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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 9:37:28 GMT -6
Stanek vs. Cole
Today's game not only allows Carlos Gomez to pick fights with former teammates; it also allows us to see the results of the Rays' ongoing experiment with unconventional SP.
Stanek is a reliever who will be allowed to throw ~30 pitches, probably enough to record 6 or 7 outs. If Rays' recent bullpen management is any guide, he will then be replaced by a middle reliever like Pruitt or Andriese, who will throw anywhere from 30 to 90 pitches, depending on how well they are doing. Most likely, the Rays will use 5 or 6 men from their bullpen today.
The Astros are 12-2 when Cole has taken the mound. His most recent start was the first this year in which he allowed more than 3 ERs, and that included two HRs.
The Rays have only two hot hitters this month: Matt Duffy and Jake Bauers. For his part, Gomez is in a 9-for-50 slump with two walks, 9 K's, and a caught stealing.
On paper the Astros have this one locked down, but need to make the most of every pitch and every AB as usual.
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Post by blcoach8 on Jun 18, 2018 11:16:48 GMT -6
If I were Gomez and had to face Cole, Verlander, and Morton in a row, I would try not to piss anyone off. Any of the three can crack his ribs with a pitch........in fact, I hope if he starts his act and running his mouth that one of them plants him.
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 11:21:13 GMT -6
I meant to throw this on the game thread as a possible topic of pre-game discussion:
It's hard to find a weakness with this year's Astros team, but one of the candidates might be baserunning smarts. Anecdotally, it's seemed that the Astros make a lot of brain-farts on the bases and get picked off, caught in unnecessary rundowns, doubled up, thrown out trying to take an extra base, etc. So I looked up the numbers and here's where the team is at:
So far, the Astros have made 29 outs while advancing on a fly ball, trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple, doubled off on a line drive, or advancing on a passed ball or wild pitch.
That is the third-highest number of such outs made by an AL team this year; only the Red Sox and Rays have more. The MLB average is 23 such outs.
Perhaps, if we consider that the Astros have the AL's highest OBP (the Cubs having an even higher one in the NL), we can excuse the team for making those extra 6 outs above the league average. The Astros simply have more opportunities to make such mistakes than other teams do.
The Orioles, by contrast, have only 15 such outs, but that doesn't make them a good offense.
The Astros have two individual players in the MLB Top 20 in terms of baserunning gaffes resulting in outs -- Bregman with 7 (tied with 3 others for the MLB lead) and Marwin with 5. Perhaps the coaching staff can work with those two individuals to make an improvement in the second half.
Kemp should also be invited to the TOOTBLAN meeting as he already has 3 such outs in much more limited playing time compared with Bregman or Marwin. Mighty Mouse is fast, but apparently not as fast as he thinks he is.
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 11:22:55 GMT -6
If I were Gomez and had to face Cole, Verlander, and Morton in a row, I would try not to piss anyone off. Any of the three can crack his ribs with a pitch........in fact, I hope if he starts his act and running his mouth that one of them plants him. Gomez would be wise to be on his best behavior. Will be funny if he has to face McHugh.  |
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 12:03:43 GMT -6
I meant to throw this on the game thread as a possible topic of pre-game discussion: It's hard to find a weakness with this year's Astros team, but one of the candidates might be baserunning smarts. Anecdotally, it's seemed that the Astros make a lot of brain-farts on the bases and get picked off, caught in unnecessary rundowns, doubled up, thrown out trying to take an extra base, etc. So I looked up the numbers and here's where the team is at:
So far, the Astros have made 29 outs while advancing on a fly ball, trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple, doubled off on a line drive, or advancing on a passed ball or wild pitch.
That is the third-highest number of such outs made by an AL team this year; only the Red Sox and Rays have more. The MLB average is 23 such outs.
Perhaps, if we consider that the Astros have the AL's highest OBP (the Cubs having an even higher one in the NL), we can excuse the team for making those extra 6 outs above the league average. The Astros simply have more opportunities to make such mistakes than other teams do.
The Orioles, by contrast, have only 15 such outs, but that doesn't make them a good offense.
The Astros have two individual players in the MLB Top 20 in terms of baserunning gaffes resulting in outs -- Bregman with 7 (tied with 3 others for the MLB lead) and Marwin with 5. Perhaps the coaching staff can work with those two individuals to make an improvement in the second half.
Kemp should also be invited to the TOOTBLAN meeting as he already has 3 such outs in much more limited playing time compared with Bregman or Marwin. Mighty Mouse is fast, but apparently not as fast as he thinks he is.
Is it Bregman or the coaching staff making the decisions though? |
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 12:12:30 GMT -6
That would be interesting to know -- when players are making the calls and when they are being held/sent by the coaching staff.
I'd imagine it's a combination of both. We've seen some cases this year of a hit-and-run being called and the runner getting doubled off in a strike em out - throw em out kind of thing. That's on the coaching staff. But other times, guys take excessive leads off of first or third base and get thrown out, and that is on them.
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Post by blcoach8 on Jun 18, 2018 12:28:56 GMT -6
I meant to throw this on the game thread as a possible topic of pre-game discussion: It's hard to find a weakness with this year's Astros team, but one of the candidates might be baserunning smarts. Anecdotally, it's seemed that the Astros make a lot of brain-farts on the bases and get picked off, caught in unnecessary rundowns, doubled up, thrown out trying to take an extra base, etc. So I looked up the numbers and here's where the team is at:
So far, the Astros have made 29 outs while advancing on a fly ball, trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple, doubled off on a line drive, or advancing on a passed ball or wild pitch.
That is the third-highest number of such outs made by an AL team this year; only the Red Sox and Rays have more. The MLB average is 23 such outs.
Perhaps, if we consider that the Astros have the AL's highest OBP (the Cubs having an even higher one in the NL), we can excuse the team for making those extra 6 outs above the league average. The Astros simply have more opportunities to make such mistakes than other teams do.
The Orioles, by contrast, have only 15 such outs, but that doesn't make them a good offense.
The Astros have two individual players in the MLB Top 20 in terms of baserunning gaffes resulting in outs -- Bregman with 7 (tied with 3 others for the MLB lead) and Marwin with 5. Perhaps the coaching staff can work with those two individuals to make an improvement in the second half.
Kemp should also be invited to the TOOTBLAN meeting as he already has 3 such outs in much more limited playing time compared with Bregman or Marwin. Mighty Mouse is fast, but apparently not as fast as he thinks he is.
With putouts created by questionalble decisions on the bases combined with leading the league in hitting into DP's, we are fortunate to also lead in runs scored. Plus we lead in fewest runs allowed and run differential. |
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 12:45:02 GMT -6
On Pace numbers:
Gattis: 31 HR 104 RBI .821 OPS
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 12:56:46 GMT -6
With putouts created by questionalble decisions on the bases combined with leading the league in hitting into DP's, we are fortunate to also lead in runs scored. Plus we lead in fewest runs allowed and run differential. The GIDP problem has been led by Gurriel (who has GIDP'd in 20% of his 56 plate appearances which presented a DP possibility). Next is Correa, who has GIDP'd in 17% of his 66 opportunities. The league average is to GIDP 11% of the time one comes to the plate with a risk of GIDP. Marwin has done a notable job of avoiding the GIDP (5%) in spite of coming to the plate in lots of GIDP situations. Maybe he can tell the other guys how it's done. The other really successful offenses in the league (Yankees, Indians, Cubs) tend to GIDP far less often than the league average, so this is an area the Astros can and should improve upon. |
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Post by paastrosfan on Jun 18, 2018 13:25:53 GMT -6
AJ in various interviews has mentioned he like his players to be aggressive on the bases, and he didn't go into detail on which players have the green light on their own. As for the DP's to hit into DP's you have to have traffic on the bases. Also you are looking at a team where the majority of the players smoke the ball off the stick and when you hit atom balls, shit happens.
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marshall
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21st Century Luddite
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
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Post by marshall on Jun 18, 2018 13:26:44 GMT -6
If you have double the opportunity for GDP, you would expect twice as many. I'd like to see the ratio rather than the raw numbers.
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 14:12:22 GMT -6
In his most recent start vs NYY, Stanek began by going to a 3-0 count on Gardner and then 2-0 against Judge. I would expect him to try to nibble edges and throw a lot of balls outside the zone in the first inning too today. If Springer can be patient, he will probably get some good pitches to hit late in counts. However if he goes up there determined to swing no matter what, he'll likely swing and miss or make weak contact.
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marshall
Veteran
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Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
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Post by marshall on Jun 18, 2018 15:22:07 GMT -6
New York now losing the suspended game.
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 15:32:16 GMT -6
People hate Gomez, but Valbuena is the most annoying to me. At least Gomez was a 2-time AS and had a small but good run to be cocky. Valbuena has always been mediocre AT BEST, and he acts like he's a damn MVP with every single. His best year was a partial season with us...
I don't have a problem with some emotion if it's a big moment or a bat flip if you hit a HR off of your arch-nemesis, but they look stupid as shit doing it after every base hit.
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 15:33:19 GMT -6
I want to see an Altuve HR today, and Cole with 10+ Ks.
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Post by blcoach8 on Jun 18, 2018 15:35:02 GMT -6
People hate Gomez, but Valbuena is the most annoying to me. At least Gomez was a 2-time AS and had a small but good run to be cocky. Valbuena has always been mediocre AT BEST, and he acts like he's a damn MVP with every single. His best year was a partial season with us... I don't have a problem with some emotion if it's a big moment or a bat flip if you hit a HR off of your arch-nemesis, but they look stupid as shit doing it after every base hit. Valbuena and Gomez are both jerks, but, Gomez has the biggest mouth and goes out of his way to act a fool. I agree that Gomez has been a better player than Valbuena who has nevver been consistent at anything other than striking out. |
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 15:39:06 GMT -6
Wasn't Gomez pretty well-liked by the Astros players though? I'd be curious how a brawl would go down. I think Marwin or Correa would pull Gomez away before he got destroyed by Verlander or McCann.
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Post by m240 on Jun 18, 2018 15:40:32 GMT -6
I want to see an Altuve HR today, and Cole with 10+ Ks. It would be nice to see Cole get back on the K train. |
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 15:45:02 GMT -6
Duffy
Bauers
Ramos
Cron
Wendle
Adames
Smith
Gomez
Field
vs.
Springer
Bregman
Altuve
Correa
Gurriel
Reddick
Marwin
McCann
Kemp
Hmm...so Springer goes 0-5 with a miserable day and he gets to DH while Gattis goes 3-4 and is player of the week and gets the shaft.... Don't like that.
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Post by olpapa on Jun 18, 2018 15:47:03 GMT -6
Duffy Bauers Ramos Cron Wendle Adames Smith Gomez Field vs. Springer Bregman Altuve Correa Gurriel Reddick Marwin McCann Kemp Hmm...so Springer goes 0-5 with a miserable day and he gets to DH while Gattis goes 3-4 and is player of the week and gets the shaft.... Don't like that. Clipboard |
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 15:50:25 GMT -6
Stanek has very strong L/R splits; he's been almost unhittable against lefties but righties really get to him. It makes sense to put the righties at the top of the lineup since Stanek probably only gets through 5 or 6 hitters. Matt Andriese, another righty, is most likely to take over for Stanek. But after a few innings of him, the Astros probably see a lefty like Nuno or Venters. Tyler White would make a good sub at that point.
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Post by blcoach8 on Jun 18, 2018 15:58:40 GMT -6
Wasn't Gomez pretty well-liked by the Astros players though? I'd be curious how a brawl would go down. I think Marwin or Correa would pull Gomez away before he got destroyed by Verlander or McCann. he may hve been well liked when he first arrived, but, they despised him before he left......especially by pitchers who gave up runs because he loafed after fly balls and let them drop. Sometimes, he called for them and let them drop. More than once I saw Springer look at him like he wanted to punch his lights out and Colin McHugh despises him. Before he was released, he was despised by most players and the fans. If he is in the lineup in this series, you can bet he will be loudly booed by the fans. |
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Post by astrosdoug on Jun 18, 2018 16:01:56 GMT -6
It was strongly rumored in the days before Gomez was released, that he had been sent for a psych evaluation as his bizarre behavior genuinely perplexed the team's management.
He hit very well with glasses but I guess he felt they didn't look cool so he wouldn't wear them regularly. His strikeouts didn't reach Marisnick levels but they were annoying.
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marshall
Veteran
21st Century Luddite
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...
Posts: 4,358
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Post by marshall on Jun 18, 2018 16:09:53 GMT -6
New York loses the suspended game.
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 16:47:29 GMT -6
It was strongly rumored in the days before Gomez was released, that he had been sent for a psych evaluation as his bizarre behavior genuinely perplexed the team's management. He hit very well with glasses but I guess he felt they didn't look cool so he wouldn't wear them regularly. His strikeouts didn't reach Marisnick levels but they were annoying. Yeah I remember he didn't want to wear glasses. Vain. |
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Post by bannedfan on Jun 18, 2018 16:48:11 GMT -6
A compilation of some of Gomez antics. The 2nd one vs. Gerritt Cole....tonight’s Astros starter......
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Post by unionstation82 on Jun 18, 2018 16:53:29 GMT -6
People hate Gomez, but Valbuena is the most annoying to me. At least Gomez was a 2-time AS and had a small but good run to be cocky. Valbuena has always been mediocre AT BEST, and he acts like he's a damn MVP with every single. His best year was a partial season with us... I don't have a problem with some emotion if it's a big moment or a bat flip if you hit a HR off of your arch-nemesis, but they look stupid as shit doing it after every base hit. Yeah, but Gomez was all that before he came here. Valbuena may toss his bat for a single, but Gomez also does it for walks and flyouts. |
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Post by bannedfan on Jun 18, 2018 16:53:38 GMT -6
New York loses the suspended game. Good news. |
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Post by bannedfan on Jun 18, 2018 16:55:04 GMT -6
People hate Gomez, but Valbuena is the most annoying to me. At least Gomez was a 2-time AS and had a small but good run to be cocky. Valbuena has always been mediocre AT BEST, and he acts like he's a damn MVP with every single. His best year was a partial season with us... I don't have a problem with some emotion if it's a big moment or a bat flip if you hit a HR off of your arch-nemesis, but they look stupid as shit doing it after every base hit. Yeah, but Gomez was all that before he came here. Valbuena may toss his bat for a single, but Gomez also does it for walks and flyouts. Don’t care for Valbuena and his showboating. Noticed it when the Astros played Anaheim. |
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Post by Saint on Jun 18, 2018 16:57:05 GMT -6
I don't mind the hard slide at 2B. The rest of those is Gomez being Gomez.
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