Wulaw Horn

Will write a longish post tomorrow setting what I would like to see in the offseason, but here’s the place holder for now. I will be relatively happy I don’t have to think about this team anymore.

Almost everything about this team is so hateable this year. be a really interesting offseason.

That might be a bridge too far.

Posted before the fuck up.

Trade Tuckers worthless ass. trade Frambers worthless ass. trade Presley’s worthless ass.

We gonna give up 2 fucking hits and lose. AJ Hinch is a wizard.

That’s not what I’m saying. I think he’s at Texas in 26 but not 27.

Unfortunately we have 3 kids with us and stay in separate rooms- boys and girls. Does she kick the kids out sometimes? Sure.

False. If you start Martin Maldonado instead of yainer Diaz, or Dubon when Chas was a borderline all star then you have a lot to do with who won or lost. I would not have brought Hader in for the 9th but it made sense in this context. Espada didn’t do anything to lose us this game. Ha. Skubal isn’t pitching on Thursday man. If he does like an inning (he ain’t pitching)

Define “leave early”. He could start in 25-27 as he has his redshirt, but I don’t imagine him staying past ‘26. I’d be shocked.

Mannings love endorsement money and are really good at cashing in. I’ve been saying Arch will make $10M in 26 if he’s starting st Texas- I think it’s almost a no doubter st this point. now- that’s not 1/1 overall money but it’s plenty enough to make staying a no brainer if you want to stay. I can’t imagine he won’t want to stay unless whoever got 1/1 was somehow just a perfect and ideal situation for him, and even then he probably is like 98% likely to stay.

Pray for Hunter brown and kikuchi, this game is over.

5 pitch first inning for the local 9. I get it on him being gettable early compared to late in the count, but that’s not fun.

Against a RHP yeah- I imagine that will be the subs. Unless the Astros are up 2 or 3 in which case Meyers stays in for defense. I think I'd have played Dubon at 1B, Chase in LF and had Caratini as my bullet off the bench since he's better as a LHB than a RHB and I still have some residual faith in Chas being able to hit LHP- but that's not a complaint about this lineup for me it's a slight preference that's really more a hunch than anything.

So, time for my annual playoff rant (though I mean it less this year than most years b/c the Astros team hasn't played as well this year as it has in years past). I love baseball b/c it's like the sound track of the year for me. There is a game every single day (more or less) for 6 months. You can always count on it. It's always there for you. It's not appointment viewing, but you know it's always an option. I'm not pissed off if I miss a game, the way I am with a college football Saturday if I miss, because those are so rate. The ubiquity is it's specialness, not the rarity. It's comforting. Because of that, baseball is a war of attrition. You just don't see a ton of flukes in the game. You assemble your squad, hope you stay more or less healthy, know you won't be perfect or even good every day, but you know that with 162 (or 161 for us this year) opportunities, for the most part, water will find it's level. Are there bad breaks that happen in any particular game? Sure. That swing the outcome? You bet. But with 162 that more or less levels out, and we know who the best team is. But, after a marathon of 162 games where team strength is tested, organizational acumen is tested, willpower, the ability to get up day after day and put one foot in front of the other and trudge about at a difficult job all comes into play, the calendar turns to October and it's a different sport. Instead of a marathon we are in a sprint. Instead of one bad game eliciting a shoulder shrug it all matters. More than everything else that's come before it. And in the sport that is the fairest (major American division) in grinding out an aggregate winner over the course of 6 months it becomes the least fair sport in determining any particular one game winner. Most good football teams will beat bad football teams, over and over and over. You can pretty much tell which NBA teams are going to the playoffs after about 15 games (look at the schedules and be amazed at how little they change from Christmas time to the end of the year), and it's almost always the case that the better team wins a best 4 out of 7. But baseball? you can have historically terrible teams like the Tigers win series against the Yankees or Astros and nobody bats an eye or notices. Why? Because that's just baseball. So, here we sit on the precipice of another run and your local 9 is facing a team that they are just flat better than. But, they have the best pitcher in the game (maybe 2nd best after the LSU kid in Pittsburg whose name I won't spell right) and any one day the starting pitcher exerts more control than any other position in any other sport (even QB in football) on the mound today. Ours? He's merely going to finish like 3rd or 5th in the CY Young. Our biggest of big bats, the guy who can single handedly swing entire playoff series by throwing a team on his back is hurt- and questionable to play in this series. Tomorrow and Thursday we have the pitching advantage, but bad days are always possible and some brilliance from Skubal today and one bad day for the Astros can end this whole run after 2 or 3 games. It's basically at the point in time where anything is possible and randomness starts to overwhelm the system. This Astros squad though- we are going on a decade now of not being done in by randomness. I think it's still the case that in every Astros playoff year since 2015 we've either lost to the WS Champs or been the world series champs (KC, HOU, BOS, WAS, ATL, HOU, TX) yes- there's nothing in there about 2020 b/c that wasn't a real thing and the fact that it's the only year the Dodgers ever won it is glorious and sort of proves that. 7 ALCS in a row. Randomness never gets us (at least early- fuck we were so much better than WAS in 2019) and we just keep grinding away playoff W's year after year after year. Some day, the script will have to change. We will come up short and those that haven't followed the game for a long time will be stunned to see the Astros not get it done. Those of us who follow the game our whole lives will know, that's just baseball. Unfortunately, and what's cruel about playoff baseball is instead of saying- oh well- lets get them tomorrow, there is no more tomorrow for 6 months. The longest and most cruel 6 months of the year. The half a year that sucks b/c there isn't a baseball game on every night. Now- when you win playoff baseball games? Pure nirvana. But, it's such a mess and jangle of nerves I almost can't take it. Excuse me while I go throw up the meager breakfast I was able to choke down. Playoff baseball is here and I will be a neurotic mess for somewhere between 2 and 33 days. Good luck out there.

Especially since you don’t need more than 8 or 9 pitchers for a 3 game series. I mean- I know they will carry more- but Yordan for a PH or two, even if he can’t run, is more valuable over the 3 gamer than turd Ferguson or Ort.

Split squad playoff game. Might be how they get us out before the ALCS.

Yes- I thought I had him in there. Brain fart. Him for King I bet.

I’m here to take my loss on Blue getting drafted I will take the win on Broughton.

Good catch. Probably will be Kess. I would have whitcomb rather than Dezenzo if you make that switch.

Time to predict the 26 for this round. Although I'd love it to be like no more than 10 pitchers, I'm sure they will carry 11. Pitchers: Framber, Brown, Kicuchi, (in that order). Pen- Hader, Presley, Abreu, Nerris, Arrighetti, JV, King, Turd Fergusson (barf)- I'd personally go with Ort there C- Diaz, Caratini, Salazar IF- Singleton, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Whitcomb, Dezenzo OF- Yordan, Heyward, Chas, Meyers, Dubon, Tucker

I sure as shit hope so, but I doubt it will be on. They have some sports but not others- it's pretty hit or miss. If it's on somewhere I will see it but not counting on it.

Season is over. We talk about it. Off day today. Gives you plenty of time to listen to our pod. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1C5dypsx582KGedbdltsl8?si=VgeWezdNRsGcgiDCAJsjIw

So/ every year for the last 3 we’ve taken a cruise for our kids gal break. We get on the boat Sunday, get back Saturday at 8 am, home in plenty of time for first kick at 11. sometime 6 months ago: Wife- kids are off first week in October- can we do our normal cruise me- you know I hate cruises her- yeah but me and the kids love them me- fine- do the normal cruise Her- this one goes to Bahamas me/ I don’t care fast forward 3 months later: Her- I’m so excited to go to Bahamas/ I love cruises so much 8 days on a boat blah blah blah me- did you say 8 days? her- yeah- we leave Saturday and get back Sunday. me- so I thought I was missing zero weekends of college football but instead it’s 2. Once of which was OU. FML. I’m never not listening to her again. I fucked that up big time.

I would but I’m on a cruise. Sorry.