Corbin Martin had a nice bounce back start for the Hooks after a rough debut:

5.1 IP
0 ER
2 H
6 K

I've been pleasantly surprised with Corbin since he's started pro ball. Always had good stuff, but couldn't quite figure it out in college. Hope he continues having strong showings

Is he thought to be a starter or a reliever?

NotGibbs said:

---

I've been pleasantly surprised with Corbin since he's started pro ball. Always had good stuff, but couldn't quite figure it out in college. Hope he continues having strong showings

---

he did figure it out his last season thankfully... he had a few big starts that were key to going to Omaha.

The ones that come to mind are the one game we took from Arkansas at home that saved our postseason chances when he went like 8 shutout innings.. and then the winner's bracket regional game against Iowa

We all know our starters are great, but is everyone aware just how great?

AL Only

ERA
1. Verlander - 1.21
2. Cole - 1.43
3. Morton - 2.03
13. Keuchel - 3.10
24. McCullers - 3.72

FIP
1. Cole - 1.54
3. Verlander - 2.24
10. McCullers - 3.17
14. Morton - 3.44
20. Keuchel - 4.16

xFIP
1. Cole - 2.25
3. Morton - 2.74
8. McCullers - 3.32
9. Verlander - 3.38
14. Keuchel - 3.67

SIERA
1. Cole - 2.03
3. Verlander - 2.80
5. Morton - 2.95
11. McCullers - 3.46
21. Keuchel - 3.89

K%
1. Cole - 41.4%
2. Verlander - 34.5%
4. Morton - 32.3%
8. McCullers - 27.4%
33. Keuchel - 19.1%

WHIP
1. Verlander - 0.72
3. Cole - 0.74
8. Morton - 0.97
16. Keuchel - 1.10
26. McCullers - 1.26

SOFT%
2. Keuchel - 27.3%
3. Morton - 25.5%
11. McCullers - 20.7%
16. Verlander - 19.2%
28. Cole - 16.7%

Top 3 in ERA...no big deal

Farmer1906 said:

---

FIP
1. Cole - 1.54
3. Verlander - 2.24
10. McCullers - 3.17
14. Morton - 3.44
20. Keuchel - 4.16

---

This is ridiculous.

Lance's ERA would be sub 3 if he was taken out of that game he gave up 8 when he couldn't find the plate. It's 2.34 without that entire game.

Daily TED stat tweet

When expansion comes up I always go back to this article and think this guy has the right idea. Any of these would make more sense.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/what-would-a-post-expansion-mlb-look-like/

To me, baseball would do itself a favor by having the divsions as tight as possible regionally.

Think about the attendance bump every time the White Sox and Cubs would play, or the Nats and Orioles, Mets and Yankees. Hell even our attendance numbers are higher any time the Astros and Rangers play. I wish I could find the numbers on this but it would take a lot of Google Sheet work to do it.

Plus this from just a few days ago

Add Charlotte and Montreal and do this:

titanmaster_race said:

---

At least half of baseball fandom would burn itself down over realigning teams between NL and AL.

---

Exactly. No chance they break up the nl central or AL east imo. A team in Mexico would be beyond stupid. No FA is going to live in that **** hole corrupt place

There should be no divisions. We don't need regional playoff representation. Keep AL and NL list each team by record and let the best ones in the playoffs.

I'm sure the O's and Blue Jays are just begging MLB to take away their home dates against the Yankees and Red Sox and swap them for some expansion club in Montreal.

Just a thought. give me a good reason why the Mets and Yankees shouldn't be in the same division.

mathguy86 said:

---

I'm sure the O's and Blue Jays are just begging MLB to take away their home dates against the Yankees and Red Sox and swap them for some expansion club in Montreal.

---

I'm be willing to bet that a home game in TOR between TOR/MON would draw just as much, if not more, than a home game between TOR/NYY.

So what would generate more interest in NYC? An extra set of home and home dates every year or tye possibility of those two matching up in the WS? The same would be true for the Cubs/White Sox, Dodgers/Angels, and Giants/A's?

There are advantages either way.

An expansion club in Montreal with no history versus Toronto?

And if you really are doing geography You would put the Cards and Royals with us and the Rangers. And putbte Twins and Brewers with the two Chicago teams.

mathguy86 said:

---

So what would generate more interest in NYC? An extra set of home and home dates every year or tye possibility of those two matching up in the WS? The same would be true for the Cubs/White Sox, Dodgers/Angels, and Giants/A's?

There are advantages either way.

---

The World Series will sell out either way... you go from 6 games every 3 years between those cross-town teams to 19 per year at each spot for a total of 38 you're increasing attendance and building a massive rivalry.

mathguy86 said:

---

And if you really are doing geography You would put the Cards and Royals with us and the Rangers. And putbte Twins and Brewers with the two Chicago teams.

---

That would work also. I just copied the fangraphs guy and added Montreal and Charlotte with a small tweak or 2. He was trying to maintain some semblance of tradition and established rivalry (Cubs vs Cards)

I just think baseball would do itself a favor by creating regional rivalries through the regular season.

Ag_07 said:

---

WES2006AG said:

---

Harry Dunne said:

---

WelchAg said:

---

Home games against a team from Mexico City would be 10x worse than when the cubs or Yankees are in town

---

Oh Haysus, can you imagine the vuvuzelas and flag waving?

---

There would have to be a strictly enforced no vuvuzela policy. Baseball would be unwatchable for 3.5 hours with that going on.

---

Can't be any worse than the drums in OAK

---

I was in Oakland for the game last week, and I was sitting a few sections over from the drums.

Honestly, I wasn't that annoyed by it. It reminded me of the band that plays all through Dynamo games.

But, some old people on leave from a nursing home were not going to have it. About 10 of them contacted security about it. The security guys told the drummer to keep it down because the olds were getting pissed.

Quote:

---

But, some old people on leave from a nursing home were not going to have it. About 10 of them contacted security about it. The security guys told the drummer to keep it down because the olds were getting pissed.

---

I don't know what's funnier the fact they complained to security or the fact they didn't just move somewhere else considering there were all of about 5k people there.

And that's surprising you say they weren't bad because on TV it's insufferable.

Ag_07 said:

---

Quote:

---

But, some old people on leave from a nursing home were not going to have it. About 10 of them contacted security about it. The security guys told the drummer to keep it down because the olds were getting pissed.

---

I don't know what's funnier the fact they complained to security or the fact they didn't just move somewhere else considering there were all of about 5k people there.

And that's surprising you say they weren't bad because on TV it's insufferable.

---

They bug me on TV as well. I'm surprised they didn't at the park.

As for the old people, many were in wheelchairs and had walkers. They weren't completely mobile.

Here are some images of the game. The one with the flag in the stands -- where the flags are waving, that's where the drummer was.


Dennis Eckersley Gate

Inside the concourse -- pretty crappy. It has that old Astrodome feel.

The view from my seat. I was able to yell at Reddick and Jake.

The flag waving guys were right by the drummer.

Instead of sausage races, they had a race between Rickey, Rollie and Eck (not pictured because he was way too slow)

Thanks for sharing the pics. Interesting to see, as that stadium kind of fascinates me with how it looks and sounds on tv. Concourse looks about as crappy as I would've imagined.

CSWendt said:

---

The last thing I want MLB to do is expand. You've already got a handful of teams that can't average 10K a game. Expansion just creates more disparity between the large and small market teams. If they aren't careful, chasing the money right now will cost this game money long term.

---

I agree with you on this. The gap between the haves and the have nots is sizable in MLB.

And, honestly, I really don't mind the Astros being in the AL West. We won the WS. Also, when they are on the road in Anaheim, Oakland or Seattle, I get to watch most of those games -- even if it means staying up late.

That fangraphs realignment article doesn't make sense for the AL South with Houston and Texas being with the Twins and Royals.

Also, Montreal was drawing under 10k fans a game when they left for DC. Why would MLB want to go back there? Is there an appetite for that?

Charlotte is an untapped market. Mexico City and Puerto Rico could be interesting. They'd draw fans.

Quote:

---

Also, Montreal was drawing under 10k fans a game when they left for DC. Why would MLB want to go back there? Is there an appetite for that?

---

In defense of Montreal, that was after the players killed the 1994 season with a strike.

Farmer1906 said:

---

We all know our starters are great, but is everyone aware just how great?

AL Only

ERA
1. Verlander - 1.21
2. Cole - 1.43
3. Morton - 2.03
13. Keuchel - 3.10
24. McCullers - 3.72

---

With these ERA's.... there are zero excuses for this team not being at least 32-10 right now.

Wow, that concourse in Oakland Coliseum looks awful.

irish pete ag06 said:

---

Stadium was much prettier prior to Mt. Davis

---

The surroundings were just fantastic. The luxury boxes and area that was added was just .. bleh. That concourse shot was on the way to walking underneath Mt Davis.