I've said it before and it bears repeating. Two things have to happen to win it all. You have to stay healthy and your pitching needs to hold up. The Astros came in to New York and won 3 of 4. The Yankees learned their first baseman is out indefinitely and the word on Aroldis Chapman is at least a month.. Their two best pitchers both tanked in the the Sunday doubleheader. It's a fickle game.
It was a slugfest on Sunday, good thing we built up a big lead early in the 2nd game. Our starter Feirs gives up more HR than anybody in baseball. He looked unhittable then boom!
I'll root for that to happen AJ, it'll bring back the good ole days of 2005 Cards vs Astros. The city was absolutely nuts over that series. Right now the Astros are the hottest team in baseball, it's great to be an Astros fan again. Of course as Sid keeps reminding me, it's a long season!! :shock:
Kershaw beat Frisco again today 6-1. When the team gives him at least four runs, his all-time record is now 90-0... Cody Bellinger led all of MLB in RBI for the past month. That was his first month in the major leagues...
The Astros aren't resting on their laurels. I read where they are working to beef up their SP rotation.
Yeah, it seems like that is what all the contending teams do in today's baseball, they all look to add that last piece that they think will get them to the WS. In the past the Astros have picked up guys like Randy Johnson and Carlos Beltran, both of whom worked out very well for them. But there is always a cost in young talent. Win Now is the mantra.
:idea: :!: re: Cody Bellinger The Dodgers RBI stats go back to 1920, and in all that time, Bellinger is the first Dodger to have 23 RBI's in his first 23 games... The new owners have stacked this team to the rafters: - They have a relief pitcher (Josh Fields) who had a ZERO ERA when they sent him down to the minors. -They've sent Scott Van Slyke down to the minors twice after 6 years in LA... - Brett Eibner has been sent down several times despite batting .308 and hitting some of the longest HRs seen here since Frank Howard...
Looks like the Indians have the Astros number this year, they've won 4 out of 5 and going for 5 out of 6 today. Astros Ace Dallas Keuchel is on the 10 Day DL and now catcher McCann is also on the 7 day concussion protocol.
Tribe was sort of sliding along not living up to expectations (except for the bullpen)...no explanation for how the bats and starting pitchers woke up against your league leading Astros. :?:
Indians look to me like they will have another playoff team. Astros great record has been built on a lot of come back wins, that usually has a way of evening out over the season. Our 3-4-5 starters are all pretty average at best so we'll have to continue to hit well to win. Maybe there will be a pick up of another starting pitcher before the trade deadline. Also while we have a healthy lead over the Texas Rangers, they are hot as a firecracker right now and they were projected to be the best team in the division. This year so far we've played well against them, but the last few years they owned us.
Other than Nolan Ryan vs Robin Ventura...baseball fights are comical... Harper charged the mound after blatantly getting hit in the butt by Strickland..benches clear and a lot of hugging and not much else!
Dodgers in 1st Place... Cody Bellinger went 0-6 today, but the Dodgers are something like 24-8 since he joined the team. He's on a pace to have more HRs and RBI's than any rookie in history, but his BA is dropping as MLB pitchers have made adjustments... Kenley Jansen pitched an "Immaculate Inning" the other day, which means he struck out all three batters with 9 strikes. Only 79 pitchers in history have thrown such an inning and only one has thrown three: Sandy Koufax. Utility man Chris Taylor has played so well that they can't take him out of the lineup. Another front office "discovery" that no one wanted; he's currently batting .312 and has a long shot at the All-Star team... The Dodgers are winning with several starters on the DL: - Justin Turner is leading the NL in BA (.372), but has a hammy. - Joc Pedersen collided with Puig. - Alex Wood is undefeated, but on the DL with back soreness. - Ethier should retire...
Looks like the NL West will have three teams in the post season this year. LA, AZ, and the Rockies all playing well although do wonder if Colorado's young pitching staff can continue their level of present performance. Maybe the Dodgers can loan one of their 7 starters to the Brewers?
Astros are probably looking for a pitcher as well, inspite of the strong start by the club as a whole..we've been doing it mostly by bashing people.
:idea: The Dodgers have the greatest pitching staff in baseball, led by the greatest bullpen; because the have the greatest pitching coach: Rick Honeycutt. He has been retained by several different front offices and several managers. He's the one indispensable part to the entire Dodger machine. He takes players that other teams didn't want and turns them into flamethrowers... I think Colorado will be OK, because of their manager Bud Black. Except for Honeycutt, nobody handles pitchers better than him. He was my first choice for manager last time, with Dave Roberts second. If anyone can nursemaid those young pitchers to a pennant it's him. How about that Padres front office? They had Bochy, Black and Roberts, but fired them all for their division rivals to hire...