He's on their roster because a) the Astros' system is not deep; b) he destroyed - and I do mean destroyed - pitching in Sugar Land (.446/.692). Let's not pretend he's here as some community outreach charity initiative. The situation was completely different and managed accordingly. Friday night, there were no outs & you needed at least two baserunners. Last night, you just needed someone to get on base. You can be flippant all you want. Diaz struck out 20% of the time this season, and has struck out 42% of the time this postseason. The worst possible outcome in that moment is a strikeout. So, again: this wasn't *just* a hunch. It was Baker and his staff likely having a plan based on their data.
There's gonna be a lot of talk about home curses, and choking and missed opportunities if we lose tonight. Will I be disappointed if we lose, absolutely (I think the fact that we lost to Arlington would bother me more), however this has already been the 2nd most successful run in the expansion era. I'm not gonna lose a ton of sleep over it. That being said, we're gonna win, the team just likes to do things the hard way in 2023. It was too easy for us last season.
You may wind up being right, but the Rangers are in win now mode. I don’t think anyone could have predicted such a sudden turn around for Ragans and let’s give it a little longer before evaluating his long term success. Personally I don’t like Chapman for all sorts of reasons but I don’t think you can judge a GM based on one trade without knowing what his ownership has asked him to prioritize regarding short term vs long term. They needed relief, they got relief. They needed starters, they got two big time starters.
Chas started 20 of the 24 games after Sept 4 and the only game he didn’t start from Sept 15th on was the game he was recovering from being plunked in the back by Seattle. Chas was not mothballed. Diaz was mothballed.
So Singleton over Diaz because Diaz strikes out too much? LOLOLOL Singleton struck out 25% of the time this season, 39% for his career Carry on
Lol, Tuck is struggling and I love Tony Kemp But let's try not to equate the two as similar And also, what time will Academy have the shirts ready tonight? And can I get in to buy them hammered?
Kids get rings for winning now? I was lucky if I got a snow cone and 2 Jack in the Box greasy ass tacos.
I mean an adequate hitter who could get on base, then was a huge threat to steal and had the speed to be batted in by top of the order.
Gotcha Obviously Tucker is struggling, but the tiny sample size of playoffs makes things look so different because that's the only numbers you really see. Tucker, and almost all baseball players, go though stretches like this multiple times a year it's just not noticed as much. We are still talking about a guy who was one of the top candidates for the AL MVP. Let's back off that ledge so we don't fall off of it when Tucker hits that 3 run bomb tonight to extend the lead
No. Man is a professional who had a crap game 3. He is getting a shot at redemption and is going to take it and he has already owned us at MMP. I hope we get the 2 hit no run complete game version of Javier. Feels like the only way we have a chance. Astros have had a sensational run. No one can take that away from us. I really wish Altuve and Bregman would remember what the Rangers did to this city after Harvey and make them pay. Maybe they will. This sport can be infuriating. Dink hit and your on base. A loud 392 foot blast and your out.
I agree that mothballed is extreme, but I expect Chas is probably the 2nd best player to not start 3 games after September 4th for non-injury/catcher rest on teams that did not clinch a postseason birth prior to the last week.
We suck at home for some reason, but I do believe we'll pull it out. We have gamers, clutch players who have been here before. Experience wins every time.. Go Stros!