***** Official Houston Astros 2019 Season Thread *****

6,847,910 Views | 74452 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by PSully97
AustinCountyAg
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touche
Harry Dunne
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AustinCountyAg said:

touche
You're not even using touche right. At least be condescending correctly.
Nuke LaLoosh
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AG
Ag_07 said:

You're blaming all this on Hinch and that's fine...Whatever.

But what about the players?

What about the terrible ABs with RISP? What about Correa hitting .125 for the series? What about Bregman disappearing in the biggest moments? What about the pitchers not executing pitches?

Our guys didn't execute and the Nats did. Simple as that


ALL on hinch, nah. OBVIOUSLY the players collectively take way more of the blame than Hinch, but playing the game is actually difficult.

Hinch has the easiest job in sports, if not all of America. Here's how you do it:

1) have the most talented roster of the last 20 years on your team, and let them play

2) do what the analytics guys tell you to do.

It's not fkn rocket surgery here.
Philip J Fry
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AG
bullard21k said:

Couldn't care less if we left 40 runners on base tonight.

Still doesn't change the fact that grienke was dealing had barely been touched...got squeezed on the walk to Soto...had full command of his change up and was filthy from start to finish. That quick hook is just trash and indefensible

The offense and BP usage are two things completely independent of each other and have no bearing on each other.


This. No way Hinch does this to Cole or Verlander if they were having a game like this. I felt good about a one run lead with Greinke pitching. Felt extremely uneasy with Harris coming in. Not really Harris's fault, but he was way overused.
Hi, Im Brett
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AG
Sucks, but the problem with "what-if's" is baseball is high variance and it's not always going to work out. Quite frankly, with the way the bats went cold, it felt like they were lucky to even be in the WS. I wouldn't have pulled Greinke, but also have a hard time blaming Hinch.

MANY what-if situations where we don't get to celebrate in 17 or get knocked out earlier this postseason. Would feel worse if this was the end of an era with no rings, but still a great team.
Harry Dunne
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Good post and exactly right.

I don't mind going through the what if's as a part of the "grieving process" and I also disagree with a lot of the moves but AJ is a hell of a manager in this is a hell of a team.

A few breaks here and there and a couple of the guys that were cold get hot and we have three rings in a row, but Tony La Russa was a hell of a manager and the 8890 Oakland A's can say the same thing.
Cromagnum
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AG
Hopefully the Nats can show the Stros how to bat with RISP in spring training. We would have annihilated these guys with 2017 post season batting.
AustinCountyAg
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I have no idea why you're trying to call me out by saying I'm "condescending"? You're actually one of the posters who is posting some sense right now. Calm down buddy.

Philip J Fry
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AG
Nuke LaLoosh said:

The Ragonk Strikes Back said:




People act like Mac is some hero. Yes he bet a lot of money, but it was a pure hedge. He would have been an absolute dumbass not to.

Business is business. Helps though if it makes you a town hero I guess.


Yeah. Go **** yourself with that take. He is most certainly a town hero.
Nuke LaLoosh
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AG
Philip J Fry said:

Nuke LaLoosh said:

The Ragonk Strikes Back said:




People act like Mac is some hero. Yes he bet a lot of money, but it was a pure hedge. He would have been an absolute dumbass not to.

Business is business. Helps though if it makes you a town hero I guess.


Yeah. Go **** yourself with that take. He is most certainly a town hero.


This post was solely in relation to his bets. It's not like he bet millions of dollars because he's a die hard fan who really believed... he did it as a pure hedge. Nothing wrong with it, but it's nothing more than a business decision. Got a LOT of publicity from it too.

That said, Mac is awesome. I said a long time ago he should run for mayor. Who WOULDNT vote for the guy?

Harry Dunne
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AustinCountyAg said:

I have no idea why you're trying to call me out by saying I'm "condescending"? You're actually one of the posters who is posting some sense right now. Calm down buddy.

announcing that you're avoiding the forum until the "baseball idiots" are gone is the definition of condescension.

Firing off emotional takes is pretty natural when you just got gutted in a WS g7. You can jump in the conversation and educate the newbs or if the baseball IQ is not to your liking you can ignore it, but I don't think pointing out how stupid people are without making any other point than that you are above all that is any better than the worst of the opinions.
AustinCountyAg
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well said, point taken.
Philip J Fry
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AG
What I can't believe more than anything else is how this team folded under pressure with RISP. Happened all post season. One more single would have made a huge difference in all of our home games. Thought if we went up 4-0 it would be over. So frustrating to see us fail to execute
Texaggie7nine
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maybe we don't want home field advantage next season
7nine
ClickClack
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AG
Texaggie7nine said:

maybe we don't want home field advantage next season


What gets me is how amazingly good of a home record we had in the regular season. Didn't translate.
JDUB08AG
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AG
We are basically the same team next year minus Cole. Not diminishing Cole by any stretch, but we get a full season of Grienke. We will sign another pitcher and so far we've turned Morton and Cole into greatness. Miley was phenomenal for 80% of the season - you can't just forget he was too 5 ERA for almost the entire year. We'll be fine. Our window remains firmly open. The ride continues.
Deluxe
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AG
This post is more just therapy for me as I move through my grief stages. If you've already moved on and don't really want to think about last night's game anymore, this post probably isn't for you.

We had the best team in baseball this year and maybe the best team on paper that the Astros will have in my lifetime. Unfortunately that doesn't mean much in the playoffs. I posted something a few months about the Cardinals during the Luhnow era. They went like 10 years with a very high level club. A few years (like 2004), they probably had the best team but didn't win the World Series. Then they won the World Series in 2006 with a team that barely won 80 games because they got hot at the right time.

I suspect the ~10 year run that we're in the midst of will end up looking similar to that. A few years we're going to have the best team but not win. Then a few years we're going to get hot at the right time and win. Needless to say... thank god we have the 2017 title in our back pocket. I can't imagine losing last night if we were still ringless.

Anyway, despite being the best team in baseball this year, it's almost a miracle we made it to game 7 of the World Series given how bad we were on offense for most of the playoffs. After having 7 guys finish the regular season with OPS ~.900 or better, we only had 2 guys finish the playoffs with OPS .800 or better. Failure to get the offense going and hit with RISP is what led to our demise in the bigger picture.

However, that's not what gnaws at me most about losing last night.

I had one goal going into last night's game: Get the ball to Gerrit Cole in the 7th inning and then ride him home. He's the best pitcher in baseball and chances are he takes us to a ring. But if he blows it, it at least we went down with our best bullets fired.

(NOTE: Please don't bring any "he only had two days rest" takes. Just look at the past few World Series. MadBum and Kershaw were plenty effective in long relief on two days rest. It's game f***ing seven. There's always something in the tank.)

I don't know if this has been or will ever be confirmed, but I think AJ had a similar goal: Ride Greinke as long as he could, bridge the middle innings, and then get Cole in with a fresh inning with the lead. But something unexpected happened and threw a wrench in the plan: Greinke was too damn good.

So sitting there before the top of the seventh, I think Hinch needed to do one of two things and he did neither.

1) Take Greinke out and let Cole start the 7th. It would have been mega ballsy to pull Greinke while he was throwing a gem, but if you drew up a scenario where you have a two run lead, need nine outs and the best pitcher in baseball is ready to go... to me that's exactly how you'd draw it up and you have to consider that option. However, I understand this wasn't practical because Greinke had been so good, so...

2) Let Greinke take the 7th and let him work through any trouble (no quick hooks).

At this juncture of the game, Hinch needed to ride or die with Greinke or Cole. The worst case scenario was what ultimately played out...

3) Hinch let Greinke start the 7th but quick hooked him. The quick hook is easy to second guess in hindsight but was easy to second guess at the time too. Greinke got Eaton to start the inning, challenged Rendon (which was fine with a 2 run lead and bases empty), then walked Soto (which was fine with a 1 run lead and bases empty). Now he's through their two elite threats and gets to face Kendrick and Cabrera to get through the inning. That wasn't the time to take Greinke out.

In a vacuum I think you could justify the move, but Harris had pitched alot and gotten hit hard the previous night. But more than anything, we had the lead with 8 outs to go in game 7 of the World Series. We had a hall of fame starter on the mound who was dealing and the best pitcher in baseball loose in the bullpen. You can't risk going down without one of those two guys on the mound.

It's hard to even be that mad about the way Harris performed. He threw a good pitch but Kendrick put a once-in-a-lifetime swing on it. But it hurts sooooo bad wondering what would have happened if we had gotten Cole in the game (or stuck with Greinke).

So then we get out of the 7th with Osuna and only down by one run. WHY THE F did we not bring in Cole to start the 8th? That's what gets me. If we were going to use Cole with the lead, WHY THE F were we not willing to use him to preserve a 1 run deficit? I guess it didn't matter in the end because the offense was inept.

With all that said, I love AJ Hinch and think he's a great manager. He had great feel in guiding us through the 2017 playoffs and pressed the right buttons for the most part this year. However, I think he did the manager equivalent of 0-4 with 4 strike outs last night.

(I feel a little better)
BMX Bandit
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I do not think Verlander wins 20+ with 300K. so not the same team IMO
Texaggie7nine
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I'm really not that concerned about pitching. My concern is with our lack of offense in post season.
7nine
BMX Bandit
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Quote:

I don't know if this has been or will ever be confirmed, but I think AJ had a similar goal: Ride Greinke as long as he could, bridge the middle innings, and then get Cole in with a fresh inning with the lead. But something unexpected happened and threw a wrench in the plan: Greinke was too damn good.
I don't think there is any doubt this is what happened
W
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AG
Philip J Fry said:

What I can't believe more than anything else is how this team folded under pressure with RISP. Happened all post season. One more single would have made a huge difference in all of our home games. Thought if we went up 4-0 it would be over. So frustrating to see us fail to execute
you know I did ask for the hitting coach to walk back to the hotel after a game in Baltimore back in the summertime.

turned out to be prophetic
Nuke LaLoosh
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AG
I agree with all of this. ALL OF IT. Great post. Blue stars for days.

The talent piece is what will keep me up at night. This is the best team that we have ever had and will ever have. Truly an all time great team.
Nuke LaLoosh
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AG
Baseball is a cruel bltch.
W
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AG
regarding Reddick...

the Astros were 1-4 in the 5 WS games in which he started.

2-0 when Reddick sat.

Reddick can be traded, but the Astros will have to eat some of his $13 MM salary. Perhaps as much as $5 MM. It would be worth it to free $8 MM to help the bullpen
Harry Dunne
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W said:

Philip J Fry said:

What I can't believe more than anything else is how this team folded under pressure with RISP. Happened all post season. One more single would have made a huge difference in all of our home games. Thought if we went up 4-0 it would be over. So frustrating to see us fail to execute
you know I did ask for the hitting coach to walk back to the hotel after a game in Baltimore back in the summertime.

turned out to be prophetic
"walk their ass back to the hotel" was one of my favorite posts this year.
Harry Dunne
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BMX Bandit said:

I do not think Verlander wins 20+ with 300K. so not the same team IMO
No, not the same team but a very good chance of getting to the postseason with enough pitching and offense that if the right guys heat up we have a shot. As good or better as Washington did this year.

Really that's all it's about, getting to the postseason and having a roster that gives you a chance. Beyond that there is a ton of providence involved.
InnerCityAg
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AustinCountyAg said:

my god the amount of full blown baseball idiots posting on this thread right now is overwhelming. reading this thread for the past two minutes helps me remember why I've avoided it for the most part this world series run.. I will try again in a few days when the newbies leave.


And you're not a baseball idiot?
Hi, Im Brett
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AG
Deluxe said:


We had the best team in baseball this year and maybe the best team on paper that the Astros will have in my lifetime.

and as good as the Astros were, the Nats matched them over the last 125+ games. That's not a small sample size, and they didn't just get hot in the postseason.

I know it's being painted as a choke job, but sometimes it also helps to give some credit where credit is due. They had great pitching and clutch hitting.
InnerCityAg
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SA-AG72 said:

I agree. All should just step away and concentrate on something positive like Aggie Football. Oh, wait.


Yeah, **** sports.

eATMup-Reveille
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I got a wild hair yesterday morning and bought 3 tickets to Game 7. We left San Antonio around 2:30, and me, my son and son-in-law had a fantastic experience at Minute Maid!! The game result was extremely disappointing, but the memories were worth it. As a lifelong fan who used to listen to the Astros on my transistor radio in the late 60's, the loss is heartbreaking, but the experience of Game 7 was unbelievable.
Agmaniacmike12
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If we're bringing up next year, has any team ever went with a 10 day plan for a starting pitcher? That may be something worth trying out with Miley next year. Save his innings for the postseason and only start to work him into a 5 day schedule in August/September. We can probably sign him for cheap due to his performance late in the year.
Charlie Conway
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AustinCountyAg said:

my god the amount of full blown baseball idiots posting on this thread right now is overwhelming. reading this thread for the past two minutes helps me remember why I've avoided it for the most part this world series run.. I will try again in a few days when the newbies leave.
I'll have you know I've been posting idiotic takes all season, and I'll continue long past a few days from now.
Deluxe
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AG
Hi, Im Brett said:

Deluxe said:


We had the best team in baseball this year and maybe the best team on paper that the Astros will have in my lifetime.

and as good as the Astros were, the Nats matched them over the last 125+ games. That's not a small sample size, and they didn't just get hot in the postseason.

I know it's being painted as a choke job, but sometimes it also helps to give some credit where credit is due. They had great pitching and clutch hitting.

I'm not trying to take away any credit from the Nats nor am I painting our loss as a choke job. We had a better team than they did by almost every metric but they played better in the 7 games that counted most. Hats off.
Harry Dunne
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Agmaniacmike12 said:

If we're bringing up next year, has any team ever went with a 10 day plan for a starting pitcher? That may be something worth trying out with Miley next year. Save his innings for the postseason and only start to work him into a 5 day schedule in August/September. We can probably sign him for cheap due to his performance late in the year.
Miley is a free agent that will likely be overpaid by someone else.

Regardless, we did this successfully with Clemens in 2006 so that he could Roid later into the year after running out of steam in the 05 WS, but it turns out he sat out for too long and we missed the postseason. Real bummer too because we finished 1.5 games behind the Cardinals.
MAROON
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AG
Quote:

Miley is a free agent that will likely be overpaid by someone else.
I'll bet there is zero chance the Astros even tender him an offer, unless that gets us some kind of draft compensation. Front office is done with him.
What do you boys want for breakfast BBQ ?.....OK Chili.
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