Not sure how much of this we'll see this season, but I'm gonna enjoy it tonight. Wait, I forgot the bullpen still has to close this out. Couldn't happen could it? Nahhhh.
Pence is at the age where hitters theoretically don't improve much (w/out roids, of course) but anything is possible. There are obviously exceptions, most notably Bautista, assuming he's clean.
Oh hell. I went back to ABC to watch basketball. Hopefully, someone has this youtubed. He still gets a nd though,
You hope that Pence continues this surge and you can get more than you would have expected a few months ago. I like Pence, mostly for his attitude and the fact that he's homegrown, but given his age and the state of this club, you'd really want to sell high on him... as opposed to buying high and selling low which Wade has done his share of recently - not all his fault obviously.
Reasons to still pay attention to the Astros: Pence, Wallace, Melancon and now Lyles. All contributed in tonight's win. Bourn and Keppinger also deserve to be on the above list... but they kinda are what they are at this point in their careers.
GREAT win, Lyles and Wallace gave you a glimpse of the future. Haven't been this stoked about an Astro win since Tejada's game winning hit vs the Cards a few years back.
I imagine he'd do relatively well despite not being a baseball person. He's very much the opposite of Wade in terms of his approach to GMing... old school vs. new school... not that both can't have success.
Got my vote for game of the season so far. Unbelievable up-down-up-big game. I must have watched that Pence HR ten times. This was a refreshing win. Energizing.
Admittedly have not been following the Astros as closely this year. Can someone give me a run down on Wallace's performance? I was a bit discouraged last year that he'd ever be an everyday contributor for us, but it seems he's turned the corner?
They changed one of the runs to unearned according to the MLB box score. Very solid line from Lyles. A new era has begun in Astros baseball.
He's hitting .316, just behind Pence for the team lead, with a .848 OPS (also 2nd on the team behind Pence). He leads the team in OBP @ .385. The only drawbacks thus far are the lack of power (4 hr) and run production (17 rbi). I will say that he's been better than what most of us likely expected so far. The power will come and the run production isn't entirely his fault. Pence is hitting ahead of him and has been near the top of the league so far (43 rbi). Lee isn't getting on base so there's not much left for him to drive in. The power will come. I think he has the stroke to be a consistent 25-30 hr player once the experience comes. Right now, however, I'm pleased.
For a guy with Brett Wallace's trunk/legs, he doesn't show nearly the power I'd expect him to. He's currently too much of a line-drive swinger to get to 20hr's. I'm definitely pleased with his production this season but hopefully he can add the power element to his repertoire in the coming years. I'm trying not to hold him to Bagwell or Berkman's legacies but the Stros have been a 1B 3-hole hitter team for as long as I've been a fan. Wallace will never be the .300/.400/.550 hitter those two were but a guy can hope right? Makes me realize how good we had it during those magical division championship seasons. Baggy's career slash line: .297/.408/.540 Puma's career slash line: .297/.410/.547 I hope those two are HoF bound. /end fond remembrances
One thing I would say is that if you look at Baggy's first two seasons, they weren't coming close to the numbers he would put up during his prime or even toward the end. Truth be told, they look similar to Wallace's numbers this season with a little more run production. On the issue of run production, one thing to remember is who is batting in front of Wallace. Pence is leading the league or close to it in RBIs, Lee is now a slap hitter who can't run and Johnson/Hall just don't get on base so a lot of the time Wallace comes up with the base paths completely dry. Wallace's power will come, Baggy only hit 15 and Puma had 21 in their first seasons...Wallace is projected for 12 which I believe will end up around 15-20 by season's end. Also note, Wallace is top 15 in the league for doubles and HRs aren't the only form power a hitter can have.
