Berkman having a mammoth May

Offense might be way down so far this year, but Houston's Lance Berkman doesn't seem to notice.

Going into this weekend, Berkman led the majors in home runs (16) and was second in batting average (.388) and RBI (45). He went 16 for 20 in one stretch. As of May 23, he was hitting better than .500 with 17 extra-base hits and 20 RBI.

Project his first month-and-a-half to the entire season and he's on pace for 58 homers, 148 RBI and 30 stolen bases.

"It's like all the other guys are playing big-league baseball and he's playing T-ball," Houston general manager Ed Wade told the Associated Press. "That's how easy he's making it look. He's simplified it to the nth degree."

He's also making Houston (28-22 as of May 24) a very tough out in the NL Central. With Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence, this is suddenly a team that could make some noise in the NL Central, especially if Roy Oswalt comes back strong.