Astros sweep Royals at home, a big big series as the Royals maybe the best team in the AL. Next up on the road to see Joel and the Red Sox. Hopefully we can take that series as well, they are bringing up a guy from AAA to start the 1st game in Fenway. He's been doing well so we'll see. We did maybe lose an important player, George Springer, to DL. He was hit on the wrist and had to leave the game. X-rays/MRI today. Didn't sound promising post game though.
:idea: :arrow: re: Astros I'm still holding my breath with this team. I've seen them several times on TV and there's no question that they're dramatically improved. Kudos must be given to the front office in Houston. I can't think of any front office that endured more criticism the last 3-5 years, but they hung in there like Grim Death and stayed the course. Like the Royals, it has paid off. It was the slow way to rebuild, but it was the sure way. The final test will be down the stretch. Can they keep this up in the "dog days of August?" Will they wilt in September? Will they have the courage to deal a few prospects for a "rental" player before the trade deadline? They haven't done a deal like that in a long time.
No doubt JO'Co...this is a young team without any history of winning or playoffs in leadership positions. A lot of talk about getting another "rent a player" for the 2nd half, most think we definitely need an experience starting pitcher for the 2nd half. We'll see.
The enigma for me with the Dodgers is Puig. I know he has been hurt this year, but when he has played, he has underperformed. He seems to have more natural talent than any other position player in the NL including Harper but it seems that Mattingly has yet to decide where he should hit in the batting order. When the guy steps on the filed, it looks like he was sculpted by the Gods but he is not delivering celestial play this year. On the other hand, my apologies to Mrs Jo Co for ever doubting the skills of her favorite player. :lol:
Now there's a blast from the past. By the way, George, it's Dick, not Richie.....or vice versa......who cares? :roll:
:arrow: re: Puig Our old high school coach used to describe one of my teammates this way, "He has the body of Superman, but the brain of Mickey Mouse." re: Mattingly He dodged a big bullet earlier in the week. The Angels GM tried to fire Mike Scioscia. He gave Angels owner Arte Moreno an ultimatum, that either Scioscia had to go or he would resign. He was asked to resign on the spot. Arte doesn't do well with ultimatums. http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/07/01/los-angeles-angels-jerry-dipoto# If Scioscia had been fired, everyone here believes that Mattingly would have been let go and replaced by Scioscia immediately...
Interesting article commenting that Baseball is in a youth movement. I know that the Astros best players are all young. We sold or traded anybody who had to shave every day when Jim Crane bought the team. http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-kids-are-all-right/
So the AL All-Stars are not just the Royals vs the NL All Stars. The sports talk guys that I listen to think MLB just manipulated the numbers so some other guys surged into 1st. Jose Altuve gained about 800 thousand votes in the last couple of weeks, that raised some eyebrows. Would MLB do that? :twisted: They certainly need to change the balloting methods though, but I doubt if they will.
You know its an exhibiition game and it has been so hyped up up with sideshows,gimmicks and givingh fans multiple votes that it is incredible that MLB actually assigns importance to it by the WS home field advantage.
Road Trip for Astros to Boston and Cleveland has been tough on the Astros, Sox and Indian pitchers have for the most part gotten the best of Astros hitters. Lead down to 1.5 now. Could be gone by the weekend.
Angels tied with Astros. No bat, 5 game losing streak. 3-7 in last 10 games. It's not been the pitching, it's the hitting.
Tigers end up where they started, flat at the break. Injuries certainly haven't helped. Joe Nathan the projected closer Never got to a second game before blowing his arm out and probably ending his career. Verlander missed the first 2 mos. of the year and with a starting rotation already missing Scherzer the losses were to much. Losing a great hitter like Victor Martinez for weeks was bad and now the best hitter in baseball, Miggy is out for another 5 weeks. And then there is the damn bullpen. They reached their zenith in ineptitude Fri. when the blew a 6-1 lead in the 9th inning! In fact, it wasn't close, they only got 1 out and gave up 7 runs. They suck, they've always sucked, they sucked in the playoffs vs Baltimore and the GM did nothing to fix the suck. Opposing teams, work counts just to get at the plumbers we call a bullpen. Unless the Tigers add a starting pitcher and dominating reliever before the trade deadline, they might as well start pruning the dead wood.
If the Astros can reach Aug 1st either a game ahead or a game behind then I think our chances for the post season are pretty good, but if we reach Aug 1st 3 or 4 games behind and sliding..could be a brutal finish.
:idea: :arrow: My least favorite Dodger trade continues to bug me. Andrew Heaney tossed another 7 shutout innings for the Angels last night and he's now 3-0... http://www.halosheaven.com/2015/7/12/8939753/andrew-heaney-and-offense-get-10-3-win-over-seattle-angels-now-in-first-al-west My favorite trade continues to pay dividends. Dodger management really took advantage of the Padres rookie GM when they obtained All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal for Matt Kemp. Grandal is a switch hitter, with power, and superior defensive skills. He's probably the 3rd best catcher in the National League after Yadier Molina of the Cards and Buster Posey in Frisco. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/11/yasmani-grandal-padres-blew-it/ Kemp had worn out his welcome in LA. He seemed indifferent to winning or losing after he signed his big contract. Now the Pads will be on the hook for that massive contract after this season... http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/10/matt-kemp-nl-least-valuable-player/
I literally just discovered Grandal in the past couple of weeks and picked him up on my fantasy team, replacing former Dodger Russel Martin. I hope he continues his stellar play after the break.
So another hand injury to a head first slide into a base...Josh Harrison of the Pirates. I think it's a proven that you get there faster with the head first slide, but do you truly incur more injuries than if you go feet first? I would think that for all the hand injuries of the head first that there would be ankle injuries on the feet first. True?
:idea: :arrow: I never liked the head-first slide and I didn't teach it. You get a little banged up either way. In the old days "sliding practice" was a punishment drill for when you lost a game. Going head first was not allowed. My thinking is this: players can still play with skinned legs and knees. If they jam a finger, hand or elbow they're going to miss games and practices. I say legs-first only should be a safety rule. Just spray a little Bactine on that puppy and tell him to slide with the other leg next time. ................Mr. Sympathy