I'm concerned about the trends. The A's have been playing well for a while now, and we haven't played well in a few months. We absolutely have the talent to get some positive regression on offense and shouldn't see much regression with our pitching. But our OPS is down almost across the board. And if you want to talk about intangibles, it doesn't seem like anyone fears our lineup like they did last year.
We do not have the same offense. Literally every player except Bregman has had a 100+ point drop in OPS. We have too many people talking about this team like it’s March and ignoring the actual games that have been played.
I'll say again, we went 11-17 last august. We have had lots of injuries to star players recently. It takes a while to get back in a groove when that happens. We have a 5 game, two 6 game, and a 12 game win streak this season. Relax.
Kuechel looks like he's finally settling in. Coming off a a good string of starts. Great to see. Time for the bats to wake up!
Offense has disappeared. For a while, Bregman and Gattis were carrying the offense but that has dried up since the All-Star break. Just have to face it some fan favorites will be gone next year like Gattis, Gonzales, maybe Gurriel. Keuchel too. Line-up churn.
If this offense was anywhere near last year this team would have about the same record if not better than the Red Sox have currently. It has taken fantastic pitching most of the year to keep this team in serious contention.
Yes, we are experiencing some letdown. Natural after winning it all. And yet we still lead the division. I for one see us rounding into shape very nicely as we recover from these injuries and as the pressure ratchets up down the stretch. If yall want to live in doom and gloom, by all means that's your right. I see the names on the roster, the standings, and the circumstances, and therefore I am extremely confident.
The way most of them are looking at it, I’m not sure these guys knew Cahill even had a curveball until about an hour ago.
How do we beat Seattle with this level of poor plate discipline, crucial fielding mistakes and collapses by the bullpen? This Astros team has been below average against good teams all season long and Seattle is a good team playing really well. The Astros are choking hard. Very hard.
I am relaxed. I just know what I am watching. We dont have a 15 game lead in the division. There is a very high risk of us looking outside of the playoffs. We have no buffer room to "just turn it on" If it comes too little too late, we're screwed. Thats the reality of the situation.
Finally some logic and not just emotional reactions. This post I agree with. We will not have home field throughout ALCS, which was a huge factor for us last year. And also the energy generated by post-Harvey sentiment was a big factor that (hopefully) won't be there. That said, being defending champ grants a great degree of confidence. I think now is the time to 'wake up' if you will. The next two weeks will be very telling for me.
One thing has become abundantly clear. Jose Altuve is the heart and soul of this team. We need him back desperately.
