http://m.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Lance-McCullers-black-diamond-necklace-broke-mound-12288527.php

This amuses me. Metro McCullers having to dig for his jewelery during a playoff game.

So they've at least made him believe they're going to try and be competitive.

Got to find joy in something.

Ag2012 said:

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Reading the meltdown on the Astros thread got me like

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Ag2012 said:

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Reading the meltdown on the Astros thread got me like

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LOL at the fat guy on row 2 launching an fbomb at somebody.

that was " **** you Cruz"

Man, I totally forgot about that Yankee fan ******. Did the Rangers end up winning that game? That was 2010, right?

PatAg said:

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They are getting from Verlander what we wish we had gotten from Hamels. He has pitched well, but honestly been a bust for what you expect from a trade like that.
Just a completely bum down the stretch in both seasons and in the playoffs last year.

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Pretty much. That and the Lucroy trade put a slight halt to the crazy amount of young talent we would currently have available.

At the time of both those trades though I don't think anyone thought it was a bad move acquiring either of those dudes. And honestly, I'm okay with that. Sometimes it just doesn't work out the way it's supposed to. It sucks, but I won't fault JD for making those moves. I figured Hamels would eventually get a little bit worse, but he was about our 3rd best pitcher by the end of the year this season. Really really frustrating.

There is still a lot of untold story re: Verlander's time in Houston. But certainly they'll, rightfully, forgive a lot of bad in the future given his role in this run.

Quote:

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At the time of both those trades though I don't think anyone thought it was a bad move acquiring either of those dudes. And honestly, I'm okay with that.

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Me too. But I say that with a big caveat:

I think the vast majority of moves GMs make look like they have a solid baseball argument behind them. I don't think its a terribly high bar to say "that's not bad with what we know now." Especially when you're acquiring All-Stars, its hard for the move to not look fine at the time it was made. Sure, some GMs really **** it up but they're not long for the league.

Their job isn't really to make moves that don't look bad at the time, their job is to show some special ability to get moves that look good in the future. That's why GMs and their staffs make the big bucks.

PatAg said:

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They are getting from Verlander what we wish we had gotten from Hamels. He has pitched well, but honestly been a bust for what you expect from a trade like that.
Just a completely bum down the stretch in both seasons and in the playoffs last year.

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Verlander has pitched one tail-end season and postseason for Houston.

The season Hamels was traded for he went 7-1 down the stretch (basically winning us the division) and then went pitched 13.1 innings in the ALDS giving up 4 ER (2.70 ERA).

In comparison, Verlander gave up 3ER in 8.2 IP in the ALDS.



Hamels was exactly what we traded for in 2015 -- it was most of the rest of the team that **** the bed.


And as TxAggie mentioned, the story on Verlander will be the next few years -- if it gets Houston a WS ring then it's worth it. But if they don't get it done this year, Verlander will be 35 years old with 2500+ innings on his arm -- I don't think it would be a shock to anyone if his performance started declining much like Hamels' did.

Yeah, Hamels was nails in 2015. They dont win the division without him, and he was good in the playoffs.

free_mhayden said:

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PatAg said:

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They are getting from Verlander what we wish we had gotten from Hamels. He has pitched well, but honestly been a bust for what you expect from a trade like that.
Just a completely bum down the stretch in both seasons and in the playoffs last year.

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Verlander has pitched one tail-end season and postseason for Houston.

The season Hamels was traded for he went 7-1 down the stretch (basically winning us the division) and then went pitched 13.1 innings in the ALDS giving up 4 ER (2.70 ERA).

In comparison, Verlander gave up 3ER in 8.2 IP in the ALDS.



Hamels was exactly what we traded for in 2015 -- it was most of the rest of the team that **** the bed.


And as TxAggie mentioned, the story on Verlander will be the next few years -- if it gets Houston a WS ring then it's worth it. But if they don't get it done this year, Verlander will be 35 years old with 2500+ innings on his arm -- I don't think it would be a shock to anyone if his performance started declining much like Hamels' did.

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I guess I let his failure last year influence my memory of the year prior. He did pitch very well last year, but he also never really had as dominating a performance as Verlander just did.

and last year was awful

ARLINGTON -- Rangers pitcher Matt Bush underwent surgery on his right shoulder last Thursday, the club has revealed.
The 31-year-old underwent a procedure described as an an arthroscopic acromioclavicular (AC) joint resection in his right shoulder. It involves removing a segment of bone at the end of his clavicle to relieve the pain in his AC joint.
Rangers looking to bulk up the bullpen
The procedure was done by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Bush is expected to be ready by Spring Training.
Bush was bothered by the shoulder for much of season and had a pain-relieving injection on April 12. He did not go on the disabled list because of the shoulder but was sidelined from Aug. 21 to Sept. 9 with a sprained right knee.
Bush, in his second season, ended up pitching in 57 games and was 3-4 with a 3.78 ERA. He had 58 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings, a 1.45 WHIP and 10 saves.

Mike Maddox didn't last long in Washington, just saw he will be the new pitching coach for St. Louis

https://t.co/Oh5V1pngmN

Hinch in a bar altercation? No way.

Verlander's ALCS was dominant in a way Hamels wasn't, and what sparked PatAg's comment.

But anyways, today on "HoustonWhines", seems Bud Selig and the roof in 2005 is the topic du hour. I thought maybe winning a World Series games would see them take a day off.

bigcat22 said:

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Mike Maddox didn't last long in Washington, just saw he will be the new pitching coach for St. Louis

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Hot commodity and Wash is cheap with assistant deals in that they prefer 1 year deals. He was a rarity when they gave him 2 years. Supposedly 5 teams contacted him.

TXAggie2011 said:

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Verlander's ALCS was dominant in a way Hamels wasn't, and what sparked PatAg's comment.

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Considering Hamels never got to pitch in the ALCS with Texas, I imagine so.

I imagine before it's all said and done he'll start challenging whether or not the rest of the 2015 team "**** the bed" or that it was more them just "wetting the bed", so I'll bow out before I the thread gets to 5 pages of nonsense.