for the Immaculate Gridders out there, Astros are featured today.

redline248 said:

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...and here is why players' wives (or players and coaches) should not tweet. Cuz the comments are gonna get you

Has anyone asked the pitchers how they feel when Maldy had yet another passed ball? Or fails to give them any support by throwing out runners? Or how about when he kills yet another rally?

I'm guessing they're good teammates and won't answer honestly.

— Here4Astros (@HereForAstros) August 16, 2023

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I wonder if this isn't so much AGAINST Diaz as it is they feel like it's a slight against Maldy and she writes this stuff thinking that it will show that Maldy is supported and appreciated.

I went with Astros legends Sean Bergman and Kent Bottenfield.. though I strongly considered Donne Wall for Astros/Padres

texasaggie2015 said:

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I absolutely loved seeing Uncle Mike homer last night. I know I've said all season that I'm hearing from multiple people that he wouldn't be back. I reached out to one last night and he said everyone is just as surprised as we are. He's made a lot of progress over the last couple weeks and he wanted to give it a shot. I'll still be very pleasantly surprised to see him contribute but believe me when I say I hope to be wrong.

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I asked you about Brantley a few weeks ago and you said your contacts were saying he might return but that they weren't counting on it and it would be a nice surprise if he did. I'm guessing that didn't change too much based on one good AB yesterday.

He played a little first base during his first rehab back in April, wouldn't it be awesome if he could come back and play there. I know it seems unrealistic now, but he has a way of making the game of baseball look easy, which is pretty rare.

BCEDAg said:

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If Brantley does return here's my prediction on batting order:

Altuve
Brantley
Tucker
Alvarez
Diaz
Bregman
Singleton
McCormick
Pena

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I would swap Pena and singleton but yes this lineup would be fantastic

All I do is Nguyen said:

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BCEDAg said:

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If Brantley does return here's my prediction on batting order:

Altuve
Brantley
Tucker
Alvarez
Diaz
Bregman
Singleton
McCormick
Pena

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I would swap Pena and singleton but yes this lineup would be fantastic

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We'd all like to.

Unfortunately, Pena hasn't allowed it yet. There's signs he's coming around, but at the moment Chaz and Singleton give you the better opportunity for keeping a big inning going with extra bas hits. And Pena is really only giving you speed at the bottom of the order as a second lead off man.

It's no different than Bregman has all the tools to be your lead off guy and put the pressure on by getting on base. Unfortunately, his lack of speed doesn't allow it. That's why he's been more of a place setter for the sluggers with power. Altuve is too much of a free swinger for leadoff. You want your top 2 taking pitches and working counts instead of swinging at the first pitch, but right now he's the best option.

For sure!
I'm absolutely stuck in the late 90s/early 00s when I play.
If it isn't the Astros, I'm pretty much screwed when it comes to current players.

R-Dog said:

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He mentioned it several weeks ago that Peña is dealing with some off the field issues but I don't think there is any other info available

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I am guilty of this too, but sometimes we forget about the life these guys have outside of baseball and how it affects them throughout the season. Of course they are professionals, but some things still weigh heavy. Julks went through some hard stuff too in the weeks leading up to his AAA assignment.

spadilly said:

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for the Immaculate Gridders out there, Astros are featured today.

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clean 3/3 sweep on the Astros line, then 0/6 on the rest

BCEDAg said:

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If Brantley does return here's my prediction on batting order:

Altuve
Brantley
Tucker
Alvarez
Diaz
Bregman
Singleton
McCormick
Pena

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And when JV/Framber pitch?

Altuve
Brantley
Tucker
Alvarez
Bregman
Peña
Dubon
Singleton
Maldy

I guess?

So we held serve last night as all our competition won as well

So Bochy runs his C lineup out here today right…right?

Guilty here as well. I cannot remember people's names to save my life, buy I retain encyclopedic knowledge of baseball stats and sports facts as well as the lyrics to every song I hear.

I would gladly trade some of the trivial data and start failing on Immaculate Grid for memory of more important things if I could.

Pressley is losing control of his household. Good grief.

Farmer1906 said:

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The WORST farm in baseball. It's okay we were 29th in 2021 and 2022. Since then we called up Chas McCormick, Bryan Abreu, Luis Garcia, Jeremy Pena, Yainer Diaz, Hunter Brown, & JP France.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-pipeline-2023-midseason-system-rankings?partnerID=web_article-share

Since we expanded our system rankings to all 30 clubs before the 2020 season, we've never rated the Astros higher than 27th. Yet they've extended their streak of playoff appearances to a franchise-record six, winning a pair of pennants and a World Series, and produced three players who received Rookie of the Year votes (Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, Jeremy Peña) and three more who may this year (Hunter Brown, Yainer Diaz, J.P. France). They traded their two best prospects (outfielders Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford) in the Justin Verlander homecoming in July, yet the strength of their system remains outfielders (Jacob Melton, Luis Baez and Co.) and underrated arms (starting with Spencer Arrighetti).

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Exactly. If teams' prospects are that good why aren't they in the big league already?

Erasing my comment. I'm tired of all the Maldy talk and don't want to contribute further to it.

Farmer1906 said:

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BadAggie said:

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Pressley is losing control of his household. Good grief.

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You think he lives with his mom still?

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Well Linus apparently needs his Maldy blanket so it's possible.

Beau Holder said:

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Boiling Denim said:

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So we held serve last night as all our competition won as well

So Bochy runs his C lineup out here today right…right?

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Bochy actually cares about winning, which is why he won three titles over his career instead of having to get carried to one by a 106-win behemoth with an all-time bullpen performance.

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I know our injuries have played a role, but I would be real curious to know how many different lineups Bochy has used this year compared to how many we have used.

R-Dog said:

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Beau Holder said:

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Boiling Denim said:

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So we held serve last night as all our competition won as well

So Bochy runs his C lineup out here today right…right?

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Bochy actually cares about winning, which is why he won three titles over his career instead of having to get carried to one by a 106-win behemoth with an all-time bullpen performance.

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I know our injuries have played a role, but I would be real curious to know how many different lineups Bochy has used this year compared to how many we have used.

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How are you defining different line-ups, because giving guys off days are different line-ups. Might be closer than you think from that regard.

BadAggie said:

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Pressley is losing control of his household. Good grief.

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I agree with Pressly's mom, she's just pointing out the obvious and is free to speak her mind

R-Dog said:

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Beau Holder said:

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Boiling Denim said:

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So we held serve last night as all our competition won as well

So Bochy runs his C lineup out here today right…right?

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Bochy actually cares about winning, which is why he won three titles over his career instead of having to get carried to one by a 106-win behemoth with an all-time bullpen performance.

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I know our injuries have played a role, but I would be real curious to know how many different lineups Bochy has used this year compared to how many we have used.

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Rangers - 76 Defensive Lineups & 84 batting lineups
Astros - 82 Defensive Lineups & 104 batting lineups.

Only 3 lineups have been used more than twice.