The frogurt is also cursed.

That's bad.

man, how good has Acuna been this year...

still just 25 years old

Currently sits at -700 to win the NL MVP

To begin the season he was +1000

BeaumontAg05 said:

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Bag said:

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man, how good has Acuna been this year...

still just 25 years old

Currently sits at -700 to win the NL MVP

To begin the season he was +1000

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It's interesting how much things have changed this year. There were a ton of braves fans who weren't happy with him and the way he played the game. This in regards to his lack of hustle and assumed primadonna attitude. I spoke to quite a few who wanted to trade him. Now most have that has left or atleast quieted due to the season he is having. I live in metro atl so I get a good pulse on the fans most of the time.

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Braves are scary right now

Charlie Morton has had one of the strangest MLB careers I can ever remember

All I do is Nguyen said:

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I know for a fact I am in the vast minority here but I am also a Cowboys fan (I know the elusive unicorn of Cowboys and Astros fan) but I am also not the stereotypical Cowboys fan that thinks they are going to the Super Bowl every damn year, we've had a good team the last two years but I still don't hold my breathe with them. So please don't mark me ex-communicado, this is my safe space lol

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Outside of the Houston/DFW areas I think the Cowboys-Astros combo is the most common throughout Texas... and it goes back to the 1960s-70s when both teams established themselves with the first generation of pro-sports fans in the state.

In the Cowboys case they had the early advantage over the Oilers in that they were the NFL team while the Oilers were AFL, they had Tom Landry as their coach, and by the late 1960s they were having more success on the field (reached two NFL championship games and Super Bowl V).

It also didn't hurt that in those formative years CBS had the better TV network affiliate coverage than NBC, which meant in some parts of Texas it was easier to watch the Cowboys on TV than the Oilers. In the 1970s they benefitted from Tex Schram's marketing, more success on the field, J.R. Ewing and Roger Staubach. By the time Earl Campbell shows up in Houston and the Luv Ya Blue era really kicks off the Cowboys had already established their fanbase (which tend to be generational) advantage over the Oilers.

On the flip side, the Astros predated the Rangers by a decade (1962 vs. 1972), which meant the Astros had a ten years to establish there fandom throughout Texas (as well as Louisiana and Oklahoma) without significant opposition (other than the residual St. Louis Cardinals fandom then present in this part of the country).

During that time the Astros established an extensive radio network across the state (at a time when that's how everyone "watched" the games), rebranded as the Astros to build on the excitement of the space race when it was at its zenith, and built the 8th Wonder of the World. While they didn't have a ton of success on the field they had some competitive years, some good pitchers who threw the occasional no-hitter, and developed a handful of star players like Rusty Staub, Jimmy Wynn, and beginning in 1970 Csar Cedeño. Meanwhile, the Rangers were still the Washington Senators.

In the second decade of MLB in Texas (1970s) the Astros debuted the iconic rainbow uniforms, made it to the big screen in The Bad New Bears in Breaking Training, got Nolan Ryan first, and won a division and made the playoffs first (1980). It also didn't hurt that they played in the National League, which traditionally had a bigger following in Texas than the American League. The Rangers, meanwhile, almost won their division a couple times and played outside in the heat on metal bleachers.

By the early 1970s where my great-grandparents lived in South Texas (Rockport-Fulton-Aransas Pass area), for example, was already pretty thoroughly Cowboys-Astros territory.

Anyway, growing up in Houston I was an Astros-Oilers fan.

Beau Holder said:

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bearkatag15 said:

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Beau Holder said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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Astros, Royals to wear Houston Eagles, Kansas City Monarchs Negro League throwback uniforms (msn.com)

Includes a pic of what they'll look like

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I'm curious how the roads will look. The ones shown there are homes.

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Maybe something like this

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I'm hoping that's just someone trying to make a sale on Ebay while having no clue what they actually looked like, because that just looks like a Wal-Mart version of the red brick unis.

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Here is another version I found.

Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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Chas is one corner...we all know the other corner he needs to turn. We'll see if he does. But I'm not complaining, this is a great lineup 1-8.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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The real test will be tomorrow and if he puts Dubon in CF on JV day

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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Our pitchers need to start pitching like cy-young frontrunners or Diaz needs to start catching for them. As long as Dusty is trotting out Maldy to catch when there isn't a single statistic to support the decision, no corners have been turned.

All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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general thoughts

if altuve and chas had played every day would have had an outside shot of 3 30/30 guys, not sure that has ever happened before

Bag said:

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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general thoughts

if altuve and chas had played every day would have had an outside shot of 3 30/30 guys, not sure that has ever happened before

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And we'd be leading the division by double digits....

I am happy we're getting closer to playing our best players, but I still don't understand batting a bottom 1-3ish player in the lineup in the 2 hole.

Basically, he had a hot August.

Mar/Apr - 107
May - 97
Jun - 63
Jul - 48
Aug - 148
Sep - 84

Outside of that, he's been avg to below. You can find a window where he's been good enough for the 2 hole, but we can find much larger samples this year and in the past for others. He should be 8-9 in the LoD.

Mr President Elect said:

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All I do is Nguyen said:

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Dusty may have turned a corner y'all!!

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Our pitchers need to start pitching like cy-young frontrunners or Diaz needs to start catching for them. As long as Dusty is trotting out Maldy to catch when there isn't a single statistic to support the decision, no corners have been turned.

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We all know he's likely not helping offensively but any walks turn into doubles or triples and the pitch framing is costing JV and Framber tons of borderline strikes which completely change the at bat (and future at bats). It also causes them to leak more pitches in the zone to get the strike call which can turn into loud hits.

It's incredible that he's getting 85% of the starts...

I've actually always been a fan of having a good contact hitter with speed in the nine-hole. It's why some NL coaches (LaRussa for example) used to hit the pitcher in the 8-hole.

I see both sides of it.

Farmer1906 said:

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I am happy we're getting closer to playing our best players, but I still don't understand batting a bottom 1-3ish player in the lineup in the 2 hole.

Basically, he had a hot August.

Mar/Apr - 107
May - 97
Jun - 63
Jul - 48
Aug - 148
Sep - 84

Outside of that, he's been avg to below. You can find a window where he's been good enough for the 2 hole, but we can find much larger samples this year and in the past for others. He should be 8-9 in the LoD.

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Dusty hoping to recreate the playoff magic but I agree, he should be 8th. This is my Lineup Of Death:

Altuve
Bregman
Yordan
Tucker
Chas
Brantley
Diaz
Abreu
Pena

It will never happen as Dusty would never bat Abreu 8th...that's reserved for guys with the 11th best OPS in the majors.

I'm looking to see some Chas comps over the last few seasons.

Here is how I narrowed it down.

2021-2023
Min 200 PA
BA: .270-.300
OBP: .360-.390
SLG: .510-.540
OPS: .870-.900
K%: >20.0%
BB%: >8.0%

2022 Manny Machado - MVP runner-up
2023 Sean Murphy - Top 5 season for a catcher over the last decade+
2021 Paul Goldschmidt - #6 in MVP voting
2022 Bryce Harper
2023 Chas McCormick - hasn't won starting job, bars 8th, and isn't a "big guy".

Guys just don't magically play better in a different spot in the other because they're in a different spot.

2023
1 hole Pena - 78 wRC+ (57 PA)
2 hole Pena - 103 wRC+ (170 PA)
5 hole Pena - 34 wRC+ (4 PA)
6 hole Pena - 68 wRC+ (153 PA)
7 hole Pena - 114 wRC+ (99 PA)
8 hole Pena - 144 wRC+ (60 PA)
9 hole Pena - 81 wRC+ (19 PA)

I know it's only 26 ABs, but what does Brantly have to do to regain his spot at #2 in the order?

Talk about a hot start - he's batting .346 with a .972 OPS and literally a single strikeout.