I wasn't sure about how McHugh would adjust to the pen, especially given his 1st inning troubles in '15-16, but man he looks really comfortable in that role. If he keeps this up he's not going to be just the longman/mopup guy for long.
Kenny Lofton > Eddie Taubensee Gonzo + Servais > Rick Wilkins I had forgotten that Cruz basically went the JD Martinez route to becoming a badass.
What will he be? And will that truly be more valuable than him as a starter, or what the Astros could possibly get for him as a starter? If Keuchel and LMJ are going to do what they did this week more often than not, then Colin’s use will become even more irregular.
All that he can be? I was just spitballing saying that he could/should start getting used in more high-leverage situations in addition. Not necessarily more frequently, as we have no idea how his arm will bounce back on shorter rest. And yes, I love the idea of having him as the 6th starter when he's inevitably needed this season given Morton/McCullers/Keuchel's track record. It would take a pretty serious gamechanger at LF/DH (i.e. not a Gomez-type) to make me thrilled about trading him. But that's just me.
Offense is finally starting to stagger to its feet over the last 2. Need a good curbstomping to solidify it.
Not to be a downer, but the offense we all know and love score in more than two innings a game. Last year they were relentless. Hopefully they'll get there and start showing some consistency. It's a long season.
I was just thinking about how to word this point. While I am happy about having the BIG inning, getting basically shut out of the game for 8 innings isnt a recipe that is going to yield long term winning. We saw this in one of the Ranger games where we had a 5 run inning, only to end up losing 6-5. Your right. We have yet to see that relentless offense of yesteryear. Last year, we consistently had 7 or 8 guys who were ready to hit. This year, its more like 4.
As well as in the Twins 9-8 loss. Believe me, I'll take 7 runs every game regardless of when and how they get the runs, but I'd rather see last year's consistency.
Over the last 2 games they have had 28 base runners, and 23 AB's with RISP. That's the really important part, sometimes sequencing works in your favor, sometimes not. But consistent traffic will lead to runs.
I think a sometimes overlooked aspect of last years success was how we wore down the opposing pitching staff. It was more than just running up their pitch count. It was that perception that the opposing pitcher had no easy outs and/or guys to pitch around. They had to be sharp, even when pitching to our 7-9 hitters. Perhaps more than physically, mentally it could take them out of the game even before their PC got high.
A lot of that was due to the great offense from 7-9. There was never a soft spot in the offense. It'll be nice when they get some consistency back.
The real head-scratcher for me is that nobody playing LF can hit. Who would have thought that Marwin, Marisnick and Fisher would all be <.190 ? And even less from the DH than last year? There you have 2 almost auto-outs every time through the order.
