SeanDaAg2005 said:

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Did y'all see CB Bucknor's latest adventure in umpiring?

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/AanrQzzN5S

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Honest question, does Bucknor make it to the ASB before he "retires" for vague reasons that are made to sound like medical or to "spend more time with his family"? ABS is exposing him badly.

AggiEE said:

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Season is still early but so far this hot take isnt aging too well...

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It's as if some expect/hope this team repeats one of the most injury-plagued seasons ever.

More fuel:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48321447/mlb-2026-polarizing-teams-red-sox-astros-brewers-pirates-reds

jtkk said:

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This new first baseman is a pretty good hitter.

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This is the guy I watched with the Diamondbacks in 23 and 24. I think the late ST injury with the Astros last year was more than he let on. And he probably didn't know milking 60 days for a can opener tipping over on your knuckle was how they did things.

Did any of y'all notice the missed strike three call on Cam in the 5th? I noticed he swung and missed on what appeared to be an 0-2 count on the TV but when he didn't walk off, I figured it was a mistake on the part of the production team.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7162829/2026/03/31/astros-red-sox-cam-smith-missed-strike-three/

bodaciousbood14 said:

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Did any of y'all notice the missed strike three call on Cam in the 5th? I noticed he swung and missed on what appeared to be an 0-2 count on the TV but when he didn't walk off, I figured it was a mistake on the part of the production team.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7162829/2026/03/31/astros-red-sox-cam-smith-missed-strike-three/

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Yes, I noticed it and I was surprised no one stopped the game. The red Sox could have protested the game.

The ump and everyone else forgot the count here as this should’ve been a three-pitch strikeout, all swinging

Astros’ Cam Smith ended up walking, and Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello was pulled from the game. Reliever Ryan Watson did retire the next batter pic.twitter.com/zF1QcPVQqz

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 1, 2026

Astros Bingo Update 4-1-26

I enjoyed two rounds of different 8th grade math last night; the first, revisiting the Quadratic Equation, which I have used exactly zero times in real life since leaving my own 8th grade in 1988, and then a dance with my mortal enemy as a youth, geometry. I did have the game on closed captions throughout LMJ's amazing interview. He'll be in the booth somewhere in 10 years.

And we're off!

Uh, Winning: 108 win pace, 4 straight, the 6+ W streak square is nigh.

Ribbies all around: RBI paces: Yordan & Walker, 162; Correa and Paredes 108.

Chicks dig the long ball: Yordan on pace for 81, Cam with his first is on pace for 27. Fun Fact 162/6 = 27. Today everything is an easy multiple.

It Wasn't Just Us: Jose Soriano of the Angels threw 6 innings of 2-hit baseball against the Cubs last night. He's 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

Kyle Pucker: A week in, $60 million a year is buying you .211 with 0 HR, 2 RBI and a .549 OPS. Ted Williams' body is rolling over in its grave while his head remains frozen in carbonite next to that of Walt Disney's in the secret vault in Nevada.

Reverse Osmosis Fantasy Baseball Strategy Update: Two weeks ago, I drafted Aaron Judge in the first round and Cal Raleigh in the third round of my fantasy baseball draft. Last night, Judge went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and is now batting .150. Raleigh did the same thing and is now batting .143. Raleigh has yet to homer, has 2 RBI, and a .440 OPS. It's almost like he had some magical power last year that is now fading away for some reason.

Yep, I Checked: Altuve has 8 walks in his first 6 games. Last year, he got to 9 walks after 29 games. Him laying off bad pitches consistently would be a tectonic shift in this offense. Right now he's on pace for an outrageous 216 walks, but even 80 would be staggering. His career high is 66. Last year he had 55.

The Hunted: Hunter Brown now on pace to go 27-0 with 4.59 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA. Potential All-Star numbers.

I really need to take the time and photoshop Hunter Brown's face on this "The Office" classic.

If this team can stay healthy (furiously knocks on wood), we could have ourselves a fun season

Teddy Perkins said:

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The ump and everyone else forgot the count here as this should’ve been a three-pitch strikeout, all swinging

Astros’ Cam Smith ended up walking, and Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello was pulled from the game. Reliever Ryan Watson did retire the next batter pic.twitter.com/zF1QcPVQqz

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 1, 2026

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They brought it up on the Space City Broadcast. Not that he should have struck out but that they were confused (so were the players) about the count.

txags92 said:

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SeanDaAg2005 said:

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Did y'all see CB Bucknor's latest adventure in umpiring?

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/s/AanrQzzN5S

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Honest question, does Bucknor make it to the ASB before he "retires" for vague reasons that are made to sound like medical or to "spend more time with his family"? ABS is exposing him badly.

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I bet this is his last season

AggiEE said:

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Season is still early but so far this hot take isnt aging too well...

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Obnoxious, smarmy, jack ass.

I noticed it, but I also wasn't paying close attention at that point, so I figured I was just mistaken. Shocked nobody on the Red Sox said anything, but I guess they were distracted by all the errors.

Prosperdick said:

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AggiEE said:

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Season is still early but so far this hot take isnt aging too well...

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Obnoxious, smarmy, jack ass.

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If you look back through the offseason thread, I stated many of the same concerns (as did some other handsome posters). Hopefully, I wasn't as smarmy!

The team looks good so far, but we know they won't average 8 runs a game and the pitching will have to hold up. Thrilled to be wrong less than a week in, but let's see how the season goes.

Meh. That's not on us. That's on the umpiring crew. And any 3 of the others could have said something. And the Red Sox could have said something at the time.

AggiEE said:

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Season is still early but so far this hot take isnt aging too well...

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Looking forward to watching his dumbass prediction get kicked in the Junkel

TexAg2001 said:

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I noticed it, but I also wasn't paying close attention at that point, so I figured I was just mistaken. Shocked nobody on the Red Sox said anything, but I guess they were distracted by all the errors.

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Yeah the comedy of errors timing was impeccable I must say

And yes while this team is playing good ball and off to a good start I'm not as high on the Red Sox as some others seem to be. I don't seem them as a playoff team.

They traded Devers to make room for Bregs then let him walk and they have not come close to replacing their production.

Marvin said:

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Prosperdick said:

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AggiEE said:

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Season is still early but so far this hot take isnt aging too well...

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Obnoxious, smarmy, jack ass.

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If you look back through the offseason thread, I stated many of the same concerns (as did some other handsome posters). Hopefully, I wasn't as smarmy!

The team looks good so far, but we know they won't average 8 runs a game and the pitching will have to hold up. Thrilled to be wrong less than a week in, but let's see how the season goes.

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I was talking more about his delivery than his content.

Ullola was sharp last night. Went 5.2 IP with 7 Ks and just one walk.

Gameday: Space Cowboys 5, Jumbo Shrimp 2 Final Score (03/31/2026)

Umpire: Mark Wegner
Final: Red Sox 2, Astros 9#DirtyWater // #ChaseTheFight#BOSvsHOU // #HOUvsBOS

More stats for this ump 👇https://t.co/VjusOHtfzC pic.twitter.com/tiPp0fWoOq

— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) April 1, 2026

Mathguy64 said:

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Meh. That's not on us. That's on the umpiring crew. And any 3 of the others could have said something. And the Red Sox could have said something at the time.

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who said it was "on us?"

Burrows on the mound. Astros going for the sweep pic.twitter.com/tjexM8QSMQ

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) April 1, 2026

This Pena saga is just so unbelievably dumb.

texasaggie2015 said:

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This Pena saga is just so unbelievably dumb.

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I still think this is only happening because we have good options. If it meant Allen starting at SS and we didn't have Correa, Pena would be playing more. But since we need to get Paredes at-bats and Correa can shift, we keep messing around.

to me it's just extended ST but they didn't want to spend the full IL time. If they can get the most out of him for the season that's all I will care about.

He should be the PH bat off the bench today with Allen available behind him to field if needed

It's frustrating but I get it.

Especially a day game after a night game if he's still ramping up to a full workload.

Largest % gains in postseason odds
AL Teams -- Start of season to today

Blue Jays: +14.0% (52.8% to 66.8%)
Rangers: +12.4% (46.3% to 58.7%)
Astros: +8.7% (32.8% to 41.5%)https://t.co/GrajNQCzWV

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 1, 2026

texasaggie2015 said:

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This Pena saga is just so unbelievably dumb.

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This is kind of interesting because if the team looks good with Carlos at SS and Isaac at 3B then it gives brass confidence they can move Peña to fill other needs. That is effective very what happened when Tucker got hurt (though obviously there were questions about his baseball character that don't exist with Peña). I know that wouldn't be popular but the reality is Pena is a free agent after next season (one that may not be paid and very likely will be shortened).

Just looking at the baseball trade simulator, you could move Owna to the Yanks for Domnguez and Sch ittler. That seems to solve both the lefty bat issue and our rotation, which at least currently looks like our biggest issue. I'm not convinced the Yankees would do that as good as Sch ittler has looked but gives you an idea of Peña's value. Maybe you give up more pieces to get Caballero back to be a better utility option than Nick Allen.

MaxPower said:

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texasaggie2015 said:

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This Pena saga is just so unbelievably dumb.

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This is kind of interesting because if the team looks good with Carlos at SS and Isaac at 3B then it gives brass confidence they can move Peña to fill other needs. That is effective very what happened when Tucker got hurt (though obviously there were questions about his baseball character that don't exist with Peña). I know that wouldn't be popular but the reality is Pena is a free agent after next season (one that may not be paid and very likely will be shortened).

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Except Correa has been very clear he wants to play 3B for the rest of his career

Seventh game, seventh different lineup.

linkdude said:

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Burrows on the mound. Astros going for the sweep pic.twitter.com/tjexM8QSMQ

— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) April 1, 2026

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and Jake has already crept up to the 7-hole

this happens every year

Oh no!

How did they EVER win those last 4 games? I mean, what a difficult obstacle for professional baseball players to overcome!

People will really complain about ANYTHING.

And don't even get me started on the Peña whiners ..

That dream isn't working out so far (or maybe it is?)

Jake in the 7-9 spots is fine. Jake in the 4-6 spots is what we've seen happen in the past, largely due to injuries, though.