Are the Astros too good to where all the Games are boring now?

I think the Nationals are substantially better than the Yankees, and if nothing else are more proven. The Yankees pitching staff isn't good (well their starting rotation isn't). Their offense is so dependent on MVP starts by Judge and Hicks that don't have an impressive track record. Maybe they've all just clicked, and certainly Gregorious, Castro, & Hicks are at that prime age. Didi & Castro are having more normal improvement (and I buy Didi more than Castro), while Judge & Hicks have just blown away their former selfs. Those things do happen (Jose Bautista and JD Martinez certainly come to mind) but more often it doesn't.

The NL has 3 teams that are very good in the Nats, Cubs (their struggles aside, we know how good their players can be), and the Dodgers. Ultimately how good the NL can be is dependent on the Mets getting healthy and how legit the starts for Milwaukee, Arizona, & Colorado are.

 

Can we please close terrible threads like this? We act like we have World Series Ring(s)

 

Yankees have two good starters to Nats 2 great starters and Yankees pen blows the Nats out of the water. I would say pitching is close for the playoffs with slight edge to Nats as it now stands. Playoff teams are going to make the Nats bullpen look like the Twins the past few days. I favor Yankees position players slightly once Sanchez gets going even with heavy regression to Judge, Hicks. Going forward, Even if you perceive a bigger gap than me, the Yankees have the pocket books and the prospects to add another starter while Nats can't even scrap up enough to have a decent closer. Unfortunately, I think the Yankees rebuild only lasted half a season.

 

The astros are no. 1 in both runs scored and runs allowed in the AL. They are no1 and no2 in the entire league. They have the best run differential in baseball. They are on place of 113 wins. They have best record in MLB by 4 games.

 

Berkman deserves credit as well. He was nearly as good as Beltran in the '04 playoffs and raked in the '05 playoffs too. The big moment didn't overwhelm him and he always seemed to be on an even keel. He really was such a good all-around hitter. Berkman finished with a .943 career ops and a .949 career playoffs ops.

 

How did you never catch that? That's the quintessential Stros fight.

Cangelosi v Juden
Alou blasting Collins in the face with his helmet
Dr. Death
Sean Berry got a couple of good shots in
Henry Rodriguez killed the Stros, I hated that guy.

 

Oh **** this.

 

I hated him too. Look at his punchable face.

 

No YouTube back then- and yes, I was a Stros fan. Watched as many games as I could. But I missed that, don't know how.

True story: only player I met was Mike Hampton. I was working at this restaurant called Victor's in SugarLand- I want to say between 1995 and 1997. Anyway, it was that one year when Hampton went on some 5 or 6 game winning streak- memory's a bit vague. At that time, he had been struggling- as I always did, I talked to them like normal human beings rather than a starstruck fan (a lot of athletes lived in the New Territory area of S.L. at the time). I asked him how everything was going- because I hadn't been keeping up with them lately- and he said something like struggling a bit. Me, in my cliched optimism, responded with, "don't worry, things will turn around soon..." - had no idea he would rattle off several wins in a row- he comes in sometime after that, and I wait on him again- I said something like, "See, Victor's is a good luck charm!' - he laughed and did the eye-roll thing, "yeah, that's what it was."

Only Astro I ever met in person. Well, I talked to Lance McCullers for about 5 seconds before the Indians game a few weeks ago. On the bobblehead day thing.

 

Exactly - screw that. Bagwell and Biggio are champions.

I do remember those Braves- the games were over before I got out of class.

And then the Padres that year with Kevin Brown and Sterling ****ing Hitchcock.

 

In 1997, yes. But the Astros won Game 1 vs the Braves in 1999 and should've gone up 2-1 before choking away Game 3 at the Dome. Maybe they would've lost in 5 in the end, but they should've at least forced a deciding game.

And don't get me started on 2001. That Astros team looked like they pulled a Harden and quit.

 

Astros odds to win the West according to Bovada: 1-50

Astros odds to win the WS are the highest right now in the MLB according to Bovada

http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-top-10-most-valuable-houston-astros-thus-far-in-2017-9478340

 

via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

Haven't read this thread; can't believe it's 6 pages. I just keep seeing the title, and it keeps taking me by surprise.

Same knee-jerk response, every time: WTH is wrong with you???

 

Last night's game was not boring. Until Yuli hit that home run in the 9th, it was a tight game. The inning that Harris pitched was a nailbiter. And the same goes for the 2nd game in the Rangers series. That would up being a 1-run win.

Overall, the Astros are demolishing the competition during this streak, but they've had to win some close ones as well. Which BTW is a good thing. I'm actually far more impressed with those kinds of wins than the ones against the Twins where they just crushed them.

 

Nothing hurts like the '86 NLCS when we lost to the Mets after leading in the 9th inning. I still hate Lenny Dykstra.