Happy Friday! The Astros got waxed and they don't play today as they travel to Mexico. I will be attending Nick Senzel's debut tonight in Cincy to cope.
So here's what happened yesterday afternoon:
Bregman: 1-4, Solo HR
Kemp: 1-3, RBI
Diaz: 2-4
Peacock: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO
Marwin Gonzalez: 2-3, 2 R
Jason Castro went yard
Full Box:
Here's Chandler Rome with the series thought about what just happened here.
Time to compare Aprils from the 2018 and 2019 Astros.
Paying for parking is bad, so here are some tips to pay less for parking.
How lucky have our pitchers been so far in 2019?
Kyle Tucker hit a HR, Yordan is hitting over .400 now, and Cionel Perez's ERA is..uh.. still under 6.
Here are notes of other minor leaguers as well:
The River Bandits are actual River Bandits now.
A dog consumed over $200 in cash. He's okay.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1975, Nolan Ryan got pranked on the mound by his former team with a rubber snake.
In 1998, Dan Wilson hit the first inside the park grand slam in MLB history.
In 2011, former Houston Astros great Francisco Liriano threw his first complete game of his career, which also ended up being a no-hitter.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Francisco Liriano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francisco Liriano. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2019
Monday, September 10, 2018
Monday Morning Hot Links
Good morning everyone. Hope you're still angry at Major League Baseball for what happened last night. Of course, it wasn't the ONLY thing that went wrong for the Astros last night, but literally the only thing we ask from Major League Baseball as an organization is to make common sense calls when they are called upon and give baseball teams good umpires who aren't completely blind. Apparently, it's harder than it looks.
I must say, it's nice to have other people who aren't on our team say that we aren't crazy. This is also the funniest tweet related to the current topic. I don't know where to put it so I am just dropping it here where it doesn't fit and breaks the flow of the entire article. Hey, I'm a professional tweeter, not a professional writer. Anyways, I got your full recap here.
ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield writes about how great this series was and why we really shouldn't be too worry about this team.
The highest ERA left on the Houston Astros baseball team is 4.20 (Devenski). He is the ONLY player with an ERA over 4 on the team right now.
Justin Verlander will be pitching against his former team tonight. Francisco Liriano will be pitching against his former team tonight. Big day for both teams.
Both Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander could both hit 300 strikeouts this year. Both pitchers likely go 4 more times this regular season. Cole is at 251, Verlander at 248. Sure, they'd have to go absolutely ballistic in this upcoming stretch, but doable.
Effen Vodka is making an Astros World Champions sleeve, so pick it up for the next replay review.
Will Max Stassi play in October?
The Texans are aware that "Baseball Is Life". However, the Astros were 2-0 against Boston before the Texans showed up, so honestly blame them for the loss. They're the problem. Go baseball.
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATE:
AAA: Fresno is going to the PCL Championship after defeating the El Paso Chihuahuas 10-1. They will play game 1 on Tuesday.
AA: The Hooks were defeated by the San Antonio Missions 8-1 last night, ending their season.
A+: Buies Creek plays Potomac in the Mills Cup Finals with game 1 starting tomorrow. They swept Winston-Salem on Friday to get to the final series.
A-: The Tri-City ValleyCats won the New York-Penn Title 4-2 in 12 innings last night.
Dante Pettis made papa Pettis proud yesterday afternoon. He finished with two catches for 61 yards.
MLB AtBat now has VR capabilities where you can become the catcher.
These batflips just keep getting better.
Women love baseball. Why doesn't baseball love them back?
Posting some conspiracy theories on Astros County dot Com to make ya think.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1881, Roger Connor hit the first major league grand slam.
In 1959, Tim McCarver made his MLB debut at 17.
In 1963, Stan Musial hit a home run hours after becoming a grandpa.
In 2000, Randy Johnson became the 12th pitcher to strike out 3000 batters.
In 2008, Houston Astros legend Charlton Jimerson hit a home run in his first at-bat to ruin a Hole Camels perfect game.
I must say, it's nice to have other people who aren't on our team say that we aren't crazy. This is also the funniest tweet related to the current topic. I don't know where to put it so I am just dropping it here where it doesn't fit and breaks the flow of the entire article. Hey, I'm a professional tweeter, not a professional writer. Anyways, I got your full recap here.
ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield writes about how great this series was and why we really shouldn't be too worry about this team.
The highest ERA left on the Houston Astros baseball team is 4.20 (Devenski). He is the ONLY player with an ERA over 4 on the team right now.
Justin Verlander will be pitching against his former team tonight. Francisco Liriano will be pitching against his former team tonight. Big day for both teams.
Both Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander could both hit 300 strikeouts this year. Both pitchers likely go 4 more times this regular season. Cole is at 251, Verlander at 248. Sure, they'd have to go absolutely ballistic in this upcoming stretch, but doable.
Effen Vodka is making an Astros World Champions sleeve, so pick it up for the next replay review.
Will Max Stassi play in October?
The Texans are aware that "Baseball Is Life". However, the Astros were 2-0 against Boston before the Texans showed up, so honestly blame them for the loss. They're the problem. Go baseball.
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATE:
AAA: Fresno is going to the PCL Championship after defeating the El Paso Chihuahuas 10-1. They will play game 1 on Tuesday.
AA: The Hooks were defeated by the San Antonio Missions 8-1 last night, ending their season.
A+: Buies Creek plays Potomac in the Mills Cup Finals with game 1 starting tomorrow. They swept Winston-Salem on Friday to get to the final series.
A-: The Tri-City ValleyCats won the New York-Penn Title 4-2 in 12 innings last night.
Dante Pettis made papa Pettis proud yesterday afternoon. He finished with two catches for 61 yards.
MLB AtBat now has VR capabilities where you can become the catcher.
These batflips just keep getting better.
Women love baseball. Why doesn't baseball love them back?
Posting some conspiracy theories on Astros County dot Com to make ya think.
On This Day in Baseball History
In 1881, Roger Connor hit the first major league grand slam.
In 1959, Tim McCarver made his MLB debut at 17.
In 1963, Stan Musial hit a home run hours after becoming a grandpa.
In 2000, Randy Johnson became the 12th pitcher to strike out 3000 batters.
In 2008, Houston Astros legend Charlton Jimerson hit a home run in his first at-bat to ruin a Hole Camels perfect game.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Let Me Blow Ya Mind
It's the finally the start of the off-season, the best time to be an Astros fan because at least we have hope and something to look forward to after another dreadful sea-- sorry, what? They won the World Series? Everything is great and nothing is bad and I can see new colors that I've never seen before and food tastes better and I'm sleeping and my back doesn't hurt as bad now?
I guess that makes all of these Who Should The Astros Go Sign posts kind of irrelevant now, but I'm going to do one any way because what else am I supposed to do until Spring Training?
Everyone who watched more than four innings of Astros baseball this year will tell you that their main weakness was not having a good left-handed reliever. That's probably being generous. Houston's two main LHP out of the bullpen in 2017 were Tony Sipp and Fransisco Liriano which is significantly less than ideal. It's the off-season now and it's time to look at who could fix this gaping hole in the Astros roster.
Except.
The Astros Pitchers Were Already Good Against Lefties
403 pitchers saw at least 50 left-handed batters in 2017. I looked at how they did against hitters they were facing the first time through the order. Do you want to take a guess of how many Astros finished in the top 10 in wOBA allowed?
.
.
.
.
.
Was your answer 3? Then you are either a wizard or a liar, and I am inclined to say liar. Pirates closer Felipe Rivero led the majors in this category because he is left-handed and throws 102 mph so that makes sense. Chris Devenski (5th), Charlie Morton (7th) and Staff Ace Brad Peacock (9th) represent the Astros. For context of how good these guys were, Clayton Kershaw finished 11th.
It would make sense, then, for me to tell you that the Astros were the sixth-best team in baseball at limiting left-handed hitters, allowing a .294 wOBA to just over 1,600 batters faced in 2017.
They aren't broken by any means, but there is always room for improvement.
Who Is Available
There are a few pitchers who actually throw baseballs with their left hand who could be beneficial for the Astros in 2018. Chief among them is a guy who reinvented himself last season with the Kansas City Royals and finished one spot behind Peacock on the aforementioned list, Mike Minor. After struggling as a starter at the beginning of his career in Atlanta, Minor became quite the weapon out of the bullpen for the Royals in 2017, posting a 2.55 ERA in 77.2 IP. The former 7th overall pick should command the most money of any left-handed reliever on the market this off-season.
Tony Watson, he of the one-pitch double plays in the World Series, is also a free agent. He was phenomenal for Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015, sporting sub-2.00 ERAs both years before struggling in 2016 and 2017. He could certainly be a bounce back candidate.
The Astros could also try to make a splash by trading for a lefty (like Zach Britton) but they would probably have to give up a lot of talent (yeah, but it's Zach Britton) for a volatile position (but it's Zach Britton).
Houston doesn't necessarily need someone who has been a career reliever, as they showed when they traded for Liriano.
Ty Blach has been a top 10 prospect in the Giants system, but he struggled in his first full season in the majors as a starter, enough to lose his spot in the rotation in September. While he had a rough year, Blach was phenomenal when facing a lefty for the first time last season, allowing a .186/.230/.232 slash line to 74 of those batters. Perhaps if he has lost enough shine, the rebuilding Giants could look to sell.
Who Do The Astros Have In Their System
No one. Well, some people, but basically no one.
Cionel Perez was signed for $2 million out of Cuba last December and quickly worked his way to Double-A. The lefty could see action in Houston this year, though it is more likely to be 2019 before he makes an appearance.
Sean Stutzman was signed as a free agent out of Dallas Baptist in 2016. He advanced all the way to Triple-A with a strikeout rate out 9.3 in his minor league career. He's probably not a long-term option, especially considering he is no where near a 40-man spot, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Finally, Houston still has Reymin Guduan. Guduan was disappointing in his 16 major league innings last year, but the flamethrower will get another chance to prove himself at some point in 2018.
Whatever You Do, Don't Look At Josh Hader's Stats
Seriously, don't do it. You'll just be sad.
I guess that makes all of these Who Should The Astros Go Sign posts kind of irrelevant now, but I'm going to do one any way because what else am I supposed to do until Spring Training?
Everyone who watched more than four innings of Astros baseball this year will tell you that their main weakness was not having a good left-handed reliever. That's probably being generous. Houston's two main LHP out of the bullpen in 2017 were Tony Sipp and Fransisco Liriano which is significantly less than ideal. It's the off-season now and it's time to look at who could fix this gaping hole in the Astros roster.
Except.
The Astros Pitchers Were Already Good Against Lefties
403 pitchers saw at least 50 left-handed batters in 2017. I looked at how they did against hitters they were facing the first time through the order. Do you want to take a guess of how many Astros finished in the top 10 in wOBA allowed?
.
.
.
.
.
Was your answer 3? Then you are either a wizard or a liar, and I am inclined to say liar. Pirates closer Felipe Rivero led the majors in this category because he is left-handed and throws 102 mph so that makes sense. Chris Devenski (5th), Charlie Morton (7th) and Staff Ace Brad Peacock (9th) represent the Astros. For context of how good these guys were, Clayton Kershaw finished 11th.
It would make sense, then, for me to tell you that the Astros were the sixth-best team in baseball at limiting left-handed hitters, allowing a .294 wOBA to just over 1,600 batters faced in 2017.
They aren't broken by any means, but there is always room for improvement.
Who Is Available
There are a few pitchers who actually throw baseballs with their left hand who could be beneficial for the Astros in 2018. Chief among them is a guy who reinvented himself last season with the Kansas City Royals and finished one spot behind Peacock on the aforementioned list, Mike Minor. After struggling as a starter at the beginning of his career in Atlanta, Minor became quite the weapon out of the bullpen for the Royals in 2017, posting a 2.55 ERA in 77.2 IP. The former 7th overall pick should command the most money of any left-handed reliever on the market this off-season.
Tony Watson, he of the one-pitch double plays in the World Series, is also a free agent. He was phenomenal for Pittsburgh in 2014 and 2015, sporting sub-2.00 ERAs both years before struggling in 2016 and 2017. He could certainly be a bounce back candidate.
The Astros could also try to make a splash by trading for a lefty (like Zach Britton) but they would probably have to give up a lot of talent (yeah, but it's Zach Britton) for a volatile position (but it's Zach Britton).
Houston doesn't necessarily need someone who has been a career reliever, as they showed when they traded for Liriano.
Ty Blach has been a top 10 prospect in the Giants system, but he struggled in his first full season in the majors as a starter, enough to lose his spot in the rotation in September. While he had a rough year, Blach was phenomenal when facing a lefty for the first time last season, allowing a .186/.230/.232 slash line to 74 of those batters. Perhaps if he has lost enough shine, the rebuilding Giants could look to sell.
Who Do The Astros Have In Their System
No one. Well, some people, but basically no one.
Cionel Perez was signed for $2 million out of Cuba last December and quickly worked his way to Double-A. The lefty could see action in Houston this year, though it is more likely to be 2019 before he makes an appearance.
Sean Stutzman was signed as a free agent out of Dallas Baptist in 2016. He advanced all the way to Triple-A with a strikeout rate out 9.3 in his minor league career. He's probably not a long-term option, especially considering he is no where near a 40-man spot, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Finally, Houston still has Reymin Guduan. Guduan was disappointing in his 16 major league innings last year, but the flamethrower will get another chance to prove himself at some point in 2018.
Whatever You Do, Don't Look At Josh Hader's Stats
Seriously, don't do it. You'll just be sad.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*Unsurprisingly the Astros didn't make a 1-year/$17.4m offer to any of Carlos Beltran, Cameron Maybin, Tyler Clippard, Luke Gregerson, or Francisco Liriano.
*Here's a great Richard Justice article on the impact of Brent Strom.
*Alex Bregman is living his best life right now, and he talked to the Cespedes Family BBQ guys about what it's been like since winning the World Series.
*I wrote up what I thought were the ten most pivotal games of the regular season.
*Immediately after Friday's parade, 1B coach Rich Dauer underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.
*Jake Kaplan says shoring up the bullpen should be the Astros' top priority.
*This dude snuck in to Game 2 at Dodgers Stadium and filmed it.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield compares Springer/Altuve/Correa to the all-time great trios.
*Kinda nervous about Boston, you guys.
*Jose Altuve is a finalist for AL MVP, A.J. Hinch is a finalist for AL Manager of the Year. Those things are not surprising. What is surprising is how Yuli Gurriel was not a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year, getting squeezed out by Aaron Judge, Andrew Benintendi, and Trey Mancini.
Mancini, an outfielder with Baltimore (all three nominees play in the AL East), hit .293/.338/.488 with a 120 OPS+ and 2.2 bWAR in 2017.
Gurriel hit .299/.332/.486 with a 124 OPS+ and 2.6 bWAR.
I mean, Aaron Judge is obviously going to win this award, but...
*You can buy dirt from Dodger Stadium in Game 7 for $50.
*Tyler White is pretty pumped about this World Series thing.
*Buy some stuff you can't get at Academy.
*Here's a great Richard Justice article on the impact of Brent Strom.
*Alex Bregman is living his best life right now, and he talked to the Cespedes Family BBQ guys about what it's been like since winning the World Series.
*I wrote up what I thought were the ten most pivotal games of the regular season.
*Immediately after Friday's parade, 1B coach Rich Dauer underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.
*Jake Kaplan says shoring up the bullpen should be the Astros' top priority.
*This dude snuck in to Game 2 at Dodgers Stadium and filmed it.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield compares Springer/Altuve/Correa to the all-time great trios.
*Kinda nervous about Boston, you guys.
*Jose Altuve is a finalist for AL MVP, A.J. Hinch is a finalist for AL Manager of the Year. Those things are not surprising. What is surprising is how Yuli Gurriel was not a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year, getting squeezed out by Aaron Judge, Andrew Benintendi, and Trey Mancini.
Mancini, an outfielder with Baltimore (all three nominees play in the AL East), hit .293/.338/.488 with a 120 OPS+ and 2.2 bWAR in 2017.
Gurriel hit .299/.332/.486 with a 124 OPS+ and 2.6 bWAR.
I mean, Aaron Judge is obviously going to win this award, but...
*You can buy dirt from Dodger Stadium in Game 7 for $50.
*Tyler White is pretty pumped about this World Series thing.
*Buy some stuff you can't get at Academy.
Monday, October 9, 2017
Monday Morning Hot Links
*The Boston Red Sox of Boston scored the final ten (10) runs of the game to extend the Best-of-Five series to a Game 4, which is supposed to be at Fenway at 12:08pm Central, because New York beat Cleveland. Rain isn't really projected until 2pm, which puts this game in limbo because those idiots don't know what a roof is. Faneuil Hall? Has a roof. Museum of Fine Arts Boston? Has a roof. Old North Church? Has a roof. Fenway Park? Nope. Morons.
*Hinch:
We'll bounce back out of this and come back and play hard. But this is playoff baseball. If anybody thought the Red Sox were going to lay down, probably rethink it.
*I broke down the decisions to (a) pull Brad Peacock and (b) put in Francisco Liriano. Liriano, on the pitch to Devers that put the Red Sox ahead for good:
I was trying to execute pitches and I hung a slider right down the middle and he got a pretty good swing on it. I didn't execute pitches right there.
*Jake Kaplan talked about other options available to Hinch than Liriano.
*Rather than talking about his 3-run home run (that wasn't), Reddick had to talk about Mookie Betts and then basketing the Red Sox' own 3-run home run into the right field bleachers. Correa, on Reddick's non-homer:
It was like a knock-out punch if that ball goes out.
*No, Reddick's shot is not normally a home run.
*Correa, who was 1x5 with a 2-run home run in the 1st:
We got to Fister early, but then their bullpen came in, and Price was really good today. You've got to give credit to the guy when he pitched the way he pitched today. His cutter was very sharp, and he was working off that. He did his part. You have to tip the hat.
*The Astros left ten on base and were 2x10 w/RISP.
*Yuli Gurriel saw a grand total of six pitches and went 4x4 with four singles.
*Jose Altuve was 3x4 with a walk and is hitting .727/.786/1.545 through three games.
*One decision I want to approach is the decision to leave Carlos Beltran in the game, and Evan Gattis on the bench. Beltran was 0x3 with a walk and didn't exactly hit any balls hard the whole game. Beltran has hit three home runs since the All-Star Break, going .238/.281/.348 in those 54 games. In 63 games versus LHP (127 PAs) Beltran has hit .185/.228/.227. Letting him get the start against Fister is at least defensible, but letting him face Price twice...was not. I know batting average doesn't remotely tell the whole story, but there are 229 players who got at least 100 plate appearances against LHPs. Beltran's .185 average ranked 220th.
Evan Gattis, on the other hand, sat on the bench. The whole game. All of it. He's not exactly Babe Ruth, but Gattis at least hit .241/.280/.448 against lefties. Much of the game was spent searching for the Astros to get just one big hit to stop the Red Sox momentum, which was increasing with every inning David Price stranded a runner. The Astros had either the lead or were down a run for much of that game. Evan Gattis is more likely to get that hit than Carlos Beltran. I'll forever be grateful for that 2004 postseason, and for his coming back to serve as Tio, but for the life of me I can't figure out how Hinch didn't put Gattis in once Fister exited the game.
*Charlie Morton is excited to start...whenever they play:
It's the playoffs. This is the biggest game I'll throw in all year, so I'm really excited about it. I'm excited to be here in Boston and pitch at Fenway against the Red Sox.
*Rick Porcello will start for Boston.
*Lance McCullers would be ready for a potential Game 5.
*Grant Brisbee writes that the 2017 Astros are a beautiful fit for the city of Houston. You need to read this. All of it.
*Hinch:
We'll bounce back out of this and come back and play hard. But this is playoff baseball. If anybody thought the Red Sox were going to lay down, probably rethink it.
*I broke down the decisions to (a) pull Brad Peacock and (b) put in Francisco Liriano. Liriano, on the pitch to Devers that put the Red Sox ahead for good:
I was trying to execute pitches and I hung a slider right down the middle and he got a pretty good swing on it. I didn't execute pitches right there.
*Jake Kaplan talked about other options available to Hinch than Liriano.
*Rather than talking about his 3-run home run (that wasn't), Reddick had to talk about Mookie Betts and then basketing the Red Sox' own 3-run home run into the right field bleachers. Correa, on Reddick's non-homer:
It was like a knock-out punch if that ball goes out.
*No, Reddick's shot is not normally a home run.
*Correa, who was 1x5 with a 2-run home run in the 1st:
We got to Fister early, but then their bullpen came in, and Price was really good today. You've got to give credit to the guy when he pitched the way he pitched today. His cutter was very sharp, and he was working off that. He did his part. You have to tip the hat.
*The Astros left ten on base and were 2x10 w/RISP.
*Yuli Gurriel saw a grand total of six pitches and went 4x4 with four singles.
*Jose Altuve was 3x4 with a walk and is hitting .727/.786/1.545 through three games.
*One decision I want to approach is the decision to leave Carlos Beltran in the game, and Evan Gattis on the bench. Beltran was 0x3 with a walk and didn't exactly hit any balls hard the whole game. Beltran has hit three home runs since the All-Star Break, going .238/.281/.348 in those 54 games. In 63 games versus LHP (127 PAs) Beltran has hit .185/.228/.227. Letting him get the start against Fister is at least defensible, but letting him face Price twice...was not. I know batting average doesn't remotely tell the whole story, but there are 229 players who got at least 100 plate appearances against LHPs. Beltran's .185 average ranked 220th.
Evan Gattis, on the other hand, sat on the bench. The whole game. All of it. He's not exactly Babe Ruth, but Gattis at least hit .241/.280/.448 against lefties. Much of the game was spent searching for the Astros to get just one big hit to stop the Red Sox momentum, which was increasing with every inning David Price stranded a runner. The Astros had either the lead or were down a run for much of that game. Evan Gattis is more likely to get that hit than Carlos Beltran. I'll forever be grateful for that 2004 postseason, and for his coming back to serve as Tio, but for the life of me I can't figure out how Hinch didn't put Gattis in once Fister exited the game.
*Charlie Morton is excited to start...whenever they play:
It's the playoffs. This is the biggest game I'll throw in all year, so I'm really excited about it. I'm excited to be here in Boston and pitch at Fenway against the Red Sox.
*Rick Porcello will start for Boston.
*Lance McCullers would be ready for a potential Game 5.
*Grant Brisbee writes that the 2017 Astros are a beautiful fit for the city of Houston. You need to read this. All of it.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
ALDS: G3 usage of Peacock and Liriano
So the Astros lost today, 10-3, having given up ten unanswered runs after Mookie Betts pulled back what would have been a three-run home run from Josh Reddick, and would have given the Astros a 6-0 death punch of a lead. But Mookie Betts did pull that home run back, or at least reach his hand over the joke of a day care door they call their right field fence. So whatever. 3-0 lead, right? Let's take a look at the decision to pull Peacock for Liriano:
*Pulling Brad Peacock.
Brad Peacock had thrown 58 pitches, not a lot for Peacock. By inning it went:
1st inning: 18 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
2nd inning: 23 pitches, 3H/1ER, 1K:1BB
Two hits led off the 2nd inning, both singles that were in the bottom half of the plate, but a little too far out over the middle. The walk featured only two egregious balls, but whatever. The Red Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and only pushed across one run, thanks to a strikeout of Bradley, Gurriel throwing to home on a soft grounder to 1st, and a Pedroia liner to right field. Wasn't ideal, but not a deal-breaker.
3rd inning: 17 pitches, 2H/1ER (at the time he left the game), 2K:0BB.
Peacock started out with two strikeouts over 14 pitches. Then Mitch Moreland hammered a double to the deepest part of Fenway where Springer either lost the ball or forgot how to play center and had no idea where the ball was coming off the carom. Next batter, Hanley Ramirez hit a liner slightly over Marwin's head that Marwin actually got a glove on...but it bounced on/off/out/whatever and scored a run, and let Hanley get to second base. Insert Getting To Second Base on Brad Peacock joke here.
Peacock's day was done. Moreland's double is what it is - he hits that ball anywhere to the right of where he hit it, and it's a solo home run. If Marwin had caught Hanley Ramirez's shot, however, the inning would be over and - while Peacock had been knocked around a little bit, you might let him handle 7-8-9 in the 4th and see if he can get you to the 5th. As it was, the Red Sox had just cut the Astros' lead from 3-0 to 3-2 and had a runner on second base. Rafael Devers - a lefty - was 0x2 in his career against Brad Peacock and had not faced Francisco Liriano. But Devers is 20, so what do you expect.
Still, none of this happens if Marwin makes that catch. Would Derek Fisher make that catch? Maybe, but you want Marwin's bat in the lineup until it becomes more of a benefit to trade Marwin's bat for Fisher's defense and currently-non-existant bat. You don't make defensive replacements in the 3rd inning.
*Inserting Francisco Liriano
Now here's where it gets tricky, because it was in the very next at-bat that the Red Sox took the lead and never looked back. And it's easy to just yell "Idiot Hinch!" for putting Liriano in, whose track record has been spotty at best since joining the Astros at the deadline. But to just yell, "LIRIANO!" and curse your very existence is maybe misguided.
But let's keep in mind that Devers has hit .400/.474/.600 in 57 PAs against LHPs this season. That said, let's look at using Liriano here. We're 2+ weeks since Tom Verducci's article saying that the Astros abandoned the idea of trying to "fix" Liriano's mechanics and improve his command, instead deciding to just have the catcher set up in the middle of the plate and let Liriano's stuff take over.
Overall, lefties have hit .245/.300/.355 off Liriano in 2017. But let's assume that the Astros tried to fix Liriano for a month before just deciding "Screw it" and letting his stuff do its thing. That said, Hinch/Strom used Liriano sparingly in September. He only faced 22 batters, but 17 of them were lefties in which they put together a .133/.235/.200 line, with 5K:2BB. Compare that to August, when Liriano faced 20 left-handed hitters, who tagged him for a .412/.500/.471 line. He didn't strike any of those dudes out.
So things had been better in September if you want Liriano to get a lefty out. Liriano had not allowed a home run as an Astro - his last home run allowed was on July 24 against Oakland. All things being equal, putting Liriano in to face Devers is defensible. Yeah, Devers could get a hit, which would tie the game by scoring Hanley but not give the Red Sox the lead. Credit Devers for the home run. But none of this happens if Marwin makes that catch.
At this point, it's still 4-3. David Price dominated the Astros, who were 2x10 w/RISP (the Red Sox were 7x12). From Innings 4-7 Price let the Astros get five baserunners, none of whom scored. Astros hitters were 2x7 on balls hit to the outfield - all of them to RF Mookie Betts. By the time Price left it was already 10-3 Boston.
It was an unlucky game. Could have turned a bunch of different ways, but didn't today. Rain is in the forecast pretty much all day tomorrow (Monday) so don't expect the Astros and Red Sox to play G4 until Tuesday. Chris Sale will be on normal rest, but so will Justin Verlander. (Still think Morton gets the nod, so as to keep Verlander/Keuchel in line to start the potential ALCS games). But the Astros just need to win one of the next two games. The Red Sox need to win both. Sure would have been nice to wrap it up today and wait to see what happens in Cleveland. But somehow that's how it goes.
*Pulling Brad Peacock.
Brad Peacock had thrown 58 pitches, not a lot for Peacock. By inning it went:
1st inning: 18 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K:0BB
2nd inning: 23 pitches, 3H/1ER, 1K:1BB
Two hits led off the 2nd inning, both singles that were in the bottom half of the plate, but a little too far out over the middle. The walk featured only two egregious balls, but whatever. The Red Sox had the bases loaded with nobody out and only pushed across one run, thanks to a strikeout of Bradley, Gurriel throwing to home on a soft grounder to 1st, and a Pedroia liner to right field. Wasn't ideal, but not a deal-breaker.
3rd inning: 17 pitches, 2H/1ER (at the time he left the game), 2K:0BB.
Peacock started out with two strikeouts over 14 pitches. Then Mitch Moreland hammered a double to the deepest part of Fenway where Springer either lost the ball or forgot how to play center and had no idea where the ball was coming off the carom. Next batter, Hanley Ramirez hit a liner slightly over Marwin's head that Marwin actually got a glove on...but it bounced on/off/out/whatever and scored a run, and let Hanley get to second base. Insert Getting To Second Base on Brad Peacock joke here.
Peacock's day was done. Moreland's double is what it is - he hits that ball anywhere to the right of where he hit it, and it's a solo home run. If Marwin had caught Hanley Ramirez's shot, however, the inning would be over and - while Peacock had been knocked around a little bit, you might let him handle 7-8-9 in the 4th and see if he can get you to the 5th. As it was, the Red Sox had just cut the Astros' lead from 3-0 to 3-2 and had a runner on second base. Rafael Devers - a lefty - was 0x2 in his career against Brad Peacock and had not faced Francisco Liriano. But Devers is 20, so what do you expect.
Still, none of this happens if Marwin makes that catch. Would Derek Fisher make that catch? Maybe, but you want Marwin's bat in the lineup until it becomes more of a benefit to trade Marwin's bat for Fisher's defense and currently-non-existant bat. You don't make defensive replacements in the 3rd inning.
*Inserting Francisco Liriano
Now here's where it gets tricky, because it was in the very next at-bat that the Red Sox took the lead and never looked back. And it's easy to just yell "Idiot Hinch!" for putting Liriano in, whose track record has been spotty at best since joining the Astros at the deadline. But to just yell, "LIRIANO!" and curse your very existence is maybe misguided.
But let's keep in mind that Devers has hit .400/.474/.600 in 57 PAs against LHPs this season. That said, let's look at using Liriano here. We're 2+ weeks since Tom Verducci's article saying that the Astros abandoned the idea of trying to "fix" Liriano's mechanics and improve his command, instead deciding to just have the catcher set up in the middle of the plate and let Liriano's stuff take over.
Overall, lefties have hit .245/.300/.355 off Liriano in 2017. But let's assume that the Astros tried to fix Liriano for a month before just deciding "Screw it" and letting his stuff do its thing. That said, Hinch/Strom used Liriano sparingly in September. He only faced 22 batters, but 17 of them were lefties in which they put together a .133/.235/.200 line, with 5K:2BB. Compare that to August, when Liriano faced 20 left-handed hitters, who tagged him for a .412/.500/.471 line. He didn't strike any of those dudes out.
So things had been better in September if you want Liriano to get a lefty out. Liriano had not allowed a home run as an Astro - his last home run allowed was on July 24 against Oakland. All things being equal, putting Liriano in to face Devers is defensible. Yeah, Devers could get a hit, which would tie the game by scoring Hanley but not give the Red Sox the lead. Credit Devers for the home run. But none of this happens if Marwin makes that catch.
At this point, it's still 4-3. David Price dominated the Astros, who were 2x10 w/RISP (the Red Sox were 7x12). From Innings 4-7 Price let the Astros get five baserunners, none of whom scored. Astros hitters were 2x7 on balls hit to the outfield - all of them to RF Mookie Betts. By the time Price left it was already 10-3 Boston.
It was an unlucky game. Could have turned a bunch of different ways, but didn't today. Rain is in the forecast pretty much all day tomorrow (Monday) so don't expect the Astros and Red Sox to play G4 until Tuesday. Chris Sale will be on normal rest, but so will Justin Verlander. (Still think Morton gets the nod, so as to keep Verlander/Keuchel in line to start the potential ALCS games). But the Astros just need to win one of the next two games. The Red Sox need to win both. Sure would have been nice to wrap it up today and wait to see what happens in Cleveland. But somehow that's how it goes.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Thursday Morning Hot Links
It's high time the Astros were able to beat the cream of the AL Central. Astros win their first series against the White Sox in their last three attempts, last one coming May 17-19, 2016. The Angels - specifically Yusmeiro Petit - are absolutely useless, losing 6-5 to the Indians last night, so the Astros are still 1.5 GB of Cleveland. The Astros have won 14 of their last 19 games and seven of their last eight, and are 93-58. There are 11 games left.
*The win moves the Astros into a tie for 4th with the 2001 and 1980 Astros. A 7-4 finish will guarantee them 100 wins for the 2nd time in franchise history.
*The Indians have won 27 of their last 30 games and the Astros are still only one back in the loss column.
*Brad Peacock threw 6IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:2BB, giving up a 2-run home run to Yoan Moncada (who is hitting .471/.591/.882 in five games against Houston this season). Hinch, on Peacock's outing:
He was good again. I don't think he was particularly sharp, which is funny to say for a guy that gave up one hit. But he did battle through his outing and didn't give up many hard hits.
Brad Peacock's MLB wins, 2011-2016: 11
Brad Peacock's MLB wins, 2017: 12
As McCullers' arm seemingly takes forever to recover from fatigue, Peacock is looking like a stronger and stronger candidate to get a postseason start. Peacock:
I'm just not thinking about it at all. Whatever they decide to do, like I've said before, I'll be happy. Whether it's bullpen or starting, just to get the chance to play in the playoffs is going to be cool.
*Joe Musgrove got the final four outs of the game for his 2nd save of the season. Musgrove:
Every time coming out of the bullpen I'm trying to strike everybody out, to be honest.
*Francisco Liriano threw his second straight perfect inning. Liriano in September: 4IP, 2H/1ER, 5K:1BB, retiring 12 of the 15 batters he has faced.
*Yuli Gurriel was 3x4 with 2RBI. Over the last seven days Gurriel is 10x19 with 3RBI. His 57th extra-base hit of the season broke Hunter Pence's rookie record.
*Altuve Watch: The Toovs was 1x3 with a walk last night, giving him 195 hits on the season. Altuve has a 15 point lead on the AL batting crown (.348 to the White Sox' Avisail Garcia's .333).
*Josh Reddick was 2x4 with a double and a triple.
*Luke Gregerson took a batted ball of the heel of his hand, but X-rays were negative.
*Jake Kaplan notes that Will Harris' fastball is coming back.
*Mike Lupica writes that the Astros are bringing a welcome distraction to Houston.
*Carlos Correa, Carlos Beltran, Juan Centeno, Alex Cora, and Alex Cintron are among the Astros with family in Puerto Rico waiting on word from their families and friends. Correa:
My grandparents are my concern right now. My grandma couldn't fly here when the hurricane hit because my grandpa has Alzheimer's and he's very sick, and he can barely move and he can't fly. She had to stay with him and take care of him. Hopefully when this all goes by and everything...goes back to a little bit more normal, I can fly them over here so they can have a house and power and be able to eat.
*Justin Verlander will be the one starting pitcher the Red Sox don't face in the regular season series finale. I'm pulling for the Astros to catch the Indians for a few reasons, chief among them is I don't want to hear from Sully Sawx-Fan for potentially nine straight games.
*The Ringer's Michael Baumann asks who is the best team in baseball?
*Joel Sherman: Is there such a thing as too many home runs? Including Sunday's division-clinching game against the Mariners in which they hit four, the Astros have seven home runs in their last ten games. So, no.
*Doubtful that Pat Neshek gets a Christmas card from Zack Greinke this year.
*A girl at the Twins/Yankees game was hit in the face by a foul ball and hospitalized, prompting calls for protective netting down the lines. I, a grown man, am terrified of getting hit in the coconut by a foul ball and would support this 100%. As one who likes to sit behind home plate at minor-league games (and for one MLB game), you don't even notice the net after about, I don't know, six seconds.
*The win moves the Astros into a tie for 4th with the 2001 and 1980 Astros. A 7-4 finish will guarantee them 100 wins for the 2nd time in franchise history.
*The Indians have won 27 of their last 30 games and the Astros are still only one back in the loss column.
*Brad Peacock threw 6IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:2BB, giving up a 2-run home run to Yoan Moncada (who is hitting .471/.591/.882 in five games against Houston this season). Hinch, on Peacock's outing:
He was good again. I don't think he was particularly sharp, which is funny to say for a guy that gave up one hit. But he did battle through his outing and didn't give up many hard hits.
Brad Peacock's MLB wins, 2011-2016: 11
Brad Peacock's MLB wins, 2017: 12
As McCullers' arm seemingly takes forever to recover from fatigue, Peacock is looking like a stronger and stronger candidate to get a postseason start. Peacock:
I'm just not thinking about it at all. Whatever they decide to do, like I've said before, I'll be happy. Whether it's bullpen or starting, just to get the chance to play in the playoffs is going to be cool.
*Joe Musgrove got the final four outs of the game for his 2nd save of the season. Musgrove:
Every time coming out of the bullpen I'm trying to strike everybody out, to be honest.
*Francisco Liriano threw his second straight perfect inning. Liriano in September: 4IP, 2H/1ER, 5K:1BB, retiring 12 of the 15 batters he has faced.
*Yuli Gurriel was 3x4 with 2RBI. Over the last seven days Gurriel is 10x19 with 3RBI. His 57th extra-base hit of the season broke Hunter Pence's rookie record.
*Altuve Watch: The Toovs was 1x3 with a walk last night, giving him 195 hits on the season. Altuve has a 15 point lead on the AL batting crown (.348 to the White Sox' Avisail Garcia's .333).
*Josh Reddick was 2x4 with a double and a triple.
*Luke Gregerson took a batted ball of the heel of his hand, but X-rays were negative.
*Jake Kaplan notes that Will Harris' fastball is coming back.
*Mike Lupica writes that the Astros are bringing a welcome distraction to Houston.
*Carlos Correa, Carlos Beltran, Juan Centeno, Alex Cora, and Alex Cintron are among the Astros with family in Puerto Rico waiting on word from their families and friends. Correa:
My grandparents are my concern right now. My grandma couldn't fly here when the hurricane hit because my grandpa has Alzheimer's and he's very sick, and he can barely move and he can't fly. She had to stay with him and take care of him. Hopefully when this all goes by and everything...goes back to a little bit more normal, I can fly them over here so they can have a house and power and be able to eat.
*Justin Verlander will be the one starting pitcher the Red Sox don't face in the regular season series finale. I'm pulling for the Astros to catch the Indians for a few reasons, chief among them is I don't want to hear from Sully Sawx-Fan for potentially nine straight games.
60% of Dallas Keuchel's pitches this year have been 2ft or lower. If holds would be the highest % for SP since pitch tracking began pic.twitter.com/OdGStVHy1l— Daren Willman (@darenw) September 20, 2017
*The Ringer's Michael Baumann asks who is the best team in baseball?
*Joel Sherman: Is there such a thing as too many home runs? Including Sunday's division-clinching game against the Mariners in which they hit four, the Astros have seven home runs in their last ten games. So, no.
*Doubtful that Pat Neshek gets a Christmas card from Zack Greinke this year.
*A girl at the Twins/Yankees game was hit in the face by a foul ball and hospitalized, prompting calls for protective netting down the lines. I, a grown man, am terrified of getting hit in the coconut by a foul ball and would support this 100%. As one who likes to sit behind home plate at minor-league games (and for one MLB game), you don't even notice the net after about, I don't know, six seconds.
Friday, August 11, 2017
Friday Morning Hot Links
A few years ago, when the Astros were *really* bad with no hope of getting demonstrably better before that season's playoffs, I started doing this thing which became known as The Thing. I would do a Twitter search for some variation of "lose" "Astros" "joke" "Lastros" "Disastros" "Asstros" "Trashstros" and so on, and retweeted them. It was great fun because it showed that other team's fans weren't prepared for the possibility that baseball can be a very random game where you can have Jason Castro hitting 3rd and still win. The Thing exposed people that didn't understand that bad teams are going to beat pretty good teams every now and then. You might even get swept.
Like yesterday I'm not going to talk you out of panicking. You want to panic? Go for it. I hope it makes you feel better. Let the cold, wet, smallpox-ridden blanket of Houston sports return you to your preferred state of discomfort and anxiety. Astros scored five runs when Dallas Keuchel gave up eight. Then scored one run when the White Sox scored seven. Last night the bats disappeared behind a strong Peacock start. It's a bad stretch. The Astros are 71-43. The Mariners lost, so the Astros have a 13-game division lead with 48 games remaining. The Red Sox - who have done this season precisely what the Astros are currently doing - are six games back in the AL.
*Yoan Moncada hit a game-tying home run off Ken Giles in the bottom of the 9th, and then Francis Martes got the ground balls he wanted in the 11th, both past Altuve - one bobbled by Reddick - as the latter, by Moncada again, drove in the walk-off run. Giles:
I threw a good pitch. I looked at the video, right on the outside corner, right on the black. I have to tip my cap to him. He put a good swing on it and drove it the other way. You can't really be mad at it...It's frustrating. We've had a lot of success early and haven't really had bumps in the road. Right now, we're going through it and trying to find ourselves again. But we'll get it together as a team again and find ways to win.
*Hinch:
We needed to find a way to win the game. We did escape a lot of innings that they put runners on base, and this game could have easily turned our way by pushing across a couple runs. Obviously there at the end, we made some mistakes.
*Houston was 1x8 w/RISP and left nine men on base, and were 2x21 w/RISP this series.
*The Astros have lost seven of their last nine, ten of their last 14, and are 11-14 since the All-Star Break.
*Josh Reddick went on MLB Network Radio and talked about the trade deadline, which passed eleven days ago, and didn't exactly help matters. I'll put the whole quote because there's no page views to be had, and it's sort of hard to read in the original tweet:
Deep down everybody in that clubhouse knew we were going to make some move to turn us from a really great team to a team that would put us over the edge, especially with all the moves you saw around the league. It's nothing against our guys but any time you can make your team better you should have the opportunity to do that and take full advantage. I think deep down, we were all down in the dumps because we had a pretty good shot to help this team get over the hump to where we need to be. That time has passed and we can't dwell on that, we have all the confidence in everybody we have now, we just have to get out of this slump right now.
It's inconsistent to not put Reddick on blast the same way we did Keuchel. Reddick and Keuchel may feel that way, but the only reason to go public with comments such as this is to:
a) Have a ready-made excuse for if/when the Astros aren't the last team standing at the end of the postseason.
b) Make sure that the front office knows how pissed the players are about the Trade Deadline That Wasn't. It also echoes what Correa, Keuchel, and Beltran told Bob Nightengale back in early June. Don't remember?
Correa: I really believe this can be the year....I think we need one more guy, a No. 1 or No. 2 type of guy in the rotation, and another reliever. We get that, it would be a dream come true. And I think Jeff is going to get it done for us. I really do. This is the year
Keuchel: I'd like to see us get somebody who can dominate...so if we're going to go out and get somebody, I'd rather get somebody who's a proven winner and who can dominate a game.
Beltran: I'm sure ownership will step up and do something to help us. I sure hope so, because I really believe this can be our time.
So Reddick is simply echoing what had been going around the clubhouse 6-7 weeks before the Trade Deadline. You can defend Luhnow and the front office for not making a move. You can blast the players for letting factors outside of their control send them into a tailspin of depression. But you can't say that Luhnow & Co. weren't aware that key members of the team were looking for some help.
I didn't hear the interview live, but 790's Michael Connor did, and Reddick's tone (not pissed off, not venting) is important.
OR you can tell the players to maybe take it as a compliment that Luhnow thought the team is good enough to win the World Series and to resume playing like it.
*A.J. Hinch has a little message for Reddick and maybe Dallas Keuchel, who are among the already-loud gaggle of people clamoring for the Astros to add (or have added) a starting pitcher:
I think the starting pitchers should take offense to it. We roll guys out there that are trying to do exactly what everybody says they can't do or we don't have....I think we have great chemistry, great culture, a lot of pride and a ton of competitive guys. At the end of the season, we will be able to evaluate exactly what we were or what we are or where we're going...We've got to find other ways to get better than to defend ourselves to the external world.
*To that end, Jon Morosi notes that there is language in the new CBA which would allow Justin Verlander to opt out of his contract after this season or the 2018 season, if he wasn't sure of spending too much time in Houston. Why he would opt out of $56 million for the next two seasons is unclear to me, but maybe the $170m he'll have made through this season is "enough."
*Joel Sherman doesn't think the Astros and Tigers will make a Verlander deal, so he has four pitchers the Astros could target before August 31 in order to avoid "an epic collapse."
*Jon Heyman has a number of interesting notes in his column about the reticence of the Astros, namely that the Padres asked for Franklin Perez and/or Yordan Alvarez in a Brad Hand trade, and the Astros said no; The Astros pushed A.J. Reed and Colin Moran as centerpieces of a trade, and other teams weren't on board; and a rival GM's take on the failed Britton talks, "If you're dealing with the Orioles, you better have a backup plan."
*Dale Robertson writes that the Astros' true test is still to come.
*Will Harris is making an adjustment to his delivery that will, ideally, put less strain on his shoulder.
*Today in "You Don't Say," Jake Kaplan notes that Francisco Liriano is struggling with his command.
*Hunter Atkins is turning in some quality pieces: here's the story of the 28-day road trip the Astros took in 1992 thanks to the GOP Convention at the Astrodome.
*Quad Cities' Abraham Toro-Hernandez and Fresno's Rogelio Armenteros were the Astros' minor-leaguers of the month. Toro-Hernandez hit .315/.431/.607 between Tri-City and Quad Cities in July. Armenteros was 5-0 for Fresno in July, throwing 28.1IP, 24H/9ER, 32K:10BB.
*A.J. Reed homered for the 3rd straight game, and has 13 home runs in his last 28 games.
*Yordan Alvarez was 4x5 with 4RBI in Buies Creek's win last night. Stephen Wrenn was 4x6 with four runs scored.
*Pinky Deras: 18 complete games, 16 shutouts, 10 no-hitters, 298Ks in 108IP. 33 home runs. The legend of the only Michigan team to win the Little League World Series
Like yesterday I'm not going to talk you out of panicking. You want to panic? Go for it. I hope it makes you feel better. Let the cold, wet, smallpox-ridden blanket of Houston sports return you to your preferred state of discomfort and anxiety. Astros scored five runs when Dallas Keuchel gave up eight. Then scored one run when the White Sox scored seven. Last night the bats disappeared behind a strong Peacock start. It's a bad stretch. The Astros are 71-43. The Mariners lost, so the Astros have a 13-game division lead with 48 games remaining. The Red Sox - who have done this season precisely what the Astros are currently doing - are six games back in the AL.
*Yoan Moncada hit a game-tying home run off Ken Giles in the bottom of the 9th, and then Francis Martes got the ground balls he wanted in the 11th, both past Altuve - one bobbled by Reddick - as the latter, by Moncada again, drove in the walk-off run. Giles:
I threw a good pitch. I looked at the video, right on the outside corner, right on the black. I have to tip my cap to him. He put a good swing on it and drove it the other way. You can't really be mad at it...It's frustrating. We've had a lot of success early and haven't really had bumps in the road. Right now, we're going through it and trying to find ourselves again. But we'll get it together as a team again and find ways to win.
*Hinch:
We needed to find a way to win the game. We did escape a lot of innings that they put runners on base, and this game could have easily turned our way by pushing across a couple runs. Obviously there at the end, we made some mistakes.
*Houston was 1x8 w/RISP and left nine men on base, and were 2x21 w/RISP this series.
*The Astros have lost seven of their last nine, ten of their last 14, and are 11-14 since the All-Star Break.
*Josh Reddick went on MLB Network Radio and talked about the trade deadline, which passed eleven days ago, and didn't exactly help matters. I'll put the whole quote because there's no page views to be had, and it's sort of hard to read in the original tweet:
Deep down everybody in that clubhouse knew we were going to make some move to turn us from a really great team to a team that would put us over the edge, especially with all the moves you saw around the league. It's nothing against our guys but any time you can make your team better you should have the opportunity to do that and take full advantage. I think deep down, we were all down in the dumps because we had a pretty good shot to help this team get over the hump to where we need to be. That time has passed and we can't dwell on that, we have all the confidence in everybody we have now, we just have to get out of this slump right now.
It's inconsistent to not put Reddick on blast the same way we did Keuchel. Reddick and Keuchel may feel that way, but the only reason to go public with comments such as this is to:
a) Have a ready-made excuse for if/when the Astros aren't the last team standing at the end of the postseason.
b) Make sure that the front office knows how pissed the players are about the Trade Deadline That Wasn't. It also echoes what Correa, Keuchel, and Beltran told Bob Nightengale back in early June. Don't remember?
Correa: I really believe this can be the year....I think we need one more guy, a No. 1 or No. 2 type of guy in the rotation, and another reliever. We get that, it would be a dream come true. And I think Jeff is going to get it done for us. I really do. This is the year
Keuchel: I'd like to see us get somebody who can dominate...so if we're going to go out and get somebody, I'd rather get somebody who's a proven winner and who can dominate a game.
Beltran: I'm sure ownership will step up and do something to help us. I sure hope so, because I really believe this can be our time.
So Reddick is simply echoing what had been going around the clubhouse 6-7 weeks before the Trade Deadline. You can defend Luhnow and the front office for not making a move. You can blast the players for letting factors outside of their control send them into a tailspin of depression. But you can't say that Luhnow & Co. weren't aware that key members of the team were looking for some help.
I didn't hear the interview live, but 790's Michael Connor did, and Reddick's tone (not pissed off, not venting) is important.
OR you can tell the players to maybe take it as a compliment that Luhnow thought the team is good enough to win the World Series and to resume playing like it.
*A.J. Hinch has a little message for Reddick and maybe Dallas Keuchel, who are among the already-loud gaggle of people clamoring for the Astros to add (or have added) a starting pitcher:
I think the starting pitchers should take offense to it. We roll guys out there that are trying to do exactly what everybody says they can't do or we don't have....I think we have great chemistry, great culture, a lot of pride and a ton of competitive guys. At the end of the season, we will be able to evaluate exactly what we were or what we are or where we're going...We've got to find other ways to get better than to defend ourselves to the external world.
*To that end, Jon Morosi notes that there is language in the new CBA which would allow Justin Verlander to opt out of his contract after this season or the 2018 season, if he wasn't sure of spending too much time in Houston. Why he would opt out of $56 million for the next two seasons is unclear to me, but maybe the $170m he'll have made through this season is "enough."
*Joel Sherman doesn't think the Astros and Tigers will make a Verlander deal, so he has four pitchers the Astros could target before August 31 in order to avoid "an epic collapse."
*Jon Heyman has a number of interesting notes in his column about the reticence of the Astros, namely that the Padres asked for Franklin Perez and/or Yordan Alvarez in a Brad Hand trade, and the Astros said no; The Astros pushed A.J. Reed and Colin Moran as centerpieces of a trade, and other teams weren't on board; and a rival GM's take on the failed Britton talks, "If you're dealing with the Orioles, you better have a backup plan."
*Dale Robertson writes that the Astros' true test is still to come.
*Will Harris is making an adjustment to his delivery that will, ideally, put less strain on his shoulder.
*Today in "You Don't Say," Jake Kaplan notes that Francisco Liriano is struggling with his command.
*Hunter Atkins is turning in some quality pieces: here's the story of the 28-day road trip the Astros took in 1992 thanks to the GOP Convention at the Astrodome.
*Quad Cities' Abraham Toro-Hernandez and Fresno's Rogelio Armenteros were the Astros' minor-leaguers of the month. Toro-Hernandez hit .315/.431/.607 between Tri-City and Quad Cities in July. Armenteros was 5-0 for Fresno in July, throwing 28.1IP, 24H/9ER, 32K:10BB.
*A.J. Reed homered for the 3rd straight game, and has 13 home runs in his last 28 games.
*Yordan Alvarez was 4x5 with 4RBI in Buies Creek's win last night. Stephen Wrenn was 4x6 with four runs scored.
*Pinky Deras: 18 complete games, 16 shutouts, 10 no-hitters, 298Ks in 108IP. 33 home runs. The legend of the only Michigan team to win the Little League World Series
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Not ideal! Collin McHugh was cruising - CRUISING, SORT OF! - and then it all went straight to hell when the light-hitting White Sox torched him for seven runs in the 5th and 6th. Astros lose for the 8th time in their last 12 games, 7-1. They are 71-42. Seattle won, so the Astros' division lead is at 13 games; Boston won (of course), so the Astros' AL lead is 6.5 games, with 49 remaining.
*Hinch:
The results are going to be tough on our guys, but I always like our approach...All in all, just not a good night.
Yeah, there's been a few of those lately.
McHugh, who went 5.1IP, 9H/7ER, 5K:3BB:
Wasn't able to stop the bleeding there, which is really unfortunate because I knew their guy was throwing the ball well and our guys were battling and putting good swings. They just weren't quite falling in for us. As a starting pitcher, you need to be able to keep the game at that part there.
*Hinch:
I think we're past the stage where he's in the Spring Training thing. He was an effective pitcher tonight. He pitched out of one huge jam early. They just put up a couple of big innings.
*Collin McHugh, by inning:
1st: 8 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K
2nd: 30 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K:2BB (got out of a bases-loaded/no-out jam)
3rd: 9 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K
4th: 11 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K
Through four innings - 58 pitches, 2H/0ER, 4K:2BB.
5th: 21 pitches, 5H/4ER, 1K
6th: 16 pitches, 2H/1ER, 1BB
5th-6th innings: 37 pitches, 7H/5ER, 1K:1BB
Francisco Liriano "relieved" McHugh and put up your traditional Liriano: 0.2IP, 1H, 1BB and allowed two baserunners he inherited to score, so McHugh was charged with 7ER last night.
*The rotation has put up a 5.50 ERA since the All-Star Break.
*The White Sox had lost 23 of their last 27 games coming into this series, so it makes perfect sense for the Astros to have lost two of the first three games. That said, I would like to remind you that baseball is a fickle beast, a troubled lover, an insolent whore. The 2013 Astros won 51 games all season long, but won six in a row in late May-early June, including a four-game sweep at Anaheim. They took two of three at Oakland in mid-August at a time where the A's were hot on the Ramgers' trail for 1st place. Good teams hit patches, and this is most definitely a patch. Is it encouraging? By no means. Does it happen to every team at some point in the season? Absolutely. Panic if you want, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it: Keuchel isn't right yet, McCullers has probably been hurt for two months now, McHugh is still trying to figure it out after essentially an 8-month layoff. Will Harris is hurt. Francisco Liriano is...well, pretty much the worst-case scenario of what you could get out of Francisco Liriano. Carlos Correa is still probably 3-4 weeks away. There are issues, most definitely. But every team goes through a slide at some point. The Astros just need to figure out how to stop it, because Justin Verlander (probably) isn't walking through that door. And even if he was, is his presence magical enough to fix Dallas Keuchel? Or maybe he can talk Francisco Liriano into embracing the idea of leaving an inherited runner on base?
*Hinch, on the team's recent struggles (and the smallest 13-game lead in baseball history):
We have the opportunity to worry about ourselves, and try to get ourselves right with some of the things we haven't done well...Regardless of external expectations and talk, we haven't done anything yet. Our guys know that.
*An AL scout talked to the New York Daily News' John Harper and told him, of Keuchel:
Those comments (after the trade deadline) made me think Keuchel might know he's still compromised in some way. He doesn't look anything like he did (before the injury). The late movement isn't there. And he's missing location, which he can't afford to do. With his stuff, he's throwing BP when he's not on point with the command and the late sink.
*George Springer returned from the DL, missing 13 games after the Astros said he wouldn't require a DL stint, and got a leadoff single. Tyler White was optioned back to Fresno to make room. Hinch:
We struggled with that decision because we could've gone a couple different ways. Whether it was between (White) and J.D. (Davis) or the pitchers; we could've gone down a pitcher if we wanted to. But going into (Arlington) and Arizona, we wanted to keep the extra pitcher.
*Alex Bregman hit a double to extend his extra-base hit streak to a franchise record-tying ten games.
*August 25-27 will be Players Weekend across MLB. The Astros get to (or have to, according to your preference) wear these uniforms and have nicknames on the back. Shoutout to the ever-creative George Springer, Brian McCann, and Dallas Keuchel, who all just chose their last names. Way to get into the spirit of the thing. But here's to Clubhouse Guy Jake Marisnick, for choosing "Big Fudge."
*The Indians traded for Jay Bruce, so I guess it is possible to make your team better in August. Weird. Speaking of, Danny Knobler has sources that said the Astros had talks with the Tigers about an August trade for Justin Verlander but "were unwilling to surrender any of the prospects the Tigers wanted or to take on a significant amount of his remaining contract." Verlander last night: 8IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:3BB. He blamed his "bad stretch" on a mechanical flaw, which is now apparently fixed.
*Corpus' Jason Martin hit a walk-off grand slam last night to push the Hooks to a half-game lead on a postseason spot.
*Via Daren Willman: Forrest Whitley has the highest K% in minor-league baseball at 35.7%
*Jerome Solomon: Don Baylor did everything the right way.
*Hinch:
The results are going to be tough on our guys, but I always like our approach...All in all, just not a good night.
Yeah, there's been a few of those lately.
McHugh, who went 5.1IP, 9H/7ER, 5K:3BB:
Wasn't able to stop the bleeding there, which is really unfortunate because I knew their guy was throwing the ball well and our guys were battling and putting good swings. They just weren't quite falling in for us. As a starting pitcher, you need to be able to keep the game at that part there.
*Hinch:
I think we're past the stage where he's in the Spring Training thing. He was an effective pitcher tonight. He pitched out of one huge jam early. They just put up a couple of big innings.
*Collin McHugh, by inning:
1st: 8 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K
2nd: 30 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K:2BB (got out of a bases-loaded/no-out jam)
3rd: 9 pitches, 1H/0ER, 1K
4th: 11 pitches, 0H/0ER, 1K
Through four innings - 58 pitches, 2H/0ER, 4K:2BB.
5th: 21 pitches, 5H/4ER, 1K
6th: 16 pitches, 2H/1ER, 1BB
5th-6th innings: 37 pitches, 7H/5ER, 1K:1BB
Francisco Liriano "relieved" McHugh and put up your traditional Liriano: 0.2IP, 1H, 1BB and allowed two baserunners he inherited to score, so McHugh was charged with 7ER last night.
*The rotation has put up a 5.50 ERA since the All-Star Break.
*The White Sox had lost 23 of their last 27 games coming into this series, so it makes perfect sense for the Astros to have lost two of the first three games. That said, I would like to remind you that baseball is a fickle beast, a troubled lover, an insolent whore. The 2013 Astros won 51 games all season long, but won six in a row in late May-early June, including a four-game sweep at Anaheim. They took two of three at Oakland in mid-August at a time where the A's were hot on the Ramgers' trail for 1st place. Good teams hit patches, and this is most definitely a patch. Is it encouraging? By no means. Does it happen to every team at some point in the season? Absolutely. Panic if you want, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it: Keuchel isn't right yet, McCullers has probably been hurt for two months now, McHugh is still trying to figure it out after essentially an 8-month layoff. Will Harris is hurt. Francisco Liriano is...well, pretty much the worst-case scenario of what you could get out of Francisco Liriano. Carlos Correa is still probably 3-4 weeks away. There are issues, most definitely. But every team goes through a slide at some point. The Astros just need to figure out how to stop it, because Justin Verlander (probably) isn't walking through that door. And even if he was, is his presence magical enough to fix Dallas Keuchel? Or maybe he can talk Francisco Liriano into embracing the idea of leaving an inherited runner on base?
*Hinch, on the team's recent struggles (and the smallest 13-game lead in baseball history):
We have the opportunity to worry about ourselves, and try to get ourselves right with some of the things we haven't done well...Regardless of external expectations and talk, we haven't done anything yet. Our guys know that.
*An AL scout talked to the New York Daily News' John Harper and told him, of Keuchel:
Those comments (after the trade deadline) made me think Keuchel might know he's still compromised in some way. He doesn't look anything like he did (before the injury). The late movement isn't there. And he's missing location, which he can't afford to do. With his stuff, he's throwing BP when he's not on point with the command and the late sink.
*George Springer returned from the DL, missing 13 games after the Astros said he wouldn't require a DL stint, and got a leadoff single. Tyler White was optioned back to Fresno to make room. Hinch:
We struggled with that decision because we could've gone a couple different ways. Whether it was between (White) and J.D. (Davis) or the pitchers; we could've gone down a pitcher if we wanted to. But going into (Arlington) and Arizona, we wanted to keep the extra pitcher.
*Alex Bregman hit a double to extend his extra-base hit streak to a franchise record-tying ten games.
*August 25-27 will be Players Weekend across MLB. The Astros get to (or have to, according to your preference) wear these uniforms and have nicknames on the back. Shoutout to the ever-creative George Springer, Brian McCann, and Dallas Keuchel, who all just chose their last names. Way to get into the spirit of the thing. But here's to Clubhouse Guy Jake Marisnick, for choosing "Big Fudge."
*The Indians traded for Jay Bruce, so I guess it is possible to make your team better in August. Weird. Speaking of, Danny Knobler has sources that said the Astros had talks with the Tigers about an August trade for Justin Verlander but "were unwilling to surrender any of the prospects the Tigers wanted or to take on a significant amount of his remaining contract." Verlander last night: 8IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:3BB. He blamed his "bad stretch" on a mechanical flaw, which is now apparently fixed.
*Corpus' Jason Martin hit a walk-off grand slam last night to push the Hooks to a half-game lead on a postseason spot.
*Via Daren Willman: Forrest Whitley has the highest K% in minor-league baseball at 35.7%
*Jerome Solomon: Don Baylor did everything the right way.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Sunday Morning Hot Links
Just about everything in last night's game was stupid. Astros missing chances (runners on 2nd/3rd, no out in the 7th? No runs!), Astros missing throws (see: go ahead run, top 10th), Francisco Liriano's incredibly underwhelming tenure to date. Astros lost 4-3. They are 70-40. The game between Seattle and Kansas City was postponed, so the Astros lead is 14.5 games with 52 remaining. The Astros have lost seven of their last ten games and are 2-4 on this homestand.
*Hinch:
We didn't win the big moments in this game. We made some mistakes. We lost some at-bats that we were working to try to get, and they executed when they had the biggest at-bat of their night a couple of times. Tough games to lose. Definitely a winnable game.
*The Chron's Mark Eisenhauer:
...The Astros looked off, like a cast mixed with understudies. Clutch hits eluded them. Fielding miscues cost them a lead. A depleted bullpen lost them the game...
*Charlie Morton threw well, going 7IP, 7H/3ER, 7K:2BB. He held the Blue Jays to 1x10 w/RISP by himself. Morton's five starts since the All-Star Break: 31.2IP, 21H/13ER, 36K:11BB. 3.69 ERA / 1.01 WHIP.
*The bullpen was shaky. Chris Devenski - who looks straight up gassed - walked both batters he faced and threw a wild pitch, which Giles cleaned up. Giles got four outs with a hit mixed in there, but no runs allowed. Francisco Liriano faced four batters, got two out, but walked one and allowed the hit that would score the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate made close by Derek Fisher's off-line throw from left field. Ryan Goins, who was hitting .184 against LHPs this season and subsequently knocked in Refsnyder in the top of the 10th, said of Liriano:
That's one guy when he was here I told him I never wanted to face him...I won this time, but that's one guy - he's nasty. His numbers say what they are, but he's one of the nastiest guys in the league.
*Francisco Liriano has faced seven batters in two games. Four of them have reached base, two of them have scored. Nasty.
*Chris Devenski, post-ASG: 8.2IP, 6H/3ER, 6K:3BB. 3.12 ERA / 1.04 WHIP. Hinch:
He's got to push through some things, but he can handle it. He's a tough kid and will push through some of this.
*The offense got five hits, including Josh Reddick's two-run home run in the 1st inning. Toronto was 2x15 w/RISP.
*Let's just say the Astros finish the regular season 26-26, and end up with a 96-66 record (which would, to be honest, be disappointing). Here's what would have to happen in order for the Astros not to make the postseason:
-Seattle: 41-10
-Anaheim: 42-9
-Arlington: 43-9
-Oakland: 48-5
*Evan Gattis was placed on the 7-Day concussion DL. Juan Centeno was brought up from Fresno. Garrett Stubbs was promoted to Fresno.
*J.D. Davis made his major-league debut and went 1x4 with three strikeouts. He also committed a mental error by throwing to 1st with runners at 1st/3rd with one out, instead of going for the inning-ending double play. Davis:
I wasn't really expecting to be called up in August, or at least early August. It was an awesome feeling. We had a team meeting and they told Juan [Centeno] he was going up and I was joining right behind him. It was pretty exciting, and I'm happy.
*The Astros are 11-11 when Jose Altuve doesn't get a hit. Has Altuve even peaked at the plate yet?
*J.B. Bukauskas will head to Tri-City for the final three weeks of the season.
*Jeff Bagwell was at Minute Maid Park for the final stop on his Hall of Fame tour.
*Check out this Bagwell/Biggio mural.
*In a blatant attempt to win the heart of Shohei Otani, the Rangers took out an ad in a Japanese newspaper thanking Yu Darvish.
*Felix Hernandez still isn't right.
*TFW you read the headline and think, "Matt Cain is still playing?"
*The Masochist's Marathon. There is a documentary on Netflix about the Barkley Marathons that is absolutely worth your time.
*My favorite soccer team - Leeds United - begins their season today. The following does not feature Leeds United, but it is incredible:
*Hinch:
We didn't win the big moments in this game. We made some mistakes. We lost some at-bats that we were working to try to get, and they executed when they had the biggest at-bat of their night a couple of times. Tough games to lose. Definitely a winnable game.
*The Chron's Mark Eisenhauer:
...The Astros looked off, like a cast mixed with understudies. Clutch hits eluded them. Fielding miscues cost them a lead. A depleted bullpen lost them the game...
*Charlie Morton threw well, going 7IP, 7H/3ER, 7K:2BB. He held the Blue Jays to 1x10 w/RISP by himself. Morton's five starts since the All-Star Break: 31.2IP, 21H/13ER, 36K:11BB. 3.69 ERA / 1.01 WHIP.
*The bullpen was shaky. Chris Devenski - who looks straight up gassed - walked both batters he faced and threw a wild pitch, which Giles cleaned up. Giles got four outs with a hit mixed in there, but no runs allowed. Francisco Liriano faced four batters, got two out, but walked one and allowed the hit that would score the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate made close by Derek Fisher's off-line throw from left field. Ryan Goins, who was hitting .184 against LHPs this season and subsequently knocked in Refsnyder in the top of the 10th, said of Liriano:
That's one guy when he was here I told him I never wanted to face him...I won this time, but that's one guy - he's nasty. His numbers say what they are, but he's one of the nastiest guys in the league.
*Francisco Liriano has faced seven batters in two games. Four of them have reached base, two of them have scored. Nasty.
*Chris Devenski, post-ASG: 8.2IP, 6H/3ER, 6K:3BB. 3.12 ERA / 1.04 WHIP. Hinch:
He's got to push through some things, but he can handle it. He's a tough kid and will push through some of this.
*The offense got five hits, including Josh Reddick's two-run home run in the 1st inning. Toronto was 2x15 w/RISP.
*Let's just say the Astros finish the regular season 26-26, and end up with a 96-66 record (which would, to be honest, be disappointing). Here's what would have to happen in order for the Astros not to make the postseason:
-Seattle: 41-10
-Anaheim: 42-9
-Arlington: 43-9
-Oakland: 48-5
*Evan Gattis was placed on the 7-Day concussion DL. Juan Centeno was brought up from Fresno. Garrett Stubbs was promoted to Fresno.
*J.D. Davis made his major-league debut and went 1x4 with three strikeouts. He also committed a mental error by throwing to 1st with runners at 1st/3rd with one out, instead of going for the inning-ending double play. Davis:
I wasn't really expecting to be called up in August, or at least early August. It was an awesome feeling. We had a team meeting and they told Juan [Centeno] he was going up and I was joining right behind him. It was pretty exciting, and I'm happy.
*The Astros are 11-11 when Jose Altuve doesn't get a hit. Has Altuve even peaked at the plate yet?
*J.B. Bukauskas will head to Tri-City for the final three weeks of the season.
*Jeff Bagwell was at Minute Maid Park for the final stop on his Hall of Fame tour.
*Check out this Bagwell/Biggio mural.
*In a blatant attempt to win the heart of Shohei Otani, the Rangers took out an ad in a Japanese newspaper thanking Yu Darvish.
*Felix Hernandez still isn't right.
*TFW you read the headline and think, "Matt Cain is still playing?"
*The Masochist's Marathon. There is a documentary on Netflix about the Barkley Marathons that is absolutely worth your time.
*My favorite soccer team - Leeds United - begins their season today. The following does not feature Leeds United, but it is incredible:
The best goal you'll see on Twitter today. pic.twitter.com/CUkS4y1cQk— Classic Goals (@ClassicGoaIs) August 6, 2017
Friday, August 4, 2017
Friday Morning Hot Links
The Astros have now lost consecutive series for the first time all season. The Astros got nothing in the bottom two-thirds of the lineup and Francisco Liriano didn't exactly impress everybody in his debut. Astros lose 5-3, their 3rd-straight loss and 5th in their last six games. The Astros are 69-39, but the Mariners lost again so the lead is still at 15 games. There are 54 games left.
*Hinch:
Just not very clean baseball from us recently. It's not the way we've been for the better part of this season, it's not the way we're going to be moving forward. We took it on the chin this series.
*Altuve-Bregman-Gurriel went 8x12 with 3RBI, 1K:0BB. The rest of the lineup went 1x23 with 9K:1BB. The Astros are 7-8 since Correa went on the DL.
*The Astros made three errors (two by Bregman, one by Altuve), leading to three unearned runs. A loss tonight would be a season-high 4th straight, and they'll get to try to avoid that mark without Correa, Springer, and Altuve.
*Collin McHugh pitched very well, going 6IP, 5H/2R (1ER), 6K:2BB.
*Francisco Liriano made his Astros debut and everyone sort of wished he hadn't. He faced three batters, walked one, allowed a hit, and got an out. Both of his baserunners came around to score. Liriano:
I was trying to do too much. That's not the first game you want to have.
Hinch, who called on Liriano with the Astros up 3-2 (it was 5-3 by the end of the 6th):
Yeah, we didn't get through that inning very well. It was pretty symbolic to how things are going for us.
*Meat Wagon updates:
-Hinch said Correa is at least a month away, but is running, throwing, and working out. Correa:
I feel great. My strength is back. My range of motion is really good. We're just waiting for the ligament to heal.
-Springer is eligible to come off the DL today, but won't.
-Will Harris hasn't even started throwing yet.
-Feliz and Sipp still don't have a clear plan to come back.
Not too worried about those last two, but it sure would be nice to get Correa, Springer, and Harris back - especially the latter two (since we knew Correa would be out until September).
*Hey James Hoyt is back.
*While Ken Rosenthal kinda sorta tried to absolve the Astros for waving hello and goodbye at the Trade Deadline, Jon Heyman is having none of that:
The explanation for the Astros coming up empty is more about their longstanding stance on their top prospects, others insist. They just weren't willing to surrender their top prospects in some cases, rival execs said. "The Astros had the (young) players to make a deal," said one other rival GM. "They have a good farm system."...The reality is, the Astros didn't help themselves enough. And it's hard to blame it on Angelos or any other rival owner for that.
We'll have to wait until a 2017 postmortem to judge the impact of what did/didn't happen on Monday, but I can get on board with everything Heyman wrote here. Further down in the linked column there were two different reactions from rival executives:
-Prospects, prospects, prospects will get you fired, fired, fired.
-They've made shrewd, responsible decisions for years, so it's hard to blame them now for going away from their plans...
*MASN's Roch Kubatko, on the Britton non-deal, said that Baltimore had concerns with the medicals of two pitchers the Astros were offering and that:
The more people I check with, the more it's apparent that offers for Britton were reflective of the version who twice went on the disabled list and not the dominant closer of 2016. No team stepped up with a group of prospects worthy of a deal, at least in the opinion of the people making the decision. The Astros, Dodgers, and Indians tried to get him, but they fell short. The Orioles simply weren't going to sell low.
*Steven Goldman has an excellent column on the lingering doubts of the 2017 Astros.
*MLB executives told Bob Nightengale they think Verlander will clear waivers, opening the door to a possible trade.
*Derek Fisher, who was asked about in just about every single deal that didn't happen, is settling in for the long haul with Houston.
*Joe Musgrove has a 1.12 ERA in his last 8IP. Musgrove:
Out of the pen it's completely different. I'm kind of just going in and trying to be as nasty as I can for as long as they need me to go, whether it's an inning or three.
*Joe Posnanski notes how many home runs the Astros have hit, and how few they strikeout.
*Sports Illustrated: How George Springer learned to embrace the game - and himself. Springer:
I had to go back to having fun. I wasn't having fun because I wasn't quote-unquote having success. I said, 'I'm just going to have fun from here on out,' and it's made the difference for me.
*The KissCam got awkward.
*The MLB stars who are too scared to go back home. Essential read.
*Hinch:
Just not very clean baseball from us recently. It's not the way we've been for the better part of this season, it's not the way we're going to be moving forward. We took it on the chin this series.
*Altuve-Bregman-Gurriel went 8x12 with 3RBI, 1K:0BB. The rest of the lineup went 1x23 with 9K:1BB. The Astros are 7-8 since Correa went on the DL.
*The Astros made three errors (two by Bregman, one by Altuve), leading to three unearned runs. A loss tonight would be a season-high 4th straight, and they'll get to try to avoid that mark without Correa, Springer, and Altuve.
*Collin McHugh pitched very well, going 6IP, 5H/2R (1ER), 6K:2BB.
*Francisco Liriano made his Astros debut and everyone sort of wished he hadn't. He faced three batters, walked one, allowed a hit, and got an out. Both of his baserunners came around to score. Liriano:
I was trying to do too much. That's not the first game you want to have.
Hinch, who called on Liriano with the Astros up 3-2 (it was 5-3 by the end of the 6th):
Yeah, we didn't get through that inning very well. It was pretty symbolic to how things are going for us.
*Meat Wagon updates:
-Hinch said Correa is at least a month away, but is running, throwing, and working out. Correa:
I feel great. My strength is back. My range of motion is really good. We're just waiting for the ligament to heal.
-Springer is eligible to come off the DL today, but won't.
-Will Harris hasn't even started throwing yet.
-Feliz and Sipp still don't have a clear plan to come back.
Not too worried about those last two, but it sure would be nice to get Correa, Springer, and Harris back - especially the latter two (since we knew Correa would be out until September).
*Hey James Hoyt is back.
*While Ken Rosenthal kinda sorta tried to absolve the Astros for waving hello and goodbye at the Trade Deadline, Jon Heyman is having none of that:
The explanation for the Astros coming up empty is more about their longstanding stance on their top prospects, others insist. They just weren't willing to surrender their top prospects in some cases, rival execs said. "The Astros had the (young) players to make a deal," said one other rival GM. "They have a good farm system."...The reality is, the Astros didn't help themselves enough. And it's hard to blame it on Angelos or any other rival owner for that.
We'll have to wait until a 2017 postmortem to judge the impact of what did/didn't happen on Monday, but I can get on board with everything Heyman wrote here. Further down in the linked column there were two different reactions from rival executives:
-Prospects, prospects, prospects will get you fired, fired, fired.
-They've made shrewd, responsible decisions for years, so it's hard to blame them now for going away from their plans...
*MASN's Roch Kubatko, on the Britton non-deal, said that Baltimore had concerns with the medicals of two pitchers the Astros were offering and that:
The more people I check with, the more it's apparent that offers for Britton were reflective of the version who twice went on the disabled list and not the dominant closer of 2016. No team stepped up with a group of prospects worthy of a deal, at least in the opinion of the people making the decision. The Astros, Dodgers, and Indians tried to get him, but they fell short. The Orioles simply weren't going to sell low.
*Steven Goldman has an excellent column on the lingering doubts of the 2017 Astros.
*MLB executives told Bob Nightengale they think Verlander will clear waivers, opening the door to a possible trade.
*Derek Fisher, who was asked about in just about every single deal that didn't happen, is settling in for the long haul with Houston.
*Joe Musgrove has a 1.12 ERA in his last 8IP. Musgrove:
Out of the pen it's completely different. I'm kind of just going in and trying to be as nasty as I can for as long as they need me to go, whether it's an inning or three.
*Joe Posnanski notes how many home runs the Astros have hit, and how few they strikeout.
*Sports Illustrated: How George Springer learned to embrace the game - and himself. Springer:
I had to go back to having fun. I wasn't having fun because I wasn't quote-unquote having success. I said, 'I'm just going to have fun from here on out,' and it's made the difference for me.
*The KissCam got awkward.
*The MLB stars who are too scared to go back home. Essential read.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
*Lots of things did and did not happen yesterday. Let's take a breath and run them down before we get into the links, yes?
-The Astros did not acquire Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish, Justin Wilson, or Zach Britton.
-The Astros did trade Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez to Toronto.
-The Astros did bring in Francisco Liriano for bullpen help.
-The Astros made Derek Fisher their everyday LF.
-The Astros beat the Rays.
There are going to be plenty of columns and hand-wringing over what the Astros did not do at the Trade Deadline. Do the Astros have enough pitching to get through Boston, Cleveland, or New York? Theoretically yes. Do the playoffs start today, with Lance McCullers, George Springer, and Carlos Correa on the DL? No they do not. But the Astros are now 69-36. And are winning games despite Michael Feliz, Tony Sipp, and Francis Martes. There are two full months of baseball left before the playoffs start for everyone to get right and get healthy. And the Astros still have Kyle Tucker, Forrest Whitley, Franklin Perez, etc. I don't know that I would call yesterday's (non-) happenings "disappointing" as I would call them "anti-climactic." But the climax can still come in late October. Or it might not. I still maintain that the Astros "went for it" this past off-season, and not so much yesterday.
*Looking at Francisco Liriano's dashboard page, it's not an impressive move. 5.88 ERA/1.62 WHIP? 43 walks in 82.2IP? The hell? But lefties are hitting .230/.254/.361 against him. Consider the following relievers' stats against lefties:
Michael Feliz: .275/.329/.551
Tony Sipp: .226/.294/.516
Luke Gregerson: .234/.300/.500
Liriano has not appeared in relief for the Blue Jays this season, but he provides another arm in the bullpen that can throw anywhere from two to four innings if needed. Is it a flashy move? Not even a little bit. Is it useful? Could be.
*Luhnow:
We tried to get a lot done today. We were working on several different things. Acquiring a pitcher like Liriano was a priority for us. Not only has he been a starter, he's been a reliever, he's got postseason experience. We really think he can help this club out in an area of great need.
*More Luhnow:
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed in not getting some of the moves done that we were working on. We had some that were close to and almost over the finish line, and at times I would've put them at 90 percent-plus that we were going to get them done. But there are a lot of dynamics that happen with these deals, and for reasons I can't really talk about, they didn't happen.
We do not know what the Astros had on the table for [insert whoever you wanted], and the other side rejected, or backed out. You can't hit Force Trade and bring Mike Trout and 1998 Randy Johnson to the 2017 Astros. What if it came out that the Astros had offered [ridiculous package of prospects] for Zach Britton, and the Orioles said no? Because that's apparently what happened. Will your perspective change? [I would say that Peter Angelos could die in a fire, but he couldn't. Because Peter Angelos cannot die. He re-upped his deal with the devil to stay alive for another 500 years.]
*Nori Aoki is surprised and disappointed with the trade to Toronto.
*Ken Rosenthal wrote that yesterday was a "lost opportunity" for the Astros.
*David Schoenfield: The Astros were losers at the Trade Deadline.
It has been a great regular season for the Astros, but the failure to land more pitching help is discouraging.
*Brian T. Smith writes that Luhnow whiffed for the second straight Trade Deadline:
[The Astros] have the next two months - and who knows how longer - to back up the GM who didn't help them at the deadline. Again.
*Hinch:
The schedule doesn't change. Our job is to play our ass off. I can't say that enough. It's not to play fantasy GM or fantasy owner or fantasy anything. Our job is to play tonight's game, and we've been really good at that for the entire season.
*The Masked Marvel checks in with some good thoughts on the Trade Deadline.
*Wait stop. We can all go home now. Bob Nightengale said the Dodgers "all but ensured" a World Series title. Thanks for reading Astros County. Now we become a needlepoint blog.
*Updated World Series odds, August 1:
FanGraphs: 15.2% (Indians: 16.8%; Dodgers: 18.4%)
FiveThirtyEight: 22% (Dodgers: 23%)
Baseball Prospectus: 18.1% (Dodgers: 23.9%)
*The Astros are 69-36 with a 16-game lead on the Mariners, who beat the Rangers last night. There are 57 games left. The Game # in which the Astros won their very nice 69th game:
2017: 105
2016: 131
2015: 125
2014: 156
2013: Uhhh
2012: Uhhh
2011: Uhhh
1998: 115
Yeah so this team won it's 69th (nice) game ten games quicker than the team with the best record in franchise history.
*Jake Marisnick hit two home runs in a game for the 2nd time this season. 7-8-9 in the lineup (Bregman-White-Marisnick) combined to go 6x11 with 9RBI, 1K:2BB. Hinch:
It's nice to have that kind of production in the bottom. It really makes things interesting when you roll to the top again. No matter who we put at the top, they've benefited from some guys at the bottom doing a good part.
*Michael Feliz pitched to one batter, gave up a home run, and was removed from the game with "shoulder discomfort." Hinch said Feliz felt "a pinch in his shoulder."
*Feliz-Martes-Sipp last night: 1.2IP, 5H/5ER, 3K:2BB. 28 of 50 pitches thrown for strikes.
*Lance McCullers was placed on the DL with back discomfort. McCullers:
At some point enough is enough. Collin and Dallas are back now, so talking with everyone, we just felt it was the right time to address it again. We hopefully have a better plan of action going forward now to get ready because our main goal and our focus is to win the World Series and I need to be 100%.
*A.J. Reed will play 1B, which will send Gurriel to 3B occasionally.
*Jose Altuve hit .485 in July, the highest batting average in a month since Larry Wayne Jones hit .500 in July 2006. His 48 hits in July were one shy of tying the Astros' record in a calendar month set by Berkman, Hidalgo, and Rusty Staub.
*Colin Moran had surgery yesterday.
*Tri-City won a 1-0 game in ten innings in which their pitchers held Vermont to one hit. Would've sucked to lose that game.
*A Syrian refugee threw out the first pitch at last night's game. Read this incredible story.
*FiveThirtyEight: Baseball's rich just got richer
*Jurickson Profar got benched in Round Rock because he wanted to be traded.
*Be sure to read this 2004 Jayson Stark piece on how trades work in August.
*You might want to sit down for this one, because it's really going to blow your mind. Ready? Pete Rose is a piece of crap.
-The Astros did not acquire Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish, Justin Wilson, or Zach Britton.
-The Astros did trade Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez to Toronto.
-The Astros did bring in Francisco Liriano for bullpen help.
-The Astros made Derek Fisher their everyday LF.
-The Astros beat the Rays.
There are going to be plenty of columns and hand-wringing over what the Astros did not do at the Trade Deadline. Do the Astros have enough pitching to get through Boston, Cleveland, or New York? Theoretically yes. Do the playoffs start today, with Lance McCullers, George Springer, and Carlos Correa on the DL? No they do not. But the Astros are now 69-36. And are winning games despite Michael Feliz, Tony Sipp, and Francis Martes. There are two full months of baseball left before the playoffs start for everyone to get right and get healthy. And the Astros still have Kyle Tucker, Forrest Whitley, Franklin Perez, etc. I don't know that I would call yesterday's (non-) happenings "disappointing" as I would call them "anti-climactic." But the climax can still come in late October. Or it might not. I still maintain that the Astros "went for it" this past off-season, and not so much yesterday.
Just a day removed from Jeff Bagwell going into he HoF, you'd think #Astros fans would firmly grasp risk of dealing top prospects for RPs.— Bags4HoF (@Bags4HoF) August 1, 2017
*Looking at Francisco Liriano's dashboard page, it's not an impressive move. 5.88 ERA/1.62 WHIP? 43 walks in 82.2IP? The hell? But lefties are hitting .230/.254/.361 against him. Consider the following relievers' stats against lefties:
Michael Feliz: .275/.329/.551
Tony Sipp: .226/.294/.516
Luke Gregerson: .234/.300/.500
Liriano has not appeared in relief for the Blue Jays this season, but he provides another arm in the bullpen that can throw anywhere from two to four innings if needed. Is it a flashy move? Not even a little bit. Is it useful? Could be.
*Luhnow:
We tried to get a lot done today. We were working on several different things. Acquiring a pitcher like Liriano was a priority for us. Not only has he been a starter, he's been a reliever, he's got postseason experience. We really think he can help this club out in an area of great need.
*More Luhnow:
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was disappointed in not getting some of the moves done that we were working on. We had some that were close to and almost over the finish line, and at times I would've put them at 90 percent-plus that we were going to get them done. But there are a lot of dynamics that happen with these deals, and for reasons I can't really talk about, they didn't happen.
We do not know what the Astros had on the table for [insert whoever you wanted], and the other side rejected, or backed out. You can't hit Force Trade and bring Mike Trout and 1998 Randy Johnson to the 2017 Astros. What if it came out that the Astros had offered [ridiculous package of prospects] for Zach Britton, and the Orioles said no? Because that's apparently what happened. Will your perspective change? [I would say that Peter Angelos could die in a fire, but he couldn't. Because Peter Angelos cannot die. He re-upped his deal with the devil to stay alive for another 500 years.]
*Nori Aoki is surprised and disappointed with the trade to Toronto.
*Ken Rosenthal wrote that yesterday was a "lost opportunity" for the Astros.
*David Schoenfield: The Astros were losers at the Trade Deadline.
It has been a great regular season for the Astros, but the failure to land more pitching help is discouraging.
*Brian T. Smith writes that Luhnow whiffed for the second straight Trade Deadline:
[The Astros] have the next two months - and who knows how longer - to back up the GM who didn't help them at the deadline. Again.
*Hinch:
The schedule doesn't change. Our job is to play our ass off. I can't say that enough. It's not to play fantasy GM or fantasy owner or fantasy anything. Our job is to play tonight's game, and we've been really good at that for the entire season.
*The Masked Marvel checks in with some good thoughts on the Trade Deadline.
*Wait stop. We can all go home now. Bob Nightengale said the Dodgers "all but ensured" a World Series title. Thanks for reading Astros County. Now we become a needlepoint blog.
*Updated World Series odds, August 1:
FanGraphs: 15.2% (Indians: 16.8%; Dodgers: 18.4%)
FiveThirtyEight: 22% (Dodgers: 23%)
Baseball Prospectus: 18.1% (Dodgers: 23.9%)
*The Astros are 69-36 with a 16-game lead on the Mariners, who beat the Rangers last night. There are 57 games left. The Game # in which the Astros won their very nice 69th game:
2017: 105
2016: 131
2015: 125
2014: 156
2013: Uhhh
2012: Uhhh
2011: Uhhh
1998: 115
Yeah so this team won it's 69th (nice) game ten games quicker than the team with the best record in franchise history.
*Jake Marisnick hit two home runs in a game for the 2nd time this season. 7-8-9 in the lineup (Bregman-White-Marisnick) combined to go 6x11 with 9RBI, 1K:2BB. Hinch:
It's nice to have that kind of production in the bottom. It really makes things interesting when you roll to the top again. No matter who we put at the top, they've benefited from some guys at the bottom doing a good part.
*Michael Feliz pitched to one batter, gave up a home run, and was removed from the game with "shoulder discomfort." Hinch said Feliz felt "a pinch in his shoulder."
*Feliz-Martes-Sipp last night: 1.2IP, 5H/5ER, 3K:2BB. 28 of 50 pitches thrown for strikes.
*Lance McCullers was placed on the DL with back discomfort. McCullers:
At some point enough is enough. Collin and Dallas are back now, so talking with everyone, we just felt it was the right time to address it again. We hopefully have a better plan of action going forward now to get ready because our main goal and our focus is to win the World Series and I need to be 100%.
*A.J. Reed will play 1B, which will send Gurriel to 3B occasionally.
*Jose Altuve hit .485 in July, the highest batting average in a month since Larry Wayne Jones hit .500 in July 2006. His 48 hits in July were one shy of tying the Astros' record in a calendar month set by Berkman, Hidalgo, and Rusty Staub.
*Colin Moran had surgery yesterday.
*Tri-City won a 1-0 game in ten innings in which their pitchers held Vermont to one hit. Would've sucked to lose that game.
*A Syrian refugee threw out the first pitch at last night's game. Read this incredible story.
*FiveThirtyEight: Baseball's rich just got richer
*Jurickson Profar got benched in Round Rock because he wanted to be traded.
*Be sure to read this 2004 Jayson Stark piece on how trades work in August.
*You might want to sit down for this one, because it's really going to blow your mind. Ready? Pete Rose is a piece of crap.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Monday Afternoon (Trade Deadline) Hot Links
I figured since I wasn't getting much done at work that I would throw up some links to the latest rumors as we quickly approach the 3 p.m. CT MLB Trade Deadline. I've created a Twitter Trade Deadline list for those looking to keep up with the latest rumors. Check back for updates.
UPDATE 3:04 p.m. CT:
The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone. It looks like the Astros, for the moment, are just going to acquire Liriano. There is still the waiver trade deadline at the end of August. A player has to pass through waivers in order to be traded. Deals do get done in August (See Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell).
Let us know what you think of the move Jeff Luhnow made.
UPDATE 2:30 p.m. CT:
UPDATE 2:05 p.m. CT:
UPDATE 2:00 p.m. CT:
UPDATE 12:34 p.m. CT:
UPDATE 12:27 p.m. CT:
UPDATE 3:04 p.m. CT:
The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone. It looks like the Astros, for the moment, are just going to acquire Liriano. There is still the waiver trade deadline at the end of August. A player has to pass through waivers in order to be traded. Deals do get done in August (See Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell).
Let us know what you think of the move Jeff Luhnow made.
UPDATE 2:30 p.m. CT:
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2017Norris has pitched well this season. He has a 3.89 ERA and a similar FIP and xFIP. He and his 29.7 K% would be an interesting addition to the bullpen.
UPDATE 2:05 p.m. CT:
Can confirm NYY gets Sonny Gray & $1.5 int'l slot money for Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler & James Kaprielian. 1st: @JackCurryYES & @JeffPassan— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 31, 2017
UPDATE 2:00 p.m. CT:
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 31, 2017Nori Aoki, after a hot start, has not played very well for the Astros. The move ensures Derek Fisher finishes the season in the big leagues (unless he's traded). Teoscar Hernandez is a top 10 prospect for the Astros. He's blocked by George Springer, Josh Reddick, and now Derek Fisher. Kyle Tucker is ahead of him as well in prospect rankings. More indepth analysis later.
UPDATE 12:34 p.m. CT:
#BlueJays have agreed to trade Francisco Liriano to #Astros, source confirms @ShiDavidi report. @MLB @MLBNetwork— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 31, 2017
UPDATE 12:27 p.m. CT:
#BlueJays and #Astros deal for Francisco Liriano is pending a physical. Sounds like an outfielder in coming back in return— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 31, 2017
Trade Links
Francisco Liriano has a 5.88 ERA this season. His FIP and xFIP indicate some postive regression. A move to the bullpen would benefit him further. He will be a free agent after the season.Sources: #Astros talking to #BlueJays about Liriano. HOU also working on other things. Likely would use Liriano as reliever if deal happens.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2017
Zach Britton has only pitched 19 innings so far this season, due to injury. He has a 3.32 FIP, which is right around his career average. He'll be controllable for one more year through arbitration. He's making $11.4M this year.Hearing @Orioles def looking to move Britton. @Astros front-runners now? @Indians not likely @Astros Top 30: https://t.co/4vK54Uxvjg— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) July 31, 2017
Non-trade links
For those who had an NES and reading this right now, do you remember RBI Baseball? This is a good write up by Jeff Passan talking about his appreciation for RBI Baseball's version of Tim Raines.
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