GDT: Astros vs. Angels, Sept. 4 (8:10 pm)

[sempersmom]

Starting lineups:



Astros

1. Springer, CF
2. Reddick, RF
3. Brantley, DH
4. Gurriel, 1B
5. Tucker, LF
6. Correa, SS
7. Toro, 3B
8. Diaz, 2B
9. Maldonado, C
McCullers, P

Angels
1. Simmons, SS
2. Trout, CF
3. Rendon, 3B
4. Ohtani, DH
5. Ward, RF
6. Walsh, 1B
7. Barreto, LF
8. Rengifo, 2B
9. Briceno, C
Bundy, P

[blcoach8]

Glad to see a lineup without Garneau of Mayfield.

[blcoach8]

Bullpen improved, but, not by much.........Devenski activated, Biagini sent down.

[unionstation82]

Man, why do we never send runners with Brantley up?

[unionstation82]

And we’re losing.

[abregmanfan]

Damn it, Lance.

[blcoach8]

Lance throw a BP fastball to Trout that he hits for a home run and then walks the next three. After the trainer looked at him, Dusty comes out to get him and Lance acts surprised...Baker made the right move.

[Saint]

Lance continues to disappoint as a starter.

[blcoach8]

Sept 4, 2020 19:54:44 GMT -6 Saint said:

Lance continues to disappoint as a starter.

No consistency

[unionstation82]

Good swings by Yuli and Correa to cut the lead in half.

[blcoach8]

Sept 4, 2020 20:32:11 GMT -6 unionstation82 said:

Good swings by Yuli and Correa to cut the lead in half.

Diaz and Maldonado both looked silly swinging at the slider.

[unionstation82]

Cionel Pérez is a reliever who gets hurt from the 3-batter minimum rule.

[unionstation82]

Leadoff double by Díaz followed by three K’s. SMH.

[churchill]

Bundy is having a comeback season

[unionstation82]

Can they just please stop batting Toro anywhere higher than last in the lineup? He’s been killing them all year.

[blcoach8]

Sept 4, 2020 22:05:37 GMT -6 unionstation82 said:

Can they just please stop batting Toro anywhere higher than last in the lineup? He’s been killing them all year.

Toro and Mayfield are both useless. I hope they activate Bregman tomorrow and send Mayfield out.

[unionstation82]

Can’t advance the runners even to third base in extras and lose. This extra inning rule is killing the Astros.

[blcoach8]

Angel walk it off in the 11th 6-5. We have to be the worst team in baseball hitting in extra innings. Hell, we can't even move a runner to third base. We dodged a bullet in the 10th when Pujols popped up and Trout struck out with the winning run on third.

[unionstation82]

Sept 4, 2020 23:39:47 GMT -6 blcoach8 said:

Angel walk it off in the 11th 6-5. We have to be the worst team in baseball hitting in extra innings. Hell, we can't even move a runner to third base. We dodged a bullet in the 10th when Pujols popped up and Trout struck out with the winning run on third.

They’ve had quite a few escape acts by the pitching staff in extras, which were good enough for winning, but they remain a bad team at the fundamentals. Why does George try to slam a pitch past Rendon and Simmons with Stubbs at second base? No one takes a smart approach to play for the single run. They blow a chance to pull to one game back of the A’s, but this season has been full of blown chances.

[blcoach8]

Sept 4, 2020 23:41:58 GMT -6 unionstation82 said:

Sept 4, 2020 23:39:47 GMT -6 blcoach8 said:

Angel walk it off in the 11th 6-5. We have to be the worst team in baseball hitting in extra innings. Hell, we can't even move a runner to third base. We dodged a bullet in the 10th when Pujols popped up and Trout struck out with the winning run on third.

They’ve had quite a few escape acts by the pitching staff in extras, which were good enough for winning, but they remain a bad team at the fundamentals. Why does George try to slam a pitch past Rendon and Simmons with Stubbs at second base? No one takes a smart approach to play for the single run. They blow a chance to pull to one game back of the A’s, but this season has been full of blown chances.

George did what too many of our hitters do......try to pull the ball through a shift.  It is fundamentally terrible.  I get sick of the Kalas and Blum saying player's can't bunt anymore without clarifying it by saying they are not forced to practice and learn to bunt. It is the fault of the organization....not the players.

[unionstation82]

Sept 5, 2020 10:04:58 GMT -6 blcoach8 said:

Sept 4, 2020 23:41:58 GMT -6 unionstation82 said:

They’ve had quite a few escape acts by the pitching staff in extras, which were good enough for winning, but they remain a bad team at the fundamentals. Why does George try to slam a pitch past Rendon and Simmons with Stubbs at second base? No one takes a smart approach to play for the single run. They blow a chance to pull to one game back of the A’s, but this season has been full of blown chances.

George did what too many of our hitters do......try to pull the ball through a shift.  It is fundamentally terrible.  I get sick of the Kalas and Blum saying player's can't bunt anymore without clarifying it by saying they are not forced to practice and learn to bunt. It is the fault of the organization....not the players.

I agree. That’s such lazy rationale used by company men to explain the lazier dedication to launch angles and destroying the ball rather than using strategy to up the percentages of scoring. Sure, you give away outs on sacrifices, but you also do that with hitting into shifts and with strikeouts.

[blcoach8]

Sept 5, 2020 10:08:01 GMT -6 unionstation82 said:

Sept 5, 2020 10:04:58 GMT -6 blcoach8 said:

George did what too many of our hitters do......try to pull the ball through a shift.  It is fundamentally terrible.  I get sick of the Kalas and Blum saying player's can't bunt anymore without clarifying it by saying they are not forced to practice and learn to bunt. It is the fault of the organization....not the players.

I agree. That’s such lazy rationale used by company men to explain the lazier dedication to launch angles and destroying the ball rather than using strategy to up the percentages of scoring. Sure, you give away outs on sacrifices, but you also do that with hitting into shifts and with strikeouts.

Blum is hung up on exit velocity. I think he records it each time a guy hits the ball. He slobbered all over himself when George hit a double off the wall that had a 115 mph exit velocity.  They have the visual of where he player is likely to hit a certain pitch. They love to talk about the exit angle, etc.  Meaningless garbage has taken the place of relevant stats that actually determine a player's success or failure.  Blum and Kalas mentioned that players can't bunt but they never put the blame where it belongs.......on lazy coaches in the organization who don't emphasize it and teach proper bunting techniques. How many games have we lost, especially in extra innings, because we either didn't attempt to bunt the runner on second to third or could not get it down when attempted.  "These guys can't bunt" is a cop out and excuse for the failure of major league players either not wanting to bunt or can't.  I have heard announcers say the manager would not "insult" certain players by asking them to bunt..That is BS. If the bunt increases your chances of scoring and winning no matter if it's Trout, Judge, Bregman, or whoever.  I realize being able to bunt isn't taken into account when negotiating a big contract, but, in my opinion, guys who can bunt are valuable to a team. How many hits could a guy with Straw's speed get if he was a great bunter? Being able to bunt draws the infielder in and makes it easier to hit the ball by him.  I also hate the shift...I have seen too many hits given up and runs scored because of it.  Of course, our hitters aren't interested in taking advantage of the shift. We had rather try to pull the ball through it.

[abregmanfan]

Come playoff time, I bet we bunt. Dusty is old school and will do it when it matters most. 

[blcoach8]

Sept 5, 2020 10:57:00 GMT -6 abregmanfan said:

Come playoff time, I bet we bunt. Dusty is old school and will do it when it matters most. 

He needs to be doing it now instead of blowing games by refusing to use it.