With the given schedule it was in the realm of possibility. Even with the mini skid the Astros have been on they still have the best record of any Astros team up to how many games they've played so far this season. I didn't expect them to lose 3 of 4 between the Orioles and Whitesox. I expected a loss or two to the As as they are a actual good team.
This Astros team is exceptional, but it is really hard to win 110 games. Very few teams have done it. All it takes is a small stumble. The Astros have won over 100 games the last two years and Hinch isn’t the type of manager to press for every win because he takes a long term approach. At some point he likely works in more rest days It was just a real hard thing to do, especially when we already were not on that pace.
I will admit that I sometimes am watching and think to myself “How the hell is Devo and Rondon still on this team after the deadline”..... one of the only real failing of the Astros farm system is that we have not been able to develop more home grown good relievers. Hell if Luhnow had not bit the bullet and dealt for Osuna and pried Pressly away from the Twins; we would be in a lot of trouble.
With the media gushing all over the Astros lately (trade deadline signing, Yordan's performance, etc), this slump was bound to happen.
Just a couple of observations from the game tonight: These guys really enjoy being around each other. Very cool to see the behind the scenes interactions between players. Felt like some of the guys were pressing at the plate tonight. Could see Altuve, Alvarez, and Springer pressing a little. Bregman did after Brantley hit that first homerun. Felt Hinch needed to pull Sanchez after the 5th inning. I know the bullpen is tired but Sanchez didnt need to face their heavy hitters again in the 6th. It was important to get a win and I felt Hinch had to pull him. Reddick made a hell of a play in the first inning. This guy does great things in the field but man he is struggling big time. I think Hinch should look to give Diaz a little burn in the outfield. You will give up a lot in defense but at least you gain something at the plate. Our 8th and 9th hitters currently are too easy for the opposing team.
Game was too late to catch, but congrats to Correa for his 100th career HR. When he’s healthy...he’s so good. Like, best player in baseball good. He has a great career ahead of him. First of many milestones. He took a step back in 2018 by the numbers but is having a strong 2019 campaign. It’s good to to see his slash lines higher. Correa will be expensive, but I hope we can make him an Astro for life. Side note, I can’t get over how stupid good our lineup is. Correa hits 6th!
Astros are likely going to win 102-106 games this year. Considering Astros have capability of ripping off a 10-game winning streak at any time, 110 was within range of lucky possibilities and still isn't guaranteed not to happen this year even with Astros likely resting guys last series.
Eh... not a rough part of the schedule team wise but the long road trip coupled with the rain delay has made it a bit tougher. Get the win tonight and get back on track.
The likelihood was small and even smaller now. The Astros would have to go 32-8 and that doesn’t take into account the strategy and priorities of the manager and organization.
Verlander started this 5 day run of terrible pitching so hopefully he resets that with a dominant showing tonight.
Yes, it was small. Not many teams win 110 games as it takes luck generally and a stacked team. Astros had the stacked part. I don't care what strategy and priorities manager and organization team enacts, but if Astros go 32-8...they will 110 games. 32-8 is better than their best stretch this year, 28-12, but this team is likely better than they were during their best stretch. Bullpen just needs to toughen up. Hoping Peacock and James come back healthy.
Soooo Hinch doesn't think we need home field advantage when in 2017 we needed it to get past the yankees?
Not at the expense of wearing out his players. Hinch has a lot of confidence in his team..... if he didn't, he would not have brought Devo out for the 8th last night. Healthy and rested are obviously his top concerns.
We cant just run out our 2-3 best relievers in every game. He has got to use most everyone so they get proper rest. Hinch is well aware of what home field advantage means.
Overusing top relievers hurts chances at HFA more than pitching best releivers in every close game. And on Yankees, it is apparent Yankees needed HFA in 2017 as without it they lost, but there is no guarantee that Astros don't win Game 7 if it is in New York.
He cannot always go to Harris, Pressly and Osuna and he doesn't want fatigue to be a concern for his regulars or rotation.
Any Josh James updates? Any Peacock updates? Those guys (with Biagini) likely slot ahead of Devo, Rondon, McHugh, Sneed come playoff time.... where Harris, Pressly, Osuna shouldn't be overworked. I'm glad the offense is just flat-out relentless. We may never see a 1-7 as good as this again, ever. Every night, at least 2-3 of them are almost guaranteed to make some noise... there's never an inning where one of them doesn't come up to bat... just relentless for any opposing pitching staff. The game they phoned it in (2nd of the double header) was really the only game that pissed me off. Any time a lineup as good as this fails to rise up to the challenge, it gives me bad memories of those late 90's Astros lineups that just couldn't rise up during the big moments.
