did I ever argue otherwise? or say they haven't used those innings late in games plenty? I'm just saying they have had several games recently like the one tonight. I know you know that, bob.
Yes, this is back from 2015- but appropriate for this thread, I think. http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2...rge-springer-goes-way-back-with-torii-hunter/ Twinsights: Astros star George Springer goes way back with Torii Hunter Torii Hunter and young Houston Astros outfielder George Springer stood around the batting cage this weekend, laughing and joking like old friends. George Springer (right) talks with boyhood idol Torii Hunter during batting practice this weekend. In a way, that’s exactly what they are. Back in 1998, when Hunter was stuck at Double-A New Britain for a third straight summer, an 8-year-old Springer was elated to meet his hero for the first time. “There was just something about how he played,” Springer said. “I liked him. I remember telling my dad, ‘I want to play like that guy.’ He isn’t afraid to hit a wall. He plays the game hard and he plays it the right way.” The meeting came about as a result of Springer’s friendship with a boy named Tommy Torres, whose father was the public-address announcer at the Rock Cats’ home stadium. Springer, who lived in neighboring Avon, Conn., was invited to a team barbecue at the Torres home. “I remember we were playing catch with a football,” Springer said. “Torii was in the back yard, and I was just starstruck.” Springer worked up the courage to introduce himself to Hunter, still just 22 when that season started. They even played catch with the football, which gave Springer a lifelong memory and further inspiration. “It was something special to me,” he said. “It was awesome. At the time he was a big-league figure to me. If anybody played for the Cats in town, they were like bigwigs. He’s been my idol ever since. I had the posters, the cards, everything.” Fifteen years went by before Hunter and Springer would meet again. Bo Porter, the Astros manager at the time, let Hunter know before a spring training game in 2013 that he had a young outfielder on his club, a kid from Connecticut, who grew up worshiping him. By now, Springer was a rising prospect, a former first-round pick from the University of Connecticut taken 11th overall in 2011. The Twins had drafted him in the 48th round in 2008 but never came close to signing him. “Bo introduced us, and I didn’t know what to say,” Springer recalled. “I remember being 22, and I couldn’t talk. I was starstruck again.” Hunter immediately put Springer at ease. He thought back to those days at New Britain and said he could indeed remember playing catch with that shy little boy in the Torres family back yard. Springer went out that year and hit 37 homers in the minors. He has been an Astros stalwart since early last season. This weekend, both of them roamed right field at Minute Maid Park, the 40-year-old Twins great and the 25-year-old Astros star. All these years later, Hunter remains a role model for Springer, who came off the disabled list Friday after missing two months with a broken wrist. “I try to play like him, I try to compete like him, I try to be like him off the field,” Springer said. “I don’t really know anybody else I could idolize that would be any better. He’s just an ideal guy. It’s an honor to know him.”
Thank you for the feedback. It prompted me to take a more detailed look at the ten pitchers mentioned and to compare them to some of our current relievers. The result of that process gives me a more nuanced view of the whole matter but let me share what I found in the 'Trade Options' thread..
Will Harris placed on DL The Astros will be without one of their best relievers until at least next weekend. Will Harris was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday night with what the team described as inflammation in his pitching shoulder. His DL stint is retroactive to July 11, so next Friday night's series opener at Baltimore is the first game day on which he will be eligible to return. Harris, who hasn't pitched since July 5, said he had dealt with discomfort in his shoulder for a couple of weeks. The 32-year-old righthander underwent an MRI earlier this week and said the training staff has been treating his shoulder "pretty aggressively the past week or so." Once the inflammation didn't calm down during the All-Star break, the Astros decided to place him on the DL. "We'll just see how I respond to some rest and (I'll) keep getting the treatment I've been getting," he said. "It shouldn't be a lengthy period of time." "Every pitcher goes through shoulder discomfort here and there, so it's not something I'm not accustomed to," Harris said. "But this time seemed to be a little bit more painful getting loose and stuff like that. ... Everything looks good on all of my medicals and stuff like that. It's just a matter of getting (the inflammation) to calm down."
It was a loose NBA analogy. Not coasting in the sense that they quit trying, coasting in the sense that the games in question became very low leverage very quickly, and it was just a matter of finishing them. It wasn't meant negatively at all.
Son of a biscuit. Also Dodgers getting irritating. One strike from losing for the 3rd time in the last 30 or so games only to get the big hit and win it. Thought we were going to retake our rightful place atop the majors last night.
Guduan often makes people’s eyes roll given his current 8.22 ERA. While he’s certainly not going to be “lights out” any time soon, his advanced stats suggest that he is due for some better luck than he has received so far this season. His FIP this year 2.63 and his xFIP is 3.79, which puts him somewhere between Feliz and Tony Sipp in terms of his expected results going forward. To a large extent, his inflated ERA is due to getting "BABIP'd to death" with an unsustainably high BABIP of .400 (likely to regress to around .310). He's inducing lots of ground balls (52%, about midway between Musgrove's mark and Keuchel's) and getting swinging strikes at a healthy rate of 12.2%, which puts him just a tick below the highly vaunted Brad Hand. Steamer and ZIPS projections suggest that Guduan’s ERA will trend downward toward the 4.21 – 5.09 range in the second half of the season. Since his last stint in Houston, Guduan has had 3 appearances in Fresno, and good ones at that: 4.1 IP of shutout ball, allowing 2 hits, no walks, and getting 5 K’s. It would seem that he’s learning quickly from his big league exposure and using what he’s learned to pitch well during his trips back to the minors. While I’m not happy to hear about Will going on the DL, at the same time I think we can expect Guduan to surprise us pleasantly.
Waiting in line for the bobblehead. Why do I do this to myself. Good friend waiting in the truck till rain stops. I love being an Astros fan!
You'd think after so many years MMP would've figured out how to get people into the stadium. Walked by the entrance at CF around 4:40 and they still hadn't opened the gate. I mean WTF?! At the entrance by the play area/ 1st base side (where I came in) they had all the metal detectors out away from the gate and had to move 2 of them back to the gate just so could start letting people come in. They started letting us in at 3:50. UNREAL!
Weekend games are the worse. My last game I was in line over a hour before game time and made inside MMP (not my seat) for the first pitch. They really need to open the doors earlier.
Maybe from all those years of crappy attendance. Last time I was there (2013) I entered via a restaurant/bar. It got us in much faster than the main gate which had a lengthy line.
