Please limit talk in this thread to this series. Other topics should be discussed in the appropriate threads. Play-by-play is not allowed. If you need that, there are other places to find it. Political discussions belong in the D&D forum not in here. All games are broadcast on Space City Network unless otherwise noted. 8-15 Brandon Young (R) vs. Framber Valdez (L) 7:10 8-16 Cade Povich (L) vs. Jason Alexander (R) 6:10 8-17 Dean Kremer (R) vs. Cristian Javier (R) 1:10
Feeling good about this series. The new guys are settling in and the team as a whole knows it is going to be a dog fight for AL West supremacy.
We hit, we win. It’s that simple. Young and Popvich are legitimately bad. Their bullpen is trash. Kremer is decent and just threw a gem against Seattle. ideally, we put up Hugh quality ABs, offense goes boom, our leverage arms get a three day vacation.
Need to take advantage of this weaker schedule the rest of August. I doubt Seattle is going anywhere but up post trade deadline. Gonna have to earn it
Can someone explain what the beef with Espada is right now? I was hard on him last season and at the beginning of this season, but I can't identify anything specific he has done in the last two months or so that I would disagree with or was blatantly stupid. He has been given a s*** sandwich this season with injuries and here we are in mid-August, leading the division playing more AAA players and journeymen than I've ever seen. I was down on him too for a long time, but fair is fair.
They did just come off a stretch where they won 10 out of 11... and still remain 1.5 back. They could certainly continue to play at a high level, but so could the Astros. Will still likely come down to their remaining 3 game series, and even then... that will only be signifcantly impactful if one team is able to sweep the other. I actually do enjoy aspects of pennant-races/meaningful games through the end of the season. I do think it adds an element of 'focus' that translates to what playoff baseball is. All the leagues/sports have already expanded playoffs to the point where there isn't as much drama down the stretch... baseball still has a little bit extra when it comes to those types of races (based on historical aspects). They still do champagne celebrations for division or playoff clinching. I don't even know what 'division' the Rockets play in anymore (is it still called the Midwest?). And I could do without more AFC South banners at NRG.
I'm not really a fan of the expansion of the MLB playoffs. Baseball is so variable it doesn't seem right to me we have more teams with so-so records but getting a solid chance at a ring. Plus you have less sellers and it drives up prices for talent at the deadline. I prefer the teams that demonstrate excellence throughout the season get the opportunity to win a title.
I agree... but other than going back to the 2 division system (where there's just LCS then WS)... what would you suggest? The biggest complaints with the 3 division/WC system was similar... that the WC teams faced little disadvantage compared to the division winners. Then the WC 1 game playoff was scoffed at due to variance. You now have 3 game series but there are now yearly complaints that it leads to too much time off (rust) from the top 2 seeds. I feel any system will be scoffed at and ultimately its about TV money, which means more rounds and more possible teams. Looking back at the 2020 season... which was basically a NCAA tournament version of the first round since they couldn't really determine 'true division winners' with a truncated season... what a wild ride that was!
He uses Hader and Abreu too much. Hader warming up in blowout wins Throwing them 2+ innings and in 4 run games. I knew weeks ago he was going to cause this. Abreu is next.
damned if you do. damned if you don't stick with starters too long. not sticking with starters enough. use abreu and hader too much. don't use bareu and hader enough. too much this. too much that. not enough this. not enough that. blah blah blah. my only gripe against espada earlier this season was he used tayler scott too much. that's it. i'm at the point where there's no need to raise my blood pressure by getting worked up about shiet out of my control.
So you don't like sub .500 teams making the NBA playoffs just to milk the television revenue dollars?
His in game decisions haven’t been great (bullpen in particular) and the team has issues with fundamentals and preparation at times compared to previous Astros teams. While there is no way to actually know, you could suggest his usage of Hader contributed to that injury. I am of the belief in-game decisions have little impact on the overall win/loss record of a team over the course of the year and most of what a manager does is not easily visible on the field. I do think he has handled Hader’s usage poorly, but otherwise has been fine. He’s neither holding the Astros back or responsible for how they handled injuries. The Astros doing so well despite injuries has been all about pitching. That’s the pitching coaches and they deserve the credit.
