Is it really an excuse to say some of our top guys were playing hurt? Like Altuve, Correa, McCullers, Morton etc. '18 Boston is a great team for sure though. But I can't help but feel if at least Altuve and CC were in good shape, it's a different series with a different offense.
Good excuse. Mvp guy out. But again I’ll blame Hinch on these rotations. We played to chill and Cora played to die.
All the cards just fell perfectly for Boston. You always need luck if you want to win something. We were absolutely banged up and will be back stronger next year. Bregman will be MVP next year.
I take umbrage with the people bagging on Bregman. He was better than JD and Betts in this series offensively (defensively it's probably a wash with Betts--the both made incredible plays). Betts was just bad on offense.
It was the new guys (not part of championship team last year) that suddenly struggled this series-- Cole, Maldy, Osuna, Pressly, Smith. We relied on them in the regular season and they were outstanding. Then across the board they played out of form. If they had performed the same way as they played before Oct, we would have a different result. Playoff experience. You have to taste defeat before you can win. Core of the Astros tasted defeat in 2015 which made them stronger in 2017. These will make our new guys hungry and more ready for next year. Watch them bounce back stronger.
Exactly, that gives me some hope for some of these guys. If you remember the 'Stros struggled before that championship run the year you mentioned. I don't remember the EXACT details and plays because F it it was awhile ago but that Royals series I remember so many blunders and 'choke' plays. I think some of these players, Cole, Pressly, Osuna, maybe they just needed this experience to handle these high pressure situations better. At least I sure hope so. I mean we beat up on the Red Sox just last year. The Stros were a bit cocky this year too, maybe this will remind them to stay humble and hungry. When the 2019 season starts I'll be just as optimistic as this season.
LMAO........The guy just looks so detached. I love watching Mike D Antoni because he yells and tries inspiring some of the Rox. Shows some emotion, and losing bothers him. I'm on the fence about Hinch.
Umpiring is another excuse. The self-inflected defensive wounds were another killer. Then...... Bradley and Devers. LMAO. Boston is great, but they got nearly every break.
Baseball happened. This isn’t complicated. We were inches away from multiple more favorable outcomes. Last year those fell for us, this year they didn’t. We could play another 7 game series with Boston using the same teams and win 4 in a row. It’s just the nature of the sport. The beautiful thing about the Astros is that they are built to be competitive for multiple seasons. We will be right back in the postseason next year and hopefully some things fall our way. Our foundational pieces are fantastic.
No team has repeated this century for a reason, it's extremely hard to do. The natural randomness of baseball, combined with injuries to 2 of our 3 best players, and a really damn good Boston team. I'm certainly disappointed, but if you are up in arms feeling like this is some inexcusable disaster, you really don't know much about baseball. They beat us, the call on the HR is certainly aggravating, but we still had plenty of chances. Baseball is a sport of lucky breaks, sometimes you get more, sometimes the opponent does.
Great season. 103 wins. Sucks that we came up short in the ALCS, of course. I'll be looking forward to see what moves they make in the offseason, and I'll be pumped for Opening Day!!!
I said this last year; I'll repeat it again this year because it's important: When you're good, 70-75% of the baseball you play is against inferior opponents. Alex Bregman is better than 70-75%(+) of the pitchers he faces; Dallas Keuchel is better than 70-75% of the hitters he faces, etc. That's not to minimize any accomplishments; it's just a fact. In the playoffs, that advantage evaporates, more and more the further you go. And players who, over the course of a long season, are better than most, can find themselves upside down - they get exposed a little bit. That's why these series often come down down to lucky bounces, an inch here, an inch there, unsung heroes, health, bad calls, etc. These tiny margins of error can loom larger because, talent-wise, the playing field is significantly evened. I didn't think the Astros were a better team than the Dodgers last year; they just got more of those aforementioned breaks. And I don't think the Red Sox are a better team than the Astros this year; they just got more of the breaks, too.
I really hope Milwaukee makes it and beats the Red Sox. Dodgers fans at the office have me wanting to throw them out of the window today. They should win a championship in my lifetime first before talking
