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2018 Houston Astros Season Thread


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On 10/9/2018 at 3:46 PM, Guadaloopy said:

 My wife and I will be out to dinner during game 1 celebrating our 17th anniversary.  Have had the reservation for a couple of months.   Poor foresight on my part.  She has already stated that I must leave my phone in the car.  Social media blackout and DVR for me.  

She just told me that she cancelled the dinner reservations since the game starts at 5 here.  She’s a keeper.

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Correa’s last few games have given me one of those “uh oh, Happy learned how to putt” vibes.   He looks locked in to me and healthy. 

 

HOUSTON -- Carlos Correa is in pain.

 

Every swing and miss hurts, and on the bad days it can even be uncomfortable for the Houston Astros star shortstop to walk.

 

Correa often puts on a brave face but told The Associated Press how much this is affecting him as the Astros prepare to leave for Boston and the best-of-seven AL Championship Series that begins on Saturday.

 

"You're a competitor so every time you step on the field you play it off like everything is fine," he said Wednesday. "But obviously you're hurting."

Correa returned from a six-week stint on the disabled list on Aug. 10 and declared that he was better. But he has struggled to regain his top form. He hit just .180 in the second half of the season and managed a single hit -- a home run -- in an ALDS, looking nothing like the player who made the All-Star team last season and was the 2015 rookie of the year.

 

He said it bothers him most at the plate, and it's been impossible to get back to how he felt before the injury.

 

"Not only to find my swing, just to feel comfortable at the plate when I swing," he said. "Because I know every time I swing and miss it's going to hurt. So, I try not to swing and miss and then I try to baby my swing and I don't swing as hard as I usually do or as quick as I usually do. So, it's definitely been tough."

 

Correa said there's been a domino effect of pain in other areas, most notably in his obliques, as he tries to avoid doing things that make his back hurt.

 

He's receiving treatment "24/7," but the pain remains. He's using a foam roller at home and been sporadically taking anti-inflammatories.

 

"It's just a pain down in my lower back that doesn't let me move right," he said. "When I bend over, when I rotate. Sometimes when I wake up and I walk in the morning, I know it's not going to be a good day."

 

He's accepted that the aching likely will be with him until he gets an extended rest. He's trying not to let it weigh on him, but in private moments at home with his fiancee Daniella Rodriguez, he laments that he simply hasn't been himself this season.

 

"When I go to sleep at night, I think about especially this year (how) I'm not performing the way I know I can perform, it's just been tough," he said. "Sometimes I talk to Daniella and I'm like: `There's nothing I can do about it. I'm hurting.' But I'm a competitor so you grind, you try to perform. But it's definitely ... been frustrating at times."

 

Despite his woes, Correa started all three games of the ALDS and continues to play stellar defense, something he takes pride in as he struggles at the plate. And though he was just 1 for 10 against the Indians, his one hit was a big one -- a three-run homer in the clinching game -- providing hope that maybe things are getting better.

 

"I feel like I had really good at-bats in the series vs. Cleveland, just not getting lucky with the balls I hit hard," he said. "But that one fell, and it gives me a lot of confidence going into this series."

 

Manager AJ Hinch was asked if he's concerned about Correa.

 

 

"Not now," he said. "We (have) four days off. We get to press the reset button. You don't just get to press pause either way. We had some guys get six and seven hits in that series, but you have to start over again, new opponent. So, no it doesn't concern me."

 

Correa is focused on keeping a positive attitude as he fights through this and is determined to do all he can to help the Astros repeat as champions.

 

"It's been a tough year. But it's not the end of the world," he said. "I keep grinding every single day. I keep trying to find ways to help my team. I thought my defense this year was excellent and I'm looking forward to winning another championship and getting some rest."

 

"And come back next year strong and be the player that I am," he continued.

 

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For folks who know about back injuries, what does his issue sound like? 

It's probably nothing like what he's experiencing over an extended period of time, but my back will occasionally 'go out' for days at a time making it nearly impossible to do anything at all. Happened once while I was working on something in the garage alone and I had to literally crawl inside the house. Back injuries are no joke.

 

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Yeah everyone is different, but my senior year of HS my back was shot during football season. I used to get heat treatments before practice and games and then the ice tub after. During classes sometimes I’d have to get up from my desk and stand in the back of class because it hurt to sit. I’d eat a good 8 or so Advil throughout the day. Doctor had me doing some stretching exercises every night and morning. The shit can really be hard to handle as everything you do involves your lower back.

It’s been clear that he didn’t come back healthy. He’s still a positive defensively, but man I don’t expect anything from him at the plate. He isn’t magically going to break out of a slump when it’s due to physical pain. Even the HR the other day even looked fairly weak as he hit it to RF. I can’t recall him pulling a ball since coming back.

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18 minutes ago, Ldogg53 said:

Yeah everyone is different, but my senior year of HS my back was shot during football season. I used to get heat treatments before practice and games and then the ice tub after. During classes sometimes I’d have to get up from my desk and stand in the back of class because it hurt to sit. I’d eat a good 8 or so Advil throughout the day. Doctor had me doing some stretching exercises every night and morning. The shit can really be hard to handle as everything you do involves your lower back.

It’s been clear that he didn’t come back healthy. He’s still a positive defensively, but man I don’t expect anything from him at the plate. He isn’t magically going to break out of a slump when it’s due to physical pain. Even the HR the other day even looked fairly weak as he hit it to RF. I can’t recall him pulling a ball since coming back.

He pulled a double to the Monster during the Red Sox series, but that’s the only one I can recall.  Every other hit has been a line drive or sharp ground ball up the middle other than the HR and 2B in Baltimore and the HR and Cleveland. 

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11 hours ago, Guadaloopy said:

Please, please, please don’t anyone introduce Bregman to any beauty queens. 

heard Bregman is into less wholesome chicks.  He was dating two Twin Peaks girls at the same restaurant until they both found out and got in a brawl at work - he kept the winner.

Edited by MAROON
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i love the astros as much as the next guy, but that was some grade a cheeseball shit right there.  what question was he answering?  why do you guys play baseball everyday?  bye weeks are a killer.


I’m going to assume that was some sort of season ticket/ high roller dinner before the season started...or made-for-media #neversettle slogan reveal press party
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From fangraphs, here are the highest swing and miss rate pitches this year, minimum 250 thrown.  First and last on the list are interesting.

Most Unhittable Pitches
Pitcher Pitch Whiff%
Ryan Pressly Slider 32.9%
Will Smith Slider 30.5%
Patrick Corbin Slider 30.2%
Jace Fry Slider 30.0%
Tanner Scott Slider 29.7%
Pedro Strop Slider 29.1%
Edwin Diaz Slider 29.1%
Seranthony Dominguez Slider 27.9%
Hector Neris Splitter 27.8%
Ken Giles Slider 27.6%
SOURCE: Brooks Baseball
Minimum 250 thrown.
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16 hours ago, AtticusFinch said:

Both league series are over.  They should have started by tonight.  No need to play until November 

Hopefully, this shit doesn't affect game readiness.  It could be rough to roll out for a playoff AB after not taking a meaningful swing in a week.  At least the Sox are in almost the same boat.

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1 minute ago, kevwun said:

Kimbrel doesn't throw his curve ball in the strikezone as much anymore I believe.  It's still nasty, but it's not as effective if a hitter can recognize it and layoff.

I think Giles has a similar problem when he's not going good.  If guys can lay off the low slider, his fastball is pretty straight and hittable even at 100.

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15 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Kimbrel doesn't throw his curve ball in the strikezone as much anymore I believe.  It's still nasty, but it's not as effective if a hitter can recognize it and layoff.

The zone% on his curveball is really low this year and his four-seam isn't getting as many whiffs as it normally does.  He's been good this year but not nearly as good as he has been in his best years.  For instance, by SIERA and xFIP he would have been the Astros' fourth best reliever this season.

Really, after Kimbrel and Barnes, their bullpen looks like shit.  

Edited by Fozzz
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yeah, i've been saying for a while that there was no way to keep jake, kemp, and straw - especially if you were gonna keep gattis on the roster.  it's a numbers crunch and a necessities crunch imo.  they must've liked some matchup with gattis, because straw could've been a real weapon if we used him right.

kemp is a lefty bat, and pretty much the only one, considering mccann is the backup catcher before he's the lefty bat off the bench.  jake is the defensive replacement/speed guy.  and straw is just the speed guy i guess.  not sure how we'll use gattis, since lately he's just a shittier version of white.

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