the real series thread starts here ___________________________________________________________________ The Motor-City Tigahs vs The H-Town Astros As MLB darlings, the Astros have been chosen to be the first playoff game, blasting off early. Will AJ Hinch throw a monkey wrench into the Astros' World Series hopes? Will "Stone Cold" Framber Valdez show up for Game One? Stay Tuned!
Wow, 11 pitchers, bold move but I like it. Dezenzo making the roster speaks to how highly the Astros think of his bat, IMO. I could see him getting a PH appearance against Skubal today if Yordan needs to be replaced on the basepaths at any point. And no Verlander.
In what situation would he be pitching? If we get down early and the starter is yanked, Arrighetti likely is coming in to give you length. If we are in the game, they are going to their leverage guys.
I don't like Yordan being active for this series. Much less starting out of the gate. And, I'll explain why. That knee is far from alright. He's going to be jogging, not sliding. Additionally, turning on the ball is an issue. Regardless of what happens, it's not worth all the risk here. Let him prepare for the next one. ( assuming we get past the Tigers) The knee is weak, and you're rushing him back putting unnecessary stress on it. To me, it's completely irresponsible.
The real question is when are we ever going to use Bryan King or Caleb Ferguson barring a complete blowout. Caleb pretty much walked the bases loaded a week ago and almost cost us.
If we beat Tarik game one I think Joe will rest him the rest of the series. This first game is critical. Baseball is a game of highs and lows, if we get down 1-0 they could suddenly get hot or lucky and end our playoff run.
If I was Hinch, I wouldn’t throw any strikes to Yordan. If he doesn’t chase, he ends up on 1B and he can’t run.
