Jump to content

2018 Houston Astros Season Thread

Planet Houston

By Planet Houston
in Baseball

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 27.9k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • UTexasFight

    1691

  • Seasick Sailor

    1501

  • Mez2

    1467

  • Scraps

    1294

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

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

UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9431

Posted
Posted

Ken Giles : [Tosses baseball up in the air as he lays on the couch]  You think you can help me with my fastball, Doc?

Psychiatrist : We'll have to deal with some deeper issues first.

Ken Giles : [Continues tossing ball]  I don't have any deeper issues. I like to keep things right on the surface.

Psychiatrist : [Catches the ball]  Well sometimes there are little surprises. Tell me, Ken. What goes through your mind when you throw your fastball?

Ken Giles : I wonder if it's gonna end up in the catcher's mitt or some guy's den.

Psychiatrist : Did you used to think this way?

Ken GIles : I didn't used to think at all. It takes a lot out of you, you know?

Psychiatrist : Well then, Ken, let's get down to it.

[Closes pad and takes off glasses] 

Psychiatrist : The real problem here goes back to when you stole that car. You wanted to be caught, didn't you? Punished. Otherwise you wouldn't have thrown the 0 and 2 fastball to Buxton when everybody knows he'll chase the 2 strike slider in the dirt.

Ken Giles : I had already thrown him two sliders. The second one, he hit 436 feet foul.

Psychiatrist : Better than 520 feet fair.

 

(thank god that last line didn't happen...but that's all I could think about watching Buxton rip that ball foul)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9600

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, uoftorange said:

Went to the Domecoming tonight.  Was watching the game on my phone in the Astrodome with my sons, so they could say they saw the Astros there too.  

 

It was a cluster though.  Got there at 4:30 and didn't get in until almost 8

 

8 hours ago, Scraps said:

I just spent 4 hours getting into the Dome like a dumbass.

 

Same. Got there at 445, checked out the food trucks/vendors for 10 min and made my donation to the Astrodome Conservacy. Got in line right after 5, and it was already wrapped around 3/4 of the Dome by then. Didnt get in until 730ish, and even then, it took 30 min to walk through. Coulda been set up better but meh, not gonna complain about a free event. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9600

Posted
Posted
 
Same. Got there at 445, checked out the food trucks/vendors for 10 min and made my donation to the Astrodome Conservacy. Got in line right after 5, and it was already wrapped around 3/4 of the Dome by then. Didnt get in until 730ish, and even then, it took 30 min to walk through. Coulda been set up better but meh, not gonna complain about a free event. 
 
 


Shitty phone pics:

1b35802797b875e39473bb9d7fe04cf7.jpg

f577c6ce6ec8ed6dc31f38c74ea37df7.jpg

2953828ea6ed7489b2f36bfdbac68f34.jpg

3c03f7a8691d7a8ff2741201f4afbe1d.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Seasick Sailor

Seasick Sailor 3747

Posted
Posted

Rubbing Mud: The Astroification of Gerrit Cole: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/39080/rubbing-mud-astroification-gerrit-cole/

It’s only two starts, against a couple of below-average offenses, but Gerrit Cole’s first fortnight with the Astros has offered reason to believe that he’ll become for them what he never quite became for the Pirates: a full-fledged ace. He’s fanned 22 opposing batters in 14 innings, allowing just one run and 10 total baserunners.

Some of what he’s done is easy to explain, too. He’s increased his slider usage, at the expense of his fastball, and in particular he’s all but shelved his sinker (that favorite toy of erstwhile Pittsburgh pitching coach Ray Searage) and focused on his four-seam heater. We all expected that to happen.

Other changes Cole has made, however, are harder to describe, and they suggest that the Astros’ ability to makeover and make the most of top-flight starting pitchers runs even deeper than we thought.

One problem Cole had during his last two seasons with the Pirates was that his fastballs were only good at missing barrels. Despite elite velocity and a wipeout slider, Cole struck out a batter per inning in just one season while with Pittsburgh—and that was his truncated 2014 campaign.

One reason for that was that his fastball lacked the kind of hop that induces whiffs. The total spin rate on his four-seamer was uninspiring, and the vertical movement on the pitch was mediocre. Things have changed.

Below are Cole’s fastball spin, movement, and whiff rate by year, from 2015-2018:

Season 4-Seam FB Avg. Spin Rate (RPM) Spin Axis (Degrees) Vertical Movement Whiff%
2015 1636 2157 222.2 7.8 8.4
2016 773 2178 215.4 8.8 6.9
2017 1601 2163 221.9 8.7 9.1
2018 100 2331 214.8 10.2 18.8

My inexpert eye detects no significant difference in Cole’s mechanics. There’s been a noticeable change to his vertical release point, but a small one. More than anything else, he seems to be repeating that release a bit more consistently. Without a change in arm slot or basic mechanics, Cole has overhauled his fastball. He’s not throwing it harder—the opposite is true, though he’s still sitting on the sexy side of 95 miles per hour—but he’s getting more spin on the pitch, and that spin is closer to unadulterated backspin.

The combination of those things is giving his fastball better rising action than it’s had at any point in his big-league career. That movement (plus batters trying to be ready for the more serious threat of a breaking ball) is resulting in the kind of swing-and-miss results a fastball like his should always have enjoyed.

By the way, some of the same things can be said of Cole’s curveball, too, He’s throwing it more often than he has since he was just breaking into the majors, and with good reason. For one thing, it plays better off his predominantly four-seam, higher-rising heater than it did off his sluggish sinker. For another, it’s diving more than it has in the past.

Again, although he’s thrown just 30 total curves so far in 2018, we find that his spin rate on the pitch is higher, and that the pitch has taken on a truer 12-to-6 shape. It’s also dipped in velocity, more than his other stuff has, so it’s a really nasty change of pace for Cole, underscoring the extent to which the pitch was being wasted while he toiled under Searage and tried to dominate with Searage’s fastball-heavy, sinker-leaning philosophy.

The question, I guess, is from where these increases in spin rate are coming. The Astros enjoyed a similar spin-fueled breakout from Brad Peacock last year, but Peacock’s path to that epiphany is a bit clearer. He lowered his arm slot, something a few other guys who also boosted their spin also did in 2017. The people (like Kyle Boddy of Driveline Baseball) who make their living by espousing the value of spin rate and helping pitchers harness it remain mostly agnostic about any single means of improving spin rate. It’s clear, though, that certain pitchers have spin potential that lies dormant, until they’re able to make the adjustments in arm path or grip that unlock it.

For the most part, it seems to be the former. Perhaps, in some fairly subtle way, Cole is more mechanically efficient now, freer with the arm. Perhaps the Astros are doing some high-level, in-house pitch design voodoo that allows them to get the most out of every hurler on whom they lay their hands. (That would help explain not only Peacock, but Charlie Morton, and hell, even Justin Verlander’s very productive adjustments near the end of last season.)

In any case, Cole has been a monster so far, and if this is remotely sustainable the Astros are truly the best team in baseball. It’s increasingly clear, with each bat Cole’s heater misses, that the Pirates were unable to get what they should have gotten from their former no. 1 overall pick, and it’s exciting to see that Cole’s sensational stuff didn’t atrophy during years of misguided pressure to be a certain, less sensational type of pitcher.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fozzz

Fozzz 152

Posted
Posted

I've been harping about the increased spin rate on Cole's fastball since his start against the Rangers but one thing that does give me pause is that he had several high spin outings early last season  (though not in the 2,300 RPM range) after which his spin rate declined substantially, so we'll see if that happens again this season.  Also, I would like to see him continue to increase his curve ball usage to play off his four seam fastball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ldogg53

Ldogg53 514

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

 

 

Same. Got there at 445, checked out the food trucks/vendors for 10 min and made my donation to the Astrodome Conservacy. Got in line right after 5, and it was already wrapped around 3/4 of the Dome by then. Didnt get in until 730ish, and even then, it took 30 min to walk through. Coulda been set up better but meh, not gonna complain about a free event. 

 

 

I went 5 years ago when they did the same thing.  It was also a several hours long affair to get through, so this time I passed on it.  They should have opened the doors a couple hours earlier. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gut Wagon

Gut Wagon 8065

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, Fozzz said:

I've been harping about the increased spin rate on Cole's fastball since his start against the Rangers but one thing that does give me pause is that he had several high spin outings early last season  (though not in the 2,300 RPM range) after which his spin rate declined substantially, so we'll see if that happens again this season.  Also, I would like to see him continue to increase his curve ball usage to play off his four seam fastball.

Which intern in some dingy back office is having to count baseball revolutions from high-speed video clips? And how many times must each clip be reviewed to make sure he/she counted right? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DoobieWah

DoobieWah 1435

Posted
Posted

I didn't even hear about the Dome tour, but no way would I have gone and I certainly wouldn't have waited four hours to get in. Seriously, had you never been there before? You know, when it had seats and shit?

Why did it take so long to get in? Was there only one door and everyone had to go through a strip search? And do I understand they did the same thing a few years ago with the same delays? WTF?

I loved the Dome when it was a going concern, and I hope they find a good use for it. Over the years they've talked about turning it into: a parking lot, convention space, a multi-story golf driving range, a hotel, and a pile of rubble. They left it moldering so long I was afraid the Dome was doomed.

FWIW, I'm old and have seen dozens of events at the Dome including the rodeo, Pink Floyd and the Stones, Astros, Oilers, Gamblers, Cougars, Bluebonnet Bowls, even the OTC, (they used to set up full sized oil rigs on the floor).

I guess it would worth it if you'd never been but I'm afraid it would just be kind of sad if you had.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scraps

Scraps 13561

Posted
Posted
42 minutes ago, DoobieWah said:

I didn't even hear about the Dome tour, but no way would I have gone and I certainly wouldn't have waited four hours to get in. Seriously, had you never been there before? You know, when it had seats and shit?

Why did it take so long to get in? Was there only one door and everyone had to go through a strip search? And do I understand they did the same thing a few years ago with the same delays? WTF?

I loved the Dome when it was a going concern, and I hope they find a good use for it. Over the years they've talked about turning it into: a parking lot, convention space, a multi-story golf driving range, a hotel, and a pile of rubble. They left it moldering so long I was afraid the Dome was doomed.

FWIW, I'm old and have seen dozens of events at the Dome including the rodeo, Pink Floyd and the Stones, Astros, Oilers, Gamblers, Cougars, Bluebonnet Bowls, even the OTC, (they used to set up full sized oil rigs on the floor).

I guess it would worth it if you'd never been but I'm afraid it would just be kind of sad if you had.

Yes I have been there.

Because 25,000 people and yes one entry to the floor.

I didn't know how long the wait was going to be when I got in line, but once I was there and got drunk I was in for the long haul.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9600

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Scraps said:

Yes I have been there.

Because 25,000 people and yes one entry to the floor.

I didn't know how long the wait was going to be when I got in line, but once I was there and got drunk I was in for the long haul.

This. Had 5 Dome Faux’ms with some buddies and everyone seemed to be having a decent time

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
pacman

pacman 7355

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, Player said:

Strom is a wizard. I’ve met him a few times at the Texas Baseball Ranch, and can say that in addition to being a fantastic instructor he’s also really funny.

It really is amazing considering he has a rather pedestrian career as a coach up to joining the Astros. Clearly, some people knew of his capabilities but were never telling anybody else.

 

Maybe I am overrating him but feel like he has been a magician with this club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Scraps

Scraps 13561

Posted
Posted (edited)

I was there for this event and educated numerous people in line about it last night.  They thought I was full of shit until the wikipedia page came out and one lady texted her older dad asking him if he knew about it which he confirmed.  

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-01-21/news/mn-14186_1_water-tank

HOUSTON — A Canadian daredevil, curled up inside a specially designed barrel, plunged from the roof of the Astrodome to his death before 35,000 spectators as the barrel missed a water tank meant to cushion the fall.

Karel Soucek, 37, who last July was the first person in 23 years to go over Niagara's Horseshoe Falls in a barrel, had planned the 180-foot drop Saturday night as part of a Thrill Show and Destruction Derby.

The barrel began spinning as it plunged earthward and clipped the edge of the tank. The impact crushed Soucek's chest and abdomen and fractured his skull, the Harris County medical examiner's office said.

The crowd applauded at first, thinking the stunt was successful, said Brian Becker, a spokesman for Pace Management Corp., which promoted the show. But a hush spread quickly when paramedics were called and Soucek was taken away in an ambulance.

He died early Sunday at Ben Taub Hospital.

Becker said the show was still in progress when officials received word that Soucek, who was still alive as he was cut out of the barrel, had died. He said no announcement was made "out of respect for Soucek and his family."

Soucek was to drop into a water tank about 9 feet deep and 12 feet wide, Becker said. But workers said that after Soucek was nailed into the barrel, there were problems stabilizing it.

"It started spinning real bad. After a while the people started getting so impatient that we went ahead and dropped him," said a worker who asked that his name not be used. "Just as we started to release the barrel, it started spinning again."

Instead of landing in the center of the tank, the barrel struck the rim and splashed in.

Stunt man Evel Knievel called the stunt "the most dangerous I've ever seen" and said he tried to persuade Soucek to cancel it.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Soucek

 

OK sorry for the tangent....back to the Stros baby! 

 

Edited by Scraps
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...