mathguy86 said:

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Listening to Mlb radio. NY homer Christopher Russo just said Yankees in 5. I can't stop laughing.

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Pahdz said:

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Shirt made by Third Ward Nine, a company a couple of my buddy's are part owners in, you can get it here

https://thirdwardnine.com/collections/tees/products/cole-45

Well...at least you could...now sold out!

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Bregxit said:

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RealTalk said:

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HTownAg98 said:

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I can watch this over and over and over.

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Cool that both Cole and Maldonado "strutted" off to the dugout in unison.

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Everyone in that frame was in unison. Cole and Maldy went one way, Adames went the other and blue did the punchout dance.

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BMX Bandit said:

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on sale for $8

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mathguy86 said:

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I'm trying to dig and see if the umpiring crews have been announced yet and they haven't. But I discovered a scary thought. Umps are not allowed to work consecutive playoff series. And you know who didn't get a call in the DS? Fat boy and Angel. They are eligible.

Now I'm sick to my stomach thinking about that combination.

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Quote:

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Bill Welke - Betting Log

Overall Stats

• Games: 29
• Home Team Record: 9-20
• Home Money: $-1412
• Strikeouts Per Game: 17.1
• Walks Per Game: 6.86
• Total Runs Per Game: 10.55
• One Run Games: 9

Favorite Stats (Moneyline)

• Home Favorite Record: 8-11
• Home Small Favorite (-100 TO -140): 2-9
• Home Medium Favorite (-145 TO -185): 4-1
• Home Strong Favorite (-190 TO -230): 1-0
• Home Big Favorite (-235+): 1-1

Underdog Stats (Moneyline)

• Home Underdog Record: 1-9
• Home Small Underdog (+100 TO +140): 1-5
• Home Medium Underdog (+145 TO +185): 0-1
• Home Strong Underdog (+190 TO +230): 0-2
• Home Big Underdog (235+): 0-1

Total Stats (Ov/Un)

• Over/Under Record: 14-15
• Small Total Ov/Un (8 or less): 3-3
• Medium Total Ov/Un (8 - 10): 7-8
• Strong Total Ov/Un (10 - 12): 4-4
• Big Total Ov/Un (12+): 0-0

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Eso si, Que es said:

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WES2006AG said:

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mathguy86 said:

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I'm trying to dig and see if the umpiring crews have been announced yet and they haven't. But I discovered a scary thought. Umps are not allowed to work consecutive playoff series. And you know who didn't get a call in the DS? Fat boy and Angel. They are eligible.

Now I'm sick to my stomach thinking about that combination.

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Is it that they can't work consecutive series or just the same team two series in a row? If its the former we could get some of the guys from the NLDS series or the other ALDS. But yea, fat Joe is certainly in play here.

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I guess I missed the 3rd ALDS, the one that didn't feature the Yankees or the Astros.

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Ag_07 said:

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Lineups - Toss up at best but arguments could be made for both sides
Starters - Astros and it's not even close
BP - Yanks

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No. 1: Houston Astros

What worked in the American League Division Series: Mostly, Gerrit Cole, who allowed one run in 15 innings over two starts, striking out 25 batters and allowing just six hits. Justin Verlander dominated in his first start (although he wasn't as good working on short rest in Game 4). Jose Altuve, who basically played last year's ALCS on one leg, is healthy and mashing. He hit .350 in the series with three home runs, and now has 11 career home runs in the postseason, most ever by a second baseman. Career in the postseason: .278/.339/.536, 11 home runs, 28 runs and 25 RBIs in 37 games.

State of the rotation: Cole hasn't lost since May 22, when he was 4-5 with a 4.11 ERA. Since then he's gone 18-0 in 24 starts, with a 1.66 ERA and staggering 251 strikeouts in 162 innings. He's allowed more than two runs just once in his past 15 outings. Then you have Zack Greinke, who struggled in his Game 3 start against the Rays, giving up a couple of home runs on changeups up in the zone. He'll be in line to start Game 1, and it seems like everyone is overreacting to one poor outing that came on 11 days of rest. This is still the guy who had a 2.93 ERA between the Diamondbacks and Astros and walked 30 batters in 33 starts. Verlander will be ready in Game 2, but we're unlikely to see him on short rest again this season. The only concern is the No. 4 starter. Wade Miley fell apart in September, so that one probably lines up as a bullpen game with Jose Urquidy, Miley and Josh James in some order in the early innings.

Let's talk about the bullpen: Everyone overlooks the Houston bullpen, but it actually had a lower ERA than the Yankees' pen, and the top three were dominant:

Roberto Osuna: 2.63 ERA, .190 average, .555 OPS allowed
Will Harris: 1.50 ERA, .196 average, .540 OPS allowed
Ryan Pressly: 2.32 ERA, .188 average, .543 OPS allowed

Among relievers with at least 50 innings, this trio ranked fifth, seventh and 11th, respectively, in lowest OPS allowed. The Astros probably won't need much more than those three, but sidearmer Joe Smith is tough on righties and James can light it up at 100 mph (he fanned 100 in 61 innings). The only blip is that Osuna did struggle in Game 2, a 3-1 Houston victory, and had to be pulled for the final out after allowing two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Harris had to come in and get the final two outs.

Player to watch: It's pretty hard to ignore Cole the way he's pitching. If this series is as close as most everyone expects, we'll get Cole taking the mound in Game 7 at Minute Maid Field, perhaps riding a 19-game winning streak and looking to pitch the Astros into the World Series. Yeah, I'll sign up for that one.

Man on the spot: Greinke is the obvious choice, with the added pressure of trying to get the series off to get a good start. His career postseason ERA is 4.58 in 12 starts -- hey, that's worse than Clayton Kershaw. Here's another guy: Josh Reddick is an awful hitter in the postseason, with a career line of .212/.274/.285 and three home runs in 165 at-bats. With the Astros the past three Octobers, he's at .188/.248/.238. He struggles against velocity and you wonder if manager AJ Hinch will keep running him out there, play rookie Kyle Tucker or just play Jake Marisnick every day in center and George Springer in right, eliminating the Marisnick/Reddick platoon.

The final word: "We were tested and responded well," Cole said after the hard-fought victory over the Rays. "Had to get hit in the face twice. I like the way we answered the bell. Looking forward to the next series." The Yankees will be a tougher test than the Rays were, with a much better offense. The Astros are looking for a second title in three years, with three consecutive 100-win seasons. If they win the World Series, they'll go down as one of the great teams of all time.

Why they're No. 1: Do you want to bet against Cole and Verlander right now? Not to mention Greinke, the back of the bullpen, the offense, the defense, Altuve, Springer ... heck, we haven't even mentioned Alex Bregman, who might be the AL MVP. Astros in a sweep isn't a crazy notion.

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W said:

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saw some stats on ESPN this morning....

Reddick is a career .212 hitter in the postseason with a .559 OPS in 181 plate appearances.

that is not a small sample size.

he has hit .098 in the last 2 ALCS in 45 plate appearances. That is simply atrocious.

it's time to give Jake or Diaz a shot. Or more Tucker

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Quote:

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Bill Welke has been a big league umpire since 1999. His brother, Tim Welke, is also a big league ump.

Welke was part of the umpiring crew that was disciplined for an egregious misinterpretation of the rules on May 9, 2013, when they allowed Houston Astros manager Bo Porter to make an illegal substitution of a relief pitcher, over the protest of rival manager Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Crew chief Fieldin Culbreth bore the brunt of the Commissioner's office's wrath, being issued a two-day suspension in addition to the fine, but the other three members of the crew were fined as well for failing to correct the mistake.

In 2019, he was involved in two discrete incidents both with San Diego Padres player Manny Machado. On April 4th, he made a rare interference call on Machado after he had deposited his bat near the legs of catcher John Ryan Murphy of the Arizona Diamondbacks in an apparent effort to distract him from catching a pop-up. On June 15th, he ejected Machado after he complained about a called third strike. Machado had apparently said something objectionable; he then exploded, throwing his bat violently against the backstop, and then ever so slightly brushing Welke with his hand as he was gesturing in support of his argument. Machado was handed a one-game suspension for going over the line in his protest of the call, but the World Umpires Association was not satisfied and issued a statement saying that the penalty was too lenient given the need to protect officials from violence and that Machado needed to be made an example of. Most observers considered that the umpires' reaction was completely over the top. Even Major League Baseball echoed that sentiment, stating that it was inappropriate for the union to comment in this manner on disciplinary decisions.

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rosco511 said:

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W said:

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saw some stats on ESPN this morning....

Reddick is a career .212 hitter in the postseason with a .559 OPS in 181 plate appearances.

that is not a small sample size.

he has hit .098 in the last 2 ALCS in 45 plate appearances. That is simply atrocious.

it's time to give Jake or Diaz a shot. Or more Tucker

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Agreed. Reddick is simply overmatched against better pitching.

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W said:

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saw some stats on ESPN this morning....

Reddick is a career .212 hitter in the postseason with a .559 OPS in 181 plate appearances.

that is not a small sample size.

he has hit .098 in the last 2 ALCS in 45 plate appearances. That is simply atrocious.

it's time to give Jake or Diaz a shot. Or more Tucker

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Safe at Home said:

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W said:

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saw some stats on ESPN this morning....

Reddick is a career .212 hitter in the postseason with a .559 OPS in 181 plate appearances.

that is not a small sample size.

he has hit .098 in the last 2 ALCS in 45 plate appearances. That is simply atrocious.

it's time to give Jake or Diaz a shot. Or more Tucker

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When I saw this my first reaction was "that's some Biggio level post season futility". So I checked, and Craig wasn't that bad - .234 BA with 185 PA.

Time to try something else.

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