. ....and I think that's just because of the people we have on our team."

Berkman is currently riding a 17 game hitting streak ... hitting for a .545 average over that time period while hitting 8 homers, driving in 21 runs and scoring 23 runs himself.

As for Hunter Pence .... the Astros young outfielder ..... he has a 16 game hitting streak going .....but when I asked him if he had any superstitions relating to the streak his comment was,"Next question?" He later cracked a smile .....but cearly to everyone standing there it was obvious ... we had just found out about Hunter's superstition. He does not like to talk about how well he's hitting ..... when he's got a streak on the line.

With the Astros so close to the top of the division ..... a sweep of the Cubs this week could put them on top of the NL Central...and if Berkman and Pence can keep their hitting streaks alive ..... the Astros will have a great chance to do just that.