I purposely didn't include that on the list of this emotional team. 11-4, 11-1 losses. And I was right not to. I was hoping for option 1 like the first-half Astros, but figuring that this was indeed still the second-half Astros. *sigh*
Who am I? Who are you? Serious answer: "we" being the posters on this subforum living vicariously through the team.
Can I christen this the "Curse of the All-Star Game," or has that already been done? It needs to be if it hasn't been. It started slightly before the break when McCullers threw a bad game after being All-Star-level unbeatable. Then our three starters go 0-for in the ASG. Not long after: All-Star Correa injured. All-Star Springer injured. All-Star McCullers sucks, injured, sucks, injured, no-one knows anymore. All-Star Altuve hits like a madman, but can't carry the entire team, eventually starts to have slips the next month. All-Star reliever Devenski figured out and no longer effective after All-Star Game. So that's what happened to the All-Stars. Keuchel gets a pass, because he was already injured and has more or less returned to form. The rest of the team apparently caught the All-Star Plague as well and, with few exceptions, hasn't shaken it. For those trying to find silver linings or arguments in simple season averages, it's the trends that matter, and .500 since the ASG, the sudden inability to score runs, and getting embarrassed by the worst team in your division and some of the worst teams in the league....that's not a good trend for the playoffs. So Astros. *weeps* Just so Astros.
11,380 days ago, there was an All Star Game in the venerable Astrodome of Houston, Texas. I watched Roger Clemens duel Dwight Gooden. It was glorious. Recently I found a trinket, a hat if you will, from that occasion with a sigul thus: Now anyone who knows anything about horseshoes and luck realizes the problem that has plagued this organization for years.... You never, ever hang a horseshoe upside down. But the Astros did. The past is gone, the rest, remembered. So... What do we do to exorcise this curse? How do we un-flip the shoe, if you will?
Yes. Hell of a run by Cleveland. One for the books. But. We are caught. If we want home field throughout we now have to win one more game than Cleveland. Now that we are tied in the loss column we are no longer in control of our destiny. Cleveland is. Doesn't really matter what it took now does it.
This team is gonna be just fine now that we are healthy, but we still lack experience, and I think that shows. We need to acquire it fast in the playoffs, adapt, learn, adjust, and see if we have enough of it to advance to the World Series. Pressure Baserunning and baserunng in general remains an issue as does a sketchy bullpen,and Hinch's willingness to put shiot on the mound for no apparent reason and with little rationale, but if those are the only weakness at this point, I can live with that.
I suppose it's somewhat comforting to know that Feliz, Fiers, and perhaps Gregerson will not be on the playoff roster. But that doesn't leave many options for Hinch..... Keuchel and Verlander better be doing their arm exercises because we're going to need 7-8 innings out of both of them in October. Every. Single. Time.
The only Astros reliever who hasn't surrendered runs this series..... Spoiler Hoyt gave up inherited's Davis is a hitter, supposedly
Fortunately the playoffs features more off days and our bully will be bolstered with Morton and Peacock. Having five players that can go 2-4 innings each should be a huge advantage. Having said that, it's difficult being super confident in any Houston team.
Yeah, having a team with the best offense in baseball and tied for the best record of the league. Woe is us.
Starting with the Angels series I think we should see lineups we'll be rolling out in playoffs. At this point I don't think it's necessary to have too many of our main guys out of the lineup. I think our best offensive lineup has Gattis at DH. For the playoff roster I'll take versatility, speed, a backup catcher, and Beltran for bench and strikeout ability for pitchers. Screw the LOOGY, let's be different. Springer - CF Bregman - 3B Altuve - 2B Correa - SS Reddick - RF Gurriel - 1B Gattis - DH Gonzalez - LF McCann - C Maybin Marisnick Kemp Stassi Beltran Keuchel Verlander McCullers McHugh (if healthy) Morton Peacock Devenski Harris Giles Martes Musgrove Sipp or Liriano (if McHugh not healthy)
Been an ugly 3 game stretch. But we have a sharp GM, a great young core, a team with legit WS chances and overall a franchise with a clear unified direction. This Texans game, holy crap. Everything suddenly feels so bleak. This is what a mediocre organization looks like.
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY...ASTROS PLEASE PLEASE SALVAGE THIS WEEKEND. I mean, c'mon, we've been watching the Texans.
