bearkatag15 said:

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Jeremy Peña has homered again.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 3, 2022

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JalaPena Popper X 2

bearkatag15 said:

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I literally love Jeremy Peña. BOOMBAH. pic.twitter.com/K7b1m4MJ2g

— Apollo Dez (@ApolloDez1) April 3, 2022

Here is the 2nd HR. Hard to tell but based on every defender standing completely still, it must have been a no doubter

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So are we calling him JP3 or…

I like that nickname

An audible "f--" from Justin Verlander after Maikel Franco lines a single into left field. Baseball is back.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 3, 2022

2022 Spring Training stats:

Jeremy Peña: 7 games, 17 AB, 3 R, 7 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SO, .412 AVG, 1.286 OPS

Carlos Correa: 5 games, 14 AB, 4 R, 4 H, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 4 SO, .286 AVG, 1.072 OPS

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) April 3, 2022

Pena is our leadoff guy until proven otherwise. Do it, Dusty

Ag4life80 said:

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Pena is our leadoff guy until proven otherwise. Do it, Dusty

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Stop it.

Would like to nominate EastCoast to start the 2022 season thread. Kept the conversation going all offseason.

Deluxe said:

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Would like to nominate EastCoast to start the 2022 season thread. Kept the conversation going all offseason.

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Seconded

Just as an FYI. I was watching the White Sox/Rockies ST game (don't ask me why) and they mentioned that the games on Apple TV+ are free. You just need to download the app. The Astros game on Friday is on Apple TV+.

— SFA has never lost to Duke in men's basketball (@SanAntonioTim) April 4, 2022

PSA for Friday's game

tjack16 said:

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bearkatag15 said:

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Just as an FYI. I was watching the White Sox/Rockies ST game (don't ask me why) and they mentioned that the games on Apple TV+ are free. You just need to download the app. The Astros game on Friday is on Apple TV+.

— SFA has never lost to Duke in men's basketball (@SanAntonioTim) April 4, 2022

PSA for Friday's game

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Hopefully it doesn't have blackout restrictions if you're in the region of the team

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https://www.si.com/mlb/rangers/around-mlb/apple-tv-deal-exclusive-friday-night-games

Quote:

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Games on "Friday Night Baseball" will be exclusive to Apple TV+, but free from local broadcast restrictions, meaning no blackouts.

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This is part 3 of my 6-part Astros Opening Day Celebration leading up to Thursday.

April 6, 1982: Cardinals 14, Astros 3: After straight years in the playoffs, the team sagged to 5th in the West, costing Bill Virdon his job. This was and still is the most lopsided Opening Day loss in franchise history. The Cardinals scored 5 runs in the top of the first inning off Nolan Ryan, who only lasted 3 innings. This is the Cardinal team that went on to win the World Series in 7 games over Milwaukee, and they were in full-on flex mode from Jump Street. Keither Hernandez was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, 3 RBI, and 2 walks, Darrell Porter jacked a 3-run homer off Nolan in the first inning, Lonnie Smith was 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored, 2 stolen bases, and snorted 3 ounces of cocaine, and Ozzie Smith was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI. Alan Ashby and Terry Puhl managed solo home runs late in the game off Bob Forsch, but the Astros couldn't get much going overall.

April 5, 1983: Dodgers 16, Astros 7: Vince Ferragamo threw for two touchdowns.. no wait, just seems like a football score. The Astros lost 9 games to start the season, then rather incredibly finished 85-77. It was 6-1 Dodgers after 2-1/2 innings, the Astros tied it at 3 in the bottom of the third, then LA scored 10 runs from the sixth to the eighth to stroll off with the win. Joe Niekro gave up 5 earned runs in 2 innings, and Frank LaCorte was even worse, giving up 6 earned runs in 2-1/3, squandering the Astros pounding Fernando Valenzuela for 6 runs in 2-2/3 innings. Kenny Landreaux torched the Astros, going 3-for-5 with 6 RBI, and Pedro Guerrero had a homer, a triple, and 5 RBI. And who started in left field, yes, it was Dusty Baker, now age 34, going 2-for-4 with 2 runs score. The Astros started Omar Moreno in centerfield, and the legendary base stealer went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and stole a base. We'd wind up trading him at the deadline to the Yankees for Jerry Mumphrey, which is only important, because we later traded Mumphrey to the Cubs for Billy Hatcher.
April 3, 1984: Expos 4, Astros 2: Hey, at least it was close! At age 43, Pete Rose continued to haunt the Astros going 2 for 5 with a run scored, and Andre Dawson tripled in Tim Raines to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth. Expos started three future Hall of Famers Dawson, Raines, Gary Carter, along with Rose. Jerry Mumphrey went 2-for-3 with and an RBI.
April 9, 1985: Astros 2, Dodgers 1: A crowd of 42,000+ at the Dome sees Nolan Ryan outduel Fernando Valenzuela. Nolan goes 7 innings of 3 hit ball with 0 walks and 4 strikeouts. Biggest roar of the night is for Astro shortstop Dickie Thon, who returns after missing 157 games in 1984 after being hit in the eye by a pitch by Mets' dickweed Mike Torrez. Unfortunately, Thon is never the same and one of the most-bad ass starts to a career is cut woefully short. He plays just 84 games for the Astros in 1985, hitting .251.
April 8, 1986: Giants 8, Astros 3: The best season pre-2000 got off to an 0-2 start before the team won 14 of its next 18 in April. The starting lineup on April 8 looked a lot different than what we would see in October; Eric Bullock in left for an injured Jose Cruz, Tony Walker in center, Dickie Thon at short, Mark Bailey behind the plate. Glenn Davis had a 2-run homer in the first inning, but all-time punchable face Will Clark started his career with a solo shot off Nolan Ryan, and Jeff Leonard and Bob Brenly also went deep.
April 6, 1987: Astros 4, Dodgers 3: After just missing the World Series, the Astros raced out to a 6-0 start, then totally fell apart. But on this Opening Day, in front of a record 44,585 people, Mike Scott defeated Orel Hershiser straight up thanks to a tie-breaking home run by Jose Cruz with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Alan Ashby drove in the other two runs, and Scott struck out eight.
April 5, 1988: Astros 6, Padres 3: Mike Scott made it two straight Opening Day wins in a row, defeating some guy named Lance McCullers (Senior). The Astros actually held Tony Gwynn without a hit, pretty amazing since I think he hit like .752 for his career against us. Down 3-1 in the last of the eighth, the Astros got an infield single by Terry Puhl a double to right by my Dad's all-time favorite player, Rafael Ramirez, a pinch-hit RBI single by Kevin Bass, an RBI double by Billy Hatcher, a pinch-hit single by Astros' legend Steve Henderson, and a wild pitch to score Glenn Davis to go up 6-3.
April 4, 1989: Astros 10, Braves 3: Opening Day? Must be time to whip the Braves' asses. Mike Scott made it three straight Opening Day wins, this one the first of 20 he'd have on the year. Glenn Davis homered in the first off Zane Smith, and the Astros got 14 hits in all, including a two-run single from Scotty himself.
April 9, 1990: Reds 8, Astros 4 (11 innings): Up 4-2 after two innings and then fell apart against the eventual surprise World Series champions Reds. Astros got the first look at the Nasty Boys in action Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble, and Randy Myers combined to pitch 6 innings of relief, give up 5 hits, 0 runs, and strike out 10 batters. Meanwhile Charlie Kerfeld imploded for 4 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning to take the loss, most of it on a bases-loaded triple by Barry Larkin. Rafael Ramirez was 4-for-5 for the Astros and the legendary Franklin Stubbs went 3-for-4. This was a bizarre precipice of Houston baseball, still thinking we could compete, but in reality just a 162 games from a total overhaul, Biggio and Caminiti and Eric Anthony all started, but so did Glenn Davis, Bill Doran, Glenn Wilson, and Mike Scott. The Reds managed to hit Davis with a pitch three times, which has to be an Opening Day record.

April 8, 1991: Reds 6, Astros 2: The total gutting of the team is over, and the shiny new Astros emerged Eric Yelding at shortstop, pre-steroids Steve Finley, who once lived down the street from my grandma in center, pre-steroids Luis Gonzalez in left field, Tuffy Rhodes in right, Mark McLemore at second base. Biggio hit a home off Tom Browning, but the defending World Series champions got a three-run double from Browning and a home run by Barry Larkin. It was Mike Scott's last opening day; he got hurt after his second start of the year and never played again.

Top 4 in some order should be Ted, Altuve, Bregman and Yordan. Then Yuli-Brantley 5-6. Probably CF 7th to start the year. Then either Peña-Maldy or Castro-Peña 8-9.

Re-assess after a few weeks.

For the final time this spring, could this be the Opening Day lineup? pic.twitter.com/2WATR53FUf

— Climbing Tal's Hill (@astrosCTH) April 4, 2022

Last offseason Monday for a while. That feels good.


3 days away.