Every win is so crucial at this point, we have got to leap over the Yankees. I do NOT want to have to face the Twins in a short series. They can absolutely mash and they are on pace to win 100 games as well.
No one would blame you for falling asleep at the end of a nearly-five-hour regular season game. You could've squeezed in nearly two JV no-hitters into this game. I don't think I've ever left an Astros game early. Just not my style. My dad has, but then he had to go wait in the car while my mom and I stayed through the end. We stayed through one their 18-inning games back in the late NL days...which they lost. Ugh. Speaking of JV and going to Astros games, I hope he's got 8-9 more innings in him when I go to the game on Saturday now that our bullpen is thoroughly cashed.
Every possible first round opponent will likely "scare" the fans in some way... just like the Indians were perceived as a sleeper last year, and the Red Sox the year before. Both the Rays and A's can beat any team in a short series (less concerned about the A's) as well. In the end, its the short series that should scare every team, regardless of how good they are. Of course, the Astros should have the 3 best pitchers for any possible matchup, and that's really the best you can do. EDIT: Ian Snell rehabbing right now for Rays... if he comes back healthy, you have to factor that into them becoming even more dangerous in a short series (the hope would be he or Morton has to pitch the wild card game).
I assume you meant Blake. He's not been good this year when healthy and won't be built back up entirely by then (has a 1 inning rehab scheduled this weekend). Morton is getting that start if he's available
Last I heard as of a couple of days ago they were leaning rotation, so he'd be on a schedule and they could manage his workload better. They get McKay back too, but just as a pitcher. AL postseason races shaping up to be fun this month.
Starter, reliever...almost irrelevant for Rays as they only use 2-3 starters like traditional starters.
Right. I was speaking of starter/reliever in the non-traditional sense. If you're expected to pitch 5 innings every 5 days you're a starter, doesn't matter to me if you start the 1st or 3rd inning, and vice versa. Morton is their only pitcher with enough innings to qualify for leaderboards, btw.
I was more thinking of they have relievers that go 3-4 and starters that go 4-5, and not when they come in.
"Joe West umpired that game, too..." Edit: Looks like my link below was already covered in the tweet, so here's a fact: Joe West's 43rd MLB umpiring birthday is in 8 days. That's just not right. Looks like Joe West was at first base that game.
I'm not a big Miley fan, but he's a quality 4. If he can be a coin flip for a game 4 start I'm content with that scenario.
Might not be a bad time to give him a little DL stint. He could probably use a week or 2 off. Now would be a perfect time to do it. He only made 16 starts last year so I'm betting he's hit the wall.
