Oh I guess the Winter Meetings started, marking the end of this eternal offseason slumber...in theory, anyway. Let's see who said what and what it may or may not mean.
*Dana Brown is "not entertaining" trading Alex Bregman. Check out this Chandler Rome article, where he's as incredulous as I am that Dana Brown and Jim Crane haven't discussed a budget yet.
That's smart. Because some idiot gave Rafael Montero a 3yr/$34.5m contract a year ago and set the market way too high. As soon as we find the guy that did that we ought to whoop his ass.
*Dana Brown says things aren't to the "exchanging medical information" stage yet but things are "heating up."
*Joe Espada wouldn't name an everyday CF yet, saying that Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick will play in Spring Training. Mauricio Dubon will play everywhere.
It's a tough one. On one hand you have Jake Meyers, proud owner of a career 88 wRC+ (albeit with a 7.8 DEF rating). On the other you have Chas McCormick, fresh off a 133 wRC+ and a slightly worse 3.2 DEF rating. That 133 wRC+ is 3rd among CFs with at least 300PAs, behind Cody Bellinger and Mike Trout's 134 wRC+. McCormick was 8th among CFs with at least 300PAs in fWAR, at 3.8 - better than Brandon Marsh. But you know, lotta winter left before you make a decision.
Okay. I guess I should have made this more clear. Yes, Chas can play LF and Jake can play CF. That's in play.
*Joe Espada has talked to Yainer Diaz "once a week" since Espada took the reins. On the backup side, the Astros have allegedly been in contact with catcher Tucker Barnhart, giving Real Gs the opportunity to have a fantasy team named "Kyle Tucker Barnhart."
*Speaking of backup catchers, the Angels, White Sox, Padres, and Marlins are interested in the services of Martin Maldonado.
*A few days ago the Astros signed reliever Kervin Castro to a minor-league deal. He's not in the mix for 2024 as he's recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
*You can get tickets to the Astros Foundation College Classic, featuring ut, UH, Texas State, Vanderbilt, LSU, and the University of Louisiana - March 1-3, 2024.
Good morning. It appears as though the Astros have their new manager, and will announce Joe Espada as the 20th manager in franchise history at a press conference today at 11am. Espada was hired by A.J. Hinch from the Yankees to be Alex Cora's replacement as bench coach. I got it wrong, I didn't think the Astros would be willing to hire Espada.
Obviously this is going to be good news for Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, Ryan Pressly, and anyone else who has been with the Astros since 2018 because it provides continuity. There's (probably) not going to be this massive change in style and culture, since everyone knows what Espada is about, and he already knows absolutely everybody. If winning is the standard in Houston, Espada already knows what goes into that level of winning. I think it's a great hire, and I'm happy for the previously-perennially-second place Espada.
*Espada will be the second Latino manager in Astros history, first since Preston Gomez in 1974-1975.
*Chandler Rome lists the four main challenges Espada will face as the new Astros manager: Alignment with front office/ownership; first-year pitfalls; reminding the Astros how to do the fundamentals (defense, baserunning, things of that nature); who plays where in the outfield.
*MLB.com's Mark Feinsand is reporting that "4-5 teams" are interested in Martin Maldonado for 2024, which means that Martin Maldonado's agent told Mark Feinsand that 4-5 teams are interested in Martin Maldonado for 2024.
*The deadline to add prospects to the 40-Man Roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5pm. The Astros have a number of their MLB.com-listed Top 30 Prospects that would need to be added. They include: Colin Barber, Kenedy Corona, Justin Dirden, Miguel Palma, Zach Daniels, Shay Whitcomb, Jaime Melendez, and Misael Tamarez.
*The Astros unveiled their plans for an entertainment district around Minute Maid Park.
*Someone in Florida won $5.5m on a parlay when the Texans beat the Bengals yesterday.
*Texas Monthly: A Texas teen is introducing the pedal steel to a new generation.
It's time for the GM Meetings, so of course we're going to hear more from Scott Boras than we will Mariah Carey on the radio for the next few days. Unless everyone poops themselves to death and the GM Meetings end early. UPDATE: Everyone's bowels is definitely loose. GM Meetings have been canceled.
*Boras said there have been positive interactions towards extensions for both Altuve and Bregman, but nothing formally yet.
GM Dana Brown:
I think that we understand they have one more year left. And we want to sign them. I think they're interested in being here. I think it's just going to take time to figure out is there going to be somewhere that we can make it work. And that just takes time sometimes. I wish it was easy...but we do have an interest in both guys, for sure.
There is apparently interest in extending both Framber and Tucker, but since they're under team control for two more years there isn't as much urgency in getting those done.
*Boras also said that Lance McCullers will "no doubt" be pitching in 2024, though Dana Brown expects that to be in July.
*I think it's a derivative of the previous Athletic link, but Dana Brown addressed the Astros' piss-poor performances at home:
I think it's a fluke. I think it's an aberration. I think if you look at this club, the success that they've had in Houston has been really good. I don't want to get wrapped up into it and make it this big psychological thing. I think the team's been really good. I think it's a fluke. I think guys started talking about it and they started pressing more.
If this was an AP US History written response, I would cross out all of the "I think" phrases. Make a claim. Own it. Be bold, and if you're wrong, be boldly wrong. But don't forget that two teams in professional sports history have lost all four home games in a seven-game series: the 2019 Astros and the 2023 Astros.
*There's some weirdness with the Joe Espada situation. First of all, I did not realize he was only 48. Second, he interviewed for the Astros' manager gig last week. He's been linked to the now-vacant Milwaukee, and while Dana Brown said the Astros "hold the keys to permission" allowing him to interview with the Brewers...
...but they don't. Espada's contract expired on October 31. Espada doesn't need the Astros' permission to do anything. So either Dana Brown didn't know that Espada's contract was up (which is terrible) or he forgot (which isn't great, either). But click that link to see how highly Dana Brown apparently feels about Espada.
A lot of people in the organization think highly of Espada. I think highly of Espada. I just don't know that Crane will let a first-year manager take the reins of a team looking to make its 8th straight ALCS. Crane has managed to surround himself with Reggie Jackson and Jeff Bagwell. Obviously they know Espada better than we do, but Espada isn't a splashy name, and I think Crane is drawn to the splashy name.
*Mike Petriello notes that the Astros have the 2nd-best roster already, entering the 2024 season. Of course Shohei Ohtani hasn't signed with the Rangers yet...
*ESPN's David Schoenfield graded his pre-2023 bold predictions for each team. Yordan's race for the Triple Crown is still on.
Okay, Astros...you have ten games to figure it out. Houston lost. At home. Again. Theyre 84-68, a ridiculously stupid 38-39 at home. The Rangers and Mariners both won. Idiots. Houston has lost 10 of their last 13 games at home.
*Postseason Odds. Three of the following will make the playoffs:
Houston: 89.6%
Toronto: 82.7%
Coppell: 64.9%
Seattle: 62.7%
The Game
*What a nightmare. The Astros never had the lead, losing 2-0, tied 2-2, losing 5-2, 5-3, 7-3, 7-5, 9-5. Houston was 2x12 with runners in scoring position.
*Houston has lost six of their last eight games, and 14 of their last 19 home games. This is guaranteed to be the Astros' worst home record since 2014. Dusty:
I've got concern, but concern is not going to solve the issue. We've got four more games here, and we're going to have to figure it out. I don't know exactly what it is. We've tried to put our finger on it.
Well I mean it's only been 77 games at home so far this season. That's a lot of fingering.
*It's the Astros 83rd game in 2023 in which they've scored 5+ runs. They're 69-14 in those games.
*It's the second time in 2023 that Houston hit 3+ home runs and lost.
*Kyle Tucker hit his 28th home run of the season and now has an AL-leading (and career high) 108 RBI. With 28 steals, he needs two more homers and two steals to join the 30/30 Club.
*Alex Bregman hit his 24th home run of the season - his highest HR total since hitting 41 in 2019. Bregman, on the 2023 Astros:
It's a good league. You better show up and do it or you're not going to get the results you want and you're going to be sitting on your ass in October instead of playing. It comes down to doing it, that's it.
*Jose Altuve was 2x4 to collect his 100th hit of the season. It's his 4th straight multi-hit game, he's slashing .474/.500/.842. The Astros are 1-3 in these games.
*Yordan Alvarez had back-to-back hitless game for the first time since May 31-June 1.
*Baltimore put up 10 hits, a night after racking up 16 hits. It's the first time the pitching staff has allowed back-to-back double-digit hit games since doing it in four straight between August 19-22.
*Mid-Town Hunter Brown: 5.1IP, 6H/7ER, 5K:2BB (although Phil Maton allowed two inherited runners to score).
Brown, since the All-Star Break: 12 games, 57.2IP, 59H/39ER, 63K:20BB, 13HR. 6.09 ERA / 1.37 WHIP.
It's his 3rd start with a Game Score under 40 in his last five starts. Brown:
I thought they spoiled some really good pitches. And then they made me pay for the mistakes that I made tonight. I think that was probably the biggest difference, you know?
Yes. I do know.
*Shoutout to Bennett Sousa, appearing in his second game as an Astro: 1.2IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:0BB.
There's another one of those inter-squad games this evening. Bench Coach Joe Espada will play right field. For real.
*Somehow Roberto Osuna hasn't thrown off a mound yet and given that it's [squints] seven days until this Sprint Season starts, that seems...not good.
*Tuesday's exhibition game against the Royals (2015 ALDS GAME 6) will be on MLB Network. Monday's will be on MLBTV.
*Chandler Rome: The bullpen is a whole bag of question marks.
Consider who the Astros won't have from the 2019 bullpen:
Collin McHugh: 74.2IP, 0.5 fWAR
Hector Rondon: 60.2IP, -0.2 fWAR
Will Harris: 60IP, 1.1 fWAR
Joe Smith: 25IP, 0.4 fWAR
That's a total of 219.2IP, and 1.8 fWAR, and that's over a 162-game season. This is obviously a 60-game season, so they don't need to replace all those innings like they would in a normal season. These four relievers pitched 1.36 innings (if I'm doing the math right, and I'm not sure, dividing 219.6667 by 162). Again with the math, in a 60-game season the Astros need to fill 81.36 innings. Not unreasonable, but probably not all that ideal, especially in a season with way fewer off-days.
*Related, a couple of interesting reliever names to keep an eye on: Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee. Both were released from the Rockies today. Shaw will be in his Age 32 season in 2020 and had a 3.13 pre-Rockies ERA / 1.23 pre-Rockies WHIP. McGee has been with the Rockies since 2016, but had a 2.77 ERA / 1.02 WHIP in parts of five seasons with the Rays before going to Colorado.
*I put this at the bottom because I know a buncha y'all think English Soccer is basically Commie Shit, but with West Brom's unlikely 2-1 loss to Huddersfield (less than 20 miles from Leeds) today, Leeds United are headed to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 and I cried, sir. Here are Ten moments that mattered under Marcelo Bielsa, whose managerial skills I put right up there with A.J. Hinch. Honestly, I put today up there with November 1, 2017, sports-wise. It's the happiest I've been as a Leeds fan since (certified Leeds United fan since 1992, so shut up)...I don't know, actually. This is for Don Revie, Norman Hunter, Jack Charlton, Trevor Cherry, Billy Bremner, Gary Speed, David O'Leary, Tony Yeboah, Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate, James Milner, Rio Ferdinand, Dominic Matteo, Olivier Dacourt, Robbie Fowler, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Beckford, Garry Monk (twat), but mostly for Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips, Pablo Hernandez, Mateusz Klich, Helder Costa, Illan Meslier, Stuart Dallas, Liam Cooper, Ben White, Gianni Alioski, Gaetano Berardi, Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford (Bamford is good, Bamford is handsome, if I order some apps, Bamford can have some). And God bless you, Marcelo Bielsa; and God bless you, Andrea Radrizzani. Can't wait to wear out you Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, United, and City fans next year.
*A Musical Selection:
Another Musical Selection:
Each day is better than the next (but today is pretty good).
New Stuff *Chandler Rome says the battle for playing time between Josh Reddick and Kyle Tucker is starting to heat up. Dusty: The longer it goes, the more it's in Reddick's favor. The shorter it goes, the more it's in the younger player's favor.
I don't really know what that means.
*Cristian Javier will startGame 8 the first Spring Training game of 2020, against the Nationals tomorrow evening. Of course Dusty will be in uniform against his former team. *Martin Maldonado will be the primary catcher this season. *Josh James thinks he can do this Starting thing. James: This year, I really want to try to do the starting thing. I think I can do any role. It doesn't matter what it is, but this year I want it a little bit more, just to prove that I can do it, you know, give the team what they need, 160-plus (innings). Whatever they ask me to do this year, I want to be able to prove I can do it...This is the best I've felt in my four years or whatever that I've played. It's the strongest I've felt coming into camp, the most energy I've had coming into camp. I'm really excited to see how this turns out.
Sign Stealing Stuff *Chandler Rome talked to bench coach Joe Espada for his take on the last three months, and also the last week. Espada: We're starting to get the spirit back and the excitement back. I think the first couple of days were a little bit challenging, but the last few days, I feel like the players are starting to get excited about the future and our work. I think the more we dive into our work, the more that we start getting closer to games, the more they put our past behind us.
The funny thing is, for all parties involved - Astros players and fans - I think there is a horribly misguided assumption that once Opening Day comes, then everyone else in baseball (players and fans) is going to just accept that the Astros aren't cheating anymore and go on about the business of baseball. This could not be further from the truth. Every home run hit, every game won, every single status the @Astros account posts is going to be met with "Cheeter" (sic), or "Bang bang," or a picture of Aaron Judge, or a trash can (though, to be fair, right now those two things are one and the same). It doesn't matter. It won't ever matter.
*The Athletic's Andy McCulloch asked a bunch of GMs if they would know if their team was cheating. Some interesting answers in there. None more so than former Oakland/current Milwaukee pitcher Brett Anderson: I know the A's weren't cheating, because, one, I don't know if they could afford it. And to relay from f***ing 300 yards away in the video room? What were we going to do, get some vendor to throw some popcorn in the air, or something? It's too f***ing far to relay something.
*Jonathan Lucroy said he changed signs every single pitch when he played against the Astros. Lucroy: Everyone in baseball [knew about the sign stealing], especially in that division that played against them. But we were all aware of the Astros doing those things and it was up to us to outsmart them, I guess you could say. It's kind of hard when you have a computer program that breaks your signs. We actively changed signs. Every single pitch, we were changing signs. You had to because they would relay them to second, stealing them from first, too - from between your legs. They had a very intricate system going on. We were well aware of it, and it was a challenge. It was a mental challenge to really overcome that. It's easier said than done. But it's a shame, and I'm glad it came out and it came to light.
The predictive algorithm was legal. If the guy on first can see your signs, then you need to narrow up your legs, Lucroy.
*David Ortiz: Mike Fiers looks like a snitch. Ortiz: I'm mad at (Fiers). And let me tell you why. Oh, after you make your money, after you get your ring, you decide to talk about it. Why don't you talk about it during the season when it was going on? Why didn't you say, 'I don't want to be...part of it? So you look like you're a snitch. Why you gotta talk about it after? That's my problem.
*Joe Posnanski has a very poignant post on his blog regarding MLB's response to the Astros: ...I do think that it is time for Major League Baseball to forcefully, explicitly and unequivocally say...that the Astros did not cheat in 2019 and all statements to the contrary are false and irresponsible unless they come with new evidence.
Click the link. It is well worth your time.
Other Stuff *An oral history of Team USA winning gold in the 2000 Olympics.
It's FanFest today! Shoutout to everyone who will be at Minute Maid Park today, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. 2020 FanFest Sessions include:
"I'd Like To Comment On That But..." - 10:30am. Mezzanine.
"Hey Look At This Shiny Thing Over Here" - 11:30am. Torchy's Tacos.
"45 Weird Minutes With Orbit" - 12:30pm. Crawford Street.
"Dealing With Other Fans, A How-To" - 1:30pm. KidZone.
"Game 5 Highlights On Loop" - 2:15pm. JumboTron.
*Jeff Passan: Buzzers, Burner Accounts, and Conspiracies - Inside Baseball's Epic Day of Chaos.
*Representative Bobby Rush (Democrat - Illinois) requested a Congressional oversight hearing on the Astros' cheating, and MLB's response. And before you lose it, know that Bobby Rush is a 73-year old Congressman from Chicago whose family moved there from Georgia in the Great Migration, joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1966, joined the Army, was a founding member of the Black Panthers, got his degree, Master's, and M.Div, and has been a Congressman since 1993. He is the only politician to defeat Barack Obama in an election. Bobby Rush is Actually For Real.
Also, a Congressional Oversight Hearing would also presumably (if Congress is an actual functioning body anymore) require evidence of other teams doing the same thing, which we all so desperately crave, with MLB's Anti-Trust Exemption possibly hanging in the balance. You want the full story? MLB having to do a full investigation at risk of losing that Exemption just might be the best option. Or you're of the opinion that Congress has More Important Things to worry about at best, and Congress is useless at worst. Let's find out.
Of course, there are about 1,329 issues to which Congress could devote its time that would be far more beneficial to the fabric to the country (and I would say this if the subject of the investigation was someone I spend 0.1% of my time thinking about, like the Padres, for instance) than this, but we all have bloodlust right now so whatever.
*Jayson Stark has an excellent piece in The Atlantic about how the "Take (the Astros' 2017 Championship) Back" narrative is flawed. Stark: The making of history is an integral part of the fabric of baseball. But nowhere in that fabric has anyone ever dared to un-make history. And as we learned again this week, Rob Manfred was not going to be the first.
*Reid Ryan: That joy in winning in Los Angeles will never be taken away
*Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have targeted some potential managerial...targets. It's...it's just...here's the fing list:
Dusty Baker (sure)
Jeff Banister (gotta be kidding me don't let Banny Rooster anywhere near this team I will literally light crap on fire if this happens)
Bruce Bochy (okay, I suppose)
Joe Espada (YES)
Raul Ibanez (interesting, I'm listening)
Buck Showalter (Bruh)
Will Venable (I think he's 24, but I'm not sure)
*The Astros players, who did all this crap in concert with Alex Cora, have yet to speak out, but that could change soon. Related, Brian T. Smith says FanFest on Saturday is a perfect time for the Astros players to say literally anything. I know how you feel about #BTS columns, but this is a good one.
I spent the majority of Tuesday working on a write-up related to the report in The Athletic.
The Astros released a statement promising to cooperate with MLB's investigation. In that statement, Luhnow: The reason we won the World Series in 2017 is Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, and a lot of great players and they do things the right way and we as an organization, that's what we aspire to do as well.
Also, Luhnow: We haven't done everything properly, but I do feel confident that in general, most of the time, we did things right and we try and follow the rules. We try to be good citizens and we try to compete as hard as we can.
Carlos Beltran denied The Athletic's [and Mike Fiers'] report: I'm not aware of that camera. We were studying the opposite team every day.
The Yankees are Big Mad about the whole thing. An anonymous member of the 2017 Yankees: To actually have somebody hitting a garbage can, pretty much the whole game, that's pretty much your job, whoever is doing that. It stinks. You wish you could go back in time and figure that out earlier, because we thought we were the better team. We probably were the better team.
Brian Cashman: I don't think it's a technological question alone. It's just conduct. You decide to play by the rules, or you don't. And if you don't, there's consequences. You're putting yourself at risk whether it's future employment, current employment, or sanctions or what have you. It's not a technology question as much as how you want to operate.
*Parts of the Front Office are in Arizona for the GM Meetings. Jeff Luhnow met with members of Scott Boras' team yesterday, which makes sense as Scott Boras represents basically every free agent. Chandler Rome says that Luhnow is hoping to add multiple veteran starters: We're looking for multiple players, whether it's internally or externally, that can give us innings in a rotation. Typically, it's eight or nine guys competing for five spots. Right now, we need to build that list.
*Gabe Kapler is the new manager of the San Francisco Giants. Presumably Joe Espada will remain as the Astros' bench coach.
*Six of the Astros' Top 30 prospects are Rule 5 Draft-eligible: (9) Cristian Javier, (13) Enoli Paredes, (16) Ronnie Dawson, (25) Jonathan Arauz, (26) Nivaldo Rodriguez, (28) Taylor Jones.
*The Rookie of the Year Award is announced today. Let's take a look at the finalists:
Tampa's Brandon Lowe (pronounced LAO):
Lowe played in 82 games (327 PAs) in 2019 thanks largely to a second-half injury. He hit .270/.336/.514 playing primarily 2B, but also mixing in 1B, LF, RF. 36 of his 80 hits (17HR) were for extra-bases. He posted 2.6 fWAR, 2.9 bWAR.
Baltimore's John Means:
Baltimore lefty John Means appeared in 31 games (27 starts) for the Fightin Eliases & Sigs. In 155IP he allowed 138H/62ER with 121K:38BB for a 3.60 ERA / 1.14 WHIP. And this is for BALTIMORE. The Orioles were 12-15 in his starts (.444 win%) on a team that won 54 of 162 games (.333 win%). He was worth 3.0 fWAR, 4.5 bWAR.
Houston's Yordan Alvarez:
Our Dude Yordan appeared in 87 games (369 PAs) for the Silver Medalist Astros. He hit .313/.412/.655. 53 of his 98 hits (27HR) were for extra-bases. He was worth 3.8fWAR, 3.7 bWAR, Yordan should win. Easily.
MLB.com has the case for every Rookie of the Year nominee: Perhaps the only question when it comes to Alvarez and the Rookie of the Year Award is whether it will be unanimous. *The GM Meetings - different from the Winter Meetings - begin this week in Arizona.
*NY Post's Ken Davidoff, on the Yankees needing another Cashman November Surprise: Another similar transaction would help the Yankees close the gap with the Astros. Even better, though, would be a savvy November trade, followed by a large December/January expenditure on a free-agent arm.
*Southern California guy CC Sabathia has talked to Southern California guy Gerrit Cole about what it's like to play for the Yankees. Do the Astros eliminate the Yankees from the postseason in odd years only? I'm just curious.
*So, Reid Ryan will remain with the organization but not as Team President of Business Whatevers. Jim Crane's son, Jared (there's always a Jared) will...do something along those lines.
Jim Crane: We felt at this time it was time for [Jared] to step in. I'm past retirement age, and he needs to learn the business if the family is going to retain the team...I'm not a spring chicken. I've been working hard for a long time, and in all of my stuff I'm building a succession plan. Baseball requires a plan in peace for each team, so we're doing that and planning for the family. It has nothing to do with Reid.
Reid Ryan: Jim Crane has been a great owner for the city of Houston, and I thank him for the opportunity to lead the Houston Astros organization. Thank you to the many employees, fans, and partners that have supported this team during my tenure as president. Baseball is about bringing joy to people's lives and I take pride in knowing that we have made so many memories for our fans. While my role has changed, I will remain with the Astros and look forward to another great season in 2020.
Nolan Ryan, who had spent the last six seasons as an "executive advisor, told Fox 26 he will no longer serve in that role."
I know that, in the light of the recent guano-show that has become the Astros' front office, it's easy to blame the Cornell Douche. Crane said it had nothing to do with the Taubman Incident (now a major motion picture). Take that for what you will. But I don't think that changing Team Presidents happens in a matter of weeks. This had been in the works for a while, and Jim Crane sees the Astros as the family business, so of course his son is going to take over so that Crane can enjoy...golf, I think, maybe his wife, who's to say. Maybe that includes war profiteering but who am I to comment on such things? Honestly, I don't know what the reasoning is and anyone who says they do at this very moment is not telling the truth.
The last two teams that won World Series Games 3&4 after losing Games 1&2 at home were the 1996 Yankees and 1986 Mets. Both of them won the Series.
The Astros scored eight runs for the 2nd time this entire postseason (ALCS G4). The last time they scored 9+ runs was 2018 ALDS G3. Since the Astros dropped all three 2017 ALCS games in New York, Houston is 8-6 on the road, winners of four of their last five postseason road games.
*Jose Urquidy made his 8th start in MLB in 2019: 5IP, 2H/0ER, 4K:0BB. Urquidy had previously made one start of 5+ IP and 0ER: September 27 against the Angels. Prior to that it was August 26, when he threw 5.2IP, 3H/0ER, 8K:1BB for Round Rock against San Antonio.
You know, I battled with that decision because going into the game you kind of put in your mind, go as long as he's good, which is what I said. I didn't want to get too greedy with him. His spot was coming up in the order so I was going to hit for him at the beginning of the inning. That inning actually played out how I feared his inning would. If they got things started, I didn't want him to face the middle of the order again. So I tried to be proactive and take him out. The other thing in the back of my mind is how long a series can get and how we might need him again back in Houston if we win the game, and then you get to go back to Houston, then Games 6 and 7 starts to factor in, try to save a few bullets along the way.
Urquidy is the 4th rookie in the last 30 years to throw a scoreless start in the World Series, the second pitcher from Mexico to start and win a World Series game (Fernando Valenzuela), and the second pitcher since 1969 whose first career postseason start was a scoreless outing in the World Series (Jon Lester, 2007). Urquidy:
Yes, a couple moments, a couple moments I was thinking, 'Oh, my God, I'm in the World Series pitching.' It was awesome.
My dream was pitching in the big leagues. I always imagined playing in the World Series and winning the game...Something very big for me, big year for me. And I think I'm proud of myself.
It WAS awesome. Adam Eaton, who was 0x3 with a walk, on facing Urquidy:
When you go in with a game plan of kind of working off his scouting report and he goes the complete opposite with it, by the time you kind of make the adjustment, it's too late. He threw me three sliders in my first at-bat, and he throws it 10% of the time, so I went back scratching my head. He didn't throw me any changeups and he's supposed to throw me 40% changeup. Then I go up my next at-bat and saw a curveball, which he throws 3% of the time, then a fastball and finally threw me a changeup to get me out. When you have guys you haven't seen before, you have to go off the knowledge you have.
My mom is someone that I talk to a lot and obviously she helped me out this morning. We had coffee, just gave me some words of encouragement.
Hinch, on Urquidy:
From the very beginning I thought he was calm, I thought he was in control of his stuff. His fastball had a little extra life to it. It's had good life this postseason. And then he just came up with big pitch after big pitch.
Chandler Rome: The Astros almost didn't even call Urquidy up in September.
*Will Harris cleaned up Josh James' mess with two outs in seven pitches. Harris has come into a game this postseason with 12 runners on base (not all at once, that would be weird). Eleven of them have walked back to the dugout after the inning ended. MLB.com's Joe Trezza: Houston's bullpen in Game 4 set them up perfectly for Game 5.
*Alex Bregman hit the 20th Grand Slam in World Series history, first since Addison Russell did it for the Cubs in 2016 World Series G6. Before that it was Paul Konerko in the 7th Inning of 2005 World Series G2 off of Chad Qualls. It was just the 2nd postseason Grand Slam in Astros history - Lance Berkman did it in the 8th Inning of 2005 NLDS G4, the 18-inning 7-6 win over Atlanta.
I think tonight was really the first time we really did what the Houston Astros offense can do.
ESPN's Jeff Passan: Alex Bregman's mic-drop grand slam means that the Real Astros have shown up. Passan:
He is also, in many ways, the Astros' metronome. When he lags, they lag. When he speeds up, they speed up. And his pace in an 8-1 throttling of the Washington Nationals on Saturday that evened the World Series was breakneck. When Bregman suddenly looked like his regular-season self, the Astros followed suit.
Bregman, ALCS-WS G3: 4x31, 1HR, 3RBI.
Bregman, WS Game 4: 3x5, 1HR, 5RBI.
Correa, after Fernando Rodney intentionally walked Michael Brantley to face Alex Bregman in Game 3: "Oh no, you don't do that to him."
Bregman is the 3rd Astro in postseason history with 5RBI in a game, joining Carlos Beltran in 2004 NLDS G5 and Morgan Ensberg in 2005 NLDS G1.
*The Astros got 13 hits, drew seven walks, and got five hits (5x13) w/RISP. 2-8 in the lineup went for a combined 13x30, 3K:5BB.
*Robinson Chirinos is the 6th catcher in MLB history to homer in back-to-back World Series games (Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, Roy Campanella, Gene Tenace, Ted Simmons). Chirinos:
I'm working so hard in the cage to be consistent, and I put a good swing to the ball [in Game 3]. I told everybody here I put myself in a good position. I was swinging at strikes, I was staying to the middle of the field and I did it again tonight.
Jake Kaplan: Chirinos has become an unlikely World Series Hero for Houston.
*Jose Altuve went 2x5 with a run scored and has gotten safely on base in 24 straight postseason games dating back to 2017 World Series G6. In those 24 postseason games, Altuve: .320/.376/.580, 11K:9BB, 6HR. In 15 postseason games in 2019, Altuve is hitting .365/.412/.698.
*Carlos Correa was 0x2 but drew three walks, a career postseason-high. He had drawn two walks in three other postseason games (2018 ALDS G3, 2018 ALCS G1, 2019 ALCS G5). He had three walks in 14 postseason games in 2019 prior to Game 4. It was just the second time this postseason Correa did not strike out. Correa: What's important now is that we got our swagger back, and we're playing good. And we are dangerous when we feel like this.
*Yuli Gurriel went 1x4 with a walk, but also struck out twice, his 4th straight postseason game with a strikeout after not striking out once in 15 postseason games stretching from 2018 ALCS G2 through 2019 ALCS G6. In 41 career postseason games, Yuli has struck out 2+ times in just four.
Well that got out of hand in a hurry and everyone should feel ashamed. Tied 2-2 with Verlander on the mound in the 7th, the Astros lost 12-3. It is 2-0 Nationals. Game 1 was stupid. Game 2 was pathetic. Game 3 is in Washington on Friday.
*Rustin Dodd notes the last eleven teams to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series have gone on to win it. FanGraphs gives it 64.5-35.5 Nationals on winning the Series. FiveThirtyEight says it's 81-19 Nationals. The last team to be down 0-2 going on the road and win the World Series under the current 2-3-2 format were the 1996 Yankees.
*Hinch: We have a really good team. Clearly, the Nats have outplayed us - bottom line. They came into our building and played two good games. We're going to have to try to sleep off the latter third of this game.
*The last time the Astros lost two games in a row with Cole and Verlander on the mound was June 18-19, at Cincinnati. It also happened April 2-3, at Arlington. The last time the Astros lost two games with Cole and Verlander on the mound at home was August 9-10, 2018, to Seattle. Verlander and Cole are the first pair of 20-win teammates to lose Games 1 & 2 of the World Series since 1965, when Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale did it. The Dodgers won the Series in seven games.
*Houston had a players' only meeting in the clubhouse following Game 2. Correa, who is "hitting" .174/.224/.348 in 12 games this postseason with 22 strikeouts in 53 PAs: We talked as a team, and obviously a big group of guys we have here is a family. We talked about keeping our heads up and moving forward and going out there and playing like we can play. It was just us talking to ourselves. We're such a good team. A 2-0 [deficit] should not mess with our heads. We should stay focused moving forward for the next game.
*Josh Reddick: I don't think we've looked like the Astros all postseason. We've just snuck by and now it's just catching up to us where this team is taking all our exploits and really putting them out there.
*Bregman, who basically made two errors in the fateful 7th Inning: I remember when we lost three in a row in New York and the world was coming to an end and the next thing you know we're in the World Series in '17. We've been here before.
*ESPN's Jeff Passan: The wacky 7th inning that put the Nationals two wins away from the World Series. Passan: Over the course of 33 pitches, the Nationals turned a tense, taut pitchers' duel between their Stephen Strasburg and the Astros' Justin Verlander into a blowout. It wasn't a deluge. It wasn't some surgical deconstruction of a lesser. It just sort of materialized, not a gift - the Nationals don't need those - but a perfectly timed stroke of fortune.
Hinch, on the 7th: Where would you like me to start? The leadoff homer? That's what happened. And soft contact for the rest of that inning that we didn't make a couple of plays, and they made contact in big at-bats and the inning spiraled out of control.
Kurt Suzuki had never hit a home run in the postseason before. He had never hit a home run off Justin Verlander before, though he did come in to the game hitting .333/.349/.381 in 43 PAs against him.
Verlander: You win baseball games with offense, but offense comes and goes. Good pitching beats good hitting. Tonight, we hit a bunch of balls hard that were at people. You need the ball to go your way sometimes.
Justin Verlander, World Series (6 starts): 33IP, 30H/21ER, 36K:11BB, 5.73 ERA / 1.24 WHIP.
But hey congratulations to Verlander, his strikeouts last night made him the postseason strikeout king, passing The Coward John Smoltz.
*After ALDS G4, Michael Brantley was 2x16, .125/.125/.125. Since, he's hitting .333/.444/.433.
*George Springer met with A.J. Hinch prior to Game 2 to discuss his baserunning performance in Game 1. Hinch: I think George got caught up in the moment of the play, in the anxiousness to see if the ball was leaving. It wasn't an egregious showmanship kind of pimp job, as they call it. It was a delay in reading the play correctly to where, once he started running, he ran into Tucker, who was coming back to tag up because Eaton looked like he was camped underneath the ball.
George Springer did not cost the Astros Game 1. The Astros got ten hits, walked five times, and left eleven men on base. They went 3x12 w/RISP. George Springer misreading a fly ball did not cost the Astros the game.
*Mike Petriello: The Astros' offensive woes with runners in scoring position is bordering on historic. Petriello: To try to put that into context, that's more or less the line that Baltimore's Chris Davis put up this year, .179/.276/.326, .601. That's not what you want. NO MIKE, IT IS NOT. Houston went 0x5 w/RISP in Game 2. They're 17x87 (.195) with runners in scoring position this postseason.
Related, Jeff Luhnow went on SportsTalk 790: Brandon has apologized for inappropriate behavior and I think, from my perspective, clearly something happened that he regrets. What we don't really know is the intent behind the inappropriate comments he made. We may never know that because the person who said them and the people who heard them, at least up to this point, have different perspectives.
*ESPN's Jeff Passan has a report out about MLB looking into 50-year old umpire Rob Drake and one of his (since-deleted) tweets which read that he was going to buy an AR-15 because: if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020
(sic).
Hey I got an idea, Billiam: Let's spell it "cannolli" and just include an extra L for gits and shiggles.
*Over at FanGraphs, Dan Szymborski has the game-by-game probabilities for the World Series and it's 60-40 Astros. This is weird, but as of now the Astros do not dip below 51.1% for any of the seven games. Szymborski also broke down the Astros' Game 6 win.
*The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg took a look at how teams fared in the World Series based on the amount of rest they had going in. Greenberg: In 2012, MLB added a second wild-card team to each league. Since then, the World Series team with more rest has posted a 1-6 record, with the lone victory coming last season when the Boston Red Sox, after five days off, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had a three-day break...Before that, the team with fewer rest had won nine straight titles.
Click the link to read some more nuance and context and how No This Is Actually A Good Thing comes into play.
*Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez were all teammates in Detroit and now find themselves once again in the World Series. I guess that confirms it: San Francisco in 6.
*26 Facts about the 2019 World Series. This nugget: The Nationals might have dominated the Cardinals in the NLCS, but now they'll have to buck recent history. Just one of the past eight clubs (the 1995 Braves) who have swept an LCS have gone on to win the World Series, and the last five teams to do so are 0-5 in the Fall Classic.
*Chandler Rome: The Astros are winning in the postseason via the home run. Hinch: I don't really care what we hit, as long as we win games.
I have some time on my hands for a little bit, so let's break this Series down. On May 23, the Astros lost to the White Sox 4-0 and the Nationals fell to the Mets 6-4. Houston was 33-18, Washington was 19-31, 1.5 games better than the Marlins for the worst record in the NL. Since May 23 (postseason not included):
Houston: 74-37
Washington: 74-38
Spooooooky.
FanGraphs had the Astros as the best offensive team in baseball, with all offensive players combining for 40.8 fWAR. The Nationals were 8th, at 26.0 fWAR. Pitching-wise, it was much closer. The Astros were 4th in MLB at 23.7 fWAR, with the Nationals right behind at 22.3 fWAR.
Home Record:
Houston: 65-22
Washington: 54-32
Houston was legendarily good at home in 2019, and are 5-1 in the postseason at Minute Maid Park so far.
Houston's record included a ten-day stretch from June 17-27 when the Astros went 1-5 against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, with a 1-3 series against the AL Silver Medalist New York Yankees in between. Washington got to play their rival Orioles plus the AL Central White Sox, Twins, Indians, and Royals (12-4). Rotation:
Houston: 79-37, 3.61 ERA / 1.09 WHIP, 4.24 K:BB ratio, .672 OPS-against. 19.4 fWAR (4th in MLB).
Washington: 66-36, 3.53 ERA / 1.19 WHIP, 3.39 K:BB ratio, .685 OPS-against. 21.4 fWAR (1st in MLB). Washington has enjoyed the best rotation in the 2019 playoffs thus far, at least according to some major dashboard stats: 61.2IP, 37H/14ER, 88K:20BB, 2.04 ERA / 0.93 WHIP. So far, Houston starters have a 3.16 ERA / 1.23 WHIP, but the Rays and Yankees aren't exactly the Dodgers and Cardinals. If there is a team that could possibly match up well with Cole-Verlander-Greinke, it's the Washington trio of Scherzer-Strasburg-Martin. This should be fun to watch and, by fun, I mean agonizing. Bullpen:
Houston: 28-18, 3.75 ERA / 1.20 WHIP, 3.09 K:BB ratio, .694 OPS-against. 4.3 fWAR (8th in MLB).
Washington: 27-33, 5.68 ERA / 1.48 WHIP, 2.29 K:BB ratio, .800 OPS-against. 0.9 fWAR (22nd in MLB).
Washington's much-maligned bullpen earned all of that maligning. The Nationals' bullpen in the postseason is sporting a 4.76 ERA, the only two bullpens worse were the Dodgers and Twins, and heh we saw what happened to those guys in the Division Series. That said, and I don't think I'll get a job at The Athletic (wink) for pointing this out, if the Astros can get into the Nationals' bullpen, things look pretty good for Houston.
Now for the position players. For Washington, I used the defensive alignment from NLCS Game 4 as a guide, but included production over the year from that position, as well:
If there is a legit threat to Bregman's standing as the Best 3B in Baseball, it's from Houston's own Anthony Rendon, who had a monster year in 2019. Shortstop:
Houston SSs: .283/.375/.543, 137 OPS+, 12.4 fWAR (1st)
Washington SSs: .281/.340/.458, 107 OPS+, 2.8 fWAR (16th)
*I guess, if you wanted to, you could read Mike Petriello's position-by-position breakdown and see who he gives the edge to, including giving the Nationals the edge in Starting Pitching, with a prediction: Astros in 6.
*Jim Callis: How the Astros and Nationals built their Pennant-winners.
*MLBTR: Examining the ripple effects of the failed Bryce Harper-to-Houston trade in July 2018.
The Astros are up 3-1 in the ALCS. They have won both games in Yankee Stadium. Zack Greinke was good to pretty good. The Astros got some big hits. Game 5 is tonight at 6:08pm Central.
*In 3.2IP thrown by relievers not named Josh James (Pressly, Harris, Smith, Osuna): 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB. Pressly: It doesn't get any better than pitching in the Bronx in the postseason. This is what you dream of as a kid.
*Carlos Correa: I think it's disrespectful that every time we score a lot of runs, people talk about tipping. Nobody was tipping today and we scored, what, eight runs? We're great hitters. We've been doing it for a whole season. Correa is the youngest player to hit 10 postseason home runs, doing it quicker than Albert Pujols. His home run had a launch angle of 17 degrees. Our dude Daren Willman notes that only 0.8% of home runs were hit at 18 degrees or lower. Correa, on what he told Ryan Pressly before he took the mound: This is your moment. I remember when we were in the training room both rehabbing at the same time. This is the moment we worked really hard for, for moments like this, for moments for you to shine and give us a chance to win the ballgame.
*Springer, who hit his 13th postseason home run, going ahead of Altuve by one: To get out of the first inning with only one I think was absolutely huge for us, and then to come back and score off a really, really tough pitcher, a guy that doesn't give up runs at all in the playoffs. He's been unbelievable throughout his career.
*It's the sixth time that Springer and Correa have both homered in the same postseason game.
*Hinch, post-game: When the game ends and we go into the next game, I love the fact that we have JV on our side. And he's going to set a tone tomorrow that hopefully leads us to the World Series.
*A win tonight means that the Astros would have three full days of rest before Game 1 of the World Series, Cole would start Game 1 and Verlander would start Game 2 on normal rest. Osuna: It means a lot, especially because we would get a couple of days off. Gerrit Cole would be able to get ready for Game 1...We're going to work to get this done [tonight]. *Pour one out for CC Sabathia.
*Yankees fans, 84% of whom have a sexually-transmitted disease, taunted Zack Greinke about his mother, and his battles with anxiety and depression. Aaron Boone had to record a video for the Jumbotron asking Yankeefan to not throw their literal crap on the field.
*Luhnow said that allegations the Astros are cheating are "ludicrous."
*Tim Brown: Yankee Stadium in October is no match for these Astros.
