I wonder if that would be possible with like smart glasses and AR actually. We have people projecting Pokemon and **** into the world so I don't think it would be hard to ask to project a strike zone in front of the ump.
The pitch in the 9th inning is only called a strike 23% of the time. Therefore it is a borderline pitch and the vast majority of the time is NOT a strike. Passan is a **** starter, go look at his Hall of Fame voting... he always has been a **** starter and he is getting what he wants, attention...... however, the idea that he doesn't care if it is called a strike 23% of the time because "it's a strike" is absurd...... it literally isn't a strike the majority of the time. It is like saying Maldonado gets a hit a majority of the time....... the human element is part of baseball, and a pitcher and catcher trying to get "strike" calls is part of the game too. Also both teams know about the reputation of Diaz and what he does and doesn't call. Hell, Greinke likely goes 4-5 innings if strikes are called, because hitters start swinging at other borderline pitches.... its the nature of the game. At the end of the day, I don't give a **** what Passan says......... Altuve (8th) and Correa (9th) were front and center in another clutch performance in a meaningful playoff game...... we can b**** about Altuve sometimes just swinging at everything and Correa also being a dumbass, BUT at the end of the day they tend to come up big when it matters and they don't fold under pressure.... The Red Sox shouldn't be pissed about the Evoldi pitch, they should wonder why their offense did NOTHING after the Astros has been starting pitcher was pulled after like two innings.
Very little in this series has gone as expected. So what might be unexpected today? We get 4+ from our starter? The Umps call a good game? The Red Sox get shut out? Maldy hits a Slam?
Just gotta say... baseball is humbling AF. This series can literally go any which direction and absolutely none of those options would surprise or disappoint me one bit.
Yes, not to mention Whitlock is a rule 5 player in his first major league season and playoffs as a rookie that was bound to make a mistake at some point. As short handed as the Astros starters are, the bullpen for the Red Sox seems just as short handed. How many times can they trot Ottavino out there? Just a matter of time before Astros strike a shaky overworked bullpen. BTW, what a performance from Castro the Astro. Unbelievably clutch at bats. Hopefully we can keep Maldy to play in Game 5 which means we will likely have the lead. If we are down or tied, then Castro will have to get another chance and Red Sox pitchers will be concerned when that happens.
Baseball is a VERY humbling game. Luck plays a huge part in the outcome, but not enough to make the game a complete crap shoot. A pitch two inches to the left can result in a strikeout or a homer.... or even a different pitch selection innings later. As a side note, I have been very hard on Correa in the past for being a dumbass, and he has done some very stupid things. HOWEVER, I have to give him credit, at the end of the day he IS someone that isn't scared or blinded in pressure situations.... he relishes them, he has supreme confidence. People can make fun or or not like his "watch" antics, but the fact that he had the confidence to do that in the first game of a series, in a sport where luck is such a component shows just how competitive he is, how confident he is and the degree to which he can live in the moment..... that is something most true great athletes have.... and all the other crap doesn't really matter.
Correa isn't scared of failing and he has proven that he is one of the clutchest baseball players around. The fact that his has the highest post season RBI rate among RBI leaders just shows how he lives for the moment. He should have gotten credit for the RBI in the 9th inning last night which would get him within 5 of Jeter and Big Papi and ahead of Pujols.
Gotta love the Houston media guys embracing the "bad guys" role. Someone has to do it. Just ridiculous amount of bias towards the Red Sox. We should expect nothing less. No articles about Altuve hitting a clutch homerun as usual. Nor an article about Correa's line drive that maybe should have even been caught by Renfroe. Renfroe seems like he was upset that he didn't make that catch so that tells you it was technically catchable. Side note: Astros need to hustle out of the box more. I remember Springer not hustling out of the box on a monster hit which he likely would have made it to 3rd. Correa could have made it to 3rd if he was hustling the whole play. I ain't mad but just worried something like that might cost us. Make these ****ers play defense and try to throw us out at 3rd with the game tied. They could potentially overthrow, etc. and Correa scores on an error. You never know. Seems like Boston is hustling no matter what even on dinky hits. On the flip side, he could have even been thrown out but I would like to see the Red Sox prove it. I assume Arroyo does not have the strongest arm at 2nd? Regarding Passan and media bias, hopefully it makes Astros want to win that much more although they have all the motivation they need already. I know the fans will be rocking for Game 6 no matter what the outcome is for Game 5. Still want the Astros to build on the momentum last night and come out knocking Sale around today and find a way to get the W again.
The Astros line up is slightly better than the Red Sox line up and the Astros bullpen is slightly better. The Astros SHOULD win this series, but it is close enough, within the margin for error that the Red Sox can win without it being a choke job by the Astros.... luck plays a large part. Having said that, the Red Sox pitching situation is largely as big a mess as the Astros...... the Red Sox closer didn't even make the ALCS roster.... their top reliever is a Rule 5 pick up.... their "set up man" is 35 years old and has been mediocre to bad for two years now (Ottavino) and they just hope he has enough to give them a clean inning.... their other top two relievers (Hernandez and Sawamura) are big strike out pitchers but also walk a lot of hitters and are not a good match up against the heart of the Astros order that can work the count.......... the Red Sox's Ace (Sale) has been crushed the last 5- 6 weeks and hasn't even gotten through the third inning so far this post season......... they have Evoldi, who has the stuff to come up big against the Astros and had a good year, but they used him in the 9th last night and he was beaten up...... Eduardo Rodriguez is capable of competing but he is largely mediocre....... This is a fun series to watch if you like offense and drama........ will Valdez have command of his pitches and win game 5 and possibly come out of the pen to close out a game 7? Will McCullers be brought up from the taxi squad in game 7? Will the Astros or Red Sox bullpen crack first? Which team is going to put up crook numbers? Who closes for the Red Sox? Does Sale suddenly pitch like he used to? Was Urquidy bad because the Sox knew what was coming?
I also loved his response when it was done back to him despite Cora speaking out about it. Said he was cool with it. GOATUVE and him are built for the postseason. A far cry from Bagwell and Biggio
Yeah. Would be very surprised if Correa just totally cashes in and goes to a team that isn't a contender. There are a lot of high paid "stars" out there who haven't sniffed a bit of playoff success... and thus their brand totally suffers for it (Trout, Harper). Granted, there will be some contenders, or teams on the cusp, ready to back up the truck. I do think the Astros can be close... but they won't over-extend.
