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Jake's move to the inside must have been the determining factor.I think it’s the right call. If Jake goes to the outside he’s safe and there’s no collision.
Not that I agree with it.
His OPS in first thirteen games is 1.295.
I have to think that if White continues to struggle, we will see the advent of Alvarez.
Tony Sipp signs a major league deal with the Nats, $1.25 million with a $250k buyout on a 2020 mutual option (option is for $2.5 million).
They'll have Cole, Verlander, Altuve, Bregman and Springer. A great foundation, but everything past that is a giant question mark.
You can't count on Correa. No knock on him. It would be the same for any athlete coming off a serious back injury.
Will Gurriel be better next year with his wrist fully healed? But he... and Reddick... is at an age where, as a very good but not great player, bad things start to happen.
Catcher? Machete is a solid backup, but McCann may be at the end of the trail.
White will likely be a nice bench player, but is he a starting DH? What does Gattis have left?
McCullers and Morton are very good, but will they be healthy?
And the bullpen is still a raging tire fire, even after all the tinkering. There are enough live arms in the system that they could probably spend the first half of next year auditioning for bullpen spots (and 5th starter) and work something out. Well, if the division was as weak as it was in 2017. But the A's aren't going to let that happen...
If everything breaks right, or if they go out and have a big offseason they could win 100 again. If not they may be struggling for a wildcard spot.
Braves sending Preston Tucker down to make room for Jose Bautista. Preston was 4-for-7 off the bench since he lost his starting job.
Here is my proposal:
Yordan Alvarez, Rogelio Armenteros, AJ Reed, and Brian McCann
For Realmuto and Prado
The deal gets the Marlins two very good Cuban prospects who they can market to the Cuban community and they get out of Prado’s contract. McCann goes to the Marlins to offset salary for the 18 season, but Marlins save a lot in 19.
The Astros get their catcher for the next three years and maybe Prado is a useful piece, particularly if they lose Marwin to free agency at the end of the 18 season.
Modern sports reporting: it's better to be first than right.
I'm still waiting for an Alkie sighting...
Odds of
Let him bunt. He’s more valuable pitching than a pinch hitter is hitting.
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Sure would be nice to have a closer not held together by papier-mâché and axe body spray right about now.We don’t have a closer. Just trying to find a way.
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Fuck you RobertsI love this. Too smart for his own good. Knock around his seventh pitcher.
It's not fucking rocket science. The Dodgers swing the bats, we don't.That’s right. If you want to win then score more than three runs.
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Question about the history of OWA name. I know It started as Kev & Scott's Astros Connection but what were the names after that?Wasn’t there a “Stripes and Stars” period?
This may be the most disappointing loss I've ever witnessed in my Astros fandom.Last night was brutal but Keuchel’s history against NY and Tanaka’s history made me think we would answer. So wrong. Pitiful effort.
Keuchel just has no fucking chance with this idiot behind the plate.Heard Sparks say in pregame that he ranks 6 out of 90 umpires in least amount of called strikes. Neat stat that I had never heard before - stats on umpires.
What a play by Bergman.Bregman, Spell Check.
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Trying to cling to hope for the 9th.
Trying?
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Fox's baseball coverage is SO bad.Just terrible. I like Smoltz. Buck is awful. And the production is terrible. You don’t realize how bad it is until you watch a game on another network.
Give Verlander 1 more?
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Is this going to Giles in the 8th if there's trouble, or is Musgrove the next guy in?
You're a part of a VERY large group that was wrong about him. Myself included
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I'm not saying ignore it, but he still seems pretty effective so don't be blindly adherent to pitch count. The restraint during the season should have been in an effort to keep guys sharp for exactly this situation.
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F the hard and fast pitch count police. This is the ALCS.
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Yuli running real tenderly.Doesn't he always run like that?
I think the double-play was no longer an option because Gattis had moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd with the WP/PB.Yes, that's what I meant.
Hey, shocker here: Fiers gives up a home run.
He has had an awful series. He has earned a place on the bench for game 2.Marwin at 3b.
And Bregman grounds into another rally killing double play. Astros have made nine outs...Bregman four of them.He's killing us today.
Me tooNew three.
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No. Returning to old ground. See Face, Elroy.
I wish I were surprised, but this is a .500 team until proven otherwise.
Whew. I do worry about players around on the field so much during the game but Springer handled that well hit ball.Moving, I meant to say.
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Gattis CANNOT play every day. He is the backup/occasional starter or they split it/platoon.The Yankees are sending $11 million to Houston. As for being bereft over trading minor league pitchers, we have phenoms scattered all over baseball who never panned out. Catcher was a need, and we got an upgrade.
As incredible as this is to say, I find Giles more frustrating than Billy Wags.Because he's not as good
Hate to be a killjoy but Fangraphs has their odds at about 6% as of this morning. Sounds pretty reasonable.
That's typically the way it is. The Astros gave up the state of Texas five years ago.
This just in... Astros starting pitching is hot garbage.
It's interesting that the Aiken issue keeps bringing brought up as a dismal failure when it seems to me in hindsight to be a great success.
Sipp is a fucking joke.
Let's not get started on saves.
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Shit motherfucker! Well back to watching sports I only get to see every four years, like Women's Rugby and Fencing.
I still think Moran could move over to 1B with Reed becoming the full time DH.
There has been some of this discussion in today's Game Zone.
I wonder how long Crane will put up with this.
Look on the bright side. Another high draft pick next June and Luhnow won't be gutting the farm system paying for another spare at the trading deadline.
Show me one person that thought releasing JD Martinez made a bit of difference at the time. Keep in mind that every team passed on him on waivers.
They are 74-82 in the last 156 games
Im not pushing the panic button, but am coming to the realization that this just isn't a very good team. The starting rotation is Keuchel and 4 #4/5 pitchers right now. There are 2 people hitting in the lineup and assuming Correa and Springer play to their potential, there are still holes at 1st, 3rd, CF, C, DH.
McCullers coming back should help. There are a couple guys in the minors that should help before seasons end (Moran & AJ Reed, Musgrove) but given the Gomez/Giles trade, they really dont have the pieces to move for a ++ MLB starter or position player.
I can't explain why Kent, McGriff and Edgar Martinez are garnering so much more support than Edmonds.
why post this? the deal is done, and it is not your money. trust the people who put this team together.
Increased production would be great, but I'm fine with a repeat of 2015. So many of his hits were in clutch situations.
It's not. It's irrational to blame the playoff losses on a single player. The bullpen failures were the story of the last two games, not Altuve.
I am so fucking sick of watching Evan Gattis at-bats. I'm sure he's a very nice guy, but I hope they trade him this winter.
I wish this sipp has showed up Monday
Amazing what happens when you actually MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FUCKING BALL.
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With McCullers pitch count climbing yesterday, bullpen struggles over the past month, and the 4-out outing by Gregorson the previous evening, I'd somewhat presumed that they would use him almost as a 'tandem' starter (somewhat along the lines of what HOU does in the minors) to start the 6th. Curious to see when they'll turn to him going forward...
I asked myself the same question. why would anyone think that toddthebod would wear Yankees' gear?
I'm in section 417 in the Pettite jersey!
Probably had no choice with the DBacks wearing their brick tops.
Do advanced defensive metrics incorporate perfect relay throws to home?+1
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Laz Diaz finding strikes tonight.That third strike no Carter -- no way.
So, never thought about it before, but imagine they couldn't have had someone else hit 9th and then replace them with Keuchel?That's why you have to submit your lineup card.
Chris Carter, I take back everything I've said all year long
Do all of those metrics account for the overshift?This point right here. I haven't seen Lindor but I've seen a lot of Correa and think he has been very good.
Ashby and this dick cameraman are trying to give me a stroke. Made it seem like that ball off gutierrez's bat was headed for the 2nd deck.Near about had a heart attack. Tied after six.
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Productive outs...Carter's inability to put the ball in play cost them a run. Story of the season.+1
There is just nothing more exciting than the crowd at a Mariners Astros game. You can feel the excitement right through the screen.A lot of quiet ballparks in late September.
If you set out to make up the most Cub-like thing they could possibly do I doubt you could top this.+1
Knock on wood. Has anyone even so much as sprained an ankle on that hill in 15.5 years?
Kris Bryant vs Carlos Correa: which one would high-ranking front office executives choose?
Slight majority says Correa, per SI.com poll.
Boy the difference 9 days can make. On Mar. 14th, first base seemed to be all Singleton's. Only 3Ks in 18 ABs with 3 walks. 444/524/722 slash line. But 2 for 19 with 10Ks has changed that. Singleton to AAA easily clears the picture. Gattis DH, Carter 1B, Rasmus LF, Mrasnick/Grossman center and Springer right. Now you just need to pick 2 of Gonzalez, Dominguez, Villar and Petit.
Good thing the Astros snatched up A.J. when they did.
Just because they played together doesn't make him Porter's guy. He is a player development guy (was OF/baserunning instructor in the Marlins from 2007 to 2013) and is in charge of baserunning. Can't complain about the baserunning too much. They are 5th in stolen bases (95) in the league and have the 9th best success rate (77%). Last year, they were 11th in stolen bases (110) and 27th in SB % (64%). The Astros committed 76 Tootblan (thrown out on the bases like a nincompoop) in 2013. That was 2nd most in the league. They have cut that down significantly this year.
In 2013 Altuve had 16 (leading all the AL), Villar had 9, Barnes, Carter & Dominguez added 6 each and Pena, Peredes and Crowe addded 5 each.
In 2014 Altuve has 11, Fowler 8, Springer 6, Marisnick & Villar 4 each, Dominguez 3, Gonzalez & Kraus 2 each and Grossman, Castro, Singleton, Carter & Presley with one each. They are at 45 so far this year. Vast improvement.
Maybe that is why Brock is still around. He is doing his job.
Interesting that it's not Oberholtzer.
I get your point, but I strongly disagree that the value of Dominguez will end up exceeding Cosart, Villar and Singleton.
Basically, once Crane got here, it was much as much a salary dump as it was a rebuild. Luhnow had to sell it as building up minor league depth rather than a salary dump as the truth isn't as palatable.
Also, there are still guys from those trades who might add some value, so the list might well grow. Off the top of my head would be Stassi, Wojo and Hader.
I collected Astros media guides for years -- I've got every one from 1963 through, I think, 2009. (Been thinking about selling them, actually, but Astros memorabilia isn't exactly a hot item right now.) It is cool to see how such things have changed over time, how guys came and went, etc.
We also claimed a Raul Valdes on waivers from the Phightin' Phillies. Another Exxon Valdes? What did we used to call Marc Valdes? I remember Doug Ka-Powell.
Before the collapse of the TV deal I would have agreed with you. I don't think Crane started out with the intention of becoming another Loria, but that rainbows and unicorns TV deal was a big part of his business plan. Without it, all bets may be off. And it may not just be a matter of having to give up on a "New York" deal and accept a "Houston" deal. If Crane can't salvage the Comcast network and he has to go to Fox or whoever, hat in hand... the knives will come out. They're going to know just how hard up and desperate he is... and negotiate accordingly. Crane might not have the option of settling for Houston money. He may have to settle for Milwaukee money instead...
John McMullen... and Drayton McLane, in his pissier moods... loved to whine about how hard it is to run a ballclub in a small market town like Houston. Of course they were full of shit. Houston might not be NYC or LA, but it is by no means a small market. At least it wasn't. But if the TV crisis ends up in the worst case scenario, then Houston will become a small market in fact, not just in ownerspeak bullshit. That scares me a lot more than anything I've seen happen (or not happen) on the field this season...
SF is closing on getting Pence for a mere $18 m/yr.
Not judging by the attendance.
Why?
And what, praytell, would you propose as a solution? McLane's "let's achieve mediocrity and win 70 something games? Please. If we're going to rebuild both the big league team and the minor league farm system, we had to start by trading every decent player for prospects.
He misunderstood Olney's article, which was not critical at all of the Astros; in fact, it quoted several (anonymous) front office types admiring what they are doing. Olney was stating that if the system encourages more teams to follow the Astros' path, then MLB will need to reconsider the system.
[quote url=http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/25/hating-on-the-astros-is-trendy-but-its-also-rather-silly/]I though this article by Craig Calcaterra makes good points[/url]. I can't imagine McLane in 2006 or 2007 trading Berkman and Oswalt for prospects, though.
They didn't.
While we're talking about total futility there's a piece that I suspect many of you read that deserves mention:
Ouch.
I know that a lot of Astros fans are excited about the future and surely that's a comfortable place to be until the team's leadership begins trading away any and all arb-eligible players. But was it really necessary to be so historically bad in so many areas to rebuild in an effective manner? Was it really necessary to tarnish the team's history and shame the team's fans, or at least those that remain?
It's a thoroughly disgraceful episode if the word episode can be used to describe a three year trajectory.
My only regret in turning this off is that I love seeing position players pitch, and this game is certainly headed that way. Elmore? Barnes?
And, Astros may be closer to having a AAA team in Montgomery Co.
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cypresscreek/news/camp-strake-to-become-next-market-street-includes-whispers-of/article_59d44ac8-eaf9-11e2-9489-001a4bcf887a.html
The bigger news about this locally is the Blue Jays leaving Dunedin after training there since they came to be. It's my favorite ballpark in Florida.
And thus begins likely Wallace's last chance. If he can succeed, they'll have a nice problem next year.How many last chances does this guy get?
But it goes in the books as an out and a win. Pound Budweisers, folks. We salvaged a game in this series. Now on to Pittsburgh.
He'll be 24 in September. Its not "rush"ing him. I believe he's older than Altuve. He's older than Jordan Lyles.OK, mabe Lyles isn't the best comp (was he rushed, or is he just not good?), but I get your point.
The starter has to go at least 5 innings to be eligible for the win. After that, the scorer does have some discretion.
Reading articles on some of the Cards top prospects like Oscar Taveras that link to Luhnow is encouraging. In other words - even the stories that don't have Luhnow as the subject end up giving him credit.
I agree that we shouldn't just praise him blindly. I seriously doubt he goes 27 for 27 on all of the prospects he has traded for (didn't one just get released?). However, I think everyone agrees that it is an extreme breath of fresh air after the days of Purpura and Ed Wade. He is something we can genuinely get excited about, and there aren't many of those things in the organization these days.
It's comical to watch these knights of the keyboard jizzing themselves in the belief of The Great Savior Nolan Ryan. He didn't build that team. He's a great figurehead for a team, but it wasn't his skullduggery that put the pieces together.
He does have a pretty magical Midas touch though, I'll give him that.
There's likely a lot of people who want to say the attended the first Astros AL game. History and all.
+1 I kind of like them already. Ford has shown restraint, but he seems to know the game and is apparently doing a lot of research based upon the factoids and tidbits that he adroitly sprinkles in at appropriate times. He has a good radio voice. He's definitely not from the ESPN school.
And then sparks says "Altuve is the perfect #2 hitter. He doesn't walk much or take a lot of pitches. He just quickly puts the ball in play, and that's exactly what you want from a two hole hitter."
From the Grantland wing of ESPN is an article calling the Mets' current outfield possibly "the worst unit in professional sports and maybe all of life."
Whoa ho, you say? What about the Astros? The author excuses the Astros' inadequacies because "[t]hey're less a pro sports franchise and more a socioeconomic thought experiment at this point."
I think I'm stealing that line for 2013's These Are Your Astros!
OK, take a wrong turn in Scottsdale and end up in Guantanamo. See if I come bail you out.
I really miss Winter Haven. I loved that stadium. One day I imagine the Tigers will leave, too.
I went to the Dali museum in Figueres once. I don't know if it was the time of year or if it's always like this but the air outside smelled powerfully of shit. Strong, fresh, natural fertilizer. Either that or the place is next to a field full of cows with hyperactive colons. Maybe it's just another of Dali's jokes, one that will serve to prepare the visitor for what's in store inside.