Would like to note one thing. Astros have had to deal with two stretches of 3-5 days off and in the midst of their third. Phillies are getting their first long stretch of days off. Something to watch out for as their guys just had an emotional NLCS win against the Padres. Let's see how they adjust. I don't think the Phillies top 4 guys Harper, Realmuto, Hoskins, Schwarber are head and shoulders better than what Rizzo, Judge, Stanton, Cabrera gave the Yankees. Houston should win this series.
This. A 7-game series is not a good measure of how good a team is. The thing to fear is random variability such that the inferior teams still win ~40% of the series.
I think I read somewhere that for the better team to advance at the same rate as what occurs in a best of seven NBA playoff series, an equivalent MLB playoff series would need to be around 75 games long.
I'm sorry. I just can't get myself work up over Philadelphia. The thing about streaky players and teams is that it usually evens out. I give The Astros as much of a chance of completing the post season sweep as I do of Philadelphia winning 2 games. Yes, both can happen. It's baseball.
Anything can happen but I much rather be us and than them. I know everyone rooting for Philly now and excited but then they gonna be saying Astros got lucky to face a Wild Card team so much inferior to them and that This World Series doesn't count because they faced the easiest possible opponent.
lose game 1 or game 2 and the astros are fugged. unless it's a repeat of 2019.......i'm sure no one wants to hear the sound of that.
Maybe the first to say it, but definitely not the last. Every WS not won by the Yankees has some taint according to the Sports Propagandists.
Anyone that has the guts to remember the the 2019 and 2021 world series? How many days off did each team get after winning their league championship? I don't even like watching replays from the games we won prior to heading into said world series.
So if the Phillies are so great , and their 1-5 is pretty dang good , what was their issue during the regular season ? What are their key weaknesses? Harper scares me - he’s clutch. Schwarber and Realmuto are solid - the rest ? Hoskins has had a good postseason. But if Altuve and Alvarez show up, I’ll take our guys over their guys any day . Also everyone hyping Nola and Wheeler … those guys aren’t close to Verlander/Framber and probably not as good as McCullers or Javier. Also their 4th game starter? Probably a bullpen game .. let’s go !
2005: Astros 2 days off White Sox 5 days off 2017: Astros 2 days off Dodgers 4 days off 2019: Astros 2 days off Nationals 6 days off 2021: Astros 3 days off Braves 2 days off
They've been known for horrible defense for a while. Castellenos, Schwarber are very weak defenders and their infield has also had its struggles. Harper is a solid defender but has had to DH all year. I think it got somewhat better by the time the playoffs came around but its still a below average unit. They're top heavy in the rotation. Wheeler and Nola are great but there's a big drop off to Suarez and Snydergaard. They've only got a few reliable options in the pen. Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez are going to be ridden hard. Hand and David Robertson are probably next up. The bottom of the order is pretty meh offensively: Bohm, Segura, Stott, and Marsh were all average or below offensively during the season. A few of them have had highlights this post-season but overall the bottom of the line-up is weaker than the Stros. For the Phillies, it basically comes down to the top 1-5 hitters, 2 aces, and 2 ace relievers.
Everyone should have a very healthy respect for the Phillies, seeding is irrelevant. But the Phillies are the worst regular season team that the Astros have faced the past 3 WS, both offensively and pitching-wise. Just a little history in our recent WS appearances. Here are the MLB rankings for runs scored for and against for the Astros and the Nats/Braves/Phillies: 2019: R/G HOU: 5.68 (3rd) WAS: 5.39 (6th) RA/G HOU: 3.95 (2nd) WAS: 4.47 (9th) 2021: R/G HOU: 5.33 (1st) ATL: 4.91 (7th) RA/G HOU: 4.06 (6th) ATL: 4.07 (7th) 2022: R/G HOU: 4.55 (8th) PHI: 4.61 (7th) RA/G HOU: 3.20 (2nd) PHI: 4.23 (15th) That being said, hot pitching has generally proven to be the deciding factor in most WS not hitting. Most importantly, this team is on a mission and I think they get it done this time - decisively.
Thanks for posting that. I was curious after a couple of the members of LA media were suggesting the days off led to the downfall.
