OK, off the top of my head for next year: Altuve Bregman Tucker Carlos (this is TBD of course) Yordan Yuli Brantley CF/C
Yes, "in a couple of years" I totally agree. Hell get him some time sometime next year or the next, whenever he's needed (not sold on Stubbs and I don't trust Castro to stay healthy, even as a backup) Also, in '17 we had another longtime veteran catcher who the pitchers loved. At some point it's not a bad idea to listen to the guys who have a vested interest in the guy behind the plate.
Astros are very fortunate to miss Rodon but then again we have about $80 million in starting pitching that won’t make an appearance in this series either…(Verlander, Grienke, Odorizzi).
He's on the roster so they must see some role for him. He's their version of our Greinke vs Odorizzi who didn't make the roster like their Keuchel.
I think it basically all comes down to this. Who is in the lineup is much more important than where they hit. You obviously want your best hitters to bat more, but you also want your power guys to hit with men on base. You could swap things around, but it wouldn’t make a huge difference. With the lineup the Astros have, going with the “two cleanup hitter approach” is fine.
I hear ya, but one key thing is the top 3-4 hitters are the ones who get 5 ABs in a game. The 7th does not. That’s the best reason to make sure Tucker is in that group..
This I remember one game this season where it was close in the 9th. Diaz was the 2nd hitter in the lineup and got another at bat over the other better hitters. I want my best hitters getting the most at bats
Right, I don’t think it would be wrong to lean that way. However, Tucker has had plate appearances with a higher percentage of men on base than anyone on the team than Alvarez. So that’s a good reason to have someone with power in that slot. With this particular lineup, it really doesn’t matter too much and I think either option is fine.
The ideal here with the Astros lineup is Diaz isn’t starting. Thats why I said the more important thing is who is in the lineup, not where they are batting. If Diaz is in the game, you probably don’t want Tucker hitting seventh, but Diaz was really hot earlier in the season. At the end of the season, when Diaz was starting, Tucker was hitting higher up in the order. Similarly when Tucker, Meyers, and McCormick were all playing, Tucker was also hitting higher up in the order. With a full strength lineup, where the guys are most comfortable hitting is probably more important than anything else.
Dylan Cease career against winning teams: 3-12, 6.35 Dylan Cease 2021 against winning teams: 2-3, 6.04 Dylan Cease career against HOU: 0-3, 6.60 Good teams work counts. That is a bad matchup for someone who doesn't like throwing strikes.
I'm confident we'll hit Cease, how long can Garcia last? Don't be surprised if both bullpens pitch 6+ innings tonight.
We will see. Garcia got some rest. It would be nice seeing him sit 94-96 through the first two rounds through the Sox Lineup. 6 Innings 2-3 runs should be enough.
Garcia is 1-0 vs CWS. 6-18-21 going 7 strong and giving up 1 run. It just takes effort to find him because baseball reference doesn't give a direct link to him. you get diverted to a retired Cardinal pitcher with the same name.
