Considering we trotted Fiers out there I don't think Hinch is doing anything to try and take the best record in the league. Hell Liriano could have done better
Liriano had an era well north of 5 as a starter for Toronto. Plus, only Fiers was stretched out at this point. Liriano hadn't started since coming over and is likely only now getting used to pitching out of the pen. Fiers was, unfortunately, the most logical selection. I really don't understand the posts saying HInch is not trying to win. I don't know him personally and I've never had a conversation with him...but I'm pretty certain that at no point ever since becoming the manager of the Astros has he ever put out a lineup designed to do anything but win. He is not trying to sabotage anything nor is he giving up on anything.
Its THE story in sports right now... yet somehow, an awful Thursday night NFL game has most of the sports-viewing public (and gambling public's) attention.
On MLB network they just mentioned that over the past 189 innings the Indians have only trailed in four innings.
That's insane. All their five starting pitcher has a era of just unde 2 during thier win streak. They deserve to win the World Series. They're playing great baseball right now.
If you include last night's game it's more like 12 innings or something, but yeah, that's an amazing stat.
Early in the year everyone said it was the Astros year, then it became the Dodgers year, now it's the Indians year. It could still be the Astros year, if they get their mojo back in sync. I hope the Astros refer back to their rally call of "Earn It"..... because all those accolades from sports media and other teams might have rattled them into buying the hype without continuing to earn it.
Absolutely not, no more than the Rockets deserved to win the World Series after their 22-game win streak. The streak means nothing- what they have, though, is great pitching- as do we, as do the Dodgers, as do the Red Sox, and most importantly, as do the Nationals. My wish is for the Astros to win the World Series. My bet is on the Nationals.
It's any one of 6 teams' years: Nationals Dodgers Diamondbacks Indians Red Sox Astros I could see any of those 6 winning and it wouldn't surprise me a bit. The Rockies or Yankees would, or the other wild cards- I don't think this is the year for a wild card winner. It's going to be one of those 6. Absolutely baffling as to which team will win it all.
The 02 Athletics finished the season on a 35-8 run with a 20 game win streak, and lost in the first round. The 05 White Sox started a white hot 50-22. Then muddled around going 41-39, then they got really hot winning 8 of 10, and lost only one game in the postseason. The 07 Rockies won 14 of 15 to finish the regular season, won 7 straight playoff games, and then got swept in the World Series The 15 Royals went 10-18 in September, then won it all. The Indians are an extremely good ballclub, but baseball is a very fickle and weird sport.
This should be the standard copy & paste response to every "there's no way we can win!" or "nobody's beating x this year!" post.
I've seen it work both ways.... sometimes in the Astros favor. The 04 team finished 36-10, and beat a good Braves team and took a much better Cardinals team to the brink. The 05 team had a similar run, and beat similarly sound opponents... albeit their pitching was stronger than anybody else in the league. Playing pressure-packed games down the stretch is usually a benefit, not a deterrent... but like you said, its not a requirement.
Baseball is ****ing weird. Your best offensive player could, in every World Series game, not be in the position to get the game-winning hit. You can have one team score 8 runs on 5 hits and the opposing team score 1 run on 13 hits. To be a die-hard baseball fan is to be some type of sadomasochist. Don't get me wrong, I love it- but it's been challenging watching as many games as I have this year (about 80-90 compared to 20-30 in years past, plus going to 18 games in MMP this year vs. 1 or less each year prior). I have to sit in a room with zero projectile objects and the TV bolted down. But I did get a front-seat view of my honey for about 45 seconds, so it's been worth it:
Baseball in the MLB is like a marathon. It's about having the talent, keeping focused, staying healthy, staying within stricking distance, and saving enough juice in the tank to pull ahead at the finish line. And it's a recipe only about 6 teams can muster up each and every year. Astros have about 16 games in the regular season, hopefully they iron out the wrinkles and get their form back for their post season run.
The two I remember that stand out were the 2006 Cardinals and the Giants team that beat the Rangers. For the former, they had the worst record going into the playoffs, and they had atrocious starting pitching (see: Anthony Reyes). For the Giants, they were one of the worst offensive teams in the playoffs, yet they won that series on offensive explosions. I just can't figure this sport out.
