W said:

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kb2001 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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7 straight ALCSes for the Astros! That makes 11 in their history, good for the 6th most in baseball (up from 20th just 7 years ago). What a team. Go Stros. pic.twitter.com/ULcuIO6qoK

— Cory Lieder (@AustinCory) October 12, 2023

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this is really a fascinating chart

didn't realize how much the expansion franchises have struggled

Marlins and Rockies -- entered in 1993

Rays and D-Backs -- entered in 1998

very few LCS appearances in 25 to 30 seasons

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That chart shows how difficult it was to actually become an established great team in MLB. I realize that by "expansion teams" you really meant the newest ones, but in terms of all expansion teams? The oldest expansion teams have existed for the entirety of the LCS era and for the old teams this is a measure of success only after expansion started. There are only 3 expansion teams in the top half of that chart. The Astros, the Mets, and the Blue Jays.

Conversely, only four of the old era franchises are in the bottom half. The Cubs, Guardians, White Sox, and Twins.

I said it before this series started and I stand by it still...

It drove me nuts seeing him back there so much during the season but in the playoffs I don't mind Maldy back there.

I got roasted for it a week ago and I expect to get roasted for it again.

Prosperdick said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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Edit - Teddy said the same thing right above me.

So, not to sow discord so recently after the series was won, but I'm curious what the legion of Maldonado detractors has to say about the adulation he's receiving from Sports Illustrated (see below)



https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/10/12/astros-beat-twins-game-4-alds-martin-maldonado

and the fact that Correa unofficially appointed him the series MVP in his post-game interview.

From the article:

Yes, Minnesota led the world in strikeouts on offense. But Correa knows what happened to the Twins' offense is what he saw happen in four previous Octobers with Houston: opponents get Maldonado-ed.

Playing the Astros with Martn Maldonado behind the plate is like walking into a fun house room of mirrors. Nothing is as it seems. Confusion reigns. Houston starter Jose Urquidy makes one start in the past 48 days and suddenly he is Mike Scott, an unhittable Astro from postseasons past. The Twins swung and missed 19 times at his pitches in Game 4, four more than Urquidy obtained in any game this year.

This kind of pitcher whispering has been going on for years. Why have the Astros won four straight postseason series? Here's a good place to start: their pitchers have won the strikeout war, 212155.


"I don't want to give credit to Maldonado, because, you know, he'll bring it up at some point when I talk to him in the offseason," Correa said, shaking his head. "But he knows what he's doing behind the plate. And he knows every hitter's weaknesses and he's going to try to exploit. He pitches against the [hitters'] expected slug.
"He does all that and we knew it and still it was hard to make the adjustments. The way he was pitching backwards ... hitters counts, he will go off-speed and then counts where you throw off-speed regularly, he'll go fastballs up. You know, they did a good job of mixing and matching. We just have got to get better, and we got to have a better plan and there's a lot of things that could have gone better for us and they didn't."

That's my third-favorite Astro!

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I would say that's great but couldn't he call the game from the bench? Also, it doesn't erase the fact that he's last in pitch framing and last in allowing passed balls. I also noticed there wasn't any praise about his hitting.

I really REALLY hope he is an assistant coach with the team next year. He'll be freaking 38 next year. Catcher's knees don't last forever.

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Maldonado will be a Manager at some point no question. At the bare minimum he will become a very well paid analytics guy who directly works with pitchers and catchers. He's created the model to use moving forward for how to combine analytics with a general feel for the game. He would be a catcher's dream to learn from regarding how to call a game from the plate.

JJxvi said:

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W said:

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kb2001 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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7 straight ALCSes for the Astros! That makes 11 in their history, good for the 6th most in baseball (up from 20th just 7 years ago). What a team. Go Stros. pic.twitter.com/ULcuIO6qoK

— Cory Lieder (@AustinCory) October 12, 2023

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---

this is really a fascinating chart

didn't realize how much the expansion franchises have struggled

Marlins and Rockies -- entered in 1993

Rays and D-Backs -- entered in 1998

very few LCS appearances in 25 to 30 seasons

---

That chart shows how difficult it was to actually become an established great team in MLB. I realize that by "expansion teams" you really meant the newest ones, but in terms of all expansion teams? The oldest expansion teams have existed for the entirety of the LCS era and for the old teams this is a measure of success only after expansion started. There are only 3 expansion teams in the top half of that chart. The Astros, the Mets, and the Blue Jays.

Conversely, only four of the old era franchises are in the bottom half. The Cubs, Guardians, White Sox, and Twins.

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damn the upper Midwest sucks at baseball.

Any idea what time Game 1 will be?

Bregman is the Derek Jeter of the Astros. He's played in the ALCS every year of his career. 7 straight.

That's crazy

Sher Thing said:

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Any idea what time Game 1 will be?

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I'm guessing prime time

That's assuming that they want to go up against only one NFL game rather than 4+ NFL games

Prosperdick said:

---

The Porkchop Express said:

---

Edit - Teddy said the same thing right above me.

So, not to sow discord so recently after the series was won, but I'm curious what the legion of Maldonado detractors has to say about the adulation he's receiving from Sports Illustrated (see below)



https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/10/12/astros-beat-twins-game-4-alds-martin-maldonado

and the fact that Correa unofficially appointed him the series MVP in his post-game interview.

From the article:

Yes, Minnesota led the world in strikeouts on offense. But Correa knows what happened to the Twins' offense is what he saw happen in four previous Octobers with Houston: opponents get Maldonado-ed.

Playing the Astros with Martn Maldonado behind the plate is like walking into a fun house room of mirrors. Nothing is as it seems. Confusion reigns. Houston starter Jose Urquidy makes one start in the past 48 days and suddenly he is Mike Scott, an unhittable Astro from postseasons past. The Twins swung and missed 19 times at his pitches in Game 4, four more than Urquidy obtained in any game this year.

This kind of pitcher whispering has been going on for years. Why have the Astros won four straight postseason series? Here's a good place to start: their pitchers have won the strikeout war, 212155.


"I don't want to give credit to Maldonado, because, you know, he'll bring it up at some point when I talk to him in the offseason," Correa said, shaking his head. "But he knows what he's doing behind the plate. And he knows every hitter's weaknesses and he's going to try to exploit. He pitches against the [hitters'] expected slug.
"He does all that and we knew it and still it was hard to make the adjustments. The way he was pitching backwards ... hitters counts, he will go off-speed and then counts where you throw off-speed regularly, he'll go fastballs up. You know, they did a good job of mixing and matching. We just have got to get better, and we got to have a better plan and there's a lot of things that could have gone better for us and they didn't."

That's my third-favorite Astro!

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I would say that's great but couldn't he call the game from the bench? Also, it doesn't erase the fact that he's last in pitch framing and last in allowing passed balls. I also noticed there wasn't any praise about his hitting.

I really REALLY hope he is an assistant coach with the team next year. He'll be freaking 38 next year. Catcher's knees don't last forever.

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This is a good article and I don't disagree that Maldonado is a savant with the knowledge he brings as a catcher, at the end of the day, the pitchers need to be able to make those pitches. Urquidy and Javier weren't great this season, and I assume Maldonado went into every game he caught for those guys with the same game plan he brought against the Twins. As I said, it is on those pitchers to make those pitches, Maldy having that knowledge and the feel of the game, but the pitches has to hit those spots.

Random thought, but the Brewers are the Astros before 2015.

Ag_07 said:

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Sher Thing said:

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Any idea what time Game 1 will be?

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I'm guessing prime time

That's assuming that they want to go up against only one NFL game rather than 4+ NFL games

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I think the ALCS is the only game on Sunday, so it should be primetime . Usually in the past, the only times we've had day games in the ALCS is in the game 3-5 range where MLB is trying to stagger with the NLCS and set up for travel days. Games 1-2 and 6-7 have all been primetime games from what I can remember.

JJxvi said:

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W said:

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kb2001 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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7 straight ALCSes for the Astros! That makes 11 in their history, good for the 6th most in baseball (up from 20th just 7 years ago). What a team. Go Stros. pic.twitter.com/ULcuIO6qoK

— Cory Lieder (@AustinCory) October 12, 2023

---

---

this is really a fascinating chart

didn't realize how much the expansion franchises have struggled

Marlins and Rockies -- entered in 1993

Rays and D-Backs -- entered in 1998

very few LCS appearances in 25 to 30 seasons

---

That chart shows how difficult it was to actually become an established great team in MLB. I realize that by "expansion teams" you really meant the newest ones, but in terms of all expansion teams? The oldest expansion teams have existed for the entirety of the LCS era and for the old teams this is a measure of success only after expansion started. There are only 3 expansion teams in the top half of that chart. The Astros, the Mets, and the Blue Jays.

Conversely, only four of the old era franchises are in the bottom half. The Cubs, Guardians, White Sox, and Twins.

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Chart is somewhat misleading as the LCS wasnt a thing prior to 1969

Quote:

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Games 1, 3, and 6 are games that there will be no NLCS games being played. Games 2, 4, and 5 there will need to be a decision made if NLCS or ALCS is prime time.

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game 1 will be prime time.

game 2 likely has 4:00 start time.