Go Oakland!! Division matters more but Yankees have better chance of surpassing us than Oakland. Go Oakland... for now
I will hate to see Correa go, but I get why they are dubious of signing him to a decade long deal at the money he will command.
And his career as a "star" was done after his MVP season at age 30, he cratered to just about below league average. A few days off might have helped his back, which might have helped his team, which might have prolonged his career, etc....in the short and long run.
Just checking on scores and find out the Astros come back right after I gave up after the fourth Ranger run. I know it wasn't because of me, but it sure feels like it.
In fairness, Ripken's OPS the 4 years before and 4 years after that 2nd MVP season are almost identical. The difference was a roided up league changing the league average.
Don’t doubt this team. While other teams are playing their ass off, the Astros still haven’t played a meaningful game all year in their mind. The team feeds off their leaders Altuve, Bregman, Gurriel and Correa. The same guys who have consistently put in deep playoff runs since 2017. They are just waiting for October to turn it on as they always do. The stros are the basketball equivalent to the Warriors. Regular season doesn’t matter as much as getting to the postseason healthy.
While I agree with all that, playoff positioning carries some importance as well. We do NOT want to have to play a WC game. The rest wont be apparent until closer to the playoffs. In that last 7-10 days of the regular season, which teams are hot, and not, will start to come into focus. Also the teams that you prefer to play and the ones you would like to avoid.
I don’t think they care. They want to win the division as you see their effort increase when the A’s start playing better, but you can just tell the vets are bored. Last post season didn’t surprise me one bit. They know how to flip a switch, and had the postseason had fans and homefield advantage. They would have smashed the Rays. This team has the ultimate clutch gene and they feed off energy more than any team in baseball. I just hope they get to play the Yankees in the post season.
Just remember that a wildcard team can’t have home field advantage in the LCS. Frankly, I’m fine with the current playoff picture. I’d prefer to play Chicago, who we’ve handled fairly well, and let the East teams sort out their mess. Then, if the Yanks end up as the opponent in the LCS, we get them at home again to start and, probably, end.
Getting bregs and Tucker back is huge. Beyond their individual production, there is a carry on effect to promote that handoff of quality AB after quality AB, the feeling of dominance top to bottom, and just overall swagger. This squad can maul any pitching staff and has an offensive approach that is tailor made for postseason baseball, and they’re proven. I fully expect this offense to start dominating in the coming days. The addition of Jake as a potential quality X factor at the bottom of the lineup with upside just makes us even more dynamic. This is going to be a fun closing stretch. I think the key is health of our pitching staff. We need the SP to hit peak sharpness. Need to get Garcia some rest with urquidi return. Need to protect graveman.
