Oh no, I made a valid comparison. Too many conspiracy theorists swear up and down that the Astros are nothing but sign stealing cheaters, and have been for years and years. Nobody can prove it of course, but repeatedly saying it must mean we do it.

BMX Bandit said:

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Wabs said:

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Was just listening to Russo on Mad Dog radio. He basically repeats what he said about the Astros making a mistake starting JV in G5. I think an assumption he is making is that just because Hinch said JV was starting G5 that it's against the law to change his mind after what he sees in G4.

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It's a safe bet Hinch doesn't change his mind

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Like I said in my intentionally walk a game post, Hinch is consistent and losers play the what if, safe approach and winners go home and **** the prom queen (I bet Kate Upton was one and so was Mrs. Cole).

I dont see why he would change his mind. You try to end this series as early as possible to maximize rest time before the WS. We will have one BP game and a JV game at minimum. And then we wait and see.

Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Anyone watch this?



I don't know if I buy what he's selling.

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Which part? Paying Cole to keep the "secret" from getting out? The rest is common knowledge amongst Astros fans that have been paying attention.

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Common knowledge that one little secret thing is why astro pitchers are better ?

Guess I'm not a fan that has been paying attention.

Prosperdick said:

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Hinch is consistent in his approach...and players love that about him, they know what to expect. He always gave guys scheduled days off whether they were hot or not. He used analytics for shifts despite some player's objections (cough, Dallas, cough) and he didn't put up with disrespect (see ya Giles).

He also never intentionally walked a batter. From a macro level that's what this pitching decision is...essentially we're not going to intentionally walk a game with our bullpen. We're going to go right after you and if you beat us, you tip your cap and move on to the next game.

I literally love Hinch.

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Hinch already said as much in the ALDS. When he started Verlander on short rest, he said, "We want to win, and we want to win now." Pitching a rested Verlander in Game 5 would be the same approach. We want to win, and we want to win it now.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Anyone watch this?



I don't know if I buy what he's selling.

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I am

He's saying we know some way to make pitchers better that other teams don't.

Hard to argue with that.

Doolittle is a funny guy.

Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Anyone watch this?



I don't know if I buy what he's selling.

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Which part? Paying Cole to keep the "secret" from getting out? The rest is common knowledge amongst Astros fans that have been paying attention.

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Common knowledge that one little secret thing is why astro pitchers are better ?

Guess I'm not a fan that has been paying attention.

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You said you weren't buying what he is selling. Everything he said besides paying Cole to keep a secret is common knowledge. So is that the part you are talking about? If so, I agree. There is not some super secret one thing the Astros are doing. I wasn't trying to poke at you or anything.

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Do you believe Morton passed on this knowledge to the Ray's and that is why their pitching is so good??

I am sure Strom is a big reason and I'm sure there is technique issues, but I dont think it's something like a easy trick to tell other pitchers and we just know it and the other teams dont.

Spin rate was a metric the Astros were already measuring at the time they signed Morton and was the reason they signed him - for cheap. The Astros were ahead of the game on this metric but this is not new information.

Right after the 2017 World Series there was an article somewhere (may have been Sports Illustrated) about the Astros measuring spin rate and how they used it to improve Morton's performance. He already had a naturally high rate and the Astros felt they could manipulate that to increase his performance, which they did.

In the case of Cole, the Astros have had him improve his spin rate but probably more importantly, they sat down with him before the season with a historical breakdown of his pitches and showed him how successful his 4-seamer has been and to go with that much more. Doesn't sound that hard but it's the difference between management with Pittsburgh and Houston. It seems like Strom has taken the analytics the team has provided and really used it to get the most out of his pitching staff.

What that video is selling isn't just that the Astros pitching staff is using better methods. It's saying that whatever they know is something small and unknown and that Morton took it with him and passed it on. So Cole would do the same.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Guys it's simple...

We heat up the ice cubes

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Someone please Photoshop Boone's face on here.

Rained out!

Is today the first day since the day after the All Star game without any baseball in tv?

It feels...lacking.

MosesHallRAB04 said:

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It's baffling to me that some people on here are suggesting to not use verlander in game 5. You pitch him game 5 100% of the time regardless of what happens on game 4.

Game 5 is his next normal rest start. Pitchers thrive on routine. Verlander has stayed many times how important his routine is. Skipping his start screws up that routine. It would be a horrible decision.

You want to win in as few games as possible. You never sit a stud and roll the dice. Baseball players are very streaky.

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Unless Verlander was setting up his preparation to be ready on Saturday. But the rain chances were known Monday so he likely was prepared for the chance to pitch Friday.

Texaggie7nine said:

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Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Anyone watch this?



I don't know if I buy what he's selling.

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Which part? Paying Cole to keep the "secret" from getting out? The rest is common knowledge amongst Astros fans that have been paying attention.

---

Common knowledge that one little secret thing is why astro pitchers are better ?

Guess I'm not a fan that has been paying attention.

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You said you weren't buying what he is selling. Everything he said besides paying Cole to keep a secret is common knowledge. So is that the part you are talking about? If so, I agree. There is not some super secret one thing the Astros are doing. I wasn't trying to poke at you or anything.

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Do you believe Morton passed on this knowledge to the Ray's and that is why their pitching is so good??

I am sure Strom is a big reason and I'm sure there is technique issues, but I dont think it's something like a easy trick to tell other pitchers and we just know it and the other teams dont.

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The problem with this guy's argument is that Greinke's ERA and WHIP actually went up after joining the Astros.

Bregxit said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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What that video is selling isn't just that the Astros pitching staff is using better methods. It's saying that whatever they know is something small and unknown and that Morton took it with him and passed it on. So Cole would do the same.

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That's what I thought you were referring to bit I wasn't sure. I agree. There is no special secret. They're just very very good at picking out rough diamonds and polishing them into gems and they've invested heavily into the tools to accomplish that.

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Go back and read about Aaron Sanchez debut - Astros told him he had 4 pitches and was using each one 35%, 30%, 20%, 15%. The pitch he was using 30% of the time resulted in lowest batting average. The pitch he was using 20% of the time batters had their highest. Change those numbers to 60%, 20%, 10%, and 10% and presto, you improve your pitching stats and get more batters out.
*not exact numbers