Another day in paradise...
*Forrest Whitley talked about reporting to camp at 230 pounds, up 40 from the 190 at which he showed up in 2019. Whitley:
I was just so skinny that by the time the season would reach like June or July, I wasn't ready. That showed in 2018; I got hurt quite a little bit....I think just the general thought process that went into that was just not coming into camp absurdly skinny like I had the past couple years. I remember a couple years ago I came into camp at like 190, so I wanted to lower the workload, eat a little bit more, and focus on coming into camp at a little better weight.
I'm sitting at about 235, down five since the beginning of the month. Of course, I'm like 5'11" so
*Jim Crane told James Click he can have more money if he needs it. Click:
I know where our payroll is relative to the CBT line. (Crane) just shot it down and was like, 'We're over it, that's fine because we're going to win, and if you need more for us to win, I'll get you more.
Spotrac has the Astros' payroll at $214m to $231m. The line in which you pay the tax in 2020 is $208m, with a further penalty if you go over $228m. $37.3m is coming off the books after the season when Brantley ($16m), Reddick ($13m), and Gurriel ($8.3m) become free agents, with the possibility of a further reduction should the Astros not re-sign George Springer ($21m in 2020). I love savings. Love it when my favorite team has coupons. Getting a jersey embroidered with "Savings" on the back.
*Rob Manfred, on punishing the Astros' players themselves:
Look, it's impossible, given the facts that we found - and, frankly, the statements of the Astros' players since the decision came out - to escape the fact that, independent of what the GM did, the manager did, (the players) had an obligation to play by the rules, and they didn't do it. I understand when people say, 'The players should have been punished.' I understand why people feel that way, because they did not do the right thing...If I was in a world where I could have found all the facts, without granting immunity, I would have done that.
Manfred says throwing at Astros' hitters is "dangerous, and not helpful to the current situation."
Manfred, on the use of buzzers in 2019:
Can I tell you 100 percent certain that it didn't happen? No. You can never know that. People tell you what they tell you. I will tell you, the evidence on this issue was as consistent in the direction that nothing was going on as the evidence was consistent in the direction that there was inappropriate behavior in (2017 and 2018).
So stay with me here: The part of the quote that, and this is shocking I know, people are keying in on is the first part, where Manfred says he can't be 100% certain the Astros weren't wearing buzzers in 2019. But he goes on to say, if you take the time to read the whole quote, that the evidence was as consistent for them not wearing buzzers as it was consistent that they did shady crap in 2017 and 2018. In other words, Manfred's investigation probably got that right, since the Astros themselves are coming out and admitting it.
It is incredibly shocking to me that people are running to Jomboy's defense and taking what he throws against the wall as gospel, while ignoring evidence to the contrary. I can't quite put my finger on a parallel in society where people believe the guy they like is telling them the truth in the face of evidence to the contrary, and vilifying the people who provide said contrary evidence. It's right on the tip of my tongue. I'll figure it out, I guess, after a little more coffee.
Anyway, here's where the buzzer theory originated: Reddit user meme-engineer on October 24:
I had a dream a couple weeks back when the Astros were playing the Rays, it was that after the post season finished a news story came out that the Astros had a team of people deciphering signs with cameras and then that team relayed the signal to transponders that were worn in the cleats of the top (trusted not to snitch) Astros players, the transponders would vibrate according to what pitch was coming (example: once for fastball, twice for off-speed). But it was just a dream haha. That wouldn't happen.
*Say, what's happening with Mike Fiers:
Sunday, The Chronicle asked Fiers, the public whistleblower in the Astros' cheating scandal, if he'd like to respond to Correa's prompting, and Fiers politely declined comment. Then, before walking away, Fiers added, 'We did it as a team.'
*The A's had filed a formal complaint to MLB about the Astros before Fiers' allegations were revealed in The Athletic, and nothing was done.
*Yu Darvish says the Astros should lose their title. Darvish:
It's like the Olympics. When a player cheats, you can't have a gold medal, right? But they still have a World Series title. It feels weird.
Darvish threw 3.1IP in the 2017 World Series in two starts - Game 3 in Houston and Game 7 in Los Angeles - and allowed 9H/9R (8ER), 0K:2BB, 2HR, and threw 61 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
*Chris Sale:
Yeah, it sucks. But what am I going to do? Am I going to hold them at gunpoint? Am I going to sit here and curse them out through a bunch of cameras? If I have something to say to them, I know those guys. I can get one of their numbers and text them and talk to them face-to-face or whatever. It happened. What are you going to do about it? You can sit around and cry about it or I can get my ass to work and try and win a championship.
*GM James Click says the focus is on rebuilding trust:
Every Astros employee, every single one of us, is absolutely committed to making sure that that kind of thing never happens here again. That's our focus. There will be absolutely zero tolerance, no tolerance whatsoever, for that kind of behavior in the Houston Astros organization ever again. And furthermore, that would be the case whether there had been an investigation or not. Any organization that I'm a part of would be absolutely 100 percent in compliance with the rules. There'll be no question about that.
*Yahoo's Tim Brown: The Astros should stop apologizing and go full heel.
*Will Harris is "in a tough spot" in Washington. Harris:
Oh, man. They're obviously my friends, and guys that I consider family, guys I will have a relationship with the rest of my life, hopefully. And now watching them go through this...
*MLB will restrict access to video during games. Dugout phone calls will be recorded. Bo Bichette, on technology in the games:
In a way it would be dumb to not take advantage of what we have, but at the same time I think that...personally I'd be fine if there was no technology in there whatsoever. I mean they did it back in the day, why can't we do it now? So I'm sure part of the reason (the Astros) did what they did, it is because of how easy the access was to it. And for me, I'd have no problem taking every bit of it away.
*California Little Leagues are banning the use of "Astros" in naming their teams.
*All the ways teams could use the 26th spot on their active roster.
*What you need to know about the rule changes for 2020.
*Outside: How to deal with the regret of a missed adventure.
*Vice: This filmmaker believes Tupac is alive and living in New Mexico.
*A Musical Selection:
Note: 3:03 into this song is one of my favorite musical moments of all time.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label Will Harris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Will Harris. Show all posts
Monday, February 17, 2020
Friday, January 3, 2020
Friday Morning Hot Links
*The biggest news of January 2nd wasn't what the Astros got, but what they lost - specifically, Will Harris, to the Nationals for 3yrs/$24m.
So let's recap what the Astros lost this offseason (with 2019 fWAR in parentheses):
Gerrit Cole - 212.1IP (7.4 fWAR)
Wade Miley - 167.1IP (2.0 fWAR)
Collin McHugh - 74.2IP (0.5 fWAR)
Hector Rondon - 60.2IP (-0.2 fWAR)
Will Harris - 60IP (1.1 fWAR)
Not only is that 575IP that has to be replaced, that's right at 10.8 fWAR from a pitching staff that won 107 games. The total Astros' pitching fWAR was 23.7 in 2019, so that's 45.6% of their "value." Obviously most of this - the innings and the fWAR - are due to the departure of Gerrit Cole to the greener pastures of north Manhattan and shaved heads, track suits, gold chains, and getting booed when he doesn't win the World Series in April. And don't get me wrong, combining McHugh and Rondon (135.1IP and an aggregate 0.3 fWAR) is mainly an exercise in counting innings. But that's a lot of attrition to a pitching staff that lost 500IP after 2018 with the departures of Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, and the injury to Lance McCullers.
Of course McCullers is coming back in 2020. Forrest Whitley might actually have his head on straight this time around. But let's not forget that, in five seasons, Will Harris threw 297IP, allowed 221H/78ER, 315K:72BB, a 2.36 ERA / 0.99 WHIP. In 2019 Harris posted a 1.50 ERA / 0.93 WHIP. He made 68 appearances and threw a clean outing in 32 of them. The opponent did not score a run in 60 of those outings. When he did allow a run, he only allowed more than one run in two of his 68 appearances.
Harris, on watching the Nationals receive their World Series rings:
Will it be awkward for a second or two? More than likely, but that stuff fades and it's about playing baseball. I've done my homework, and the guys they have that I know who have played there and been there, everybody has told me I'm going to love it.
Now, it would be remiss to...miss that Harris pitched in 2015 ALDS G4. He allowed a run in Games 6 & 7 of the World Series, including Howie Kendrick's Fing Miracle Home Run. But in between 2015 ALDS G4 and 2019 WS G6 he threw 14IP in the postseason, allowing 12H/2ER, 14K:3BB.
But hey, the Astros didn't have to add $8m to a currently-projected payroll of $216m. Adding Harris at $8m per year would have resulted in the Astros paying a penalty of [squints] $3.2m instead of the $1.6m they're already projected to pay (assuming Josh Reddick is still an Astro in 2020). As a Jim Crane Bottom-Line Lover, this is fiiiiiiiine. [I know full well that Crane opened up for Verlander, Greinke, Altuve, Bregman, etc. and deserves credit for that].
Chandler Rome writes that replacing Harris may be impossible.
Other stuff:
*Robinson Chirinos is "close" to making a decision on where to play in 2020.
*Jake Kaplan writes in The Athletic about the Astros "questionable" rotation depth and who can be the 5th starter behind Verlander, Greinke, McCullers, and presumably Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy.
*MLB Pipeline says Jeremy Pena (3rd Round - 2018) is set to break out in 2020.
*Baseball America has the Astros' Top 10 prospects in 2020:
1. Forrest Whitley
2. Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy
3. Jeremy Pena
4. Freudis Nova
5. Bryan Abreu
6. Abraham Toro
7. Korey Lee
8. Cristian Javier
9. Hunter Brown
10. Grae Kessinger
Let the record show that I LOVE Cristian Javier, who will be 23 in 2020 and struck out 170 batters in 113.2IP for Fayetteville, Corpus, and Round Rock.
*Why would Yankees pitcher Domingo German not appeal his 81-game suspension for domestic violence?
*Rich Roll is the guru of reinvention.
*A Musical Selection:
So let's recap what the Astros lost this offseason (with 2019 fWAR in parentheses):
Gerrit Cole - 212.1IP (7.4 fWAR)
Wade Miley - 167.1IP (2.0 fWAR)
Collin McHugh - 74.2IP (0.5 fWAR)
Hector Rondon - 60.2IP (-0.2 fWAR)
Will Harris - 60IP (1.1 fWAR)
Not only is that 575IP that has to be replaced, that's right at 10.8 fWAR from a pitching staff that won 107 games. The total Astros' pitching fWAR was 23.7 in 2019, so that's 45.6% of their "value." Obviously most of this - the innings and the fWAR - are due to the departure of Gerrit Cole to the greener pastures of north Manhattan and shaved heads, track suits, gold chains, and getting booed when he doesn't win the World Series in April. And don't get me wrong, combining McHugh and Rondon (135.1IP and an aggregate 0.3 fWAR) is mainly an exercise in counting innings. But that's a lot of attrition to a pitching staff that lost 500IP after 2018 with the departures of Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, and the injury to Lance McCullers.
Of course McCullers is coming back in 2020. Forrest Whitley might actually have his head on straight this time around. But let's not forget that, in five seasons, Will Harris threw 297IP, allowed 221H/78ER, 315K:72BB, a 2.36 ERA / 0.99 WHIP. In 2019 Harris posted a 1.50 ERA / 0.93 WHIP. He made 68 appearances and threw a clean outing in 32 of them. The opponent did not score a run in 60 of those outings. When he did allow a run, he only allowed more than one run in two of his 68 appearances.
Harris, on watching the Nationals receive their World Series rings:
Will it be awkward for a second or two? More than likely, but that stuff fades and it's about playing baseball. I've done my homework, and the guys they have that I know who have played there and been there, everybody has told me I'm going to love it.
Now, it would be remiss to...miss that Harris pitched in 2015 ALDS G4. He allowed a run in Games 6 & 7 of the World Series, including Howie Kendrick's Fing Miracle Home Run. But in between 2015 ALDS G4 and 2019 WS G6 he threw 14IP in the postseason, allowing 12H/2ER, 14K:3BB.
But hey, the Astros didn't have to add $8m to a currently-projected payroll of $216m. Adding Harris at $8m per year would have resulted in the Astros paying a penalty of [squints] $3.2m instead of the $1.6m they're already projected to pay (assuming Josh Reddick is still an Astro in 2020). As a Jim Crane Bottom-Line Lover, this is fiiiiiiiine. [I know full well that Crane opened up for Verlander, Greinke, Altuve, Bregman, etc. and deserves credit for that].
Chandler Rome writes that replacing Harris may be impossible.
Other stuff:
*Robinson Chirinos is "close" to making a decision on where to play in 2020.
*Jake Kaplan writes in The Athletic about the Astros "questionable" rotation depth and who can be the 5th starter behind Verlander, Greinke, McCullers, and presumably Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy.
*MLB Pipeline says Jeremy Pena (3rd Round - 2018) is set to break out in 2020.
*Baseball America has the Astros' Top 10 prospects in 2020:
1. Forrest Whitley
2. Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy
3. Jeremy Pena
4. Freudis Nova
5. Bryan Abreu
6. Abraham Toro
7. Korey Lee
8. Cristian Javier
9. Hunter Brown
10. Grae Kessinger
Let the record show that I LOVE Cristian Javier, who will be 23 in 2020 and struck out 170 batters in 113.2IP for Fayetteville, Corpus, and Round Rock.
*Why would Yankees pitcher Domingo German not appeal his 81-game suspension for domestic violence?
*Rich Roll is the guru of reinvention.
*A Musical Selection:
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Saturday Morning Hot Links
On April 27 Josh Reddick was hitting .354/.407/.506. Over the next 119 games he hit .261/.302/.391, and that included two 5-hit games in September.
*If you want to know how Hot the Stove was yesterday, the biggest news of the day was the Braves signing Darren O'Day to a $2.25m deal with a $3.5m option for 2021. Darren O'Day threw 5.1IP in 2019.
*Check out McTaggart's Inbox, in which he drops a really odd note that the Gerrit Cole Sweepstakes could last through the summer, discusses the rotation, Reddick vs Tucker, and Jake Marisnick.
*FanGraphs agrees with pretty much everyone else that Gerrit Cole is a perfect fit for the Angels.
*Click this link to see Jose Altuve surprise a young fan who suffered burns after a gas explosion.
*Click this one to see how important Will Harris is to a Houston family.
*Don't miss Jake Kaplan's offseason primer on what to expect regarding free agents, arbitration guys, Rule 5 possibilities, etc.
*This is what the Astros have come to right now: getting pot shots lobbed at them by a newspaper from a city up 45 wondering when Nolan is coming back to the Rangers. Every column, article, snide tweet asking why anyone would believe the Astros' front office in light of how they handled the Taubman Incident is absolutely deserved. Can't wait to go through an offseason full of this.
*Right now the purpose of the Hot Links is to share interesting things I read, and songs I like.
*"Somebody died, there was a need, and I was in a position to help." How Jack Z went from Seattle GM to PNC Park's official scorer.
*San Francisco Chronicle: The Fisherman's Secret. Yes, it'll take you about an hour to read this. Yes, it's worth it.
*GQ: Is your employer stealing from you?
*Consequence of Sound: A new Robert Johnson biopic?
*A Musical Selection:
*If you want to know how Hot the Stove was yesterday, the biggest news of the day was the Braves signing Darren O'Day to a $2.25m deal with a $3.5m option for 2021. Darren O'Day threw 5.1IP in 2019.
*Check out McTaggart's Inbox, in which he drops a really odd note that the Gerrit Cole Sweepstakes could last through the summer, discusses the rotation, Reddick vs Tucker, and Jake Marisnick.
*FanGraphs agrees with pretty much everyone else that Gerrit Cole is a perfect fit for the Angels.
*Click this link to see Jose Altuve surprise a young fan who suffered burns after a gas explosion.
*Click this one to see how important Will Harris is to a Houston family.
*Don't miss Jake Kaplan's offseason primer on what to expect regarding free agents, arbitration guys, Rule 5 possibilities, etc.
*This is what the Astros have come to right now: getting pot shots lobbed at them by a newspaper from a city up 45 wondering when Nolan is coming back to the Rangers. Every column, article, snide tweet asking why anyone would believe the Astros' front office in light of how they handled the Taubman Incident is absolutely deserved. Can't wait to go through an offseason full of this.
*Right now the purpose of the Hot Links is to share interesting things I read, and songs I like.
*"Somebody died, there was a need, and I was in a position to help." How Jack Z went from Seattle GM to PNC Park's official scorer.
*San Francisco Chronicle: The Fisherman's Secret. Yes, it'll take you about an hour to read this. Yes, it's worth it.
*GQ: Is your employer stealing from you?
*Consequence of Sound: A new Robert Johnson biopic?
*A Musical Selection:
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Thursday Morning Hot Links
Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of the beginning of this blog. Thank you for reading. Now this is a compulsion and you're all to blame.
*Watch this video of the 2019 Astros' best moments. I'm going to link to it here, but I won't watch it until it's like 29 degrees with a 30mph north wind and sleeting. I'm not ready to watch baseball again just yet. I've watched maybe six minutes of television since last Wednesday night. This morning my wife came in to the living room (I wake up way earlier than her) and I was just sitting on the couch in the dark drinking a cup of coffee and she was all, "Are you okay?" And after about 20 seconds of silence I just responded, "I'll never understand how we lost this World Series." I'm not in a place to watch highlights right now. January? Maybe. Post-Baseball Seasonal Depression (PBSD) is real.
*Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy was welcomed by Mexico's president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
*Hey this is a fun award: The Astros won the Wilson Defensive Team of the Year. This is better than Game 7, I guess.
But no. Whichever Astro wins an award in the next week or so deserves it. Their individual efforts added up to an amazing yet unfulfilled season, but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be recognized for their outstanding effort. It's not a mistake that the Astros were heavy favorites in the World Series - they just didn't get it done. Their work over 162 games should not be minimized.
FanGraphs: Will Harris played well, didn't get rewarded. If you don't read this, just know that Howie Kendrick performed a literal miracle in the 7th Inning of Game 7.
*LMJ is back.
*SI's Matt Martell names one free agent every MLB team should sign. For Houston: Unsurprisingly it's Gerrit Cole. If not, it's Zack Wheeler.
*I'm sure there's nothing to read into here but not only did Oz Ocampo bounce for "different opportunities," but so did Manager of International Scouting Eve Rosenbaum.
*The Barves are going to go hard after Madison Bumgarner....right after Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos pisses off the MLBPA.
*The Athletic's Peter Gammons makes a compelling case for Dwight Evans in the Hall of Fame.
*Two former Twitter employees have been charged with spying for Saudi Arabia.
*Reveal: Who owns Silicon Valley?
*Politico: The massacre that spawned the Alt-Right.
*A Musical Selection:
*Watch this video of the 2019 Astros' best moments. I'm going to link to it here, but I won't watch it until it's like 29 degrees with a 30mph north wind and sleeting. I'm not ready to watch baseball again just yet. I've watched maybe six minutes of television since last Wednesday night. This morning my wife came in to the living room (I wake up way earlier than her) and I was just sitting on the couch in the dark drinking a cup of coffee and she was all, "Are you okay?" And after about 20 seconds of silence I just responded, "I'll never understand how we lost this World Series." I'm not in a place to watch highlights right now. January? Maybe. Post-Baseball Seasonal Depression (PBSD) is real.
*Game 4 Hero Jose Urquidy was welcomed by Mexico's president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
*Hey this is a fun award: The Astros won the Wilson Defensive Team of the Year. This is better than Game 7, I guess.
But no. Whichever Astro wins an award in the next week or so deserves it. Their individual efforts added up to an amazing yet unfulfilled season, but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be recognized for their outstanding effort. It's not a mistake that the Astros were heavy favorites in the World Series - they just didn't get it done. Their work over 162 games should not be minimized.
FanGraphs: Will Harris played well, didn't get rewarded. If you don't read this, just know that Howie Kendrick performed a literal miracle in the 7th Inning of Game 7.
*LMJ is back.
*SI's Matt Martell names one free agent every MLB team should sign. For Houston: Unsurprisingly it's Gerrit Cole. If not, it's Zack Wheeler.
*I'm sure there's nothing to read into here but not only did Oz Ocampo bounce for "different opportunities," but so did Manager of International Scouting Eve Rosenbaum.
*The Barves are going to go hard after Madison Bumgarner....right after Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos pisses off the MLBPA.
*The Athletic's Peter Gammons makes a compelling case for Dwight Evans in the Hall of Fame.
*Two former Twitter employees have been charged with spying for Saudi Arabia.
*Reveal: Who owns Silicon Valley?
*Politico: The massacre that spawned the Alt-Right.
*A Musical Selection:
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Fin.
The team that won 107 games blew a 3-1 3-2 lead with Games 6 & 7 at home. The team that was 65-22 at Minute Maid Park in 2019 through the ALCS lost four straight home games in the World Series. The team whose offense through the regular season ranked neck-and-neck in baseball history with the Murderers Row Yankees continually struggled to get the Big Hit. The team with Gerrit Cole ready and loose in the bullpen with a 2-0 lead in Game 7 left him in the bullpen. And in the span of three batters, it was over.
*Zack Greinke was phenomenal: 6.1IP, 2H/2ER, 3K:2BB. 80 pitches. After Eaton's out in the 7th, the Astros had a Win Expectancy of 85%.
*Houston was 1x8 w/RISP, 1x14 w/RISP in Games 6 and 7. We're going to talk about that for a while. They had Scherzer straight up on the ropes:
Bottom 2, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, nobody out:
-Chirinos popped up on a bunt
-Reddick grounded out to 1st
-Springer lined it hard right at Juan Soto. Expected batting average: .690.
Bottom 3, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, 1 out:
-Gurriel flied out to right
-Alvarez flied out to center. Expected batting average: .680
Bottom 4, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, 2 out:
-Altuve lined out to center. Expected batting average: .310
And that's pretty much it. Two balls that are hits at least 68% of the time could have fallen in and it's at least 4-0. They didn't. It wasn't. And now this season is over. Hinch:
I've got a group of heartbroken men in there that did everything they could do to try to bring a World Series championship to this city. And we fell one win shy. Let's be honest, there's 28 other teams that would love to have our misery today. And I just told our team, it's hard to put into words and remember all the good that happened because right now we feel as bad as you can possibly feel.
*Jose Altuve, who was a combined 2x13 in Games 5-7:
I don't think I can handle this. It's really hard to lose Game 7 of the World Series. What I can tell you is we did everything we could...We did everything to make it happen. We couldn't, but that's baseball.
*A.J. Hinch turned away from Zack Greinke after he gave up a home run and walked Juan Soto. Will Harris gave up a 2nd-pitch home run on a cutter to Howie F. Kendrick. Harris:
It's every reliever's nightmare...I think I made a pretty good pitch. [Kendrick] just made a championship play for a championship team. I've just got to top my hat to them for beating me today. I think I did everything I could do, but it wasn't enough.
Right-handed hitters were hitting .144 in their career against Harris' cutter down and away, which is where the pitch to Kendrick was. Will Harris is the first pitcher since 1925 to allow home runs in Games 6 & 7 of the World Series.
So when was Gerrit Cole going to come in? Hinch:
I wasn't going to pitch him unless we were going to win the World Series and have a lead. He was going to close the game in the ninth.
David Schoenfield: Inside the 7th Inning that shocked Houston. You don't have to read any of this.
*Bullpen: 2.2IP, 7H/4ER, 0K:2BB.
*Alex Bregman, who was 0x3 with a walk:
We've been knocked down a lot and gotten back up. We just got knocked back down today...They outplayed us. They deserved it. They're an unbelievable team. Coached well. They've got beasts on the mound and position players that grind it out every single day. They deserve to be World Series champions.
Chirinos, who was 0x4 with 2K:
It is really painful. It's going to take a long time to get over this kind of loss. When you have the kind of regular season we had, to come up one win short of the championship. It's going to take time for this to fade away.
*The Nationals were 19-31 after 50 games of the 2019 season then beat Josh Hader, Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty, Gerrit Cole, and Justin Verlander. They went 8-1 on the road in the postseason.
*A.J. Hinch:
This is going to sting for a very long time, and it should.
*Springer, who was 0x4:
Yeah, the ultimate goal is to win the World Series, and we fell short to a great team. You can't hang your head low about that. You move on and start getting ready for Spring Training.
*Washington, in games started by Scherzer/Strasburg: 4-0.
Houston, in games started by Verlander/Cole: 1-3.
*A Musical Selection:
*Zack Greinke was phenomenal: 6.1IP, 2H/2ER, 3K:2BB. 80 pitches. After Eaton's out in the 7th, the Astros had a Win Expectancy of 85%.
*Houston was 1x8 w/RISP, 1x14 w/RISP in Games 6 and 7. We're going to talk about that for a while. They had Scherzer straight up on the ropes:
Bottom 2, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, nobody out:
-Chirinos popped up on a bunt
-Reddick grounded out to 1st
-Springer lined it hard right at Juan Soto. Expected batting average: .690.
Bottom 3, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, 1 out:
-Gurriel flied out to right
-Alvarez flied out to center. Expected batting average: .680
Bottom 4, 1-0 Houston, 2 on, 2 out:
-Altuve lined out to center. Expected batting average: .310
And that's pretty much it. Two balls that are hits at least 68% of the time could have fallen in and it's at least 4-0. They didn't. It wasn't. And now this season is over. Hinch:
I've got a group of heartbroken men in there that did everything they could do to try to bring a World Series championship to this city. And we fell one win shy. Let's be honest, there's 28 other teams that would love to have our misery today. And I just told our team, it's hard to put into words and remember all the good that happened because right now we feel as bad as you can possibly feel.
*Jose Altuve, who was a combined 2x13 in Games 5-7:
I don't think I can handle this. It's really hard to lose Game 7 of the World Series. What I can tell you is we did everything we could...We did everything to make it happen. We couldn't, but that's baseball.
*A.J. Hinch turned away from Zack Greinke after he gave up a home run and walked Juan Soto. Will Harris gave up a 2nd-pitch home run on a cutter to Howie F. Kendrick. Harris:
It's every reliever's nightmare...I think I made a pretty good pitch. [Kendrick] just made a championship play for a championship team. I've just got to top my hat to them for beating me today. I think I did everything I could do, but it wasn't enough.
Right-handed hitters were hitting .144 in their career against Harris' cutter down and away, which is where the pitch to Kendrick was. Will Harris is the first pitcher since 1925 to allow home runs in Games 6 & 7 of the World Series.
So when was Gerrit Cole going to come in? Hinch:
I wasn't going to pitch him unless we were going to win the World Series and have a lead. He was going to close the game in the ninth.
David Schoenfield: Inside the 7th Inning that shocked Houston. You don't have to read any of this.
*Bullpen: 2.2IP, 7H/4ER, 0K:2BB.
*Alex Bregman, who was 0x3 with a walk:
We've been knocked down a lot and gotten back up. We just got knocked back down today...They outplayed us. They deserved it. They're an unbelievable team. Coached well. They've got beasts on the mound and position players that grind it out every single day. They deserve to be World Series champions.
Chirinos, who was 0x4 with 2K:
It is really painful. It's going to take a long time to get over this kind of loss. When you have the kind of regular season we had, to come up one win short of the championship. It's going to take time for this to fade away.
*The Nationals were 19-31 after 50 games of the 2019 season then beat Josh Hader, Clayton Kershaw, Jack Flaherty, Gerrit Cole, and Justin Verlander. They went 8-1 on the road in the postseason.
*A.J. Hinch:
This is going to sting for a very long time, and it should.
*Springer, who was 0x4:
Yeah, the ultimate goal is to win the World Series, and we fell short to a great team. You can't hang your head low about that. You move on and start getting ready for Spring Training.
*Washington, in games started by Scherzer/Strasburg: 4-0.
Houston, in games started by Verlander/Cole: 1-3.
*A Musical Selection:
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Sunday Morning Hot Links
Jose Urquidy did some damn things, Bregman finally had a big swing, and the Astros have tied up the World Series at two games apiece. Let us pray.
Uh-oh. Best of 3. Watch out 👀— Yulieski Gurriel (@el_yuly10) October 27, 2019
The Projection swings in this series have been wild, man. According to FanGraphs:
Before G1: 60-40 Houston
Before G2: 55-45 Houston
Before G3: 65-35 Washington
Before G4: 52-48 Washington
Before G5: 65-35 Houston
Dan Szymborki has the Series 61-39 Houston. FiveThirtyEight has it 59-41 Houston.
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 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.
Urquidy pitches, by inning:
1st: 11
2nd: 13
3rd: 14
4th: 14
5th: 15
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.
Urquidy, whose mother was in Washington:
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.
The Athletic's Rustin Dodd, on the story behind Urquidy's World Series Moment.
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.
*Hector Rondon played with fire, giving up three balls over 99mph off the bat (two of them were outs).
*Hector Rondon played with fire, giving up three balls over 99mph off the bat (two of them were outs).
*This postseason, 33 of the Astros' 60 runs (55%) have come via the home run.
*MLB.com: 19 key facts & figures from Game 4.
*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."
Jenny Dial Creech: The Astros have their MVP back.
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.
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.
*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.
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.
*Apparently the Astros didn't have a players-only meeting after Game 2.
*SI's Emma Baccellieri: The Nationals' slogan is "finish the fight," but it feels like they're just trying to stay in it.
*New York Post's Ken Davidoff: Joe Espada's managerial prospects are on the rise.
*Keep heckling Harvey Weinstein.
*A Musical Selection:
*SI's Emma Baccellieri: The Nationals' slogan is "finish the fight," but it feels like they're just trying to stay in it.
*New York Post's Ken Davidoff: Joe Espada's managerial prospects are on the rise.
*Keep heckling Harvey Weinstein.
*A Musical Selection:
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Saturday Morning Hot Links
Well that was more like it...sort of. Still, four runs felt like a week's worth, and even some hits that had no business getting down found their way between a few of Washington's 17 fielders. Astros win 4-1. Nationals lead the Series 2-1. Game 4 is tonight.
*FanGraphs now has the Series at 52-48 Nationals. Dan Szymborski says it's 62-38 Nationals and that the two highest-percentage outcomes are Nationals in 5 (26.0%) or Astros in 7 (24.6%). FiveThirtyEights gives it 68-32 Nationals. Tonight's game is just as massive as Game 3 was. If the Astros can tie it up tonight, it makes the series a best-of-three with two of those at Houston. The last team to be down 2-1 in a World Series and win it: the 2017 Houston Astros.
*Richard Justice: Why Game 4 is so crucial.
*It's the first time since 1996 that the road team won the first three games of the World Series. That's the one where the Yankees were down 0-2 to the Braves, and won it in six games. 13 facts & figures from Game 3.
*Altuve:
We knew this game was real important for us and I know we're going to get some momentum going and win a lot of games.
*Hinch, on the win:
It kind of re-establishes us in this series. When they come into our ballpark and beat Gerrit and Justin, that's a big punch. They threw a big punch at the beginning of this series. Now we've got enough experience and enough feel about how series go that we knew - we win today, get a little mojo back on our side, get a little bit of momentum, start to swing the bats a little bit better, we're not afraid of playing in any venue. The fans here were incredible and just alive, like you would expect in the World Series. And our players thrive on that, too.
Tom Verducci, on how A.J. Hinch out-managed Dave Martinez. Verlander:
Our manager managed a hell of a game.
Robinson Chirinos, who homered off the foul pole:
I feel like in the postseason, we're trying too much, trying to be a hero. That's something we talked about on the plane...We're like, 'Let's have a good approach, good at-bats as a team and don't try to do too much. Just keep the line moving. Don't swing for a fence. Just go the other way and make sure we're seeing the ball and swinging at strikes, and I feel like we did that tonight.
Reddick, on his RBI double that left the bat at 62.1mph:
I think it was a big sigh of relief for us, because we have been dealing with so many hard-hit balls [for outs] and been frustrated by it. It was a finally-it-went-our-way moment to get us off our butt, so to speak, and get us moving forward.
Jenny Dial Creech: Reddick provided the spark for the Astros in Game 3.
After 41 swings-and-misses in the first two games, the Astros came up empty on swings just ten times in Game 3. Houston was 4x10 w/RISP in Game 3 - Washington was 0x10. The four Astros stolen bases set a franchise playoff record.
*Bregman was 0x5 with a strikeout to continue his miserable ALCS/World Series. He's 1x14 w/RISP in the postseason But he's smoking the ball. Last night in the 5th Bregman hit into a lineout with an exit velocity of 97.4mph with an expected batting average of .370, in the 6th he hit a ball 102mph off the bat. In the 9th he lined out to short with a 99mph exit velocity that had an expected batting average of .850. The hits should come.
Bregman, 2019: .296/.423/.592, 41HR, 83K:119BB, .281 BABIP
Bregman, ALDS: .353/.450/.647, 1HR, 6K:3BB, .500 BABIP
Bregman, ALCS: .167/.423/.222, 0HR, 2K:7BB, .188 BABIP
Bregman, WS: .077/.143/.308, 1HR, 4K:1BB, .000 BABIP
Yep, every ball that Bregman has hit in the first three games of the World Series either left the park or was hit to a defender.
*Altuve was 2x5 with a pair of doubles, and scored two of the Astros' four runs. He has at least one hit in 13 of the Astros' 14 postseason games in 2019 - ALCS G5 being the only hitless postseason game for Altuve (and even then he drew two walks). He's hitting .362/.413/.724 with 5K:5BB in October.
*Michael Brantley was 2x4 with 2RBI. Since hitting .125/.125/.125 through the first four games of the ALDS, Brantley is hitting .368/.467/.447
*Will Harris, 2019 postseason: 8.1IP, 4H/0ER, 10K:1BB.
*Greinke: 4.2IP, 7H/1ER, 6K:3BB, 95 pitches. Hinch, on Greinke:
This guy doesn't scare off. This is not somebody that I have any fear whatsoever is not going to be able to handle the stage or the magnitude. This guy has been good for a really long time.
*FanGraphs' Craig Edwards says Game 3 came down to pitchers hitting.
*ESPN's Jeff Passan: How the Astros just gave this World Series a shot at greatness:
Beyond being the first World Series game in the nation's capital since 1933, Game 3 rekindled the notion of baseball being played until the cusp of November. It planted dreams of a seven-game fracas and guaranteed the Astros could start Gerrit Cole in Game 5, which, at least until the Nationals beat him in the first game of the Series, was enough to almost guarantee a Justin Verlander start in Game 6.
*Jose Urquidy will start Game 4 tonight (7:07pm Central). How long will he pitch? Urquidy hasn't thrown 6+ IP in a month. Hinch:
He can go as long as he's good. I don't have necessarily a predetermined plan on how many innings, how many pitches.
Patrick Corbin will take the mound for the Nationals. He started NLDS G1 and threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 9K:5BB. He started again in NLCS G4 and threw 5IP, 4H/4ER, 12K:3BB, and has made four relief appearances in the 2019 postseason, getting blown up in NLDS G3.
Jake Kaplan: Why the Astros are giving the ball to Jose Urquidy.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield: How many future Hall of Famers are playing in this World Series?
*MLB is still reviewing the Taubman Incident (which sounds like a Robert Ludlum novel). Rob Manfred:
I will say that there are a variety of issues. I'm not going to narrow the statement. We're going to continue to review the situation, have conversations with Crane. It's one thing to comment and investigate for 24 hours on a specific incident...I didn't say that there is going to be further action, but there are things we want to talk to the Astros about, continuing to have those conversations and gather information. I think it was important that they recognize that they had made a mistake. They issued an apology and they dealt with the individual situation in a decisive way, and those are all positives...I think when we get to the point when we have something more to say, it'll be public. Again, I don't want the expectation that this piece of it is going to be as quick as the last piece, because there is more to it.
What more could there be? Well in two pieces yesterday - one by former Chronicle reporter Evan Drellich and one by ESPN's Jeff Passan - the entire character and culture of the front office under Luhnow and Crane was called into question.
One unnamed source told The Athletic the culture in the Astros' front office is:
Toxic. Eats you alive. Cutthroat. Secretive. Not fun. But, winning, being first, innovative.
One GM labeled the Astros' initial actions this week as "The most Astros thing ever."
Passan:
Around the game, shots of schadenfreude have been chased by I-told-you-so's. Contempt for the Astros runs deep - and has well before this incident. Jealousy breeds some of it. The organization's arrogance accounts for the rest. The Astros painted themselves as a disrupter and reveled in the commotion. They lived with the perception that they didn't understand people. They fed their process, followed it with fealty, doubled down. They believed in it, and they never had much of a reason not to, not until a week ago, when the assistant GM high on the feeling of winning the pennant opened his mouth, and two days later when Luhnow and the Astros forgot to abide by that essential principle that has guided them for so long: Bad information leads to bad decisions.
The Drellich piece is paywalled (The Athletic, and whatnot). The Passan piece is free. I would encourage you to read it. Just because facts aren't flattering doesn't make them false, and it's worth knowing what the general tenor around the game is of the Houston Astros.
It can feel like the media is piling on with the Taubman Incident. They're not. Well, maybe some are, but it's not piling on to lend context to this bombshell of a week the Astros are experiencing off the field. There are things that I know that I didn't put on this hellscape corner of the internet, simply because it wouldn't make a ton of sense to just blurt it out, or I was asked not to post it. But things that I, and others who write here, have learned over the course of the last 6-7 years makes what happened with Taubman not all that surprising. And if I know these things, you better believe people who get paid to know these things do, too. What happened with Taubman provided an opportunity baseball writers to work those little tidbits in and assign it to this story because there is context there.
*Yahoo's Hannah Keyser: The Astros say they don't have a culture problem. Here's why they're wrong.
*SI's Emma Baccellieri: What reason is there to trust Rob Manfred?
*The Hardball Times: Racism: The Original Performance Enhancer.
*Brad Jordan - aka Scarface, who has probably done it all, homey, believe me - is running for Houston City Council, where everything is everything fo sheezy.
*A Musical Selection:
*FanGraphs now has the Series at 52-48 Nationals. Dan Szymborski says it's 62-38 Nationals and that the two highest-percentage outcomes are Nationals in 5 (26.0%) or Astros in 7 (24.6%). FiveThirtyEights gives it 68-32 Nationals. Tonight's game is just as massive as Game 3 was. If the Astros can tie it up tonight, it makes the series a best-of-three with two of those at Houston. The last team to be down 2-1 in a World Series and win it: the 2017 Houston Astros.
*Richard Justice: Why Game 4 is so crucial.
*It's the first time since 1996 that the road team won the first three games of the World Series. That's the one where the Yankees were down 0-2 to the Braves, and won it in six games. 13 facts & figures from Game 3.
*Altuve:
We knew this game was real important for us and I know we're going to get some momentum going and win a lot of games.
*Hinch, on the win:
It kind of re-establishes us in this series. When they come into our ballpark and beat Gerrit and Justin, that's a big punch. They threw a big punch at the beginning of this series. Now we've got enough experience and enough feel about how series go that we knew - we win today, get a little mojo back on our side, get a little bit of momentum, start to swing the bats a little bit better, we're not afraid of playing in any venue. The fans here were incredible and just alive, like you would expect in the World Series. And our players thrive on that, too.
Tom Verducci, on how A.J. Hinch out-managed Dave Martinez. Verlander:
Our manager managed a hell of a game.
Robinson Chirinos, who homered off the foul pole:
I feel like in the postseason, we're trying too much, trying to be a hero. That's something we talked about on the plane...We're like, 'Let's have a good approach, good at-bats as a team and don't try to do too much. Just keep the line moving. Don't swing for a fence. Just go the other way and make sure we're seeing the ball and swinging at strikes, and I feel like we did that tonight.
Reddick, on his RBI double that left the bat at 62.1mph:
I think it was a big sigh of relief for us, because we have been dealing with so many hard-hit balls [for outs] and been frustrated by it. It was a finally-it-went-our-way moment to get us off our butt, so to speak, and get us moving forward.
Jenny Dial Creech: Reddick provided the spark for the Astros in Game 3.
After 41 swings-and-misses in the first two games, the Astros came up empty on swings just ten times in Game 3. Houston was 4x10 w/RISP in Game 3 - Washington was 0x10. The four Astros stolen bases set a franchise playoff record.
*Bregman was 0x5 with a strikeout to continue his miserable ALCS/World Series. He's 1x14 w/RISP in the postseason But he's smoking the ball. Last night in the 5th Bregman hit into a lineout with an exit velocity of 97.4mph with an expected batting average of .370, in the 6th he hit a ball 102mph off the bat. In the 9th he lined out to short with a 99mph exit velocity that had an expected batting average of .850. The hits should come.
Bregman, 2019: .296/.423/.592, 41HR, 83K:119BB, .281 BABIP
Bregman, ALDS: .353/.450/.647, 1HR, 6K:3BB, .500 BABIP
Bregman, ALCS: .167/.423/.222, 0HR, 2K:7BB, .188 BABIP
Bregman, WS: .077/.143/.308, 1HR, 4K:1BB, .000 BABIP
Yep, every ball that Bregman has hit in the first three games of the World Series either left the park or was hit to a defender.
*Altuve was 2x5 with a pair of doubles, and scored two of the Astros' four runs. He has at least one hit in 13 of the Astros' 14 postseason games in 2019 - ALCS G5 being the only hitless postseason game for Altuve (and even then he drew two walks). He's hitting .362/.413/.724 with 5K:5BB in October.
*Michael Brantley was 2x4 with 2RBI. Since hitting .125/.125/.125 through the first four games of the ALDS, Brantley is hitting .368/.467/.447
*Will Harris, 2019 postseason: 8.1IP, 4H/0ER, 10K:1BB.
*Greinke: 4.2IP, 7H/1ER, 6K:3BB, 95 pitches. Hinch, on Greinke:
This guy doesn't scare off. This is not somebody that I have any fear whatsoever is not going to be able to handle the stage or the magnitude. This guy has been good for a really long time.
*FanGraphs' Craig Edwards says Game 3 came down to pitchers hitting.
*ESPN's Jeff Passan: How the Astros just gave this World Series a shot at greatness:
Beyond being the first World Series game in the nation's capital since 1933, Game 3 rekindled the notion of baseball being played until the cusp of November. It planted dreams of a seven-game fracas and guaranteed the Astros could start Gerrit Cole in Game 5, which, at least until the Nationals beat him in the first game of the Series, was enough to almost guarantee a Justin Verlander start in Game 6.
*Jose Urquidy will start Game 4 tonight (7:07pm Central). How long will he pitch? Urquidy hasn't thrown 6+ IP in a month. Hinch:
He can go as long as he's good. I don't have necessarily a predetermined plan on how many innings, how many pitches.
Patrick Corbin will take the mound for the Nationals. He started NLDS G1 and threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 9K:5BB. He started again in NLCS G4 and threw 5IP, 4H/4ER, 12K:3BB, and has made four relief appearances in the 2019 postseason, getting blown up in NLDS G3.
Jake Kaplan: Why the Astros are giving the ball to Jose Urquidy.
*ESPN's David Schoenfield: How many future Hall of Famers are playing in this World Series?
*MLB is still reviewing the Taubman Incident (which sounds like a Robert Ludlum novel). Rob Manfred:
I will say that there are a variety of issues. I'm not going to narrow the statement. We're going to continue to review the situation, have conversations with Crane. It's one thing to comment and investigate for 24 hours on a specific incident...I didn't say that there is going to be further action, but there are things we want to talk to the Astros about, continuing to have those conversations and gather information. I think it was important that they recognize that they had made a mistake. They issued an apology and they dealt with the individual situation in a decisive way, and those are all positives...I think when we get to the point when we have something more to say, it'll be public. Again, I don't want the expectation that this piece of it is going to be as quick as the last piece, because there is more to it.
What more could there be? Well in two pieces yesterday - one by former Chronicle reporter Evan Drellich and one by ESPN's Jeff Passan - the entire character and culture of the front office under Luhnow and Crane was called into question.
One unnamed source told The Athletic the culture in the Astros' front office is:
Toxic. Eats you alive. Cutthroat. Secretive. Not fun. But, winning, being first, innovative.
One GM labeled the Astros' initial actions this week as "The most Astros thing ever."
Passan:
Around the game, shots of schadenfreude have been chased by I-told-you-so's. Contempt for the Astros runs deep - and has well before this incident. Jealousy breeds some of it. The organization's arrogance accounts for the rest. The Astros painted themselves as a disrupter and reveled in the commotion. They lived with the perception that they didn't understand people. They fed their process, followed it with fealty, doubled down. They believed in it, and they never had much of a reason not to, not until a week ago, when the assistant GM high on the feeling of winning the pennant opened his mouth, and two days later when Luhnow and the Astros forgot to abide by that essential principle that has guided them for so long: Bad information leads to bad decisions.
The Drellich piece is paywalled (The Athletic, and whatnot). The Passan piece is free. I would encourage you to read it. Just because facts aren't flattering doesn't make them false, and it's worth knowing what the general tenor around the game is of the Houston Astros.
It can feel like the media is piling on with the Taubman Incident. They're not. Well, maybe some are, but it's not piling on to lend context to this bombshell of a week the Astros are experiencing off the field. There are things that I know that I didn't put on this hellscape corner of the internet, simply because it wouldn't make a ton of sense to just blurt it out, or I was asked not to post it. But things that I, and others who write here, have learned over the course of the last 6-7 years makes what happened with Taubman not all that surprising. And if I know these things, you better believe people who get paid to know these things do, too. What happened with Taubman provided an opportunity baseball writers to work those little tidbits in and assign it to this story because there is context there.
*Yahoo's Hannah Keyser: The Astros say they don't have a culture problem. Here's why they're wrong.
*SI's Emma Baccellieri: What reason is there to trust Rob Manfred?
*The Hardball Times: Racism: The Original Performance Enhancer.
*Brad Jordan - aka Scarface, who has probably done it all, homey, believe me - is running for Houston City Council, where everything is everything fo sheezy.
*A Musical Selection:
Friday, October 25, 2019
Friday Morning Hot Links
Well the Astros thankfully didn't lose last night. I don't know what it is, but I still think the Astros win this series. Maybe that's my liver crying out for more punishment, I don't know. The Nationals have taken every advantage the Astros have given them, but the Astros lost both of those games rather than the Nationals winning. First pitch is at 7:07pm Central.
*SI's Tom Verducci: The Nationals have simply forgotten how to lose. Okay.
*ESPN: For the first time all season the Astros look beatable - very beatable.
*Mike Petriello, on Washington's Game 3 starter Anibal Sanchez and how he doesn't give up hard contact. Well the joke's on him because the Astros' offense has been, oh I see.
*The Nationals practiced staging a trophy presentation.
*A.J. Hinch:
Our guys believe we're going to win the World Series.
*A.J. Hinch:
Our guys believe we're going to win the World Series.
*MLB.com's David Adler did the math on the possibility of an Astros' comeback, and what needs to happen tonight in order to preserve that possibility.
*McTaggart: Three ways the Astros can climb out of an 0-2 hole.
*Without a DH for the next three games, will Yordan play in the outfield?
*None of the three hits Ryan Pressly allowed had higher than a 48% chance of actually being hits. He got soft-contacted to death.
*It might rain during Game 4.
*McTaggart: Three ways the Astros can climb out of an 0-2 hole.
*Without a DH for the next three games, will Yordan play in the outfield?
*None of the three hits Ryan Pressly allowed had higher than a 48% chance of actually being hits. He got soft-contacted to death.
*It might rain during Game 4.
*SI's Tom Verducci: The Nationals have simply forgotten how to lose. Okay.
*ESPN: For the first time all season the Astros look beatable - very beatable.
*Mike Petriello, on Washington's Game 3 starter Anibal Sanchez and how he doesn't give up hard contact. Well the joke's on him because the Astros' offense has been, oh I see.
*Brandon Taubman was fired yesterday. This was the biggest story of the day, as the Astros have to win at least two of the next three games in Washington in order to keep this fever dream season alive. Many people weighed in, because there was literally nothing else to talk about. I had some thoughts.
Luhnow, in an 18-minute press conference in Washington, yesterday:
[Taubman's] behavior was inappropriate and not representative of who the Astros are and our culture and what we stand for.
Luhnow was asked if he personally reached out to apologize to Stephanie Apstein, he said he was busy and didn't have time. She was sitting in the room.
Jake Kaplan wonders if anything is coming down the pike for the tone-deaf initial response on Monday. If Brandon Taubman's wreckage is floated out into the Ship Channel on a flaming trash barge (but, like, respectfully) and the Astros win another World Series despite it, sign me up. Jenny Dial Creech: The Astros took a step in the right direction.
*Ben Reiter ranked his Top 50 Free Agents, with the team that offers the best fit in 2020.
1. Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
24. Will Harris (Astros)
27. Michael Pineda (Astros)
34. Robinson Chirinos (Astros)
40. Wade Miley (Twins)
*The Nationals believe they were runners-up to Tampa in the Charlie Morton sweepstakes last winter.
*Vice: Everything we know about the 39 bodies found in a truck east of London.
*A Musical Selection:
*Ben Reiter ranked his Top 50 Free Agents, with the team that offers the best fit in 2020.
1. Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
24. Will Harris (Astros)
27. Michael Pineda (Astros)
34. Robinson Chirinos (Astros)
40. Wade Miley (Twins)
*The Nationals believe they were runners-up to Tampa in the Charlie Morton sweepstakes last winter.
*Vice: Everything we know about the 39 bodies found in a truck east of London.
*A Musical Selection:
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Sunday Morning Hot Links
We're just a group of guys, ready to make a dynasty in Houston.
The Astros won their third pennant in franchise history, 14 years to the day since their first pennant in franchise history. Folks, you and I have come a long way together. Let's hug.
*Correa:
It's a great series. We knew they had a great team. Like they call themselves, they're savages. But in this jungle called the American League, we're the apex predator.
Correa totally workshopped that quote with his buddies Daniela.
*Jose Altuve, a savage in the box, undid a whole lot of Lidge-induced PTSD in the bottom of the 9th Inning off of Aroldis Chapman, in an extremely offensively frustrating series. It was Altuve's 5th home run of the postseason, his second of the ALCS. It's the 5th time a Pennant has been clinched on a walk-off homer.
It was Altuve's 2nd Walk-Off Home Run of his career, the first since July 23, 2015, when he did it against Boston. Verlander, on Altuve:
People ask me about him, and I say he's a giant in every sense of the word except for his height. In everything else, he's 7-foot tall. Teammate. Baseball player. Everything.
Chandler Rome: One swing, "complete mayhem," and the American League Pennant. Gerrit Cole, on Altuve:
Coming from having to beg for a professional contract, coming from losing 100 games three times in a row to winning 100 games three times in a row, there's nobody that embodies the underdogs better than Jose. And there's really nobody that's ever played the game that's quite as talented as he is.
Houston is 10-1 in the postseason when Altuve homers.
Jenny Dial Creech: Jose Altuve cements his Houston legacy.
*Chapman, on the Walk-Off:
When [Altuve] hit that, I couldn't believe it. I didn't think he could get a hit like that at that time and walk us off in such a manner. But that's baseball. He's a great hitter, and I didn't do my job. That's why we lost.
We're not going to the World Series because of me, we're going to the World Series because of everybody in the clubhouse.
Hinch, on Altuve:
It's the same old quote of: Everything that's right about the Astros is Jose Altuve. He's been here the longest and seen this organization grow from the ground up. I'm so proud of him. I'm so fortunate to be his manager.
Altuve is your 2019 ALCS MVP. Tom Verducci, on Jose Altuve:
All that is great about baseball is packed into that 5-foot-6, 165-pound body, like one of those super-concentrated detergents. A little goes a long way. Altuve plays baseball like the wag of a puppy's tail. He plays joyfully. And he plays well.
*Aroldis Chapman's career postseason home runs allowed:
2016 World Series Game 7
2019 ALCS Game 6
*Houston is going to the World Series thanks to two massive diving catches by the corner outfielders: Reddick and Brantley. Brantley, who doubled up Judge:
I wanted to make sure I completed the play. I knew I had a chance to double him up, I had to make a good throw. Yuli did a good job picking it for me. I didn't throw it in the air, I wanted to keep it down. We got out of that inning.
The Aaron Hicks liner Brantley came up with had an expected batting average of .370. Reddick's catch negated a Gardner hit that had an expected batting average of .570.
Reddick:
I ate a little bit of dirt and grass on it. But that's fine. Whatever it takes to make the play and make the out, that's all that matters.
*Yuli Gurriel's first inning 3-run home run were the first runs for the Astros with two outs in the series. It's the third straight year that Gurriel has hit a 3-run homer in the postseason (2018 ALCS G1, 2017 World Series G5). Hinch, on Gurriel:
It's nice when you take the lead, especially in an elimination game, on the other side, it puts an immense amount of pressure on those guys. It wouldn't surprise me that Yuli was in the middle of it, because he's been mere feet away from being in the middle of virtually every good thing that's happened to us offensively in this series.
I had all the bad luck. And I hope I get the good luck in the World Series.
*Houston is 89-2 this season (postseason included) when leading by three or more runs, and 51-0 at Minute Maid Park when up by three.
*Astros, 2019 postseason:
Altuve: .349/.417/.767, 4K:5BB, 5HR
Brantley: .262/.340/.333, 9K:5BB, 1HR
Bregman: .257/.435/.429, 8K:10BB, 1HR
Gurriel: .209/.239/.302, 0K:2BB (yes, Gurriel has not struck out this postseason), 1HR
Correa: .171/.227/.366, 18K:3BB, 2HR
Yordan: .171/.227/.244, 19K:3BB, 0HR
Springer: .152/.235/.283, 15K:5BB, 2HR
Reddick: .136/.174/.273, 7K:1BB, 1HR
Chirinos: .091/.231/.227, 10K:3BB, 0HR
The Astros are going to the World Series with six hitters in the lineup hitting .209 or worse, and went 5x46 w/RISP in the ALCS, and Gerrit Cole only pitched once.
*Jose Urquidy: 2.2IP, 3H/1ER, 5K:1BB. Hinch, on Urquidy:
He was incredible tonight. What's hard for a young player is not really knowing what was going to happen or how he was going to be used. It probably would have been easier on him emotionally just to start the game and have the normal routine, and we weren't going to do that...We don't win this game if Urquidy doesn't come in and get the outs that he did at the time in which he did to turn it over to the back end of the bullpen.
Matt Young: How Urquidy carried the Astros in Game 6.
*Will Harris, on the Astros' bullpen:
We have a lot of guys with a lot of pride that are really good at their jobs. And I was excited for the opportunity for us to prove that today.
*Osuna, on the LeMahieu home run:
I knew that was gone. That was a terrible feeling. I felt terrible. When Altuve hit the homer, obviously I came back to life and pretty excited right now.
*Brad Peacock was the first pitcher since 1924 to finish a postseason game and then start the next day. He slept in the Astros' designated nap room at Minute Maid Park Friday night.
*Gerrit Cole asked Hinch twice if he could pitch in Game 6.
*Ryan Pressly, who came out of the game after recording a one-pitch out, says he'll be ready for the World Series.
Just some scar tissue that broke off. It was bound to happen at some point. I just didn't think it was going to happen in the middle of that game. I'll be good and ready to go next week.
*6-9 in the Yankees' lineup (Gregorius, Sanchez, Urshela, Gardner): 7x14, 3 runs, 2RBI.
*Yahoo's Tim Brown: The 2019 ALCS highlighted Baseball's greatness, and its flaws.
*Postseason wins, 2013-present:
Los Angeles: 33
Houston: 25
Kansas City: 22
Boston: 19
Chicago: 19
St. Louis: 17
New York Yankees: 14
San Francisco: 14
Washington: 13
Cleveland: 12
Toronto: 10
New York Mets: 8
Milwaukee: 6
Tampa: 5
Detroit: 5
Atlanta: 4
Pittsburgh: 3
Baltimore: 3
Arlington: 2
Oakland: 2
Colorado: 1
Arizona: 1
*Updated AL West Playoff Wins, 2013-present:
Houston: 25
Oakland: 2
Arlington: 2
Anaheim: 0
Seattle: 0
*Wade Miley had a quote on his plans for free agency:
If I'm not back in Houston, I won't be back in the AL. Because I don't ever want to have to face this lineup.
*Aaron Judge, on the Yankees' season:
It's a failure. In Spring Training, we talked about winning the division and putting ourselves in a good spot in the postseason to win a World Series. We came up short. No matter how many games we won in the regular season or what else we did, this season is a failure.
This is the first calendar decade (XXX0-XXX9) in which the Yankees won't play in the World Series since the 1910s. Hate to see it.
*The Astros will now be able to line up Cole-Verlander-Greinke in Games 1-3 of the World Series, Cole could throw Game 5 on normal rest.
An interesting note about Greinke in Game 3 is that it allows him to hit in Washington. In nine starts against the Nationals in his career, Greinke has held them to a .197/.227/.271 line. He's 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA / 0.83 WHIP against the Nationals in his career. At Whatever Their Ballpark Is Called, he's 2-1 in four starts with a 1.11 ERA / 0.90 WHIP. Luhnow:
We're going to have a tough road ahead of us. Washington's a great team, but to be able to open up here and be here for the next several days and not have to travel, it's a huge advantage for our team, huge advantage for our team, huge advantage to have Gerrit Cole probably lined up to go Game 1 and Verlander to go Game 2.
*Hunter Atkins: Could the Astros have a Bullpen Game in Game 4?
*FanGraphs has the Astros winning the World Series at 72-28. FiveThirtyEight has it 60-40 Astros.
*David Roth: What's wrong with the baseballs is what's wrong with Baseball.
*Leeds United 1 Birmingham City 0.
*Texas Monthly: The Great Texas Whiskey Boom.
*Leeds United 1 Birmingham City 0.
*Texas Monthly: The Great Texas Whiskey Boom.
*A Musical Selection:
Here is Altuve's walk off set to Game Over by Lil Flip pic.twitter.com/zZ24hIfUSh— Gerrant Caule (@grantraun) October 20, 2019
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Tuesday Morning Hot Links
Good morning. Verlander Day has come early. You know it's October when it seems like JV is pitching every other day 1911-style. The Rays are doing an opener, with Diego Castillo getting the call to start the 1st.
As for yesterday afternoon, we got Morton'd, Greinke got shelled, and the Astros couldn't get anything started with the bat. The Astros are now 1-4 in the Trop this season.
However, the Astros are confident Game 4 is theirs. Here are the upcoming keys to the game.
Here were some of the winners and losers across all of the postseason yesterday.
Will Harris has been irreplaceable this season.
The Astros really want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, so let's enjoy Gerrit Cole while we have him.
Ken Hoffman writes about how Houston really needs a better broadcast crew for October.
Why the Astros and Yankees would be a perfect ALCS.
The New York Times is looking ahead for an Astros-Yankees ALCS as well. And Houston is even better this time.
Which pitcher had the most dominant start for the Astros in their history: Mike Scott, Justin Verlander, or Gerrit Cole?
Here's a fun little story about the acquisition of Yordan Alvarez.
Everybody seems to have space helmets now. Here's how to get one.
As for yesterday afternoon, we got Morton'd, Greinke got shelled, and the Astros couldn't get anything started with the bat. The Astros are now 1-4 in the Trop this season.
However, the Astros are confident Game 4 is theirs. Here are the upcoming keys to the game.
Here were some of the winners and losers across all of the postseason yesterday.
Will Harris has been irreplaceable this season.
The Astros really want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, so let's enjoy Gerrit Cole while we have him.
Ken Hoffman writes about how Houston really needs a better broadcast crew for October.
Why the Astros and Yankees would be a perfect ALCS.
The New York Times is looking ahead for an Astros-Yankees ALCS as well. And Houston is even better this time.
Which pitcher had the most dominant start for the Astros in their history: Mike Scott, Justin Verlander, or Gerrit Cole?
Here's a fun little story about the acquisition of Yordan Alvarez.
Everybody seems to have space helmets now. Here's how to get one.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Sunday Morning Hot Links
Rays starting pitchers have made two bad pitches. The Astros are up 2-0 in the series, and are one win away from advancing to the ALCS.
*Houston went from 69.5% favorites to win the Series on Friday morning to 82% yesterday to 93.1% today. FanGraphs has the Astros at 52-48 to win tomorrow afternoon in Tampa and close it out. Yesterday I said that Game 3 would start at 1:07pm. That was wrong. First pitch is at 12:07pm. 50 teams have taken a 2-0 lead, and 43 of them have won the series. Kevin Kiermaier:
We're obviously disappointed down two games to zero. They've just been a little bit better so far. Verlander threw great, Cole was about as dominant as you can get. Our pitchers threw the ball great, they just came up with a few more hits than us.
*Gerrit Cole did Gerrit Cole things: 7.2IP, 4H/0ER, 15K:1BB. Cole became the 7th pitcher to strike out 15+ batters in a postseason game. Your full list:
Bob Gibson (17): 1968 World Series Game 1.
K*vin Bro*n (16): 1998 NLDS Game 1.
Gerrit Cole (15): 2019 ALDS Game 2.
Roger Clemens (15): 2000 ALCS Game 4.
Livan Hernandez (15): 1997 NLCS Game 5.
Mike Mussina (15): 1997 ALCS Game 3.
Sandy Koufax (15): 1963 World Series Game 1.
Gerrit Cole's 15 strikeouts in a postseason game are a franchise record, breaking Mike Scott's record of 14 Ks, which Scott did in Game 1 of the 1986 NLCS. According to MLB Network, Gerrit Cole's 33 swings and misses are an MLB record since they started keeping track of that in 2008. Cole:
We've got a lot more work to take care of. There's a few months this winter that maybe we can sit back and have a drink about it. Right now, it's on to the next one.
Hinch:
Whether it's about the new-age opener or pulling guys third time through, most of the people that support that haven't had Verlander or Cole on their team. It's hard for me to relate to having to pull guys early or wanting to pull guys early when these guys are putting up these kinds of performances...I'm going to roll with these boys while we have them.
Hinch:
He was incredible. It's hard to put into words exactly what his performance meant for us tonight.
*The Rays went 5x45 with 23 strikeouts against Verlander and Cole. Kevin Kiermaier:
Good for Jeff Luhnow, or whatever their GM's name is, for acquiring him. Like they needed any more than Verlander and Greinke and all the other guys they have.
*Brian T. Smith: Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher on the planet. Lots of one-word paragraphs and two-word sentences in this.
*Roberto Osuna allowed 2H/1ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP and looked terrible when he came back out for the 9th. Hunter Atkins reports that Osuna is not thrilled with the Astros' wanting him to throw more sliders. Context:
"I usually throw my fastball a little bit more, then I go to my changeup. I don't believe the slider's my best pitch."
That was part of the problem heading into Saturday's game. The Astros wanted Osuna to prepare to throw Tampa Bay a lot of sliders, to use it like his best pitch. He was iffy, but he went along with the plan.
"That's what really got me upset tonight," Osuna said.
Good article, highly recommended. Hinch, on Osuna:
Osuna's our guy. He'll get the ball when he needs to get the ball and when we expect him to get the last three outs. There's always a consideration for just putting the guys out there against the matchups. But I believe in Osuna, and I believe he's the best matchup most of the time.
*Will Harris recorded the save. Harris had six regular season saves since the beginning of 2017. Harris has inherited five baserunners in the last two games and none of them have scored. Harris:
It's a long postseason if you're going to win it. You're going to have some ups and downs and you have to win 11 games. We won our first two, but it's not going to be seamless. There's going to be some bumps in the road.
*The Astros have hit a home run in each of their last 27 postseason games, extending a franchise record.
*The Astros went 2x12 w/RISP a day after going 3x9 w/RISP in Game 1. So the Astros are 5x21 w/RISP this series. And are up 2-0.
*Alex Bregman hit his first home run of the postseason.
Bregman, 2017 postseason: .208/.256/.417, 10K:5BB, 4HR.
Bregman, 2018-19 playoffs: .333/.565/.733, 6K:13BB, 3HR.
A full and complete list of the pitchers off of which Alex Bregman has homered in the postseason:
-Blake Snell (2018 AL Cy Young winner)
-Trevor Bauer (2018 All-Star)
-Corey Kluber (2014, 2017 AL Cy Young)
-Kenley Jansen (3x All-Star)
-Clayton Kershaw (3x NL Cy Young, 2014 NL MVP, 8x All-Star)
-Chris Sale (7x All-Star)
Bregman:
The environment that we've played in the last two days here is unmatched. And we love playing in front of these great fans. They know the game of baseball. They have fun. They're passionate.
*George Springer is having a rough one so far. He went 0x4 with a strikeout in Game 2, bringing his ALDS to 0x8. The last time he had back-to-back hitless games in the postseason was ALCS Games 1-2. He had a hit in every single postseason game in 2018.
*Yordan Alvarez was 2x4, as was Carlos Correa. Martin Maldonado was 2x3 with an RBI.
*As much as Girardi and Pierzynski (I don't even know who the play-by-play guy is because he says maybe ten words all game) wanted The Stool to be a controversy, it wasn't. Hinch:
I don't blame [the ball boy]. That's unlucky more than bad. I think he tried to take a swipe at it. That ball's coming in pretty hot. A little unlucky on our part. I wish it would have gone through the gap there or gotten down into the corner, and I think Tuck scores. It was a great hit and run by Martin [Maldonado]. But we got a little unlucky.
*Chandler Rome: How an early-September talk with A.J. Hinch turned Kyle Tucker's motor on. Hinch:
We talked to him about it when he first got here, and I think he wants no part of the reputation of being a low-motor or an aloof type player. He's taken it to heart and is paying with the urgency that we want.
*Richard Justice: The Astros are proof that starting pitching still matters. Verlander:
I feel like, if I did my job as a starting pitcher throughout the season, that our bullpen should be fresh and ready to thrive. I know what you're asking because I have an old-school mentality.
*Jenny Dial Creech: Uncle Mike brings smiles to the clubhouse. Hinch:
[Brantley is] extremely valuable in all aspects of our team. He's a balanced person. He's a balanced player. He posts every day. I think he's a great influence for our guys. I think he's really found a way to lead without being the most vocal guy, and people still look at him.
*Hinch, on the Astros' aggressiveness on the basepath:
I like pressure. I like making them make plays. And that comes with a little bit of risk. And [Friday], when it works out for us, it's great...But 90 feet matters. If you can steal it, all the better.
*A Musical Selection:
*Houston went from 69.5% favorites to win the Series on Friday morning to 82% yesterday to 93.1% today. FanGraphs has the Astros at 52-48 to win tomorrow afternoon in Tampa and close it out. Yesterday I said that Game 3 would start at 1:07pm. That was wrong. First pitch is at 12:07pm. 50 teams have taken a 2-0 lead, and 43 of them have won the series. Kevin Kiermaier:
We're obviously disappointed down two games to zero. They've just been a little bit better so far. Verlander threw great, Cole was about as dominant as you can get. Our pitchers threw the ball great, they just came up with a few more hits than us.
*Gerrit Cole did Gerrit Cole things: 7.2IP, 4H/0ER, 15K:1BB. Cole became the 7th pitcher to strike out 15+ batters in a postseason game. Your full list:
Bob Gibson (17): 1968 World Series Game 1.
K*vin Bro*n (16): 1998 NLDS Game 1.
Gerrit Cole (15): 2019 ALDS Game 2.
Roger Clemens (15): 2000 ALCS Game 4.
Livan Hernandez (15): 1997 NLCS Game 5.
Mike Mussina (15): 1997 ALCS Game 3.
Sandy Koufax (15): 1963 World Series Game 1.
Gerrit Cole's 15 strikeouts in a postseason game are a franchise record, breaking Mike Scott's record of 14 Ks, which Scott did in Game 1 of the 1986 NLCS. According to MLB Network, Gerrit Cole's 33 swings and misses are an MLB record since they started keeping track of that in 2008. Cole:
We've got a lot more work to take care of. There's a few months this winter that maybe we can sit back and have a drink about it. Right now, it's on to the next one.
Hinch:
Whether it's about the new-age opener or pulling guys third time through, most of the people that support that haven't had Verlander or Cole on their team. It's hard for me to relate to having to pull guys early or wanting to pull guys early when these guys are putting up these kinds of performances...I'm going to roll with these boys while we have them.
Hinch:
He was incredible. It's hard to put into words exactly what his performance meant for us tonight.
*The Rays went 5x45 with 23 strikeouts against Verlander and Cole. Kevin Kiermaier:
Good for Jeff Luhnow, or whatever their GM's name is, for acquiring him. Like they needed any more than Verlander and Greinke and all the other guys they have.
*Brian T. Smith: Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher on the planet. Lots of one-word paragraphs and two-word sentences in this.
*Roberto Osuna allowed 2H/1ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP and looked terrible when he came back out for the 9th. Hunter Atkins reports that Osuna is not thrilled with the Astros' wanting him to throw more sliders. Context:
"I usually throw my fastball a little bit more, then I go to my changeup. I don't believe the slider's my best pitch."
That was part of the problem heading into Saturday's game. The Astros wanted Osuna to prepare to throw Tampa Bay a lot of sliders, to use it like his best pitch. He was iffy, but he went along with the plan.
"That's what really got me upset tonight," Osuna said.
Good article, highly recommended. Hinch, on Osuna:
Osuna's our guy. He'll get the ball when he needs to get the ball and when we expect him to get the last three outs. There's always a consideration for just putting the guys out there against the matchups. But I believe in Osuna, and I believe he's the best matchup most of the time.
*Will Harris recorded the save. Harris had six regular season saves since the beginning of 2017. Harris has inherited five baserunners in the last two games and none of them have scored. Harris:
It's a long postseason if you're going to win it. You're going to have some ups and downs and you have to win 11 games. We won our first two, but it's not going to be seamless. There's going to be some bumps in the road.
*The Astros have hit a home run in each of their last 27 postseason games, extending a franchise record.
*The Astros went 2x12 w/RISP a day after going 3x9 w/RISP in Game 1. So the Astros are 5x21 w/RISP this series. And are up 2-0.
*Alex Bregman hit his first home run of the postseason.
Bregman, 2017 postseason: .208/.256/.417, 10K:5BB, 4HR.
Bregman, 2018-19 playoffs: .333/.565/.733, 6K:13BB, 3HR.
A full and complete list of the pitchers off of which Alex Bregman has homered in the postseason:
-Blake Snell (2018 AL Cy Young winner)
-Trevor Bauer (2018 All-Star)
-Corey Kluber (2014, 2017 AL Cy Young)
-Kenley Jansen (3x All-Star)
-Clayton Kershaw (3x NL Cy Young, 2014 NL MVP, 8x All-Star)
-Chris Sale (7x All-Star)
Bregman:
The environment that we've played in the last two days here is unmatched. And we love playing in front of these great fans. They know the game of baseball. They have fun. They're passionate.
Alex Bregman:— Doug Kern (@dakern74) October 6, 2019
Oct 5 2019: Go-ahead HR vs TB (ALDS 2)
Oct 5 2018: Go-ahead HR vs CLE (ALDS 1)
Oct 5 2017: Go-ahead HR vs BOS (ALDS 1)
First player in postseason history to hit a go-ahead homer on the same date in three consecutive years.
*George Springer is having a rough one so far. He went 0x4 with a strikeout in Game 2, bringing his ALDS to 0x8. The last time he had back-to-back hitless games in the postseason was ALCS Games 1-2. He had a hit in every single postseason game in 2018.
*Yordan Alvarez was 2x4, as was Carlos Correa. Martin Maldonado was 2x3 with an RBI.
*As much as Girardi and Pierzynski (I don't even know who the play-by-play guy is because he says maybe ten words all game) wanted The Stool to be a controversy, it wasn't. Hinch:
I don't blame [the ball boy]. That's unlucky more than bad. I think he tried to take a swipe at it. That ball's coming in pretty hot. A little unlucky on our part. I wish it would have gone through the gap there or gotten down into the corner, and I think Tuck scores. It was a great hit and run by Martin [Maldonado]. But we got a little unlucky.
*Chandler Rome: How an early-September talk with A.J. Hinch turned Kyle Tucker's motor on. Hinch:
We talked to him about it when he first got here, and I think he wants no part of the reputation of being a low-motor or an aloof type player. He's taken it to heart and is paying with the urgency that we want.
*Richard Justice: The Astros are proof that starting pitching still matters. Verlander:
I feel like, if I did my job as a starting pitcher throughout the season, that our bullpen should be fresh and ready to thrive. I know what you're asking because I have an old-school mentality.
*Jenny Dial Creech: Uncle Mike brings smiles to the clubhouse. Hinch:
[Brantley is] extremely valuable in all aspects of our team. He's a balanced person. He's a balanced player. He posts every day. I think he's a great influence for our guys. I think he's really found a way to lead without being the most vocal guy, and people still look at him.
*Hinch, on the Astros' aggressiveness on the basepath:
I like pressure. I like making them make plays. And that comes with a little bit of risk. And [Friday], when it works out for us, it's great...But 90 feet matters. If you can steal it, all the better.
*A Musical Selection:
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Thursday Morning Hot Links
*Well now we know: The Astros will start a five-game series at home tomorrow against Florida Men at [giggles] 1pm. The A's have the longest winner-take-all postseason game losing streak, at nine games. Six of those were at home.
More of this to come tomorrow, but an early analysis of Sarasota vs. Houston:
-The Rays won four out of seven games against Houston in 2019.
-The Astros outscored the Rays 40-27 in 2019.
-Tampa won three of those four games to open the 2019 season.
-The Astros scored nine runs in those four games, and scored four runs in the last three games of that opening series combined.
-The second HOU/TBR series was Aug 27-29. Houston won 15-1, won 8-6, and lost 9-8.
-The Astros are 5-12 at Tropicana Field since the beginning of the 2015 season. They're 2-6 at West Lakeland in 2018-2019.
FiveThirtyEight currently has it at 70% that the Astros make it to the ALCS. Bovada has the line at -125 that the Astros win the AL Pennant.
*There's a playoff rally today at City Hall in Houston at 10am. It's free. Reid Ryan, Jeff Luhnow, Chris Devenski, and Josh Reddick, and the Alien will be there.
*The Astros are set to open the ALDS with Verlander-Cole-Greinke. Hinch:
Not really news breaking when it comes to those three. I'm sure everybody could have predicted how we were going to go, and I wasn't going to commit to a Game 4 quite yet. All those guys are prepared and ready to go.
As for Correa, Hinch:
He looks great and is moving around in normal fashion, and I expect him to play on Friday.
Also: Framber, Cionel, Cy Sneed, and Joe Biagini were sent home. Biagini will remain on a throwing program in case he is needed in a later series.
It's worth mentioning, for the first note, that Verlander-Cole-Greinke lined up in the rotation seven times for 21 games, beginning on August 21. The Astros went 17-4 with those three, playing against Detroit, Anaheim, Tampa, Toronto, Milwaukee, Seattle, Oakland, Kansas City, Arlington, Anaheim, and Seattle
Looks like it'll be:
G1: Verlander v Glasnow
G2: Cole v Snell
G3: Greinke v Morton
*Chandler Rome has a good story on the relationship between Justin Verlander and Robinson Chirinos, the first personal catcher he has ever had. Hinch, on Chirinos:
He's going to be the calm one in the moment, maybe even the more reasonable one in the moment. That Midas touch he has, to be the calmest heartbeat, is very valuable to me.
*Zack Greinke threw four simulated innings in the bullpen today to stay fresh in the 11 days from his last start of the regular season to ALDS G3.
*Bregman admitted he gets "jittery" in the few days after the regular season and before the playoffs start, but "I'd rather take batting practice...and wait three days than play in that Wild Card game."
*Hinch:
Just things that add to a culture of playing 162 games you can't fake, you can't pretend. It's part of your DNA or not. [Bregman's] as authentic a baseball player as I've ever been around and as likable as anybody on our team. The other side probably feels a little differently. He plays with a little chip on his shoulder that irritates some people. I love that about him, and he owns it and doesn't run from it.
*"Everyone thinks I'm way fatter than I really am." Hunter Atkins has a great profile on sneaky good Will Harris.
*Jim Crane said he'd like to re-sign Gerrit Cole, but the Unofficial Luxury Tax will be an issue. Crane:
We'll see where we end up after the year. We may make a run at it. We're not sure yet. We're going to wait and see what else unfolds and who else is going to stay on the team. There's a lot of moves that Jeff will probably make in the offseason. We're going to keep a very close eye on it, communicate and see where that ends up. He's had a great year. He's young and he's likely going to command a big salary.
Yes, that's all true. But it's true because Gerrit Cole is the best option right now if you need a pitcher and heywhaddayaknow the Astros will need a pitcher. Feel free to play around with Spotrac if you want to see how the numbers work out. If the Astros go over $208m in 2020, they would pay a 20% tax on the overage. So let's say the Astros hit $215m on payroll in 2020, that's a $1.4m penalty the Astros have to pay in order to win another 106+ games.
*Braves manager Brian Snitker, on picking Dallas Keuchel to start NLDS G1 against St. Louis:
It's why we got him. He brought instant credibility. He's been through this war. He's a World Series champion. And I think when we signed him, we envisioned him making this opening start.
*Baseball Watching Today:
-St. Louis at Atlanta: 4:02pm Central
-Washington at Los Angeles: 7:37pm Cental
*Inside MLB's war on high-tech sign-stealing.
*Meet Pete. Pete is currently in the process of watching the extremely good show Gilmore Girls. Without sleeping. For charity.
*A Musical Selection:
More of this to come tomorrow, but an early analysis of Sarasota vs. Houston:
-The Rays won four out of seven games against Houston in 2019.
-The Astros outscored the Rays 40-27 in 2019.
-Tampa won three of those four games to open the 2019 season.
-The Astros scored nine runs in those four games, and scored four runs in the last three games of that opening series combined.
-The second HOU/TBR series was Aug 27-29. Houston won 15-1, won 8-6, and lost 9-8.
-The Astros are 5-12 at Tropicana Field since the beginning of the 2015 season. They're 2-6 at West Lakeland in 2018-2019.
FiveThirtyEight currently has it at 70% that the Astros make it to the ALCS. Bovada has the line at -125 that the Astros win the AL Pennant.
*There's a playoff rally today at City Hall in Houston at 10am. It's free. Reid Ryan, Jeff Luhnow, Chris Devenski, and Josh Reddick, and the Alien will be there.
*The Astros are set to open the ALDS with Verlander-Cole-Greinke. Hinch:
Not really news breaking when it comes to those three. I'm sure everybody could have predicted how we were going to go, and I wasn't going to commit to a Game 4 quite yet. All those guys are prepared and ready to go.
As for Correa, Hinch:
He looks great and is moving around in normal fashion, and I expect him to play on Friday.
Also: Framber, Cionel, Cy Sneed, and Joe Biagini were sent home. Biagini will remain on a throwing program in case he is needed in a later series.
It's worth mentioning, for the first note, that Verlander-Cole-Greinke lined up in the rotation seven times for 21 games, beginning on August 21. The Astros went 17-4 with those three, playing against Detroit, Anaheim, Tampa, Toronto, Milwaukee, Seattle, Oakland, Kansas City, Arlington, Anaheim, and Seattle
Looks like it'll be:
G1: Verlander v Glasnow
G2: Cole v Snell
G3: Greinke v Morton
*Chandler Rome has a good story on the relationship between Justin Verlander and Robinson Chirinos, the first personal catcher he has ever had. Hinch, on Chirinos:
He's going to be the calm one in the moment, maybe even the more reasonable one in the moment. That Midas touch he has, to be the calmest heartbeat, is very valuable to me.
*Zack Greinke threw four simulated innings in the bullpen today to stay fresh in the 11 days from his last start of the regular season to ALDS G3.
*Bregman admitted he gets "jittery" in the few days after the regular season and before the playoffs start, but "I'd rather take batting practice...and wait three days than play in that Wild Card game."
*Hinch:
Just things that add to a culture of playing 162 games you can't fake, you can't pretend. It's part of your DNA or not. [Bregman's] as authentic a baseball player as I've ever been around and as likable as anybody on our team. The other side probably feels a little differently. He plays with a little chip on his shoulder that irritates some people. I love that about him, and he owns it and doesn't run from it.
*"Everyone thinks I'm way fatter than I really am." Hunter Atkins has a great profile on sneaky good Will Harris.
*Jim Crane said he'd like to re-sign Gerrit Cole, but the Unofficial Luxury Tax will be an issue. Crane:
We'll see where we end up after the year. We may make a run at it. We're not sure yet. We're going to wait and see what else unfolds and who else is going to stay on the team. There's a lot of moves that Jeff will probably make in the offseason. We're going to keep a very close eye on it, communicate and see where that ends up. He's had a great year. He's young and he's likely going to command a big salary.
Yes, that's all true. But it's true because Gerrit Cole is the best option right now if you need a pitcher and heywhaddayaknow the Astros will need a pitcher. Feel free to play around with Spotrac if you want to see how the numbers work out. If the Astros go over $208m in 2020, they would pay a 20% tax on the overage. So let's say the Astros hit $215m on payroll in 2020, that's a $1.4m penalty the Astros have to pay in order to win another 106+ games.
*Braves manager Brian Snitker, on picking Dallas Keuchel to start NLDS G1 against St. Louis:
It's why we got him. He brought instant credibility. He's been through this war. He's a World Series champion. And I think when we signed him, we envisioned him making this opening start.
*Baseball Watching Today:
-St. Louis at Atlanta: 4:02pm Central
-Washington at Los Angeles: 7:37pm Cental
*Inside MLB's war on high-tech sign-stealing.
*Meet Pete. Pete is currently in the process of watching the extremely good show Gilmore Girls. Without sleeping. For charity.
*A Musical Selection:
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Wednesday Morning Hot Links
The best sports month of the year has finally kicked off. Playoff baseball is live, conference college football has begun, NFL football is in full swing, the NBA and NHL start their seasons, even the Tetris World Championships are in October. This, of course, is not even taking into account the cooler temperatures and my birthday. We don't deserve this month.
If you didn't watch the NL wild card game last night, you missed out on something extremely enjoyable.
The Astros hit the cover of Sports Illustrated this month, and here's the featured article detailing the Astros and the construction of their October-ready roster.
Each postseason team is going to need an X-factor. Who is the Astros X-factor going into this postseason?
The odds of having a historically memorable World Series matchup is actually quite high this year.
Rays or A's: does it really matter who the Astros play in the ALDS?
CBS Sports seems to think so.
Tags has what I assume is his final guess (but who knows at this point) at the Astros ALDS roster.
Will Harris was sneaky great all year this year. An excellent sign heading into the coming weeks.
The Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writer's of America have named their award winners for this 2019 Astros team.
Why is Mattress Mack betting so much money on the Astros this year?
Expectations are high for the Astros this year, so let's take a trip down memory lane and remember the top ten other Houston teams with high expectations with succeeded/failed.
In Astros legal news, Drayton McLane is taking Jim Crane to court because he claimed the Astros tanked purposefully to harm Comcast SportsNet Houston.
Also in Astros legal news, it did not go well for Jeff Bagwell in his case against his landscapers that he stiffed.
Baytown Hat Co. is selling half Cowboys/half Astros hats that are disgusting and I hate.
It turns out red meat may not be bad for you after all...
Domino's is now looking for Australian Garlic Bread Testers. So if your dream job may be that, you best act fast.
If you didn't watch the NL wild card game last night, you missed out on something extremely enjoyable.
The Astros hit the cover of Sports Illustrated this month, and here's the featured article detailing the Astros and the construction of their October-ready roster.
Each postseason team is going to need an X-factor. Who is the Astros X-factor going into this postseason?
The odds of having a historically memorable World Series matchup is actually quite high this year.
Rays or A's: does it really matter who the Astros play in the ALDS?
CBS Sports seems to think so.
Tags has what I assume is his final guess (but who knows at this point) at the Astros ALDS roster.
Will Harris was sneaky great all year this year. An excellent sign heading into the coming weeks.
The Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writer's of America have named their award winners for this 2019 Astros team.
Why is Mattress Mack betting so much money on the Astros this year?
Expectations are high for the Astros this year, so let's take a trip down memory lane and remember the top ten other Houston teams with high expectations with succeeded/failed.
In Astros legal news, Drayton McLane is taking Jim Crane to court because he claimed the Astros tanked purposefully to harm Comcast SportsNet Houston.
Also in Astros legal news, it did not go well for Jeff Bagwell in his case against his landscapers that he stiffed.
Baytown Hat Co. is selling half Cowboys/half Astros hats that are disgusting and I hate.
It turns out red meat may not be bad for you after all...
Domino's is now looking for Australian Garlic Bread Testers. So if your dream job may be that, you best act fast.
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