It's interesting to look at the caps these guys put on after the game for their postgame interviews. (I just tend to leave the TV on while I do other things.) Cole was wearing a ballcap from this winery: https://www.dutchercrossingwinery.com/ Reddick was wearing a Georgia Dawgs cap with a fishhook on the bill.
Given how Altuve has hit since he’s been back, I wouldn’t be opposed to putting him 5th until he gets his groove back. If Yordan keeps hitting anywhere near the level he’s been at (particularly a .390+ OBP) it’s going to be pretty annoying if he’s moved down to 6th when Correa gets back. To your point the .430 OBP he’s posted so far doesn’t mean much when Gurriel is behind you.
Don't look now but Cole is quietly turning his season around. He's only allowed 2 earned or less in 8 of his last 9 starts -- mostly 1 or none. ERA -- 4.17 ---> 3.42
Prior to tonight .304/.333/.522/.855 is a problem? Take away his initial 0-4 and that increases to .368/.400/.632/1.032 What kind of groove do you want him to be in? ETA After tonight .296/.321/.519/.840
I didn’t realize he was having a bad season in the first place. Isn’t he leading the league in strikeouts with a WHIP right around 1?
He hasn't been bad. He had one awful start early so his raw ERA hasn't looked great. But his ERA in all the other starts is under 3. Would be nice if he could be a little more efficient with his pitch count though.
"Bad" is a tad harsh, but he'd been *subpar* for a #2 starter and compared to last season's standard. He had an ERA over 4 during April and May, so it's more than one bad start. The last few weeks, however, he's featured a ~2.00 ERA and he's been performing much more to last season's level in that area.
He's had the Verlander problem with HRs. He's give up 16 already this year vs 19 in all of last year (100 vs 200 innings).
Altuve is hitting .296 with a hr and 3 doubles since returning. He's moving well and starting to look like Jose Altuve. I wouldn't mess with that because there's signs he's about to go on a tear.
Did I say it was a problem? He’s been fine, I wasn’t saying he’s been bad but he hasn’t been the MVP Altuve or the guy that started the year with 9 bombs or whatever it was in April. Meanwhile Yordan has been the best hitter on this team since he’s been up and it’s not even close. Actually, he’s been one of the best hitters of all time since he’s been up. Do I believe that will continue? Probably not. But IMO it makes a huge difference having Gurriel behind him versus Bregman or even Altuve. Altuve will be pitched the same IMO no matter where he is in the lineup and even with his improved patience he’s never going to put up BB totals compared to what Yordan will put up this year, his rookie year. Meanwhile, if you’re a pitcher and you fall behind Yordan 2-0, are you going to be aggressive and come into the zone with Gurriel behind you? Now answer that same question but with Bregman behind him? We’re splitting hairs here and I’m sure there’s plenty of arguments for other lineups but IMO the one last night didn’t make the most sense especially considering he also stacked the two lefties back to back.
You mean like a tear like Alvarez is already currently on and has been doing it in the cleanup spot he got moved out of? Read my last post - I’m not saying he’s been bad. If you want to put Brantley in the 5 hole that’s fine too. My argument is solely Alvarez shouldn’t be hitting behind all of the above average hitters in our lineup. I don’t care how you want to order the other guys.
You said you'd move him until he got back in the groove which implies his offense has been problematic, otherwise why move him? Regardless, since his first game, he has been "in a groove".
Fair enough - I should have clarified my statement better. And you just posted his stats - you think that’s “a groove” for Altuve? A .321 OBP? Anyhow, doesn’t matter it isn’t the point I’m trying to make. The better question is do you agree with Alvarez hitting 5th (likely means he will be 6th with Correa returns) if he continues hitting at say a .280/.390/.575 clip moving forward? Don’t want to argue about whether we believe that happens either - right now he’s hitting better than that. Edit: Since I’m arguing for moving him up I guess I’ll also propose the following lineup: Springer Altuve Alvarez Bregman Brantley Correa If you want to swap Alvarez and Bregman that’s fine, Alvarez and Brantley handle lefties better than most. Maybe Alvarez starts looking like a rookie again and none of this matters...but let’s be honest the only reason he’ll be hitting 6th if he keeps it up is because Hinch is trying to manage egos. There’s not a single data model that shows hitting Alvarez 6th is the correct move if he keeps hitting.
So to fit your argument you want to use stats to show he’s in a groove but then “disregard” some of the stats when they also show he’s not in one? Not to mention taking that one game out of the equation is like 15% of your data size. Got it. Once again, that wasn’t my point and I don’t know why you feel the need to argue about it. Edit: I also think it’s takes more than a couple good games for me to consider you to be in a groove anyway.
He's been a little rough around the edges in various starts. I think we were spoiled by his and Verlander's absurd dominance last year, so the fact that they are looking slightly human this year is kind of a shock. HRs have been a problem for both. These guys are warriors, though, and they find ways to push through and make it work even if they make mistakes. Cole did a great job of that yesterday. One thing that's starting to sink in this year for me is that number of strikeouts does not necessarily correlate to level of invincibility. Ultimately, it's an out, and you still have to get three of them to end an inning. A few wrong pitches here and there are all it takes to ruin a win, because there are no players in major league baseball that aren't home run threats. It's such an incredibly thin margin between success and failure for both batters and pitchers; that's what makes this exciting. That said, throwing everything on the pitchers is unfair. The bats have got to get them a lead and keep it. A lead helps pitchers pitch. The 'Stros bats, I thought, did an excellent job last night tacking on runs in multiple innings, and getting back that one run Cole surrendered almost immediately. It was a great thing to see after so many goose eggs with a few spikes in the score cards recently.
Yeah it just shows perception is everything - if Cole was having this season for us three or four years ago we’d all be going crazy. We’ve become spoiled - I know I have.
I believe I asked in my original reply as to what you consider a groove. How many games does it take? I disregarded the first game because a groove means that earlier games are ignored and what one has done recently is highlighted. You are the one who originally used a small sample size to determine that he should be moved down in the order so why can't I use a similarly small sample size to argue why?
