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2018 Houston Astros Season Thread

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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

Gut Wagon

Gut Wagon 8051

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, DeadArmadillo said:

Was he even any good last post season?

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
 

Not for the longest. But some other guys were hitting much better (27 comes to mind),  so it was fairly camouflaged a lot of the postseason. Don’t think we can afford to count on everyone else to carry Springer this time. 

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9367

Posted
Posted

This was from before the game, but Hinch on the replay, James and Sipp

Still miffed from Sunday's controversial play at the plate in Boston -- in which an out call on Jose Altuve at the plate wasn't overturned following instant replay review despite at least one camera angle showed Altuve's hand touching the plate before the tag -- Astros manager AJ Hinch spoke on the phone with officials from Major League Baseball on Monday seeking an explanation.

Hinch said MLB told him it was going to do a "thorough review" of the play and the replay process on that call, though that's not going to help the Astros swallow a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox in Sunday's series finale between American League titans at Fenway Park any easier.

View Full Game Coverage
"I still think they got it wrong, and I think it's unfortunate because the dynamic of the game changes a little bit," Hinch said. "It might not have changed the outcome. There's still plenty of game left. To get an out/safe call wrong is one thing; to get one that takes the run off the board is a killer.

"They've assured me they're going to look at the process, how it all went down, why it took so long and ultimately and why the decision was made. I need clear and convincing evidence to be able to trust the system."

With the game tied at 5 in the seventh inning, Altuve tried to score from third base on a grounder to Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, whose throw home to catcher Sandy Leon was high. Altuve was called out and the call stood following a review of about four minutes.

"There were other scenarios in the game that could have played out differently, too," Hinch said. "The [players will] be mad, they'll be vocal, they'll be frustrated like we all were, but then they need to get past it because we've got plenty of baseball left to play."

James impresses in relief
Hard-throwing rookie Josh James, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief Saturday in Boston, throwing 31 of 41 pitches for strikes and touched 100 mph, could be available out of the Astros' bullpen beginning Tuesday. Hinch hasn't ruled out James getting another start at some point this season, but his performance against the Red Sox opened some eyes.

"He looked like a reliver. He looked like a guy who could be relied on to face a really good lineup in really big innings," Hinch said. "That kind of strike-throwing and that kind of demeanor and poise, he looked like a weapon. I'm not giving up hope he might start a game down the stretch. As much as you want to save the power for a big inning, maybe five or six innings down the stretch is something that we need."

James K's Bogaerts in 8th
James K's Bogaerts in 8th
00:11
Sep. 8th, 2018

Hinch hinted that James, who was called up from Triple-A on Sept. 1 and struck out nine batters in his Major League debut, could be a factor in October.

"The intriguing part is how velocity plays in September and potentially October," Hinch said. "The plus secondary pitch and the [cool and calm] demeanor is what I was looking for when you're going to face arguably the best offense in the league."

Statcast: James throws heat
Statcast: James throws heat
00:33
Sep. 1st, 2018

Hinch confident in Sipp
The resurgence of lefty reliever Tony Sipp continues to be a big storyline for the Astros this season and gives Hinch another bullpen weapon he didn't have last year. Sipp, who struggled the past two years and was left off the playoff roster last year, struck out a pair of batters on eight pitches with the bases loaded Sunday night in Boston.

Sipp entered Monday having allowed 12.1 percent of his inherited runners to score this season, second in the AL behind the Indians' Oliver Perez (7.9 percent). Only four of the 33 runners Sipp inherited have scored through his 47 appearances this season, and 22 of his past 25 outings have been scoreless.

Sipp K's 2 to escape huge jam
Sipp K's 2 to escape huge jam
00:30
Sep. 9th, 2018

"I think he's got his fastball-split combo down, and he's very confident he's going to throw strikes," Hinch said. "The velocity's been up a little bit, and he's getting the chases on his split at a level that he was in '15 when he was a leverage reliever.

"He's good at throwing strikes. We do rely on him throwing strikes. It's key to have some chase pitches. I do trust him with guys on base and trust him with matchup. [sunday] night when we had the right-handed hitters, he's equally as dominant on those guys. He's a valuable piece."

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Chuckie Finster

Chuckie Finster 22581

Posted
Posted
According to McTaggert, six bullpen locks for a PO spot are:
Osuna, Rondon, Pressly, Smith, McHugh, and Peacock
..with Harris, Sipp, Devo and McCullers battling for the 7th spot. I’d have to think Sipp gets that spot as a lefty.  

If Josh James pitches the rest of the season like he did this weekend, I really wonder if he makes the front office view Peacock/McHugh as redundant. They are both good enough to make the roster, but no other pitcher on our staff brings the heat like James, and he’s also capable of going multiple innings.
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Scraps

Scraps 13526

Posted
Posted (edited)

While McHugh has had a good season for the most part, I just would not feel comfortable with him coming into a high leverage situation with our season on the line. (which is the majority of situations in the playoffs)  McCullers needs to get back and throw in a few games to see how he is going to handle it.  I probably don't want him on the roster if he isn't healthy enough to pitch a few times prior to end of season.  Peacock has seemed to be pitching better the past couple weeks.  As Chuckie said...if James can pitch 3 or 4 more times like he did against Boston I would favor him over McHugh or Peacock.  

Harris can go kick rocks.  Devo has been unimpressive.   Sipp has been legit.  

Edited by Scraps
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Mez2

Mez2 4020

Posted
Posted

have we determined yet if we're gonna carry another catcher because that may be another spot that opens up for that other pitcher. i would rather have mchugh over peacock for multiple innings but would rather have lance over peacock if we need a multiple long inning guy assuming he's back and healthy, a big if.

are you allowed to reset rosters from the LDS to LCS, (I think you do?) but a 5 game series and 7 game series play out much different with regards to roster spots. 

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 10898

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Mez2 said:

have we determined yet if we're gonna carry another catcher because that may be another spot that opens up for that other pitcher. i would rather have mchugh over peacock for multiple innings but would rather have lance over peacock if we need a multiple long inning guy assuming he's back and healthy, a big if.

are you allowed to reset rosters from the LDS to LCS, (I think you do?) but a 5 game series and 7 game series play out much different with regards to roster spots. 

It’s going to be Machete and McCann.  No need for a third catcher if you don’t use them as DH.  White is going to be the DH, and sadly, Gattis will sit at home this year.  

Not sure why McTaggart thinks that they will only take 11 pitchers.  I think he’s forgetting that we only have four starters right now.  Sipp will get the spot over Peacock.  No way AJ goes to October with Keuchel as the only lefty on staff.  Josh James will get a spot with a couple more opportunities to prove himself.  Eighth spot will go to McCullers if he can make a couple of solid multi-inning appearances.  

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 10898

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Tommy Nobis said:

correct. no need to carry 3 catchers.  centeno was a waisted roster spot last year.

It was only a wasted spot because the emergency never happened.  Using Gattis as the primary DH necessitated carrying an emergency catcher.   It wasn’t a wasted spot.  They won the WS after all.  

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 10898

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, Amos Moses said:

I think Gattis makes it - 3 catchers, 5 IF, 5 OF , and 12 pitchers.  Devo, Harris, and Stassi are the notable omissions.  Sipp will make the roster, and the last spot will come down to James or McCullers based on LMJ's health and ability to get in some work before the postseason.  

There is no need for a 3rd catcher or a 2nd DH.  I agree with 5 IF and 5 OF, especially with Marwin in the mix.   Take two catchers and 13 pitchers with all of the bullpenning that happens in the postseason.

Gattis just has too little flexibility with positions and not enough sustained performance to make the postseason roster.  I hate that, because  I love watching him play.  

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29173

Posted
Posted

ok, so in that scenario, 3/5/5/12:

catchers - mccann, mm, gattis/stassi?

infield - yuli, tuve, cc, bregs, white

outfield - spring, reddick, jake, kemp, marwin

pitchers - jv, dk, cole, morty, rondon, osuna, smith, pressly, sipp, mchugh, peacock, james/lmj?

 

so you make those two decisions and roll with it?  does that look right?

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 10898

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

ok, so in that scenario, 3/5/5/12:

catchers - mccann, mm, gattis/stassi?

infield - yuli, tuve, cc, bregs, white

outfield - spring, reddick, jake, kemp, marwin

pitchers - jv, dk, cole, morty, rondon, osuna, smith, pressly, sipp, mchugh, peacock, james/lmj?

 

so you make those two decisions and roll with it?  does that look right?

Go 2/5/5/13 and there aren’t any decisions left to be made.  But if it’s 3/5/5/12, I think you have ID’d the crunch points.  

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29173

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, slorch said:

You know what’s great about reading this page, and torturously sad at the same time?

Good players are going to be left off the roster.  What a place to be in.

 

Never settle, right?

devo, harris, peacock, mccullers - who would've thought we'd be riding a nice bullpen streak in mid-sept discussing that 2 or 3 of those guys may not be needed in the playoffs (pending lmj health obviously).

i still would like to know definitively (and i don't even think hinch knows) if we're rolling out a 3 or 4 man rotation.  i would assume most teams will go 3-man.  if you go jv-dk-cole vs the indians, and you're up 2-1, do you throw morty out there in g4 in cleveland?  then jv at home in g5 if you lose?  or do you get in a situation where dk goes 5-6 in a close game and bring morty in for the next 2-3 innings.

btw, if 13 months ago, someone told you that in 2018, the astros would have a pair of 250k pitchers, would you have guessed verlander and cole?  yeah, i think we're better this year.

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AtticusFinch

AtticusFinch 155

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, runthebone said:

I would definitely rather have Sipp than Devo on the postseason roster assuming things stay the same for the next month.  McCullers can wait for a 7 game series.

Sipp gets my nod for most improved player.  He was a mess last season and I actually feel good when he comes in the games.  I actually think Hinch should give him a longer leash when he is on fire

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elfenix

elfenix 34163

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

devo, harris, peacock, mccullers - who would've thought we'd be riding a nice bullpen streak in mid-sept discussing that 2 or 3 of those guys may not be needed in the playoffs (pending lmj health obviously).

i still would like to know definitively (and i don't even think hinch knows) if we're rolling out a 3 or 4 man rotation.  i would assume most teams will go 3-man.  if you go jv-dk-cole vs the indians, and you're up 2-1, do you throw morty out there in g4 in cleveland?  then jv at home in g5 if you lose?  or do you get in a situation where dk goes 5-6 in a close game and bring morty in for the next 2-3 innings.

btw, if 13 months ago, someone told you that in 2018, the astros would have a pair of 250k pitchers, would you have guessed verlander and cole?  yeah, i think we're better this year.

and that they'd both be right handers

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Dondrysdale1

Dondrysdale1 363

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, mbtex said:

Keuchel's  numbers against Boston are not very good.

Would be nice if he located his pitches consistently. If he buries the cutter down on bogarts or hits the catchers spot on the change to Martinez it’s a diff game for him. In 15 he didn’t miss location very often.

Also attacking a hitter like Martinez with the change in 3 straight at bats is asking it to be hit out. Good hitters sit on stuff if you fall in a pattern.

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runthebone

runthebone 7926

Posted
Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, Dondrysdale1 said:

Would be nice if he located his pitches consistently. If he buries the cutter down on bogarts or hits the catchers spot on the change to Martinez it’s a diff game for him. In 15 he didn’t miss location very often.

Also attacking a hitter like Martinez with the change in 3 straight at bats is asking it to be hit out. Good hitters sit on stuff if you fall in a pattern.

Don Drysdale?  He would tell Keuchel to hit three or four of those fuckers to get them off the plate. 

Edited by runthebone
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