Yeah I can see them not winning the West but I have a hard time seeing them out of the playoffs.

Yahoo News: Zaidi: Giants immediately communicated concerns about Correa.
https://news.yahoo.com/zaidi-giants-immediately-communicated-concerns-021252753.html

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Mathguy64 said:

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Test

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what did you do?

The Ranger fans sure are feeling their oats with all the new toys they have.

That rotation is good on paper with an elite ace but it's not elite overall. Factor in the injury history of some of those guys and the fact that Perez had an anomaly of a year and probably won't duplicate it (still can't believe they didn't move him at the deadline) and it's not too scary.

If things go perfectly for every one of them then yeah they'll be pretty good but I wouldn't bet that's gonna happen.

Not a rangers fan so I have no idea about their lineup outside of their stupid contracts to seiman and seager. Outside those two who else are they relying on to hit the ball? If those are their two "big sticks" they will still suck.

redline248 said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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Test

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what did you do?

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Ha. Nothing. Yet.

I swapped to app and was curious what the notification looked like when I replied to myself.

Mathguy64 said:

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The Rangers were 18 games out of the WC. With 6 teams between them and the Rays. That's a long way to go and a lot of teams to jump.

Will they be better? Yep.

Will they be that much better? Not without some luck. They need to be better and the field needs to get worse.

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There's the crux of the issue for the Rangers...they now have to contend with a much improved Seattle club and of course we've had their number for many years now where the last time the Silver Boot was in Arlington Obama was just closing out his first term.

Hard for me to underestimate them when I clearly said I only know two people on their team. Jeez.

theoretically...the new schedule format should (or is supposed to) help the teams in the AL East.

thus making it harder for the Angels, Mariners, or Rangers to grab a wildcard spot

We owe the Padres for 1998

I'd go Padres. I think we would have taken them in 4 or 5 games this past season

Never forget your roots

OKCAg2002 said:

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"I'd LOVE to beat the Dodgers, but there's a chance they don't even make it into the postseason."




6 teams make the playoffs
(in no particular order):
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Cardinals
5. Padres
6. Dodgers

..... who moves up and takes the Dodgers spot (presuming they are even 6th and not Phillies or Braves)?
the Brewers?

Honestly, I believe the Dodgers (of those 6 listed) would be the easiest to beat in WS, and very refreshing to do so again and watch them cry about trashcans.

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FrioAg 00 said:

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IMHO three championships is the definition of dynasty

Arguably the Stros already have it based off of consecutive division series appearances, but getting a third championship would make it undebatable

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I think you mean consecutive championship series appearances.

and on the flipside...the Giants won 3 championships in a 5-year stretch...but no one considers SF a dynasty.

because (1) they missed the playoffs the years in-between and (2) their season win totals in the title years were 88, 92, and 94 --- not overly impressive

The next step is that third title. We do that and then we can compare with the 1970s As and 2010s Giants. Both got to 3 more quickly, but also fizzled out more quickly.

If (big IF) that gets done, that leaves the 96-03 Yankees ahead of us in terms of all-time great runs in the "modern" era (defining that as post DH & Free Agency).

How do you break up the Red Sox runs? Can you group 2003 thru 2018? That would be 4 titles. But they missed the playoffs 5/6 years from 2010 to 2015. The one year making it being a World Series Title.

Mathguy64 said:

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The Rangers were 18 games out of the WC. With 6 teams between them and the Rays. That's a long way to go and a lot of teams to jump.

Will they be better? Yep.

Will they be that much better? Not without some luck. They need to be better and the field needs to get worse.

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They will certainly be better this year, but I am happy that they are botching their way out of their tailspin to ensure more years of mediocrity. Their farm system is still very average and they are locking in long term deals that will handcuff them later.

Best part is, their fans have hope and high expectations, which will make their failure all that more sweet. I certainly know how devastating a crap season is when you start out with so much hope. Hope really is a b/tch

Anybody going to be in West Palm for any spring training? A buddy and I are going to the game against the Cardinals in Jupiter on 3/2 and then vs Braves on 3/3 at home in WPB.

Farmer1906 said:

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That is a fun comparison.

Big Red Machine
1970-79 (10 seasons)
Winning % 59.2%
Division Titles: 6 (larger division, more difficult)
Pennants: 4
World Series Titles: 2

Big Mad Machine
2017-22 (7 seasons)
Winning% 62.2%
Division Titles: 5
Division Series Wins: 7 (didn't exist in the 70s)
Pennants: 4
World Series Titles: 2

With all due respect to the legendary Big Red Machine, I think we have the edge here and we're not done yet.

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It's hard to put the current Astros over those Reds because of their roster makeup. Maybe check back in 3 years.

All-time hit leader in Pete Rose
Three HOFers - Bench, Pere, Morgan
6 MVP wins
4 HR leaders
3 batting titles


From Wikipedia, in 1975 and 1976, their "Great 8" lineup of those four plus Foster, Griffey Sr., Concepcion, and Geronimo played 107 games together and went 88-19.

Should also be noted that they had the best overall record in MLB in 1981, but missed the playoffs due to the rules of the strike season.

reserve clause struck down in 1975

what the Astros have pulled off with the current relative payroll is extremely impressive

It'll be more than 3 years, but JV & Altuve will both be in the HOF. Yordan is historically good for his short career. The Astros have racked up an MVP, a few Cys, batting titles, etc too.

They have stats to compare across eras.

The best offensive seasons between the two:
2019 Astros - 124 wRC+ (#1 all time from 1970 on)
2017 Astros - 121 (#3)
1976 Reds - 120 (#4)
2021 Astros - 114 (#33)
2022 Astros - 112 (#59)
1975 Reds - 111 (#83)

Same for Pitching
2022 Astros - 75 ERA- (#6)
2018 Astros - 76 (#9)
2019 Astros - 81 (#27)

edit: had to search for Cincy only, their best 2 seasons were 1975 - 94 & 1970 - 95. In 71, 77, & 78 they were avg to below avg pitching.

Edit #2:

Big Red Machine 70-79
106 wRC+
99 ERA-

Big Man machine 17-22
115 wRC+
85 ERA-

Not even close when you see how each team compared against the league during their eras.

Farmer1906 said:

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That is a fun comparison.

Big Red Machine
1970-79 (10 seasons)
Winning % 59.2%
Division Titles: 6 (larger division, more difficult)
Pennants: 4
World Series Titles: 2

Big Mad Machine
2017-22 (7 seasons)
Winning% 62.2%
Division Titles: 5
Division Series Wins: 7 (didn't exist in the 70s)
Pennants: 4
World Series Titles: 2

With all due respect to the legendary Big Red Machine, I think we have the edge here and we're not done yet.

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I wonder how we compare against the braves dynasty of the 90s..


edit, reading up now, I cant believe they only one WS title in the 90s. They went to 5 world series, seems I remember them winning more than just one. I guess we have surpassed them so to speak


The next dynasty the astros need to aim to overtake is the yankees (96-03) (6WS, 4 wins)