The Friday tradition returns with a Free Blog Weekend where you are free to discuss anything on your mind heading into the final weekend before the All Star break. Of course, you already do an excellent job of keeping the conversation going during the other days of the week, but today you are given permission…..
And in case you need some fodder to chew on and expand upon, here are some conversation starters under the heading “What are the Chances”.
What are the chances….
- That Luis Valbuena would be leading this team in home runs at this part of the season? It is likely that he would have been considered lucky to break into the top four on the club ahead of Evan Gattis, Chris Carter, George Springer or Colby Rasmus before the season began.
- That Chris Carter would be batting .190, yet still leading the team in walks at 43? His major league leading 114 Ks will be discussed at another time.
- That Will Harris, selected off waivers from the D’Backs this off-season, would be leading the team with a 0.91 ERA?
- That Collin McHugh would have the 38th best ERA (4.54) among AL qualifiers, but would be tied for fourth in wins with nine?
- That the Astros would be fifth in the league with 4.44 runs/game, while sporting a 13th best .242 BA and an 11th best .308 OBP?
- That the Astros would be leading their division despite their starting pitching having a mediocre 4.00 ERA?
- That the Astros would be successful despite having no batter with a .300 or over batting average?
- That the Astros would be leading their division despite all the starting pitchers not named Dallas Keuchel or Collin McHugh totalling 12 wins at the break?
Some questions:
- Is this half season plus success a house of cards, smoke and mirrors or a mirage in the desert? Or is it real?
- Is there anything you can’t believe is happening with this club?
- Is there any doubt that A.J. Hinch is the leader in the AL Manager of the Year race?
- What other subject would you like to talk about heading into this crucial weekend in Tampa for the big club?
CHIPALATTA 
Altuuuuuve!!! 2run dinger to take the lead 3-2.
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AND……………the Rays take the lead. ((((( JEEZE )))))))
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It feels like one of those almost games where we keep hitting hard hit balls that are caught.
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I need to go to confession tomorrow………there’s a HUGE blue streak of cuss words
in my bedroom. Husband is busy watching pain dry (golf)………he just peeked in on me to find out where all the ugly words were coming from.
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You know our expectations for Carter have fallen when we’re thrilled his outs have come via fly ball instead of K.
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Astros are Road Kill
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Really strange considering road success was a big part of their 10 game win streak and early success.
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Carter…sigh…. 0-for-forever, it seems.
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Carter made the best contact (the only contact) in about a week. Astros had a number of well hit balls with no luck today. LMJ looked dominant and then lapsed a couple times. Still will be a great pitcher.
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Here are three things we know:
1. The AL West won’t be this weak next year, so if Luhnow wants it bad enough….
do something. Get a starter and another bat. Cargo from the Brewers would fit
very nice in the outfield. My opinion only.
2. These guys have had the lead in the West the entire first half, and if they lose
it to the Angels, it will give them someone to chase. We ( I didn’t ) know they
would be this good this early. Not pushing the panic button, but I’m concerned.
3. The Angels won’t stay in 1st. place, and they (we) know it. So keep the heat
on them………they are “meh” if not for Uncle Albert and Mike Trout.
Luhnow brought Singelton up to play, so play him. Carter can’t be sent down……..
so trade him, or release him he’s taking up good air from someone who CAN hit.
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The problem I see Becky is that Singleton has not shine to be a better hitter than Carter – somehow he has managed to be worse and he is definitely a worse fielder.
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If your not gonna play him……….send him to Fresno and keep paying him to be the HIGHEST paid first baseman in the minor leagues. BUT…….p** or get off the pot.
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That’s depressing.
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Looks like the Angels – up 9-0 in the 6th are not going to lose 3 times in a row with a chance to lead the division.
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We tried to give the division lead away to Texas a couple of weeks ago, and they didn’t want any part of it. Now we have been trying to give it to the Angels, and they don’t seem particularly interested either.
We will not lose for 4 days. Whew!
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When will Lowrie go on his minor league rehab assignment? It doesn’t sound like we are going to trade for a 1B so we need to get Lowrie back quickly as we have zero options for 1B.
I agree with Dan that Singleton is a worse option than Carter, as stunning as that can be. We have a big offensive black hole at 1B and have no viable other options other than getting Lowrie back.
Finally, I would be more open to trading for an offensive player and bullpen piece, preferably a proven closer, than trading for a starting pitcher. With Feldman coming back I think we can mix and match the rotation enough to reduce LMJs and VVs innings, but with Springer still 5 weeks away from returning it is clear we need to upgrade the offense. Adding another bullpen piece will help in reducing the workload there. Every year it seems to me the team in the playoffs with the best bullpen usually comes out of their respective league to make it to the World Series.
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Well…. the Angels caught us at the break and passed us. What a letdown.
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AJ Reed doubled in a run in his first at bat as a Corpus Christi Hook.
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Tyler White, Joe Sclafani, Domingo Santana and Andrew Aplin with good days at the plate in a win today. They actually beat Tommy Hanson, pitching for Sacramento.
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Doghouse Joe only went 3-5. Jonathan Villar, the lead-off guy for Fresno, went 0-4 with 3 Ks – and of course committed an error. Joe will probably be back on the bench tomorow.
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I don’t get it. What’s up with that
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May .202/.236/.274/.510
June .143/.178/.310/.487
July 200/.200/.200/.400
Those are Jake’s stats since his remarkable April. Seems like nobody wants to talk about our worst hitter. Even the guys on Root Sports have avoided this discussion. Regardless if he’s one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, a major leaguer has got to hit more to keep a job. In the meantime, we do have a right fielder in Fresno hitting .314 with a .437 OBP and a 1.003 OPS. I think its time to give Santana a real shot.
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Jake’s April was a barrel of water in the desert. It’s empty now and it’s real hot and the Astros are dying in the heat.
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Past time. It’d be different if we were heading to another losing season, but right now we gotta play our best/hottest guys, and Marisnick isn’t cutting it as of yet.
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Jake is luhnows pride and joy,,,,,when he traded cozart he went for Moran but really wanted marisnick, it will take a lot to remove him from the lineup,,,,,,,but we’ll see,
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Jon Kemmer had 2 doubles and a homer last night. He’s added another dinger tonight and is now hitting .323. Leads CC in long balls. Pretty good for a 21st round pick.
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I was worried that Kemmer might be a Lancaster Wonder Boy. But I thought I saw an opening in CC’s outfield in April and Kemmer was the only guy who spent the whole of last year in Lancaster, so I thought he might have a chance to move up.
Good for him. I haven’t seen him on any prospect lists anywhere. Experts? Sheesh!
OTBGs Rock! I don’t care where they came from, how they got here or what their pedigree is. Just get here!
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We still have a black hole on first base. Who you gonna keep…singleton or Karter? Or go shopping for one. By the way Jay Bruce “could” be available and he’s under team control for three more years…but the Reds will want a haul for him. I gotta headache just thinking about this team today. Glad I’ll get a few days off from baseball.
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John Sickels released his mid-season top 75 prospects today, leaving off the guys who have graduated to the majors or will soon. You can find this list on TCB’s website.
The Astros have seven players on that list and Musgrove nor Kemp nor Santana are on it. Astros farm system looking strong.
Phillips, Reed, Feliz, Hader, Fisher, Appel and Nottingham are on it, but not exactly in that order.
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A few years back, I was out in the company warehouse and immediately needed to use to the bathroom. I went over and opened the door to the restroom only to find a lovely girl with her back to me standing in front of the sink. She had beautiful curly brown hair down to her shoulders. I apologized and closed the door. I waited outside until she came out. When she did, “she” had a “moustache”. I hope when we see the 2nd half of our “dream girl” the we are not disappointed. It can happen though.
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