I'm just wondering when all the "under reaction police" will stop calling out the overreaction ppl? I obviously don't want this to happen, but when the Angels or Mariners bring it within a game, and we have already lost the AL record to Red Sox, I can't wait to hear you all explain that "all teams go through slumps" and "Holding at deadline was for the best, Tucker da gawd"... I will say Tucker is absolutely raking. But these past 2 months have been rough in the major leagues.
I think McHugh's a lock to get an ALDS start; his stuff doesn't translate to the bullpen (while I think both Morton's and Peacock's do) and they'll value his postseason experience and overall track record. I would be shocked if Liriano is left off as that would leave them without a LOOGY. Plus, he can chew innings if there's a blowout.
He hasnt been lights out or great, but he has been a better option than Hoyt and Sipp whose innings he replaced which makes him a plus in my book. If you think a 2.45 ERA is terrible, all I can say is you and I dont share the same world.
This theory won't be answered until postseason and beyond. But I understand you need to be super positive.
Losing the AL lead?!!! Who cares? The homie, Hey Now, already explained the '15 team's near-defeat of the eventual champs as a foolproof rebuttal for any lost lead. When someone mentioned the fact we burnt Keuchel in the WCG (because we lost the lead) as perhaps contributing to our demise, he failed to refute it and deleted that portion(s) of the post. So don't worry about losing any lead... everything is okay.
Except that's not what's happening. Player X gives up a HR. Over-rational response: That sucked. Silly, probably wrong, but completely understandable response: Player X sucks. Can't rely on him in the playoffs. Game over. 8-yr old mentality response: Astros suck. Needed to made a trade. Proof that we f-ed up the deadline. What a waste of a year. It's all fallen apart. Can't beat Dodgers. Dodgers? We're not going to make it out the ALDS! Our pitching is horrid. Etc. It's the latter group that most of us complain about.
Maybe stop using the word "when" and try "if". You're already living under the assumption that those things are definitely going to happen. Have at least a little faith that this is just a slump and that they should pull out of it...hopefully as soon as 9/1 when Correa is expected back.
"when".....? You mean "if" and there is 0.0 chance of that happening. The Astros have a 12.5-game lead with 36 remaining. They are not going to blow the AL West. Jesus Alou, you people...... This is why we're under-reacting.... The Astros were 15-9 in July and 6-4 in their last 10. I'm not going to argue there wasn't a rough 12-day stretch in between - there was. But, yeah.... that's an overreaction.
That has nothing to do with the point I made - unless you think the Astros are going to tumble into the wild card game. And even then, you're arguing something else entirely. In '15, the Astros went 11-15 in September and coughed up a 4-game division lead. They promptly went to New York and won a road playoff game and then had the eventual champs beaten before an unfathomable error and bullpen collapse. So while it'd be NICE to see the Astros regain their early season swagger before October, the truth is that it doesn't really matter. The regular season is not predictive of postseason results. Teams can catch fire overnight. In terms of MAXIMIZING their chances of winning - yes, obviously, you'd like to see them maintain the AL lead. But, again, that guarantees them nothing.
Sorry, I should have said if.. But winning the AL west is a lot like Texans winning the AFC South.. Who cares if it just leads to a first round exit. In any case. It's not fair to point out 15-9 and 6-4 (Which is good if you are a .500 team btw, not what this team should be doing) but then just say "a rough 12-day stretch". The fact is, they are 23-22 through the last 2 months. You guys are acting like we are saying this is a terrible team, that is not the case, but watching the team resting on how good we did in the beginning of the year is hard. 15-9 is not bad... But if the Patriots went 9-7 next year and still won their division, you can bet your butt their fans are at least disappointed. not a bad record, but bad for that particular team.
2015 team postseason .724 OPS Rasmus - 1.760 Carter - .929 Gomez - .933 You downplayed this year's struggles because of 15's success. My point was, the hitters who carried the success are no longer here. I then said, "the young guys are much better now".... meaning, Correa, Springer, and Altuve are all much better now. Not sure how one can't see, "17's offense is better than '15", in that statement. Yes, you completely misunderstand. If you can't fathom which Astros 1) are young 2) have a .150 OPS+ increase since '15, you are trolling.
Actually 7.1 innings. And a 2.45 ERA is perfectly acceptable for a reliever (or a starter for that matter), but it's way too early and too few opportunities. And you are correct, the inherited runners were a problem, but he has been solid the last few outings. Perhaps he is getting the hang of being a reliever. His 8 relief appearances with the Astros are already more than he has ever had in any single season.
Cris Carter... seriously? He did not carry the team to success... his strikeouts killed scoring opportunities when a simple sac fly would have netted us a handful of runs and defense was atrocious for a first baseman. A negative 0.1 WAR sure carried the team...
