FarmerJohn said:
So Beltran rolls into town and within a month of the season starts has started this scheme with the relay system in place. Either Beltran is the best American spymaster since the dude from Argo, or he saw something at his previous stops. (Texas, Toronto, Yankees). The problem is that in late 2017 the letter from the commissioner explicitly banned this kind of thing. The Astros kept going. We don't know about the others. You can argue anything before that letter wasn't against the rules.
My biggest concern is that we don't really know how good the Astro's offense is. No concerns about Altuve as he hardly used this system at all. I would have some concerns about Bregman, Gurriel, and Springer. I have a lot of questions about Correa. His 2017 stats are looking like real outliers. If this had kept going in some form we don't know about, there could be a real drop off.
At least Marwin Gonzalez's contract isn't the Astro's problem. He used the system the most and his 2017 stats back that up.
Correa isn't generally going to be a .300 hitter but, even though he hasn't done it yet, he's a likely 30 HR guy. His issue is staying healthy. When healthy he's an elite defensive SS and will be a .280 BA; .920 OPS; and give you about 30 HR and 90 RBIs. He only hit 4 more homers in 2017 than he did in '19 despite having 160 more plate appearances in 2017.
Bregman had his best offensive season in 2019 after they discarded the scheme in 2018 as being ineffective. He's also an elite defensive guy and will generally be .290BA/ .950 OPS with 30 HRs and 90-100 RBIs.
Springer had a better year in 2019 than he did in 2017 and so did Gurriel.
This whole thing is just a big FU from the East Coast baseball media because the Astros have been beating the Yankees and Red Sox. They just ran into a Nationals buzz-saw that peaked at the right time in the World Series. The sanctimonious BS from all corners is what pisses me off. Talk to guys in the game- EVERY DAMN TEAM DOES THE SAME EFFIN' THING.
But the Yankees aren't getting hit, the Red Sox are getting a slap on the wrist, and nobody is even looking at the Dodgers. The singling out of the Astros is what pisses me off.
I hope the Astros come out with a "F THE WORLD" mentality, play pissed off and abuse opposing pitchers.
While the starting pitching won't be as amazing with Verlander and Cole it will still be really damn good:
1) Verlander
2) Greinke
3) McCullers
4) Peacock
5) Urquidy
Frankly, my biggest concern is Dusty Baker mismanaging the pitching staff.