Professional hitter Michael Brantley returns to the Astros tomorrow. No, seriously, he has joined the team in Boston and will be activated prior to the game on Tuesday. Here are a few notes on what his return means for the Astros
- Brantley isn't going to play every day, but he… pic.twitter.com/pILyk1DlQQ

— The Astros Locker WS Champs (@TheAstrosLocker) August 28, 2023

And one last thought: I dislike Dusty and hope we have a new manager next season. But I agree that the constant profanity laced tirades every single day are a little over the top. Both things can be true.

I didn't see this posted yesterday. Top prospect Jacob Melton has been promoted to AA:

pic.twitter.com/qjM50a49er

— Corpus Christi Hooks (@cchooks) August 28, 2023

It'll be interesting to see how quickly he finds success in AA. He has a lot of really good tools but I question his bat-to-ball ability. He has 30/30 upside though.

Good morning to everyone but Boston, #DirtyWater fans & anyone still trying to besmirch the good name of José Carlos Altuve. He just hit for the cycle in a 13-5 blowout and you’ll do nothing about it. Cry into your coffee. ☕️ #Ready2Reign 🔥🤘🏼#ad @CramCrew @UVCPOWERSPORTS pic.twitter.com/DQe7EWTMgB

— Adam Clanton (@adamclanton) August 29, 2023

There was more to it

And FWIW I didn't mean for that to be a undress Dusty post.

I just thought it was comical that that's how he answered the question regarding Altuve since he's come back off the IL.

I'm in the boat of Dusty has brought this all on himself with his decisions and the critiques are well deserved, but the cursing and personal attacks and what not are a bit much.

Dusty by all accounts is a great human. I just don't like the way he manages a baseball team.

Checking the thread this morning after a lopsided victory last night.

The Beef01 said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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True Astros fans could pick Chris Holt out of a photo lineup

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The organization has reached the level of success where most "I'm a die hard" types couldn't pick Luis Valbuena (RIP) or Colby Rasmus out of a lineup.

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Still the greatest bobblehead promo ever:

Eh, no drama to add here.

But I'm in Boston for work and have tickets tonight. I've never been to Fenway and stohhhked.

Every fan base in every sport is hard on their coach/managers. This board is no different. Bo Porter was mercilessly questioned on this board during his tenure and his teams had no talent. So was AJ, especially before he won the WS in 17. He was constantly called a chicken sh** on here for not physically confronting the much physically larger Rangers manager Jeff Banister. It's just the way most fans react.

For the record, not to hate on Dusty, but the Astros were the best team in baseball last year and were a veteran, pressure tested group. I can't really think of anything Dusty did that hundreds of other managers couldn't have done. And for much of the season, he was doing the stupid lineup thing but the Stros got hot and bailed him out. This year may be different.

But he gets credit for winning the WS, that's the way it goes.

Anyone notice how many astros fans there are in the stands every away game? Still adjusting to that part of this run.

BeaumontAg05 said:

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Anyone notice how many astros fans there are in the stands every away game? Still adjusting to that part of this run.

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Are we the new Yankees?

RangerRick9211 said:

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Eh, no drama to add here.

But I'm in Boston for work and have tickets tonight. I've never been to Fenway and stohhhked.

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My favorite thing about Boston is the street vendors outside the stadium selling "Yankees Suck" T-shirts even though they were playing the Mariners the weekend I went to a couple of games there a long time ago.

Fair enough. I'm not a huge Dusty fan myself but the constant vitriol that is on this thread day in and day out has become quite tedious. It would have been nice to have a period after a huge win where it was not the primary focus of discussion.

The Porkchop Express said:

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RangerRick9211 said:

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Eh, no drama to add here.

But I'm in Boston for work and have tickets tonight. I've never been to Fenway and stohhhked.

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My favorite thing about Boston is the street vendors outside the stadium selling "Yankees Suck" T-shirts even though they were playing the Mariners the weekend I went to a couple of games there a long time ago.

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Their hate for the Jankees is something that runs DEEP and I am totally here for it.

30-30 Watch

Ronald Acuna Jr -29 HR, 60 SB - Absolutely legendary season. About to be the first ever 30/60
Corbin Carroll - 22 HR, 40 SB - Not gunna get 30-30 but 20/40 is cool too.
Bobby Witt Jr - 26 HR, 38 SB - He's been hot, I think he gets a 30/40. Very impressive season.
Julio Rodriquez - 24 HR, 35 SB - Didn't think he stood a chance a few weeks ago, but now he's superman. Decent shot at 30/40 too.
Kyle Tucker - 26 HR, 26 SB - slow and steady wins the race. He's on pace for 31/31.
Francisco Lindor - 24 HR, 23 SB - gunna need to get hot, but he's having a very nice season kind of quietly.

A nice moment from last night that I want to recognize. After Altuve hit the home run to complete the cycle there was an elderly couple decked out in Red Sox gear right by the Astros dugout. The husband stood up and extended his hand to Jose, who shook it.

What a great moment and good on that dude for respecting it. I saw him sit down next to his wife and say something to her, likely "gotta respect the game." For a guy who gets unfairly booed at every stadium, and it doesn't seem it will ever subside, it was nice for an opposing fan to show him props.

Anyway, just another reason I love baseball. That moment doesn't happen in any other sport.

Everybody stay calm, but I think we get the lineup of death today.

Altuve 2B
Bregman 3B
Alvarez LF
Tucker RF
Diaz C
Brantley DH
McCormick CF
Singleton/Abreu 1B
Pena SS

redline248 said:

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I'm killing some time reading a fangraphs article on the Rangers' recent spiral...and thought this was funny

Quote:

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ERA is a particularly silly way to think about relievers in short stints, but the headline number still astounds: 10 relievers have appeared in this stretch, and six of them have an ERA above six. Six of them have a FIP above six. It's not just home run luck, either; only two relievers have an xFIP below 4.00 in that span. Chapman and Jos Leclerc are trudging along; everyone else has been getting crushed into orbit.

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Such a shame

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Orbit you say?

Farmer1906 said:

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Everybody stay calm, but I think we get the lineup of death today.

Altuve 2B
Bregman 3B
Alvarez LF
Tucker RF
Diaz C
Brantley DH
McCormick CF
Singleton/Abreu 1B
Pena SS

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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This board has become so hostile. My goodness. Why can't we all just get along?

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Honestly I think this is a byproduct of the recent success. I will admit I found this side of TA after the 2017 season and have been here ever since. Success tends to draw out the people who were either on the fence about Baseball, or had little interest in it and now that the local team is doing well, they want to try and support them without having a good knowledge of how the sport works.

I'll admit when I first REALLY started watching Baseball (in the last six or so years) it took me a LONG time to get over losing a game because I was so used to football where one loss could potentially ruin your season. Whereas in baseball one loss is no biggie, but a string of losses is. Watching baseball involves a mentality shift that the random sports fan has to go through and accept in order to truly enjoy it.

We are also spoiled by our recent run of success and we expect the Astros to go out and beat down teams like they have the last two games, but every night. I am on the side of, just get to the playoffs and let the real season begin.

This is just my 2 cents.

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I think that's probably true for half of us. I think the other half of us are the opposite.

Those of us that grew up playing the sport and suffering through really bad baseball know how special it is that we've been one of if not the best team in baseball for the last 6 years. Our run is something very few teams have accomplished not only in modern times, but the history of the game.

So to watch someone who was handed the keys to something this special and mad scientist it to death in the name of appearing smart to help his chances go get into the hall of fame is maddening. Tinkering is one thing. Making lineups from the lotto machine and his personal favorites that have no business being in the major leagues, let alone starting for the world champions is bad enough. Destroying our pitching when we have more starters than starts even though we've had key injuries is bad. ******ing the success of our young stars that need to be ready for next year is malpractice. And it has a decent chance of costing us the playoffs all together, let alone a chance to repeat at the title when that would have been a long shot under the best circumstances.

So you'll have to excuse some of us that realize that what he's done this year might play a significant part to end the amazing run we've been on. Especially since history says it may be the only one that takes place in our lifetime. Winning a couple of games is great. But at this point it means nothing since the odds on AL favorites are sitting tied for second in their division with 30 games left to play.

According to ESPN ticker - Astros have scored over 10 runs 5 times in August - most in MLB. The curse is over - keep mashing!!!!

AgLA06 said:

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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This board has become so hostile. My goodness. Why can't we all just get along?

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Honestly I think this is a byproduct of the recent success. I will admit I found this side of TA after the 2017 season and have been here ever since. Success tends to draw out the people who were either on the fence about Baseball, or had little interest in it and now that the local team is doing well, they want to try and support them without having a good knowledge of how the sport works.

I'll admit when I first REALLY started watching Baseball (in the last six or so years) it took me a LONG time to get over losing a game because I was so used to football where one loss could potentially ruin your season. Whereas in baseball one loss is no biggie, but a string of losses is. Watching baseball involves a mentality shift that the random sports fan has to go through and accept in order to truly enjoy it.

We are also spoiled by our recent run of success and we expect the Astros to go out and beat down teams like they have the last two games, but every night. I am on the side of, just get to the playoffs and let the real season begin.

This is just my 2 cents.

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I think that's probably true for half of us. I think the other half of us are the opposite.

Those of us that grew up playing the sport and suffering through really bad baseball know how special it is that we've been one of if not the best team in baseball for the last 6 years. Our run is something very few teams have accomplished not only in modern times, but the history of the game.

So to watch someone who was handed the keys to something this special and mad scientist it to death in the name of appearing smart to help his chances go get into the hall of fame is maddening. Tinkering is one thing. Making lineups from the lotto machine and his personal favorites that have no business being in the major leagues, let alone starting for the world champions is bad enough. Destroying our pitching when we have more starters than starts even though we've had key injuries is bad. ******ing the success of our young stars that need to be ready for next year is malpractice. And it has a decent chance of costing us the playoffs all together, let alone a chance to repeat at the title when that would have been a long shot under the best circumstances.

So you'll have to excuse some of us that realize that what he's done this year might play a significant part to end the amazing run we've been on. Especially since history says it may be the only one that takes place in our lifetime. Winning a couple of games is great. But at this point it means nothing since the odds on AL favorites are sitting tied for second in their division with 30 games left to play.

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Not to mention we now have it on good authority that in the postseason, the people who value wins and losses over their own feelings have a controlling stake in setting the lineup and strategy.

So it's laughable above to say he "brought the city a WS." The org brought HIM one. And instead of recognizing his good fortune after being fired from 13% of the league's franchises without a title, he's continuing to do things "his way" with no rational basis at the cost of meaningful games.

To say something non-Dusty, really hope last night was the start of Yordan breaking out. It's just a very different lineup when he's his usual threat (and when Peña is getting on base this much).