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2018 Houston Astros Season Thread

Planet Houston

By Planet Houston
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TexArcher
TexArcher

Bregs is going Crawford Boxes right here.

ERhine
ERhine

Prior to the footage being edited by Bender:

wesleywest
wesleywest

Two Diamond Club tickets available for the Sunday night game.  Free.  Need to pick them up from me in 77027. Rules: Poster must be a big contributor to this thread/last years shag thread.  No gue

mycox

mycox 582

Posted
Posted (edited)

Yeah, Giles biggest problem is the lack of consistency, the ability to throw strikes with runners on base, and he is a headcase.

He needs to call John Smoltz and get the number to his old psychiatrist.

Edited by mycox
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HtownHorn

HtownHorn 14755

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

his whip is still like 1.12, which is pretty low for a dude who's "always getting into trouble".

20 hits in 19 innings are his undoing right now, that and his very low K rate so far. Only 16 Ks so far. He's been more unlucky than bad, and it doesn't help that the manager appears to have no defined roles in the bullpen, which is an easy explanation as to why things go awry from time to time.

Edited by HtownHorn
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Tailleur17

Tailleur17 361

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

Nice pitching Giles.

Still perfect in save opportunities.

So was Brad Ziegler for MIA until the other day. Means absolutely nothing. 

Giles is the perfect 8th inning set-up man with great stuff.  Too many mental issues to be a reliable closer. 

Edited by Tailleur17
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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9517

Posted
Posted

Cora can’t quit the Astros:


After months of obsessing over his old team, Alex Cora returns to Houston to ‘close the chapter’

For a couple of minutes on Thursday, Alex Cora seemed to let his guard down and enjoy his awkward reality.

He hugged the opposing manager, tipped his cap to the opposing dugout, and along with bullpen coach Craig Bjornson, received his 2017 World Series ring from Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow.

Cora did it all while wearing his Red Sox uniform, but for just a moment during that pregame ceremony, he was back with the team that he can’t quite shake, no matter how hard he tries.

“I learned a lot from them and I appreciate that,” Cora said. “But as far as finishing the chapter, today is the day.”

Had that chapter been open all these months? Insert sarcastic tone here: We hadn’t noticed.

“I haven’t talked about the Astros until now,” Cora said on January 18.

“I hate to bring up last year,” Cora said on February 22.

“I hate to say it again,” Cora said, again, on March 31, before launching into another Houston-related story.

As much as it might embarrass him to remember an anecdote from last season, as often as he’s nearly winced when making a Red Sox/Astros comparison, Cora’s rarely let more than a few days go by without making some sort of reference to his old team.

“There’s only one Boston Red Sox,” Cora said on March 11. “Only one New York Yankees, (only one) Houston Astros, you know?”

Yes, of course. Only one. And Cora was not in Houston to relive the past, even as he pointed beyond left field to show just how close to Minute Maid Park he lived last season.

No, Cora was at Minute Maid Park as the manager of the team with the best record in baseball, and so after the ceremony he walked back onto the field to exchange lineup cards with his old boss, Astros manager A.J. Hinch.

“I checked the lineup three or four times (last year) before I gave it to A.J. before he gave it to the umpire,” Cora said on May 9.

Not this time. Thursday’s lineup card was Cora’s own. It had been vetted by his own coaching staff, and it was a batting order of his own choosing. If Mookie Betts had been deemed healthy enough to play, Betts would have been in the leadoff spot.

“Kind of like our George Springer,” Cora said on December 9.

And Xander Bogaerts would have been batting fifth.

“(Yuli) Gurriel is the guy who came to mind,” Cora explained on March 31.

But, alas, Betts was still dealing with tightness in his left side, and Dustin Pedroia was scratched because of soreness in his left knee, so Cora had utility players Brock Holt and Blake Swihart playing right field and second base in their stead.

“The Marwin Gonzalezs of the world are good for the manager,” Cora said on March 18.

They sure are, and Cora has prioritized utility players this season, using his bench regularly to keep his everyday players rested.

“I learned that with the little guy (Jose Altuve) last year,” Cora said on February 24. “He hated off days.”

Would it have been nice to have all the Red Sox regulars in there against the defending champs? Sure. But this series isn’t about the Astros. It’s about the Red Sox.

“I remember asking A.J. questions about the opposition,” Cora said on March 31. “And he’s like, ‘One thing for sure, Alex, whenever you manage, make sure you manage the team you’re managing, not the other team.’”

That’s exactly right. And Cora is most definitely managing the Red Sox. He’s so far, managed them to first place in the American League East. They just might be the World Series favorites at this point, especially if they can hold off the Yankees.

“(Yankee Stadium) is alive,” Cora said on May 8. “I lived it last year during the playoffs.”

But last year doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all about this year, and this team, and getting over that hump the Red Sox couldn’t quite get over the past two seasons.

“Two years of having a great regular season and not making it,” Cora said on January 18. “I joked with them that I have banners and towels and pictures and all that. If that motivates them, so be it.”

The Red Sox applauded from their own dugout as Cora and Bjornson got their rings on Thursday. Most everyone else in the ballpark hardly noticed the presentation, but surely the Red Sox hadn’t forgotten that they were the Astros’ first victims in last year’s division series, beginning with a Game 1 drubbing in this very stadium.

“You go back, it was that 0-2 fastball that (Chris Sale) didn’t get up to Altuve,” Cora said on March 27.

Yes, Sale seemed to lose some of his edge late last season, and that’s what spurred Cora to ease the Red Sox’ pitchers’ workload in spring training.

“(David Price) asked me, ‘Where did you get that (spring training plan) from?’” Cora said on March 6. “Well, last year, I saw Dallas (Keuchel) and Lance (McCullers).”

OK, so maybe Cora borrowed that plan from the Astros, but it’s OK to cherry pick the best ideas. And it’s hardly the only thing the Astros gave Cora. They gave him a job coaching job, a World Series ring, and an early scouting report on Rick Porcello.

“I remember Carlos Beltran,” Cora said on April 12. “He talked about (Porcello) last year and he said the stuff was still there.”

Sure enough, Porcello’s had a bounce-back year. And Mitch Moreland is on track for a career year.

“I always look to (last year’s) playoffs,” Cora said on May 1. “And (Moreland’s) at-bats in the playoffs were great too.”

You have to notice things like that when you’re a manager (or a soon-to-be manager). You have to pay attention, live in the moment, not get distracted by frivolities, things like video games.

“It seems like Fortnite now is the (video game) everybody is playing,” Cora said on May 9. “But last year, I saw a lot of (Astros) playing Fifa.”

No time for video games for Cora. He’s got lineups to put together, bullpen decisions to make, and game plans to enact.

“Even the hard throwers, they have to mix it up,” Cora said on March 20. “I learned that last year in the organization I was working for.”

Which organization was that again?

We kid, we kid.

Truth is, Cora didn’t need the Astros to teach him everything. He had a long and varied career as a big league infielder. He won a World Series with the Red Sox, worked as a general manager in Puerto Rico, and did some broadcasting for ESPN.

But Houston was a place of significance. Cora never managed in the minor leagues, and that one year as Astros bench coach was his only experience in the Majors after he quit playing.

“I saw a lot of good things that happened on a daily basis with the Houston Astros,” Cora said on Thursday. “And obviously, like football, (it’s a) copycat league (or) whatever. That’s what they call it when you’re trying to do the same thing, and we’re trying to accomplish the same goal.”

There’s no shame in that. There’s no shame in Cora comparing Bogaerts to Carlos Correa, or Betts to Altuve. Though, it was at least a little surprising when Cora was asked this month about Betts stealing more bases, and he responded: “I had a conversation with (Astros third baseman) Alex Bregman about that today,” but that’s why the Red Sox hired Cora in the first place. He’s a good fit in the clubhouse. He bonds with his players. He did it in Houston, and he’s doing it in Boston.

It’s funny, of course, when Cora catches himself reliving the past — a question about Rafael Devers stirred a memory of the Astros bench heckling the Red Sox rookie last season – but there’s little doubt that Cora’s focus is on his current team.

It’s just that his experience and his style were shaped by the team he was with last season. And, so, the Red Sox could applaud Thursday’s ring presentation without hesitation. The Astros were the final step in preparing Cora for the job at hand.

“Before last year I always thought I was ready to be a big league manager,” Cora said on December 16. “Now that I went through the experience as bench coach, I feel now I’m ready. … Hopefully all that experience is going to help me throughout my career and we can be as successful as they were last year.”

Now that he has his ring, Cora said he’s ready to turn the page and close that chapter. Funny thing about turning the page, though: there’s nothing to keep him from going back to it again, and again, and again.

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kevwun

kevwun 15814

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

Looks like Rojas has played all over the infield and even a little in LF since being drafted, so he should have some positional flexibility.  AstrosFuture published a nice interview with him a few weeks ago.

https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2018/5/2/17309800/astros-future-interview-josh-rojas

That's good, I was thinking LF is probably his best shot at playing time if he keeps hitting.  He could also be a potential Marwin replacement.

Edited by kevwun
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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9517

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Jesus

Jake would have 1 hit and 99 Ks for every 100 ABs against our staff

 

 

5) THE ASTROS ARE BREAKING HITTING (AS WE USED TO KNOW IT)

 

So perhaps you’re asking yourself: What if every team decided to go down the Rays’ road and do away with starting pitchers, in the old-fashioned Hey, ya think it’s possible for one guy to throw all nine innings tonight sense?

 

Well, here’s how your subconscious should answer that question: Have you seen the Astros lately?

 

We could flood you with fun tidbits about how this is going to be the most dominating starting rotation of all time – because, basically, it clearly is (if they all stay healthy). But here’s another way to look at this group:

 

Slash line of opposing hitters who have to face them: .196/.260/.330. That’s not good.

 

Now here’s what we should make of that: It means the Astros’ starters – all five of them – are turning an entire sport’s worth of the best hitters on the planet into… Corky Miller!

 

Hey, we always loved Corky Miller, America’s favorite backup catcher. But his career slash line looked like this:

 

.193/.277/.306.

 

His claim to fame: Among all non-pitchers in the 21st century who got at least 600 plate appearances, he owns the third-lowest batting average.

 

Now remind yourself that, essentially, that’s what every hitter looks like when they face the Astros’ starters. And that is, frankly, insane.

 

 

 

 

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9517

Posted
Posted
Paxton? 


Oh yeah. That guy
Traditional stats:
Paxton: 6 GS, 3-0, 1.67 ERA, 2 CG, 43 IP, 51Ks, 9 BBs, .144 AVG, 0.70 WHIP

JV: 6 GS, 3-2, 0.86 ERA, 1 CG, 41.2 IP, 50 Ks, 7 BBs, .153 AVG, 0.70 WHIP

Paxton will get it with the no-hitter being the tiebreaker.

(Looking at W-L is stupid, but I’m sure the voters still do. JV gave up 2 runs in his first 3 starts this month (20 IP) and was 0-2)
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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29194

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, Pablo said:

Marwin should have a few days off

Jake should be on the plane to Fresno again

watching these continually swing and miss is maddening

yeah, seeing the same guys k who had plate discipline (1st in mlb) last year is upsetting.  seems like only bregman took the offseason to improve his eye.  others should do likewise.

as for kemp vs sale, fucking fine by me.  he has that slow choppy swing that can stay with lefties.  sale faces 7-9 righties every time he pitches and still gets a ton of k's.  the fact that jake is a righty makes zero difference.

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Gut Wagon

Gut Wagon 8085

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Posted
1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

yeah, seeing the same guys k who had plate discipline (1st in mlb) last year is upsetting.  seems like only bregman took the offseason to improve his eye.  others should do likewise.

as for kemp vs sale, fucking fine by me.  he has that slow choppy swing that can stay with lefties.  sale faces 7-9 righties every time he pitches and still gets a ton of k's.  the fact that jake is a righty makes zero difference.

Might as well have Jake bat lefty. At least a better chance of HBP. 

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