astros4545 said:

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Trogdooorrrrrrr

The way JV, Pess, and Osuna are pitching right now, plus the way this line up is mashing with healthy, has to give us one of the fiercest potential one day of baseball I've ever seen.

We'll spot you one solo shot off JV. Good luck keeping our offense down.

33-16 on the year now. Crazy to think we started 2017 42-16. Seems unlikely we'll get there again but the 2017 squad went 11-16 in August, so plenty of chances to make up ground later this year.

Deluxe said:

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Another win for JV tonight... 8 on the season. That's how you know he's having a good year so far.

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Wasn't his one loss like a 1-0 ballgame? Could easily be 9-0. And its not even Memorial Day.

Deluxe said:

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33-16 on the year now. Crazy to think we started 2017 42-16. Seems unlikely we'll get there again but the 2017 squad went 11-16 in August, so plenty of chances to make up ground later this year.

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Would anyone be shocked if we ran off 9 in a row?

I don't expect it, but we're monsters and we're not even near full health.

Deluxe said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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At least ****ing try Jake. What a ****ing waste.

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Agreed. He thinks just because his hair looks so good as he glides so smoothly to the ball that he can just mail it in when he gets to the warning track. News flash Jake: your Cy Young pitcher had a no hitter going. Make the GD play. Reddick would have.

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That's right. Spider-Man makes that play.

R-Dog said:

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Deluxe said:

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Another win for JV tonight... 8 on the season. That's how you know he's having a good year so far.

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Wasn't his one loss like a 1-0 ballgame? Could easily be 9-0. And its not even Memorial Day.

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Pointless stat is pointless.

the White Sox are bad.

tomorrow's starter, Ivan Nova, bring his 7.42 ERA to the mound in 47 innings pitched

Deluxe said:

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Another win for JV tonight... 8 on the season. That's how you know he's having a good year so far.

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also...Astros' starters have been the winning pitcher of record in 25 of the team's 33 wins.

the 'stros have played few games with late lead changes and/or late-inning dramatics

Some AL West news.... looks like Andrelton Simmons will be out 2-3 months with a Grade 3 Ankle Sprain...

W said:

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Deluxe said:

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Another win for JV tonight... 8 on the season. That's how you know he's having a good year so far.

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also...Astros' starters have been the winning pitcher of record in 25 of the team's 33 wins.

the 'stros have played few games with late lead changes and/or late-inning dramatics

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When you are handing off your leads to harris/pressly/osuna they tend to be pretty safe.

shano0603 said:

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Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Camera man is also on his game tonight

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uhhhhh

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Not a single TOFA joke?

Marwin just hit a 2 run HR to tie the game vs the Angels in the 6th

astros4545 said:

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This is pretty interesting... I think its smart for the kid to play in Japan. Closest thing to the majors out there

and Justin Upton is still out for another month

checking in with the Tigers...Detroit was 18-20 when the Astros arrived in town last week...

now the Tigers are 18-27. Have not recovered from the astro experience

That's a bold move by the young man, but it isn't such an open and shut case. You're taking guarantees up front but can actually likely impact your second contract since your stats aren't as comparable and you have more risk. Other things to consider that could quickly derail his career there:


- Support structure (family, etc.) - you think college is challenging for some? Try Japan by yourself at 19. Who knows, he may thrive - only he knows
- level of coaching and analytics (no debate that they're behind even minor leagues here) - big risk to actually get good enough to reach your potential
- Baseball culture where people eat, breathe, and sleep baseball to drive you towards improvement - not there in Japan, but this is a huge piece of the system here. Who knows, maybe it'll prevent an early burn out.
- Level of competition to hone your skills and prove your value on a comparable stage as others - he's going to be in Japanese minor leagues to start, talk about not challenging yourself
- Your big contract is actually coming at a later age and likely has a lower potential value. No one is giving a huge long term contract to someone with no MLB experience. You'll likely not be a proven free agent until ~30... you have to trade this off and make some assumptions against your guesses of how the CBA negotiations will go


If I were him, every dime of that extra would go to paying swing coaches and other support to help me get better. I haven't even looked into taxes.

I may have done the same thing as him in the end, but it's also increasingly risky when that new CBA may eliminate half of those drawbacks (no more huge second and third contracts and the players are going to want concessions since their huge carrot is gone). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the MLBPA didn't quietly endorse this to establish another bargaining chip against owners.

Ehhh what's another 11 game winning streak...

And doesn't have any T to OFA

Or winning 22 out of 23

Baseball teams in Japan also have a limit of 4 Americans per team, if the article I read is correct.

Buck Compton said:

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That's a bold move by the young man, but it isn't such an open and shut case. You're taking guarantees up front but can actually likely impact your second contract since your stats aren't as comparable and you have more risk. Other things to consider that could quickly derail his career there:


- Support structure (family, etc.) - you think college is challenging for some? Try Japan by yourself at 19. Who knows, he may thrive - only he knows
- level of coaching and analytics (no debate that they're behind even minor leagues here) - big risk to actually get good enough to reach your potential
- Baseball culture where people eat, breathe, and sleep baseball to drive you towards improvement - not there in Japan, but this is a huge piece of the system here. Who knows, maybe it'll prevent an early burn out.
- Level of competition to hone your skills and prove your value on a comparable stage as others - he's going to be in Japanese minor leagues to start, talk about not challenging yourself
- Your big contract is actually coming at a later age and likely has a lower potential value. No one is giving a huge long term contract to someone with no MLB experience. You'll likely not be a proven free agent until ~30... you have to trade this off and make some assumptions against your guesses of how the CBA negotiations will go


If I were him, every dime of that extra would go to paying swing coaches and other support to help me get better. I haven't even looked into taxes.

I may have done the same thing as him in the end, but it's also increasingly risky when that new CBA may eliminate half of those drawbacks (no more huge second and third contracts and the players are going to want concessions since their huge carrot is gone). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the MLBPA didn't quietly endorse this to establish another bargaining chip against owners.

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paying swing coaches? He is a pitcher...

also Japan's baseball culture is pretty strong. I wouldn't knock that. I'm going to also assume he is going to have some type of easy opt out clause in case he hates it.

He could also have a parent(s) stay with him in Japan for a while as he gets acclimated to the country. From a financial standpoint it COULD make sense taking a nice contract before your even 20. Who's to stay this could doesn't even pan out? I would've gladly taking 7 million when I was 20 to go play baseball in Japan. Heck even if he only last a few years there and makes half of his contract that is a damn good pay for a kid before he reaches his mid 20's.

AustinCountyAg said:

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Buck Compton said:

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- level of coaching and analytics (no debate that they're behind even minor leagues here) - big risk to actually get good enough to reach your potential
- Baseball culture where people eat, breathe, and sleep baseball to drive you towards improvement
- not there in Japan, but this is a huge piece of the system here. Who knows, maybe it'll prevent an early burn out.

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paying swing coaches? He is a pitcher...

also Japan's baseball culture is pretty strong. I wouldn't knock that. I'm going to also assume he is going to have some type of easy opt out clause in case he hates it.

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Ya I'm not gonna act like I'm an expert on Japanese baseball culture, but what little I know about the Japanese culture in general is that they eat, breath and sleep whatever discipline they apply themselves to at a level that we generally do not in the states.

Ichiro ESPN article

Ichiro is the most extreme example and to be sure not every (or any for that matter) Japanese player has his work ethic and discipline, but he is indicative of the type of culture in general I'm referencing.

Who knows what will happen though, like you said it's a bold move for sure. Will be interesting to watch.

After last night, JV has some insanely stupid numbers.

BAA .142.
BABIP .158
WHIP 0.73
LOB% 97%

He's given up an insane 36 H in 72.1 IP and 12 of the 36 H are HR. Think about that. He's allowed just 24 hits in play in 72.1 IP. He's given up 18 runs and 12 came directly from guys hitting HRs stepping on home plate.

Nuts.

I posted this during the game last night during Nolan Ryan's segment in the booth, but it's worth a repost for those who missed it. This is more Ryan/Paige stuff.

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/09/sports/sports-of-the-times-ryan-paige-and-rules-for-keeping-young.html

I don't think the kids move is a bad idea. I do think 4 years not 6 would have been better. I also wonder if he gets housing, translator and other living expenses included. If not, 6. Years plus cost of living and taxes Boros maybe losing his edge.