The inevitable September Collapse of the Texas Rangers

This is exactly how real rivalries become something. The fact that no team has ever considered the Astros to be their true rival can probably add to the MadMax "What the hell is this all for?" dilemma of disappointment in the hometown 9.

 

true that they did lose in the first series but they finished what a game or two ahead of us? this year they have one of the best records in the league. i think the greater the expectations the more tragic it becomes. then again these are fans that started showing up in 2011.

 

I get that, and I'm not doing it.

Come on...honestly...were Red Sox fans not frustrated as crap by their drought? It's part of being a fan....the broader context. These players and these coaches and this management and ownership will all go away...they'll be part of other organizations or they'll retire. Those of us who are fans will still be here rooting for the Houston Astros to win. Something.

 

I think buffoonery is a perfect word to use for it.

 

That doesn't mean he is pretty good against everyone. That really speaks more to his potential. Right now he is a very solid starter who could ride a good first half to a couple of all-star games. Down the line, he could be a HOF caliber player. I'd definitely say he is the brightest part of their future. If he ever learns to take walks, he'd be ridiculously dangerous.

 

As opposed to the Astros fans that show up last August? They seems to have disappeared once again.

 

No; I don't think it is. The Astros turned right around and knocked around Cleveland these past two nights like they were a last place team. You cannot turn it on and off like that.

 

Yes; they were also a loathsome group of entitled babies that most of us rightly could not stand. Congrats on aligning yourself with that group...

 

And nearly 20% of them have come at the Astros' expense. Look, I'm not making stuff up... his slugging percentage is 120 points higher against the Astros than it is for every other Major League Baseball team. It's a Coors Field in its prime-like disparity.

 

holy crap, please stop

 

You're such a loathsome, entitled brat to want to watch a championship team before you die.

 

I feel awful about myself.

 

I watch games because the % sign gets me off. **** who wins or loses.

 

Projections! Projections! Projections!

 

I love this steaming pile of raw, unregulated strawman...

If you engage in any of the literally millions of numbers available to each and every baseball fan to try and paint a more nuanced picture... that means you don't care about wins and loses?

But, OK - let's talk wins and losses...

Since 2015, the Astros are 151-114 (.570) against the other 28 MLB teams; 9-26 against the Rangers. Given the disparity, that is a strange, inexplicable statistical anomaly. The Rangers, meanwhile, are 145-121. The Astros are +7 and -17. That makes no sense...

Diving just a tad deeper, because maybe the explanation is that the Astros are fattening up on bad teams... over the same time frame, they're 31-24 against every team that did ('15) or has ('16) posted a better record - or .564, which is pretty dead-on with their overall winning % (minus Texas). The Rangers, against the same teams, are 33-24. So, again - the disparity (+6/-17) does not line up.

Now, I'm not arguing the Astros are a better team. But those... yep: wins and losses tell a pretty remarkable story. No WAR; no VORP; no wRC+... straight Ws and Ls.

 

I'm pretty sure MadMax and I aren't some braindead idiots who don't understand what you're conveying here. We'd just prefer our team actually won a championship are getting a little impatient after nearly 40 years of fandom. Some fans can go to sleep warm and fuzzy based off what you just posted. Some can't.

 

40 years? Rookie....

 

Someday I'd like to buy you a beer and hear about watching Dizzy Dean pitch the Buffs to the '31 Texas League title.

 

I personally prefer what we have had from the mid-90s forward to what the Marlins have had (2 freaking titles), but it would be nice to win one of those (or 7).

Old fart

 

I don't see why it has to be one or the other. Of course we want a competitive team year in and year out.....but part of the angst is due to the fact that they usually ARE competitive year in and year out. Eventually that has to culminate into something.