Astros are 31-30 since starting 18-7. We're basically playing .500 since McCullers, VV, and Correa were called up.... and with Springer's surge. Go figure Matt Thomas said move is mainly for VV resting going into the All-Star break. He likely won't pitch until he returns to the Majors.
As expected the obie demotion was punishment, and not performance based. He effectively missed one start. Still don't like it, he is one of our 5 best and it could have costed us a win.
he's coming up for a spot start to be able to reset the rotation and rest the young guys. You don't know yet what this means / how to interpret it relative to what the demotion was
Astros lead is down to one in the loss column. I'll be happy if the Astros still have the division lead at the break.
Not punishing players can cost a lot more than 1 win. This isn't to say whether the punishment of Obie fit the crime or not as I didn't see what happened and I am not sure what was seen on TV was the only thing that happened. I only know that sometimes a short term cost in discipline can pay for itself long term. Sometimes it backfires. Just by the severity of the punishment, I would expect Obie to be on trade block.
' It's always bothered me that this has become a thing. The Astros lead is 2.5 games. Our lead is 4 in "the win column". It's no less relevant (irrelevant) to mention in isolation as where we stand in "the loss column". They are both worthless to reference alone.
I've always looked at just the loss column. It's what determines whether or not you control your own destiny.
No it doesn't. You're measuring it against the win column standings when you say that. You don't know how many games are remaining in the season without both columns. If the paper only printed the loss column, it would be a worthless piece of info. They only mean anything paired together. And before the inevitable "you can't un-lose losses" argument comes in...you can't "un-win wins" either. Neither is more important than the other. 100% equal.
Yes, yes it is. God how I've missed first place problems. I've been watching throughout, and for the last few years the end result of the game had almost no emotional register, good or bad. It's refreshing that losses actually bother me again.
I think Hinch overreacted to Obie. His pitch didn't even hit A-Rod (and even if it had hit him, it was only waist-high; Obie definitely wasn't head hunting). The Royals pitchers, on the other hand, were pitching inside on all of our guys, got our best player hurt, probably for the rest of the season, and then also nailed Altuve. Sometimes you got to pitch inside to make players less comfortable at the plate. Not sure why it's forgiveable when the Royals do it, but Obie does it and it gets him demoted.
By optioning Vince to Corpus, the Astros are also saving on his service time. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Assuming Velasquez gets the 4th start after the All-Star Break, the Astros save two weeks of service time by optioning him to Corpus</p>— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AstrosCounty/status/618808993322958848">July 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Since he debuted on June 10, this pretty much makes sure he doesn't get Super Two'd</p>— Thickie Don (@AstrosCounty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AstrosCounty/status/618809127448346624">July 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Astros are blowing it! That lack of consistency is back. I'm worried we have peaked and the second half is all down hill while other teams get better as we don't show the same improvement. It's easier to play better baseball earlier in the season while teams are still trying to figure it out. Now, it seems most teams are playing a lot better and the Astros are the ones trying to figure it out again. It's great that we can have games where we blow up on hits and runs. But, then we come out next game and do very little.
Playing 500 ball was to be expected this year. That is what we have been doing for a while now. Playoffs are a certainty if they keep the 500 pace from here on out(might be the play in game though). Getting Springer and Lowrie back will help. With the endless talent in our farm it is reasonable to expect a front line starter to be joining this rotation. Get this team to the playoffs and have a Dallas McCullers X-player VV/McHugh Followed with the help of Lowrie and Springer should make them world series contenders. Just get in!
Agree with those who don't think Obie should have been demoted A little surprised he got in the doghouse here and gets to come back and start Still think he is traded soon
When it comes to controlling your own destiny, how many losses another team has is very important. If the Astros lose two more games, with the Angels idle (due to some massive earthquake in S. California that suspends their game), in the standings the Astros will technically be "0.5 games ahead"... but in reality, they'll be 1 game back in the loss column and will no longer control their own fate if both teams "win out". Additionally, tell me which scenario you'd rather have: Astros: 49-38 Angels: 49-39 Astros: 49-38 Angels: 48-38 Both scenarios feature a "1/2 game lead" by the Astros... but only one involves a situation where they don't need the other team to lose to guarantee finishing with a better overall record. Its always a cluster when teams don't play on the same days, and sometimes have a different amount of games played at any given time (in addition to the fact that there's really no such thing as a "half game lead" when all teams will end up playing the same amount of games)... thus why looking at the loss column (only) simplifies things.
You are including the win column here, which is essential in attempting to make your case. Which is my point. If you are saying the Astros are "a game ahead" or "tied in the loss column", the next inquiry is "well, how many wins does each team have?" And in your scenario, my answer is, they are the exact same thing. "Controlling your own destiny" is for peace of mind, nothing more. A specific outcome has to happen in each scenario regardless. What if in scenario A, we had Fausto Carmona pitching against Clayton Kershaw in the deciding of the season, and in scenario B the Angels had a similarly awful matchup? Which of these scenarios would you rather have: L Astros: 38 Angels: 50 or Astros: 38 Angels: 35
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Astros lineup <a href="http://t.co/6NGDksqOzP">pic.twitter.com/6NGDksqOzP</a></p>— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/status/618869769828237312">July 8, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Actually, no... it means you win and you'll be fine. If you don't control your own destiny, you can win all you want... and you still need help. If you've ever been on a sports team, you'd understand that you'd much rather want the situation in your control... and not having to rely on help from others. (hell, most players in sports have absolutely zero clue about what another team is doing). Yes, the Astros have a "2.5" game lead... but the fact that they're only 1 game up in the loss column makes it a much different scenario, largely impacted simply because the Astros have played more games that the Angels will eventually catch up with as well. Check this out: Astros 49-37 Angels 46-40 That is a real actual bonafied 3 game lead (if we want to "round up" from 2.5), with both teams playing the same number of games. Astros 49-37 Angels 45-38 That is our current "2.5" game lead that is really only 1 game up in the loss column. Between the two, the Angels only have 1 more win in scenario A vs. scenario B... but the losses make scenario A the far more desirable situation. Bottom line is, if you're comparing two teams that haven't played the same amount of games, what is happening in the loss column is most definitely of increased importance into determining how "close" they really are.
