Former Astros Tracking Thread

lnchan · Oct 6, 2021

Tuckankhamun said: ↑

Amazing that the rebuild was so successful despite drafting two of the 5 #1 overall picks to never make the Majors.
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And CBS Sports crying because we weren't punished for the Nix situation...

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...nswer-and-the-possibility-of-another-shakeup/

Though the Astros were not able to officially sign Nix without violating MLB's rules, they were allowed to pay him $1.5 million as part of a settlement. (For reasons only the league knows, the Astros were not punished.)

...going out of its way to complain. I wonder how often will they mention the corporate espionage committed by the Cardinals in tonight's game.

J.R. · Oct 7, 2021

“The opportunity to let your team down in the biggest moments of the season still exists, and I hate that,” said Morton, who has mentioned more than once this year that being a good teammate and developing relationships in the clubhouse is as important to him as anything that happens on the field. “That’s my least favorite thing about baseball, is the feeling of letting someone down. The thought that I’ve let a team down, organization, fan base, that eats at me — even in regular-season games, but certainly in the postseason.

“So that threat definitely makes it … it’s like a very visceral experience.”
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Yes, the most successful postseason pitcher of the past half-decade is driven by fear of failure, just like many of us. Even if Morton explains it in a different and, Charlie being Charlie, more thoughtful way.

Consider his answer when I asked him Saturday whether he loves pitching in the postseason.

“I do. I love it and hate it,” said Morton, who is 7-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 13 career postseason games, including a record-setting 4-0 with a 0.46 ERA in four winner-take-all games — Game 7s in the 2017 ALCS, 2017 World Series and 2020 ALCS; and the 2019 AL wild-card game.
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“You can go out there and lose a game by yourself, lose a postseason game by yourself,” he said. “That’s a bad feeling. And I think, too, it’s not that emotionally rewarding for me when I do well. Like, it’s satisfying because I know, like, holy cow, man, I’m capable of doing that. I know I can do that, and I know I didn’t let someone down. I did my job for my teammates. But I don’t get out of it what could be taken if I don’t do it. So that’s probably something that really drives me in those games — I know how that feels to do that when I’m not even in a postseason game. So that fear of that possibly happening really gives me motivation. Because for me it’s the worst feeling in baseball that I’ve experienced in my career.

“You go out there, the team gives you the ball, and you don’t do your job.”
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His period of ace-caliber pitching began at age 33 in 2017 with Houston, also the year he emerged as Charlie ****ing Morton, postseason beast.

That nickname, CFM for short, was started by teammates in Houston during his terrific postseason performances with the 2017 World Series champion Astros, and it followed him to Tampa Bay, where T-shirts with the sanitized version — Charlie Freakin’ Morton — were sold online and appeared one day in Rays players’ lockers, becoming part of their pregame workout ensemble.

The fact that Morton was the most mild-mannered player on the team, father of four, Mr. Family Man himself, only made the nickname that much greater.

Just don’t mistake his easygoing demeanor with the mindset he brings to his starts. The fire burns within Mr. Morton, the flames fierce. He just doesn’t let opponents see it. That’s part of what makes him great, teammates say. That, and his devastating curveball — the spin rate is consistently at the top of the MLB rankings — and his well-located 94-97 mph four-seam fastballs and sinkers.

“No. 1 is his mindset, and No. 2 is his stuff,” said Brian McCann, the seven-time former Braves All-Star catcher who later spent three seasons with the Yankees before joining the Astros the same year Morton did, in 2017. “He trusts his stuff, and he can pitch to all quadrants, all pitches, and attack your weakness. So if you’re a hitter and you have a weakness, he can attack it and make it his strength. When you can do that, and you’re a catcher calling a game for a guy like that, it makes the games so awesome. Because you can set hitters up, you can play for the double play. He’s got the sinker in to righties, he’s got the four-seamer up-and-in to righties … he’s got everything that you need to go deep in games.”

There’s a calmness about him, McCann added. Morton exudes a quiet confidence, and his teammates feed off of it.

McCann added, “And he’s one of the nicest, most kind-hearted people you’re ever going to meet. And to see him have the success he’s had, it’s incredible.”
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Morton says experience is not necessarily the key to his postseason success and points his first postseason game in 2013 with Pittsburgh — he started and took the loss in Game 4 of the NLDS against St. Louis, allowing three hits, two runs and four walks in 5 2/3 innings of a 2-1 loss.

“The first playoff game I pitched in, I felt like I pitched really well,” said Morton, who was 29 when he made that start with the Pirates, coming off his first winning record in the regular season — 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 20 starts. “I don’t look back on that game and think, ‘Man, I wasn’t ready, I didn’t pitch well.’

“I look back on that and I was like, you’re just pitching on more adrenaline because your body is really tired from the season. And the teams that you play are better. There’s no reason why you should be performing better in postseason. I mean, other than the fact that — well, there’s probably a few variables. One, the hitters are probably anxious and nervous. There’s a lot of pressure on them to put runs on the board. Because historically, playoff teams have better pitching. So I’m sure hitters feel more pressure during the postseason.”

Remember what I said about his thoughtful, philosophical responses to reporters’ questions?

Continue, Charlie.

“I mean, when you look at a hitter and you scout a hitter, you can see what pitches they struggle with, where they struggle with those pitches. You now have kind of a template for where you’re trying to execute those pitches. From then on, you’re always going to be 60 feet, 6 inches. Usually, you stand on the same part of the rubber. The plate is fixed. The strike zone might have some vertical variability, but it’s the same exact strike zone pretty much for 90 percent of the hitters, give or take an inch or two. So at that point, it just becomes about executing pitches.

“It becomes about how prepared you are with your game plan, and just where you are mentally with what you’re trying to do with the ball. I would say, though, that if you can get settled in a little bit, that’s a big deal as a starting pitcher in a postseason game.”
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lnchan · Oct 7, 2021

No sleeper agent on the White Sox...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-...euchel-left-off-white-sox-alds-playoff-roster

Dallas Keuchel left off White Sox ALDS roster

jayfree · Oct 7, 2021

lnchan said: ↑

No sleeper agent on the White Sox...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-...euchel-left-off-white-sox-alds-playoff-roster

Dallas Keuchel left off White Sox ALDS roster
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Keuchel as a secret Astros agent confirmed!

awc713 · Oct 8, 2021

Marshall Bryant · Oct 9, 2021

lnchan said: ↑

No sleeper agent on the White Sox...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-...euchel-left-off-white-sox-alds-playoff-roster

Dallas Keuchel left off White Sox ALDS roster
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Meanwhile:

Cole gets knocked out dooming the Yankees.
Morton takes a loss
McHugh takes a loss
J. D. Martinez hit's the cover off the ball
TORO Home
STRAW Home
SPRINGER Home

Buck Turgidson · Oct 9, 2021

Marshall Bryant said: ↑

Meanwhile:

Cole gets knocked out dooming the Yankees.
Morton takes a loss
McHugh takes a loss
J. D. Martinez hit's the cover off the ball
TORO Home
STRAW Home
SPRINGER Home
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Ramon Laureano...still suspended

rockbox · Oct 9, 2021

Morton took the loss, but I would take his 6 innings pretty much any day of the week. If your offense can't generate 2 runs to support you then there is nothing you can do.

lnchan · Oct 9, 2021

rockbox said: ↑

Morton took the loss, but I would take his 6 innings pretty much any day of the week. If your offense can't generate 2 runs to support you then there is nothing you can do.
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Greinke would hit a homer

Marshall Bryant · Oct 9, 2021

Buck Turgidson said: ↑

Ramon Laureano...still suspended
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He must have had a cup of coffee while I was in my not paying attention phase.

Tuckankhamun · Oct 9, 2021

rockbox said: ↑

Morton took the loss, but I would take his 6 innings pretty much any day of the week. If your offense can't generate 2 runs to support you then there is nothing you can do.
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Thought it was stupid to send him out for the 7th, Morton's great but he's not JV.

awc713 · Oct 15, 2021

donkeypunch · Oct 15, 2021

**** enrique hernandez

HTown2017Champs · Oct 15, 2021

donkeypunch said: ↑

**** enrique hernandez
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Cheater who went from one cheating team to another.

Amshirvani · Oct 15, 2021

Sale looks absurdly skinny

vince · Oct 16, 2021

Amshirvani said: ↑

Sale looks absurdly skinny
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Dude seems to have always been a twig…. I think that was the hesitation of a lot of people feeling comfortable giving him such a huge contract.

lnchan · Oct 17, 2021

So considering how good JD and Kike are... how much did Bo Porter hold us back?

bobrek · Oct 17, 2021

lnchan said: ↑

So considering how good JD and Kike are... how much did Bo Porter hold us back?
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Prior to this season, Hernandez was a below average player (based on OPS+) 4 of the previous 5 seasons.

whiskeyred · Oct 17, 2021

bobrek said: ↑

Prior to this season, Hernandez was a below average player (based on OPS+) 4 of the previous 5 seasons.
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Yeah, he’s certainly sippin’ some juice

Snake Diggit · Oct 23, 2021

Brett Myers seems like kind of a pos

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