And right on cue the pen is back at again smh
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I taught my son to freeze on a line drive for a split secondā¦ā¦when he was 6ā¦. Just watched major leaguer take off runningā¦. And it wasnāt a hit and runā¦.fundamentals.
āShort sample sizeā?
30+ games since the All-star break (1/5 of the season). Wet the bed again tonight.
I donāt know what games youāre watching but the pen is a MAJOR concern right now.
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I watch every single game. The bullpen has had a less than stellar stretch, Iāll give you that but much of it is luck related (Astros have the highest BABiP in baseball over that stretch). The underlying numbers are still quite good (k/9, xFIP, etc).
A lot of the struggles have been by guys that may not even make the postseason roster (Maton, Smith).
Control is the issue. The relievers are falling behind in the count too often. If it is a high leverage situation, make the other guy sweat,
The rotation is as good of a rotation as we have ever had.
There may be some tired arms as wellā¦ā¦earlier this season Abreu was 98-100 with the fastballā¦ā¦Montero was 97-99ā¦both those guys are down a few ticks.
I never faced triple digitsā¦.but believe me when I tell you as a hitter 93-94 I had a more positive mindset than when the guy was blowing upper 90āsā¦.does not seem like a big deal but it is.
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Okā¦ itās a long-shot but the Astros are in sole possession of the second best record.
The Dodgers have a 7 game advantage with just under forty to play. The Dodgers have roughly 18 games to play vs playoff level teamsā¦about 9 with San Diego I think. A couple of series with Milwaukee. And a couple with St Louis. A bunch vs SF.
If the Dodgers win 60% of remaining games and the Astros win 71% we pass them the last week of the season. We need the Dodgers to go 6-4 on average every 10 games. 7-3 is doable by the Astros. 8-2 on some 10 game stretches.
I donāt want to face the Braves until the LCSā¦if at all. I think they are the most dangerous team in baseball. More dangerous than NYM or the NYY. And given the chance I think they would beat the LAD.
Agree, itās kinda like earthquakes. The increase is exponential and not incremental.
For example hitting of 70 vs. 100 isnāt ~40% harder or 90 vs. 99 ~10%. Same applies in the 5.0 vs. 7.5 earthquake.
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Pressly to IL with neck spasmsā¦
Tucker day to day with sore foot.
Chas day to day with fingerā¦
Canāt wait to see todayās lineup. š«¤
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My boy Mancini doin work with the skeleton crew.
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Hey but at least we got that sweep you were asking for
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Sweep the Orioles
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Listening to Houston sports radio today, an sports announcer commented that Mancini and Vazquez should be playing more regularly. Also stated that Maldonado gets too much preferential treatment from Dusty Baker.
Maldonado is a very good defensive catcher, but so is Vazquez. The big difference between them is Vazquez is batting .291 and Maldonado is hitting .188.
There is a part of me that believes that Dusty Baker will blow this opportunity to win a WS because of his sense of loyalty towards his players over those recently acquired.
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Agree with everyone. The commentator, youā¦
Itās obvious Mancini feels comfortable in a stros jersey. Heās hitting against a league heās familiar with. And he wants to show out here. Put the guy in the outfield.
Didnt see the game today, what happened with JV?
They said āRight calf discomfortā.
I think he tweaked it on that goofy play to end the inning - lots of unusual stopping/starting. He wasnāt limping much, so Iām hoping itās just a strain.
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Not try hard to retain Verlander? That would be out of character for Crane and create a real leadership void.