I had a thought last night....

Why not shake up the top of the lineup a bit?
Bregman at the two hole, Altuve at 3, then Brantley, Yuli, Correa, Yordan

That may give Bregman a few more fastballs with Altuve behind him. Brantley isn't really scaring purple with big hits, he's just making good contact

brutal night for the Astros. a couple of things.

-Springer was the best Astro on the field last night, yet he also is responsible for not putting himself in position to score the game tying run.
-however, according to seasonal statistics, that ball should have been a homer easily except they clearly changed the balls again.
-Reddick not getting the clear as day catcher interference was complete horse *****
-Breggy man. what is there to say that he didn't say himself.
-Correa was great in the field. terrible at the plate
-Alvarez despite his 2 hits and a walk continues to be useless in the playoffs
-Cole was touched up but no more than Scherzer was. but somehow the Nats scratched out 5 and the Stros only 2.
-Joe Smith was lights out.
-Astros are 0-53 when trailing after the 8th. that's incredible in its own right. doubly so when talking about team that won over a 100 games.

-Baseball is brutal man.

Well it is the playoffs and we've faced some really great pitchers.

Astros just are playing tight, IMO. Sucks to watch it because they were incredible all regular season long. Just feels like they haven't relaxed yet in the postseason.

Forgiven_Ag said:

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Boiling Denim said:

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The plate approach difference between Soto and Bregman is shocking right now

Soto going up to mash. Bregman going up to drive up pitch count I guess...maybe walk...definitely not looking to put one on the railroad track

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I will say it since no one else will. This is all on his new GF. He is soft now. Not full of piss and vinegar. He is calm down. How can we expect him to hit piss missle home runs when he is getting a steady helping at home?!

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Can he not go oppo on the outside edge strikes and just bring runners across home plate?

I really wish the game could've been played under protest after that CI miss...I had an awful feeling in my gut after that point.

Ag12thman said:

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Astros just are playing tight, IMO. Sucks to watch it because they were incredible all regular season long. Just feels like they haven't relaxed yet in the postseason.

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I agree

With a regular season record of 107-55, that means they played tight 55 times
And that means they played free and loose 107 times

We should try to play more free and loose rather than up tight

So, with Corbin pitching last night, I guess the Nats will most likely be starting Sanchez in game 3?

Ag_07 said:

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Yeah I would imagine that's their plan

Then they can either hold off Corbin and throw him in GM 4 or keep using him in the pen and throw Scherzer on short rest.

The bottom line is that Martinez played last night like it was an elimination game. Those are the best arms they have and we got to them fully rested. If we can somehow get Strasburg out before he gets to the 6th they're in a world of hurt.

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I would have to guess that they start Corbin game 4, then plan to use him as a reliever the rest of the series

Some already mentioned it, but what is everyone's thought on moving Bregman up to the 2 spot?

Or do you think it's just mental for him and he's going to have to start swinging at some stuff on the edges, specifically the outside edge?

Ag_07 said:

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Yeah I would imagine that's their plan

Then they can either hold off Corbin and throw him in GM 4 or keep using him in the pen and throw Scherzer on short rest.

The bottom line is that Martinez played last night like it was an elimination game. Those are the best arms they have and we got to them fully rested. If we can somehow get Strasburg out before he gets to the 6th they're in a world of hurt.

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Yup, we have to work Strasburg and get him out by the 5th or 6th.

Time for Nuclear George to plant one on the tracks in his first AB.

Beat40 said:

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Some already mentioned it, but what is everyone's thought on moving Bregman up to the 2 spot?

Or do you think it's just mental for him and he's going to have to start swinging at some stuff on the edges, specifically the outside edge?

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AB has done well because he's a selective batter. You can't be selective with the strikezones we've had this post season...and unfortunately for him, he's been on the receiving end of most of the blown calls

Ag12thman said:

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Astros just are playing tight, IMO. Sucks to watch it because they were incredible all regular season long. Just feels like they haven't relaxed yet in the postseason.

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Just the opposite, IMO. They are laughing and joking a lot. That is fine, HOWEVER, on the base path, their lack of discipline is costly. The lack of fundamental hustle by Brantley and Springer likely cost 2 runs. What is concerning to me, Springer was asked about not running out of the box, and he made some lame excuse about possibly passing Tucker on the base paths. Either that is an outright lie, or he is too ignorant to realize that he could have looked towards Pettis before reaching 2nd base and then made a determination of what he was going to do at that point. However, his lack of hustle from the start totally excluded that as an option.

Agree to disagree on the playing tight. I do agree about Springer. That was horrid and as soon as he started hopping, I was yelling, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????" Drop the bat and sprint, dude." He definitely costed us a chance to tie the game there.

the "good" thing about the lack of hustle crap is that the team is going to hear about it all day today. You can bet your ass everyone will be busting their tails down the line the remainder of the series.


I fully expect Verlander to take the bull by the horns and be dominant tonight. I think all the Cole talk over the past month has been pissing him off. He going to show everyone that he's "better"

Does anyone have the pitches missed breakdown. I thought the guy had a good game balls and strike wise except late he opened it up on a couple. Would love to see the stats

Strasburg is going to be really tough. He was the one I was concerned about the most coming into the series. Hopefully we can work him like we did Scherzer.

tailgatetimer10 said:

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There's a bunch of things that culminate with this.

The catcher interference
Directly the next inning, a broken bat hit driving in rbi.
The line shots in the 9th with players in position

In those sequences I started to feel this game just wasn't ours.

Fortunately that's why we play 7

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What's terrifying is that is the type of **** were you start thinking team of destiny crap. Nothing really went our way in terms luck

Had my morning coffee up in Maine on vacation and have a great feeling about tonight. I think we win handedly in game two. Thinking 6 or 7 to 2

Even if we can't rock Strasburg, if we can get his pitch count up and get to the bullpen then I feel the same way. If he goes 7 innings then I'm not so optimistic.

astros4545 said:

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That damn wind blew it down.

Quote:

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Double digit LOB means the offense is hitting.

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or they are getting walks

Marvin's PSA for anyone going to MMP tonight:

• Arrive before 5pm.
• Go to the team store sometime during the game to avoid Black Friday madness.
• Caveat to the above comment- the WS gear is not overly impressive.
• Park well away from the stadium (or ride train/shuttle)- better to walk 20 minutes and avoid the traffic.
• SRO made the concourses a nightmare. Be prepared.
• If SRO, they took away a lot of in-season standing areas. Many people just watched the TV's in the concourses. Also, security in our area was not allowing SRO along the walkways in the upper decks.

Some of those were negatives, but it was still a blast. Enjoy the experience!

Quote:

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The hits just weren't coming at the right times, which is essentially random

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Not completely. Take for example Yordan. He was patient and had good at bats when nobody was on base. Then a pressure situation came up and he reverted back to the issues that plagued him in the ALCS.

It's tough to hit in clutch moments but that is what wins championships.

Marvin said:

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Marvin's PSA for anyone going to MMP tonight:

• Arrive before 5pm.
• Go to the team store sometime during the game to avoid Black Friday madness.
• Caveat to the above comment- the WS gear is not overly impressive.
• Park well away from the stadium (or ride train/shuttle)- better to walk 20 minutes and avoid the traffic.
• SRO made the concourses a nightmare. Be prepared.
• If SRO, they took away a lot of in-season standing areas. Many people just watched the TV's in the concourses. Also, security in our area was not allowing SRO along the walkways in the upper decks.

Some of those were negatives, but it was still a blast. Enjoy the experience!

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all of this!

Last night I got to the area around the stadium at 5:30, didn't get into my seat until 6:50. It was a madhouse. The team store line was about 20-30 mins long before and after the game.