Silent For Too Long said:

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Solid post.

I don't really have a problem with tanking, personally. If the cupboard is bare you really don't have much choice as a franchise. Plus, as the Astros, Rangers and Orioles have already proven recently, it works.

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Tanking is a play on how Tampa and Miami operate. Oakland to a lesser degree.

You trade all of your good players and pick a window of when you are going to compete. You bring your players along and compete for a window... and then as your players start to reach the end of their controllable years you trade them.before they become FA.

Those teams also get Comp picks which helps them build their talent pool.

A team like Texas and Houston should never reach 100Ls and if they do, there should be a penalty, IMO.

Ok... I need a drink, now.

The Porkchop Express said:

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Nobody is a fan of guys who beat women.

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Joe Mixon should have been in prison not the football field. And yet, every Saturday fans would fill the stadium to cheer him on.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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GigEmRangers75455 said:

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Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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This is not a trash talking post but an objective post about the difference in the two teams right now.

For two nights in a row, every Texas starter got at least one base hit. The bottom of the order gets on for the top of the order and the middle of the order moves the tops of the order, etc, etc.

On the other hand, no Astro hitter from 5-9 got a hit tonight. They have three guys that can hit consistently and they're all at the top of the order. No matter how good your pitching staff is, you can't win if you don't score runs.

Final should have been 7-0 tonight but for Seager's error. Errors are part of the game but neither run was earned.

The Astros don't have a pitching problem, they have an offense problem. The pitchers are taking the heat but they need to look at their lineup if they want to win more games.

Just my $.02.

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17 runs in 18 innings but not a pitching problem? Rangers are missing Jung and Lowe in the starting lineup. Carter and Langford are rookies (although Carter has experience). The bottom of the order right now is platoon players outside of Leody.

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You're right. We've exploded offensively. The only platoon player in the bottom of.our lineup is Smith, and he's coming around this season. He's made some adjustments to his swing and has been displaying a great approach at the plate.

Hunter Brown imploded yesterday but the bullpen kind of held it together. France had a good night and left when the score was 3-2. Pressley got hammered.

My point though, is that our offense is clicking, putting the ball in play, and getting on base, that taxes a pitching staff. Hitters 5-9 for the Astros managed 2 walks tonight. Kind of hard to move those runners when you can't hit. They have some decent hitters in those spots but they aren't producing.

Heres hoping for another blowout win tomorrow. Ron White is due for a let down after his most recent performance.

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I agree with that. Smith, Duran, and Walsh are all typical platoon guys. I think the biggest opening was DH with Garver leaving but that's going to mainly be Langford when everyone is healthy I would imagine.

That's what's so good about the depth of the Texas lineup. It can be any guy anytime. With Houston the only batter who strikes any fear whatsoever is Alvarez. I love when they have Singleton in the lineup. Tucker and Bregman aren't any threat like they used to be. Altuve singles can't beat you by themselves.

The thing I'm most pleasantly surprised to see is that Houston bullpen imploding night after night after adding Hader.

DallasAg 94 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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Nobody is a fan of guys who beat women.

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Joe Mixon should have been in prison not the football field. And yet, every Saturday fans would fill the stadium to cheer him on.

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The woman he punched agreed not to press charges and take a cash payout. I agree he's a ****ty person for punching her, but he can't go to prison if there's no case.

GigEmRangers75455 said:

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Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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GigEmRangers75455 said:

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Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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This is not a trash talking post but an objective post about the difference in the two teams right now.

For two nights in a row, every Texas starter got at least one base hit. The bottom of the order gets on for the top of the order and the middle of the order moves the tops of the order, etc, etc.

On the other hand, no Astro hitter from 5-9 got a hit tonight. They have three guys that can hit consistently and they're all at the top of the order. No matter how good your pitching staff is, you can't win if you don't score runs.

Final should have been 7-0 tonight but for Seager's error. Errors are part of the game but neither run was earned.

The Astros don't have a pitching problem, they have an offense problem. The pitchers are taking the heat but they need to look at their lineup if they want to win more games.

Just my $.02.

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17 runs in 18 innings but not a pitching problem? Rangers are missing Jung and Lowe in the starting lineup. Carter and Langford are rookies (although Carter has experience). The bottom of the order right now is platoon players outside of Leody.

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You're right. We've exploded offensively. The only platoon player in the bottom of.our lineup is Smith, and he's coming around this season. He's made some adjustments to his swing and has been displaying a great approach at the plate.

Hunter Brown imploded yesterday but the bullpen kind of held it together. France had a good night and left when the score was 3-2. Pressley got hammered.

My point though, is that our offense is clicking, putting the ball in play, and getting on base, that taxes a pitching staff. Hitters 5-9 for the Astros managed 2 walks tonight. Kind of hard to move those runners when you can't hit. They have some decent hitters in those spots but they aren't producing.

Heres hoping for another blowout win tomorrow. Ron White is due for a let down after his most recent performance.

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I agree with that. Smith, Duran, and Walsh are all typical platoon guys. I think the biggest opening was DH with Garver leaving but that's going to mainly be Langford when everyone is healthy I would imagine.

That's what's so good about the depth of the Texas lineup. It can be any guy anytime. With Houston the only batter who strikes any fear whatsoever is Alvarez. I love when they have Singleton in the lineup. Tucker and Bregman aren't any threat like they used to be. Altuve singles can't beat you by themselves.

The thing I'm most pleasantly surprised to see is that Houston bullpen imploding night after night after adding Hader.

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Altuve 151 Tucker 142 Bregman 122 McCormick 130 Diaz 122 in OPS+ last year.

It's ridiculous to suggest this team only has only has one plus bat.

The BP has been head scratching but has elite talent. It's likely not to struggle all year but who knows?

Silent For Too Long said:

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GigEmRangers75455 said:

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Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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GigEmRangers75455 said:

---

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

---

This is not a trash talking post but an objective post about the difference in the two teams right now.

For two nights in a row, every Texas starter got at least one base hit. The bottom of the order gets on for the top of the order and the middle of the order moves the tops of the order, etc, etc.

On the other hand, no Astro hitter from 5-9 got a hit tonight. They have three guys that can hit consistently and they're all at the top of the order. No matter how good your pitching staff is, you can't win if you don't score runs.

Final should have been 7-0 tonight but for Seager's error. Errors are part of the game but neither run was earned.

The Astros don't have a pitching problem, they have an offense problem. The pitchers are taking the heat but they need to look at their lineup if they want to win more games.

Just my $.02.

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17 runs in 18 innings but not a pitching problem? Rangers are missing Jung and Lowe in the starting lineup. Carter and Langford are rookies (although Carter has experience). The bottom of the order right now is platoon players outside of Leody.

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You're right. We've exploded offensively. The only platoon player in the bottom of.our lineup is Smith, and he's coming around this season. He's made some adjustments to his swing and has been displaying a great approach at the plate.

Hunter Brown imploded yesterday but the bullpen kind of held it together. France had a good night and left when the score was 3-2. Pressley got hammered.

My point though, is that our offense is clicking, putting the ball in play, and getting on base, that taxes a pitching staff. Hitters 5-9 for the Astros managed 2 walks tonight. Kind of hard to move those runners when you can't hit. They have some decent hitters in those spots but they aren't producing.

Heres hoping for another blowout win tomorrow. Ron White is due for a let down after his most recent performance.

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I agree with that. Smith, Duran, and Walsh are all typical platoon guys. I think the biggest opening was DH with Garver leaving but that's going to mainly be Langford when everyone is healthy I would imagine.

That's what's so good about the depth of the Texas lineup. It can be any guy anytime. With Houston the only batter who strikes any fear whatsoever is Alvarez. I love when they have Singleton in the lineup. Tucker and Bregman aren't any threat like they used to be. Altuve singles can't beat you by themselves.

The thing I'm most pleasantly surprised to see is that Houston bullpen imploding night after night after adding Hader.

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Altuve 151 Tucker 142 Bregman 122 McCormick 130 Diaz 122 in OPS+ last year.

It's ridiculous to suggest this team only has only has one plus bat.

The BP has been head scratching but has elite talent. It's likely not to struggle all year but who knows?

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The Astros will figure it out. A losing streak looks a lot worse at the start of the season when you're 2-7. When it happens in the middle of the year, and you're 55-45, it looks less like "The sky is falling." Their prospects won't improve until they figure out how to consistently win in their crackerjack park.

For the Rangers, I've been a bit surprised by the start to the season, especially with the insane amount of injuries the pitching staff is dealing with and playing three top-level teams right out the gate. Can the staff hold up until everyone gets back mid-summer? I'm still a bit skeptical, but it's a fantastic start, and the lineup is the best in baseball.

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Where's that Astros fan who said that all D/FW sports fans talk about is history?

The Astros and Rangers were both terrible organizations who hadn't accomplished **** until very recently. It's unfortunate that the Astros recent success is stained by the cheating scandal.

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One thing I wonder is how that scandal will affect the HoF prospects for some its players, if at all (especially Altuve). The biggest scandal in Major League Baseball since the Black Sox. Those guys got bans. The 'roiders have effectively been shut out (although I'd argue that was when baseball was at its most fun).

On one hand, I think Altuve was a Hall of Famer long before the 'Stros started cheating their way to wins. But, so was Barry Bonds. Will voters in 10-15 years have the same ire towards cheaters as past generations of voters? It'll be interesting to watch.

BassCowboy33 said:

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On one hand, I think Altuve was a Hall of Famer long before the 'Stros started cheating their way to wins. But, so was Barry Bonds. Will voters in 10-15 years have the same ire towards cheaters as past generations of voters? It'll be interesting to watch.

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Beltran is the test case. I think the writers will leave him twisting in the wind for a couple more years, but will eventually let him in.

Quote:

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For the Rangers, I've been a bit surprised by the start to the season, especially with the insane amount of injuries the pitching staff is dealing with and playing three top-level teams right out the gate.

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I"ve posted about that. I said it was a false message the media was promoting and that lazy fans (like some of the Astros) were accepting and repeating the message.

The Rangers signed Eovaldi, Gray, and Heaney to modest contracts because they had a history of injury and just coming back.

Eovaldi has mentored and talks to the young guys. Phenomenal clubhouse guy who comes across as a guy who wants the staff around him to be successful. A couple guys in our minors have said he is the one that has made a difference. I think it was Church who said in ST 2023, Eovaldi went out of his way to really connect with him. His Splitter is said to be one of the nastiest in MLB.

In 2023, Dunning had a strong start and faded during the season. He believed part of his lack of sustained success (not like he fell off the map) was that his changeup was coming in too hot (88-89) and he needed something with a bigger gap from his FS. Eovaldi worked with him on a variant of Eovaldi's Splitter. It is a WIP pitch. Dunning's ST numbers weren't great. In part because Az has thin air and it limits ball movement, but also because he was working on adding the pitch. If there is regression in his numbers, it is likely only because of introducing a new pitch.

Gray was signed as a FA out of Colordao. He took the approach of modifying his pitches so that he was successful in Denver since that was where he'd pitch the most. That meant when he went on the road, he was likely less successful. When the Rangers went after him, they told him they wanted to change his approach. It was something he was already considering and the Rangers were the only ones to approach him about something he was already planning. That is why he signed with Texas. His H/A Splits bare out his performance in Colorado. There shouldn't be any regression with him.


Heaney is an inning guy and I can't say enough positive about him. He missed getting a vesting to $20M (from $13M) for the 2024 season. He missed it by like 2IP. The Rangers moved him to the BP after getting Monty and Scherzer and he could have been pissed and bitter that moving him to the BP cost him $7M, but he took the Option to stay with the Rangers. Granted the Rangers gave him every opportunity to reach 150IP. In many cases he needed to be pulled from the game.

Bradford is a young kid out of Baylor who is still developing. We'll see where he is.

People look at the loss of Monty...and then the injury with Scherzer and think our pitching will be down and regress. Maybe it will, but I don't see it. Will it hold up at the numbers we're seeing? Probably not. But, we added them at the trade deadline and Scherzer went on the IL. The 4 SPs with the most IP from 2023 have returned and all should be as good if not better than 2023.

But, next we get Lorenzen. Keep in mind he was mostly a RP and only recently moved to the rotation.

Sure, we'll get two HoF SPs in Scherzer and deGrom back. We'll also get Mahle. So, there is a ton of pressure on our current SP to perform and all of them seem like they like the pressure/competition.

DallasAg 94 said:

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Whatever it is you do with the Aggies+Astros that leads to the Astros stuggling... do that. I support you.

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I think I've found part of the problem. Not only can I not watch both concurrently I can't start watching the 'Stros after the Aggie game finishes.

On the other hand things are looking good for the long game stition at the moment so all is not lost.

BassCowboy33 said:

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Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Where's that Astros fan who said that all D/FW sports fans talk about is history?

The Astros and Rangers were both terrible organizations who hadn't accomplished **** until very recently. It's unfortunate that the Astros recent success is stained by the cheating scandal.

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One thing I wonder is how that scandal will affect the HoF prospects for some its players, if at all (especially Altuve). The biggest scandal in Major League Baseball since the Black Sox. Those guys got bans. The 'roiders have effectively been shut out (although I'd argue that was when baseball was at its most fun).

On one hand, I think Altuve was a Hall of Famer long before the 'Stros started cheating their way to wins. But, so was Barry Bonds. Will voters in 10-15 years have the same ire towards cheaters as past generations of voters? It'll be interesting to watch.

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You're comparing a guy who is proven to have not taken part in the cheating to a guy who cheated nonstop for 10+ years and was the biggest dbag of his generation?

ahpetty33 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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BassCowboy33 said:

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Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Where's that Astros fan who said that all D/FW sports fans talk about is history?

The Astros and Rangers were both terrible organizations who hadn't accomplished **** until very recently. It's unfortunate that the Astros recent success is stained by the cheating scandal.

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One thing I wonder is how that scandal will affect the HoF prospects for some its players, if at all (especially Altuve). The biggest scandal in Major League Baseball since the Black Sox. Those guys got bans. The 'roiders have effectively been shut out (although I'd argue that was when baseball was at its most fun).

On one hand, I think Altuve was a Hall of Famer long before the 'Stros started cheating their way to wins. But, so was Barry Bonds. Will voters in 10-15 years have the same ire towards cheaters as past generations of voters? It'll be interesting to watch.

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You're comparing a guy who is proven to have not taken part in the cheating to a guy who cheated nonstop for 10+ years and was the biggest dbag of his generation?

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When you say "proven to have not taken part", do you mean because he only cheated on 2.8% of pitches (documented by Jay Jordon of the Houston Chronicle ), as opposed to the rest of the team which cheated at a higher rate? Just how impressed are we supposed to be that he eventually felt bad and told them to stop helping him, but didn't discourage the rest of the team from doing it?

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That's not what happened at all. He never wanted the help and told them to cut it out when they tried.

Literally everyone has been consistent that Altuve had nothing to do with it.

ahpetty33 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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BassCowboy33 said:

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Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Where's that Astros fan who said that all D/FW sports fans talk about is history?

The Astros and Rangers were both terrible organizations who hadn't accomplished **** until very recently. It's unfortunate that the Astros recent success is stained by the cheating scandal.

---

One thing I wonder is how that scandal will affect the HoF prospects for some its players, if at all (especially Altuve). The biggest scandal in Major League Baseball since the Black Sox. Those guys got bans. The 'roiders have effectively been shut out (although I'd argue that was when baseball was at its most fun).

On one hand, I think Altuve was a Hall of Famer long before the 'Stros started cheating their way to wins. But, so was Barry Bonds. Will voters in 10-15 years have the same ire towards cheaters as past generations of voters? It'll be interesting to watch.

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You're comparing a guy who is proven to have not taken part in the cheating to a guy who cheated nonstop for 10+ years and was the biggest dbag of his generation?

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When you say "proven to have not taken part", do you mean because he only cheated on 2.8% of pitches (documented by Jay Jordon of the Houston Chronicle ), as opposed to the rest of the team which cheated at a higher rate? Just how impressed are we supposed to be that he eventually felt bad and told them to stop helping him, but didn't discourage the rest of the team from doing it?

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If you're going to cite the Houston Chronicle as a source, you might as well be taking baseball news from a third grader or a dog.

In "Cheated: The Inside Story of the Astros Scandal and a Colorful History of Sign Stealing.", author Andy Martino , who covers the Mets and Yankees, and thus has a good a reason as anyone to be anti-Altuve considering 2017 was the year he beat Judge for MVP and the Astros beat the Yankees in the ALCS, goes into specific detail with quotes from other players and the MLB investigators proving that he didn't cheat. There are numerous respected baseball writers who have tweeted similar messages over the years, and that he did try to tell them to stop, as did Brian McCann. They kept doing it. It sucks but comparing him to Bonds is sheer inflammatory BS.

Ya'll are lying and then acting incredulous when you get corrected for lying.

The Porkchop Express said:

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Jsimonds58 said:

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Yall get so asshurt whenever anyone dares to rightfully point out golden boy's association with cheating. Really bizarre, but also funny how predictable the novel length breathless responses are

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I write long posts because you guys are idiots who need baseball explained to you - DallasAg94 and LeagueCity - exempted from that opinion.

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Of the posters in the Astros thread I read over the off-season, when I read your posts I was like, "Hey he posts way too much information and too detailed <for most posters>. I like it."

Baseball is a game that requires conversation and context. Sometimes the stats alone aren't enough. I get told my posts are too long all the time.

DallasAg 94 said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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Jsimonds58 said:

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Yall get so asshurt whenever anyone dares to rightfully point out golden boy's association with cheating. Really bizarre, but also funny how predictable the novel length breathless responses are

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I write long posts because you guys are idiots who need baseball explained to you - DallasAg94 and LeagueCity - exempted from that opinion.

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Of the posters in the Astros thread I read over the off-season, when I read your posts I was like, "Hey he posts way too much information and too detailed <for most posters>. I like it."

Baseball is a game that requires conversation and context. Sometimes the stats alone aren't enough. I get told my posts are too long all the time.

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I write for a living and I'm old, so it's a perfect storm of really long posts or posts that are really sarcastic whre I am a big *******.

You are speculating about something that has been thoroughly investigated and Altuve has consistently been cleared of taking part in. It's also completely inconsistent with his character.


There's plenty of reason to speculative about Aroldis. He went from a borderline AAAA player to a juggernaut and his head quadrupled in size. Not to mention he has the hair trigger temper of a 2 year old. But ya'll defend him like he's a Saint because he's your player, which is completely understandable.

Fuzzy Dunlop said:

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Your thoughts on Adolis are speculative as well (I know you mention that in your post).

If there were a meteoric rise in Garcias stat line you might be on to something. However, his HR totals for 3 full seasons in MLB are 31, 27, and 39, an average of 32 per year. Let's say he went from 15 his rookie year to 40 last year. Maybe you have a case. His numbers are relatively similar in all three seasons with his walks increasing each year and his strikeouts decreasing. The year he hit only 27 HRs he had a career high 34 doubles. He also hit 5 triples that year, he has 7 triples in his MLB career.

His slug has increase from .454 to .456 to .508. The increase to .508 likely has to do with better protection hitting behind him as well as having better hitters in front of him.

Adolis may be using PEDs, but until it is proven, all you have is conjecture and speculation. And, if he is caught, I'll be the last person to defend him.

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I think what makes people take pause is that he didn't get to the majors until he was 26-27 and was largely in different countries when most guys of that sort of ceiling are fast-tracking it to the majors. Reminds me of Cecil Fielder in the late 80s, although IIRC, Fielder was 11 feet tall and weighed 700 pounds.

At the end of the day, you guys are going to call Altuve a cheater and we're going to call Adolis a juicer. I don't think anyone is getting their minds changed anytime soon.

LeagueCityAg said:

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LeagueCityAg said:

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Pretty funny to me how Houston fans accuse Garcia of cheating, yet they still idolize the 2017 team.

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Still baffles me

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You're baffled by the lies you tell yourself?

Yall do realize it's possible to be disappointed in the 2017 sign stealing and believe Roidus shows the tell tale signs, right?

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

If he gets caught yall will have mixed emotions about last year as well. Don't lie to yourselves.

He's totally juicing. Your head doesn't grow like that. I'd love to see what his hat size has done since he came into the league vs now.

Obviously he still lifts weights a tons, steroids don't work if you sit on your ass, but he looks like a textbook case of steroid use.

He's always had a big head, since he was a kid. Houston fans treating an obviously photoshopped picture like gospel is hilarious. Since he's been a Ranger the dude has always been jacked. Not a single failed drug test.