While the All Star break has always been considered the mid-point of the baseball season, in truth the 81 game mark occurs about 10 days sooner most years. The Astros have 11 games to go before the halfway mark (about 20 games to the ASB), which includes two series with the relatively lowly LA Angels of Disney Land, one series with the World Champion KC Royals and the first two games of a series with the similarly mediocre Chisox.
While anything can happen in baseball, it is probable that the Astros need to be at or above .500 by the halfway mark to be thought of as possible contenders and not pretenders. Their 17-8 record over the last 25 games (16-5 against teams from someplace other than Arlington) has shown that they are playing their best ball of the season right now.
The starting pitching has been on a stead rise since clocking in with the worst ERA in the league early on and is now the ninth best in the AL. The bullpen is again in an excellent spot sporting the third best ERA in the AL after again, being near the bottom of the AL to begin the season. The hitting has been it’s usual hot mess of inconsistency. The lack of consistent run scoring, lack of situational hitting and lack of hitting with RISP has been the biggest reason that 17-8 record in the last 25 is not about 21-4.
So, the questions for you dear readers are these:
- After 11 more games what will the 34-36 Astros record be? (Or simply – how many of the 11 will they win?)
- At what point will this front office decide if they are buyers or sellers?
- If they are buyers, who is on your no trade list from the minors? From the majors?
- Who would you like to see them trade whether they are buyers or sellers?
- Who do you think they will bring up in the next month if anyone to help this team?
CHIPALATTA 
◾After 11 more games what will the 34-36 Astros record be? (Or simply – how many of the 11 will they win?) This article was obviously written prior to last nights game. Thus, since they won and are now 35-36 I will surmise they will be 41-40 after the, now, next 10 games.
◾At what point will this front office decide if they are buyers or sellers? I think they will be both. They may look to move guys like Feldman and Neshek, but also pursue some veterans. Luhnow is on record saying they are looking for starting pitching and a power bat.
◾If they are buyers, who is on your no trade list from the minors? From the majors? From the majors the big 3 of Springer, Correa and Altuve are on my no trade list (unless the Angels decide to panic and put Mike Trout on the block). It would take a monster player for me to want to trade Keuchel or LMJ so I will essentially include them in my no-trade list. In the minors I value pitching more than anything. Paulino and Martes are 2 power arms that I don’t want to trade. Musgrove is on the same list as Keuchel and LMJ where it would take a very nice, team-controlled veteran to consider trading him (Longoria, perhaps).
◾Who would you like to see them trade whether they are buyers or sellers? I’m in the minority, but I see Gomez heating up and I think he is going to have a good 2nd half so I don’t want to trade him. Besides, I doubt he accepts our QO and we could reap a supplemental draft pick for him. I’m open to trading Rasmus, Feldman and/or Neshek. Now might be a good time to sell high on Fister as his xFIP screams regression going forward.
◾Who do you think they will bring up in the next month if anyone to help this team? Barring injury the only call ups I can see are players already on the 40-man roster. PTuck, Moran, Fields (although I don’t want to see him on the Astros roster again). The only player not on the 40-man I can see them bringing up is Reed as I don’t see MarGo as a long-term option at 1B.
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I think the one interesting call-up you did not mention is James Hoyt. And maybe it would require a trade or an injury to give him a shot, but he would be one to watch.
I don’t think you trade Keuchel when he is at the nadir of value. Gomez is another interesting situation. He is hot now. If he continues to be hot his value will rise, but that also means his value rises with the Astros too and there is no one to sub for him right now. I think he is likely to be here to the end of the season. It was a season and a half ago when he was very good and two and a half seasons ago when he was just under Mike Trout in the value department.
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I want Hoyt up here very badly. I am hoping the Astros can find a taker for Neshek to open up a spot for Hoyt. If they can trade one of their bullpen pieces Hoyt has to be the next on deck (If they bring Fields back I will, literally, scream). I agree with you on Keuchel and would only consider trading him if someone like Odorizzi or Chris Archer was available. Longoria would be a perfect fit for this team as it would allow the Astros to platoon VB and MarGo at 1B, but I imagine it would take quite a haul to get him. I also would love to get Danny Valencia from Oakland, but that would probably require trading Rasmus.
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Keuchel can’t pitch on turf…so you would have to find a three way to make that work.
I think what you said above was correct though – Luhnow has to be both a buyer and seller. Unless he moves Singleton, Feldman, Fields, Neshek, etc. there can’t be major acquisitions unless he waives Chapman, Fontana, Aplin, etc.
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Gomez has traditionally been a first half player. His second half drop offs have actually been pretty dramatic. Maybe this year is different since he missed some of the first half, and maybe its been fatigue in the past, but I am not putting a lot of stock that he will be a major contributor. I do think he will be slightly better in the second half than he has the first half of this year, afterall he really doesn’t have anywhere to go but up.
I always felt Neshek was a scary proposition to give that much money too. He was inconsistent before getting here, even getting himself released in the not so distant past. Its worked out for the most part though. Relievers are a practice in volatility though so if an opportunity comes to sell high, I would take it.
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I think the Astros will be at .500 at the halfway point, because we might see Sale and Shields and because…Royals.
With Luhnow saying this morning that his team has no holes in it, it looks like he wants to wait until the last second.
Who’s on my MILB no-trade list: Martes, Bregman, Paulino, Hernandez, Rodgers(because he is the only minor league starter ready to pitch in the majors with a chance of success and little question about his health). Who is on my MLB no trade list: Keuchel, Altuve, Gattis, Correa, LMJ, Springer. Springer was the last guy I put on that list.
I would like to see them attempt to trade Feldman, Neshek, Castro, Gomez, Fields, Valbuena, Fontana and Singleton.
I would like to see them bring up AAA guys to help the team after the trades, but leave our top prospects down in the minors to get the most minor league seasoning possible and then bring them up to play in September and be ready to make the club next season.
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I think they will be 41and 40 .I’m not sure who they need to call up or trade as I think Uncle Jeff will wait to the last second and I don’t blame him for that. If there sellers we have a lot to dump. If he decides to be a buyer, I would be assuming that Gomez , Gattis, VB. Margo all doing their jobs and the pitching is on the same solid track they have ben on the last 30 days. If that’s the case find a dependable lefty, Sipp is brutal this year and NO Fields or Chapman.
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Sipp is still in short sample. He was fine in May. He had a brutal game the other day that will make his ERA look bloated, but its not really indicative of his overall.
I would like to see them get a lefty specialist though, some guy that holds lefties to something really stupid good like .150 to give Hinch that tool in his toolbox. Sipp is only slightly better against lefties than righties, and he gets used equally against the two. The problem is every team values that guy and is going to make you pay for him.
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Steven….I concur, the bullpen could use another good lefty.
Saw a short clip from Correa this afternoon, and he said the clubhouse is completely different than it was in April, and they were playing better as a complete team.
I’m not sure if one of the veterans stepped up, or that they have settled into a groove.
I’m just glad they have found their personality again!
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I love the way the Astros are playing tonight. They are knocking the cover off the ball, running the bases well and putting tons of pressure on the other team’s pitcher. I don’t see any holes in this team.
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OP, obviously you and I aren’t watching the same game. 😜
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Oh, yes I am. But now I am a Stepford Astros fan, submissive, docile and aiming to please. I am awaiting new instructions as to what I should say. This way, I will be sure to attract new bloggers to our WAR blog
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Confession is the first step to recovery. 🙂
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Up is down. In is out. Love is hate. Sarcasm font is on.
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OP you are a treasure!!!
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I’m not quite as confident as you guys.
I say 38 – 43.
However, I’ll be more than happy to be wrong.
I like OPs trade / no trade list.
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I really don’t understand why Hinch PHI Rasmus there. That was a pathetic AB.
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PH, not PHI.
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OP – the direction from the Supreme Leader is “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”.
Now pull out your Lil’ Orphan Annie Ovaltine decoder ring and blog accordingly.
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What “supreme leader”?Do you mean Chip Bailey?
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Well one of our bloggers think we practice mind control around here so I thought I would feed the paranoia with my coded message.
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I think I’m more of the Home Alone type of child than I am little orphan Annie.
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Screaming and clapping at my house right now!!! FINALLY!!! Back to 500!!
YES!!!!
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Holy crap, we won?! It was 2-1 when I turned it off in the 8th. Wow…
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Fun!!! Bases loaded nobody out. I was expecting a strike out and a double play.
Shame on me.
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Walk off win, Mariners lost, Rangers lost, and Dwight Howard opts out of his contract. Could things have gone any better for HOU fans tonight?
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The Reds must have had the “reds” when they left here, and took it out on the team in arlington!
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The Astros have Huston Street’s number. Not as dramatic as the 2 out 5 run rally last season but very encouraging.
Correa seems to be in a zone maybe he is going on a tear.
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Maybe the 2015 team is waking up from their nap! I certainly hope so!!
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This game reminded me of the Astros of April, 2015, when they scored more runs from the 7th inning on than almost everybody. Great comeback triggered by the guy who was so fantastic as a prospect by having a big BA w/RISP. Correa was that guy tonight.
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Reed and Moran each with 2 hits and an RBI and Duffy with a HR. Peacock pitches his best game of the year going 8 innings allowing 6 hits, 1 run, which was unearned. Fresno wins 3-1 over Albawhatever.
Corpus beat San Antonio again, 5-1, with Hyde, Fisher, Davis and Tanielu providing most of the offense. Evan Grills pitched 6 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 run for the win. Bregman did not play in that game after being hit in the helmet by a pitch last night. He is ok and day to day.
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I see this team on this streak and I can’t help but to wonder if this is the annual effort, as in last April. I’m dubious simply because night in and night out, we’re still not playing very crisp baseball. Too many bad at bats, not enough bats, poor judgement on the bases, a lingering tendency for the pen to melt down and the occaisional eyebrow raising move by our manager. Maybe my expectations are too high, and I should just enjoy the good fortune we’re enjoying right now, but I still don’t see an ML club ready to compete with the big boys out there.
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Yeah Dave, they look more like a lucky team rather than a good team.
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So the Astros are 3 games back in the Wild Card, finally at the .500 mark and like Austin Powers they seem to have their mojo back. Would love to see them stretch out this hot streak right now.
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Did the Arlington nine just get embarrassed at home by the same team the Astros stumbled, bumbled and fought to win 2 out of 3? It’s a shame we didn’t sweep that horrible Reds team. They’re really, really bad and the Astros should be embarrassed by their performance over the weekend (the sarcasm font is still not working).
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More truth than sarcasm.
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Yes, and the team with the best record in the A.L. should be really embarrassed. The Astros only loss was an extra inning affair. Blind squirrel and acorn analogy works here.
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No problem. Blame it on Drayton Mclane.
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I’m not the one doing the blaming. The Astros are a good team and we have a smart G.M. Everything will work itself out in the long run.
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I was talking about blaming him for the broken sarcasm font.
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Smart doesn’t mean infallible.
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I know what you meant. My sarcasm font is still not working.
Agreed, Devin, and he has made some mistakes, but this team is better off since he was hired, much better off, than before he was hired and this is why I trust him, for the most part, going forward. Using the team’s overall record during his tenure when they were in complete tear down and rebuild mode is unfair and, truthfully, a horrible way to judge the record of a GM. If this was the case then every GM going through a rebuild would be the worst GM in baseball during the years of the rebuild. There is much more to being a GM than the W/L record of the major league team, especially when the team has a horrible minor league system and a horrible major league team like the Astros had at the end of the 2011 season.
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I don’t think the team is being overly lucky right now. They are again getting better than average pitching and the hitting, while flawed is better in synch with the pitching than they were earlier in the season.
In the last 27 games (19 W – 8 L), more than half those games (14) they have allowed 3 runs or less and in 19 games 4 runs or less. They are 15-4 in those games. What is a bit different from earlier this season and I believe different than last season is they are 4-4 when giving up 5 runs or more. Last season when they gave up 5 runs or more they were dead ducks.
Can they keep it up? Heck, why not? This seems to be an emotion driven team and they are happy again. Maybe they were too lackadaisical early in the season, too smug from their run last season. Maybe they were just not comfortable or happy with each other.
I am not sitting here seeing a bunch of unsustainable performances. In fact I have been waiting for Carlos Correa to bust out and go on a run. I think he is beginning that run right now and the team should ride it for awhile.
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If it wasn’t for the nemesis from the north things would even be better. Eventually, that has to turn around and, hopefully, it will in the remaining 9 games against them this season.
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I tend to agree on the Rangers. I’m a believer in baseball everything goes back to the median eventually – see Colby Rasmus batting average – no we continue to do things like 2-16 in the next 18 against them.
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Let’s look at some comparisons of our guys’ present stats vs. their lifetime stats:
1. Valbuena’s lifetime BA is .230 and his lifetime OBP is .314. Right now he’s hitting .253 and his OBP is .351. We can expect a substantial dip in production soon.
2. Gattis’ lifetime BA is .245 and his lifetime OBP is .294. His present BA is .212 and his present OBP is .286. He should have an uptick to just about offset Valbuena’s drop-off.
3. Marwin’s lifetime BA is .258 and his lifetime OBP is .302. His present BA is .259 and his present OBP is .316. His production won’t likely get any better, and might be expected to drop off a little. And he’s certainly not a 1st baseman, though he is presently playing one on TV.
4. Gomez’ lifetime BA is .258 and his OPB .312. His present BA is .220 and present OBP is .283. He is due for a nice improvement – and seems to be stepping into it.
5. Altuve’s lifetime BA is .308 and his OBP is .351. His present numbers are .342 and .421 [both lifetime highs]. While I hate to say it, and would never bet against the ‘Tuve, odds are that a significant drop in production is coming.
6. Springer’s stats are right on his lifetime levels. No big increase in production can be expected; but no great drop off either.
7. Correa is hard to figure, because he’s only 21 and only in his 2nd year. But right now he is hitting a bit below his numbers for last year – so we can hope he’ll improve a little – and stay clutch.
8. Castro’s lifetime BA is .234 and his lifetime OBP is .312. He’s now 28 points below that in BA and 27 points above that in OBP. Go figure.
9. Rasmus’ lifetime numbers are .244 and .314. His current #s are .233 and .320. He might hit a little better, but he can be expected to walk a little less and to strike out a lot more.
All said, we can expect to see a little more out of Gattis, but a lot less out of Valbuena. We can expect to see a good bit more out of Gomez, but a good bit less out of Altuve. We can about the same thing we are geting from Correa, Gonzales, Springer, Rasmus, and Castro.
In other words, don’t look for any major improvements in overall offensive production the rest of way. If they would just stop making outs on the bases, though, we should stay competitive – except against left-handed pitching, which we still cannot seem to figure out.
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Do you want to do a comparison of the pitching numbers based upon career and current numbers? It will be difficult to use career numbers for someone like McHugh since he has far out-performed his career numbers since a member of the Astros. You might just want to use his career statistics as a member of the Astros and his current statistics.
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The only thing I would add is I expect Rasmus to drop a little more tbh. His career numbers are bolstered by much younger days when his K rate was 18-20% in a season, now his K numbers are almost intolerable Karter levels. I’m honestly surprised he is at .233, I think .220-.225 is what I would expect given a normal BABIP for him.
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More often than not, you’re speaking my language, Dan – sustainable!
We have guys picking up slack all over the place, whether it’s Marwin with a last second tag, Tony Kemp keeping drives alive, Jake back on the field and Gomie finally making good. Seems like Valbuena is a sort of glue player in the mold of Springer. Like Altuve is that quiet leader they all look (ok,..) up to, the guy who sets the tone. As you say, the Captain is starting to play the part. That clubhouse to me seems different for reasons relating to bounces going our way, and by ‘force of Will’ (Harris) in our own little world imagining what’s about to happen next & finally executing where once as a team, crumbling. Large measure of credit has to go to management doing the little things better! Its a long season, but the team I see will dismantle the Royals, just like Cleveland and Balt did. Our top priority is to est dominance over a BOS team which had its way with us. And after the cold, steel dagger of Colby Lewis (injuries et al) news has Rangers’ brass reeling, after the way we acquitted ourselves nicely in the last series, I guarantee you TEX fans know the juggernaut thats mounting down here…
My tipping point happened about a month ago, when Giles snapped off an 8th inning like Gregerson never could, and served notice that we are well past any talk of apples or cherries we sent packing. This kid has what they talked about 1st day of Spring – and for many yrs to come! Harnassing it, now the challenge.
Great to see Marwin getting the AB’s I’ve been tracking vs Viz (age 27 — 509 .287 .332 .365 .698) numbers. Did you see the stat ROOT flashed re his 4+ AB’s/GM vs 3 or less? In fact, the surprise to me was that as a platooner, the league always caught up to a Viz, or Lamb, Blummer, or Walling. But I noticed that when Viz got all those AB’s before he came to HOU, he saw many more PA’s. Most comments saw White, Vb, Reed as the 2016 possible 1B answer, but it was you and I who said “why not, Marwin?” There seems to be a commraderie and bravado when he’s on the field, like the rest. I find it very telling the official line on Reed is, “[dont call us, we’ll call you] when we need ya.” Becky said 3 CF in our OF….how about having another SS at 1B?
At any rate, this is Marwin’s Day! My day to celebrate what I see as a team gelling at the right time. Mentioned a few days back, our pitching looks much improved, but what Op noted about Gattis on no-trade list. Thats a huge boost to this team to have him on the field!
Notice until the ASB how opposing pitchers will be reluctant to groove any pitches. As a team handling the bat these days, we look relentless. Unlike Op’s remark about Sale and Shields, I think they have no mystique over this wrecking crew. If we dont win out, we’ll likely only lose a few is my prediction.
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I love the positive vibe, Mark. You and Mr. Bill are definitely polar opposites. 🙂
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My wife mentioned yesterday that she had relatives driving to Houston for the big soccer match. I don’t know anything about soccer, but I told her that there wasn’t really going to be a soccer match in Houston. I was right.
I have a really bad feeling about the Olympics. Ever since they announced it would be in Rio, I have had a bad feeling about it.
The Midwest league was promoting their All-Star game on their website by using one of the Cubs highly regarded prospects and Kyle Tucker. Apparently they really like Kyle Tucker. But Tucker is on the DL and didn’t even play.
Bobby Boyd had a triple and a walk and Garrett Stubbs had an RBI double in the High A ASG but the California League lost 6-4.
Today’s pitcher for the Angels whipped us pretty badly the last time he faced us. I wonder if we could get a little revenge.
Looking closely at AJ Reed’s stats, he really hasn’t had an awful month. It’s just that in May, when he was injured he was down from the other two. The guy has only 214 ABs but has 19 doubles and 10 HRs. His average has climbed to .262. He really spoiled us last year, but he has hit .333 in his last 10 games.
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I wouldn’t say spoiled so much as raised expectations. What I like about Reed is that he has struggled at every level, made adjustments, and then succeeded. I think he does the same in HOU next year if given enough of a chance.
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The Astros are just 3 games behind the second wild card and 4 behind the first. I guess Tim is right about the Astros not being so bad. Practically every team we needed to gain on lost last night.
Can we exact some revenge on Schumacher today?
Now would be a really good time to go on that 8-10 game winning streak.
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Well, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in awhile. 🙂
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I was at the game last night and it was a great finish. I’m not sure when Huston Street came off the DL, but those walks killed him. On another note, I saw on Twitter this morning that our GMs wife tweeted “500 BIT$&@s”. Guess she felt compelled to take up for her hubby’s team after all the comments about team under performing. I wonder how many other GM’s wives are on Twitter defending their hubby’s teams.
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That is hilarious!
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What is the deal with all the ex Astros on the DL.
Martinez
Fowler
Lyles
Pence
Pearce
Who am I missing? That is crazy.
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Velasquez
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Here is the deal. I think our GM like our team is decent, but flawed. He has strengths, especially in the area of drafting and trading veterans for prospects. . He has absolute weaknesses in the area of trading prospects for “play now” players. We can say that most of the players he traded have not made that big of a difference with the mlb teams they have been traded to. But my concern is that he should have gotten more out of what he sent out. You trade away that much pitching and that much from your top 20 prospects and there should be more good players that you picked up.
He can get better at this, just like the team can get better with various weaknesses, but it will require change on his part just like it will require change on their parts. His ability to be flexible and to look at himself honestly and critique himself and improve himself is what is at question.
I’ve never given up on this team even in the darkest times and I never will. But everyone in this organization not named Altuve can do a better job and will need to do a better job or can be replaced by someone who will.
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I agree Dan. I am not a GM and don’t play one on TV, but it does seem that the return on prospects traded has not been as high as I would have expected. But I don’t take in to account the salary of the player we traded for. Maybe we are getting the best cost effective players back. Money rules in the business of baseball.
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I agree with you on every single point….100%!!
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Now this is a synopsis that I can support. Very fair and non-judgmental. I might suggest that he has been flexible in some cases. He didn’t keep Conger after his poor performance last year and he didn’t tender Chris Carter a contract after his mediocre season last year. I think Luhnow’s ego is not too big that he can’t admit his own mistakes. Heck, we should give him credit for not dumping Gomez when most wanted Gomez released (and ‘most’ isn’t just relegated to Chipalatta. The vast majority of Chron commenters wanted him gone as well). He has been much improved over the last month and if, and I realize this is a big ‘if’, he continues hitting like this through the rest of the season it could be instrumental in the Astros playoff push.
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We are so lacking in outfield depth today that moving Gomez would be beyond foolish at this time and place.
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Agreed, just releasing the guy, when you have to pay his salary anyway, is the kind of thing that gets a GM fired – especially when your division rival picks him up off the scrap heap for minimum salary, and you pay him to play for another team – and he starts doing well.
You have to pay the money regardless, if you can’t move him and you have no options at AAA that are ready, keep him and hope for the best.
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We have faced two straight starting pitchers who came in with ERAs over 5.00. The first one – a righty – we clobbered as we were expected to. The second – a lefty – dominated us as thoroughly as if his name had been Chris Sale. Fortunately, the pitching on our side was tight, the Angels’ relief crew had major control problems, and by far the best clutch hitter this team possesses happened to come up with the bases loaded and nobody out.
Let’s not get too carried away by a little luck-of-the-draw.
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If one of the walks Street issued had been a strikeout or flyout, they would have walked Correa. Does anyone really think Gomez or Rasmus would have driven in those winning runs?
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A very honest assessment Mr. Bill. I still say this is a lucky team, not a good team.
They were very unlucky in April so the law of average is working now.
They just barely got out of the ninth today with a win.
I still don’t believe Luhnow is a good GM. If low salaried players was what the boss wanted they should have, could have been acquired without giving up so much in prospects.
Personally, I still wish we hadn’t traded for Gomez.
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Party pooper.
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I know the team is not good against left handed starters, but in this 19-8 run, they have lost to only one lefty starter – Martin Perez of…….the Rangers of course. They have in most cases gotten the game to the bullpen and did something decent.
Maybe they are a little lucky, I don’t know, but it feels like they are gaining confidence and when a team does, they make their own luck.
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Man does this sound familiar.http://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-angels-astros-20160621-snap-story.html It’s like deja vu from about a month ago for Houston. With their injuries, I don’t see the Angels being able to climb out of it, but if they do, I hope they start doing it tomorrow and not today.
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Actually, since we play them in Anaheim next week I hope the resurgence is delayed for about 10 days. 🙂
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Notice: We have a new DH for today’s game.
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And a new pitcher in the stable [Forrest Whitely – who signed for $2,504.200].
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YAY!!! Great news!!
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I read he signed for a tad over $3.1M.
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Correct – he beat slot.
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What does signing for 3.1 mean to the Astros. It is over slot by 25.7%.
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I have not been tracking all of their signings (I know they have signed 9 of the first 10 picks so far) but I had heard they were under elsewhere. I’m assuming they are balanced out.
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We’ll owe a bit of ‘tax’.
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Meanwhile, Quad Cities is mired in last place in the Midwest League – and has only one hitter over .290 [Kyle Tucker, at .306]. Their pitching staff’s best ERA is McKanna at 2.91. He also has the best WHIP at 1.29. The next best on the River Bandits is Murphy at 4.01/1.39.
And Lancaster is one game below .500 and in 3rd place in the California League. The best news there is catcher [or DH?] Garrett Stubbs who is hitting. 305/.399/.872 with 24 BB to only 28 Ks. He also has 10 SBs, 6 HRs and 34 RBIs. Pitching stats are hard to read in the high desert air, but Trent Thornton has at least got a very respectable WHIP at 1.17.
Fresno is 4 games under .500 – and other than Reed, Rodgers, and Hoyt, there is nothing much to get excited about.
Corpus? Big smile.
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Was at the game last night and someone commented that the opposing lefty dominated our hitters. He did.
Couple of bad double plays against us were tough to watch… and not much hitting.
Was disappointed to see Valbuena get a nice hit only to get thrown out at second base because he was lollygagging around first.
Pinching hitting Rasmus ,I thought, was a terrible decision. No real basis for that comment except I thought he would do exactly what he did ….3 empty swings on 3 pitches. Rasmus, Gomez and Castro, even Correa sometimes, look bad at the plate.
The good thing was that McHugh pitched out of a bad first inning jam. Made me think we would have a very good chance to win.
AND…..Correa came through….BIG ! Nothing like having a bonified clutch hitter.
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Walk offs are fun to watch!!
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When they showed the replay I thought the problem with Valbuena is that he is slower than me. He was a little unlucky in that the carom went to a spot where the OF could easily reach it on the run and gun it. But I think he is a little unluckier in the gene pool as he has no speed.
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We need to set this race up ASAP. Loser has to square off against Matty D.
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Let’s hope McCullers doesn’t put this team behind the 8 ball in the first and second inning today. If he can escape unscathed in the first two innings, he will be ok!
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Can we broaden that inning spread to include the third?
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He struggled mightily in the 3rd but was fortunate to only give up the one run.
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We are hitting against Mr. Shoemaker like he is a left hander or like he is Dallas Keuchel (beard and all) from 2015. I am “watching” it on Gameday, so I don’t really know what is going on – but it has been quiet.
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Chip, Shoemaker is throwing two pitches, a straight fastball and a splitter. In his delivery, his hand is behind his head until the last second and it is very hard to see any difference in the two and they come out of nowhere. One looks like it is rising and one sinks and they both start on the same plane. Batters can’t hit the splitter because they are always on top of it and they can’t hit the fastball because it is on them before they realize it. He looks exactly like he did the last time he pitched against us and he was wild in the first inning but is now pouring it over the plate because he knows they can’t see it well. McCullers has to settle down, hold the Angels where they are and hope the Astros can score late.
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You are hurting Chip’s feelings calling me him -lol
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That Cardinals team the Astros swept last week, but got ‘eviscerated’ in Arlington is about to sweep a 3-game series in Chicago against the best team in baseball, based upon records. Can we now see that 2-game sweep as the possible turning point in the season?
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I think you may be right…
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If a meaningful and lasting turning point has been reached – which remains to be seen – I tend to think that turning point more likely came when the guys finally broke the ‘hex’ of the Rangers and proved to ourselves that we could actually beat the red demons from Arlington. But believe – and pontificate – whatever makes you happy about the Cardinal series. At least we are finally seeing back-to-back series wins, with occasional sweeps. Now the first real test of the substance of our resurgence comes – the Kansas City Royals, who took three out of four from us the last time we met [April 10-14]. If we can take 2 of 3 from the Royals in Kansas City, even I will believe this resurgence is real.
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If that happens, Mr. Bill, I too will become a believer.
But not until.
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Of course, because your constant negative posts couldn’t continue unless they take a road series against the team with the best home record in the A.L. I’ll keep the faith even if they lose the series, but I just hope they don’t get ‘eviscerated’.
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I should say your negative posts could continue unless they take a road series against the team with the best home record in the A.L.
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Bless your heart, Tim.
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Let’s be realistic. The Cardinals are just 15-21 at Busch Stadium – where we played them. Only two NL teams have fewer wins at their home park (Braves, Diamondbacks). The Cards also took a five-game losing streak into Wrigley. All teams have a few good series’. The Cards are fortunate theirs came against the leaders of their division. Ours have most definitely not.
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Yet, after the Astros took 2 of 3 against the Reds you said they stumbled and bubbled their way to a win and the one loss was a bad loss. Apparently, only opponents against the Astros can’t even have one good game, little less one good series.
I get that being an Astros fan has made you very skeptical, but enjoy the good times when they happen. You may not get another chance.
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*bumbled.
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Who they are going to be playing is irrelevant to how they are playing.
The worst teams still win a lot of series over the course of a season. The best teams still lose a lot of series over the course of a season. The Reds aren’t going to lose 54 series, else they would be a .300 team, and that ain’t happening.
The Astros are playing well. I like their chances against any team in the league in a series right at this moment. Baseball is streaky. Winning ends up being how you can take advantage of matchups to continue those winning streaks out as long as you can and limit the bad streaks to as least amount of damage as you can. I’m not concerned about the upcoming opponents records, if they play well they can win.
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Yes, second guess! I hate to see the lead off guy erased trying to steal with no outs and our best bats coming up. Thank God for Marwin.
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Marwin’s at bat wasn’t easy either. He fake bunted and took a strike and then popped one up that made the seats behind first base and then called timeout at the last second and threw Shoemaker’s timing off a bit. Marwin’s triple was the hardest hit of Shoemaker’s fastball today, because Altuve’s homer came off a high splitter, if I’m not mistaken.
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The team is not scoring much, but it is scoring late and with some shut down pitching they are channeling their 2015 recipe for success.
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making it a bit close, aren’t we?
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Meh…we won, so I’ll take it!
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Not gonna back slide now! Dang it feels good to get this win today!
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Trout hit that last pitch right on the screws, but right at an outfielder. Five in a row!
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Pretty cool to have three centerfielders roaming out there!!
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Tonight Fresno is facing LHP Harrison Musgrave and six batters in their lineup to face him are lefty hitters. They need guys like Moran and Reed and Kemmer to face same sided pitching, because if they don’t, they won’t be able to hit lefties in the majors.
Singleton is not in the lineup. Musgrave beat Fresno three weeks ago, besting Musgrove. Valdez starts for Fresno tonight.
DSL Blue is 15-1 with their win today. DSL Orange is 11-5 after their loss.
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The Astros are now alone in 2nd place in the A.L. West.
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The Astros signed five other picks today, besides Whitley
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One of the reasons Whitely got overslot money is because he was the fastest rising guy on the board. His draft stock exploded the last two weeks before the draft and Mayo had him as the #12 guy the morning of the draft.
I said before that the Astros needed to make out their board and hope that a guy in their top 15 fell to them at 17. He did. I’m pretty sure he may have been in their top 10, the way they scouted him. So now they have to develop him and hope he becomes something special.
The offseason signings that required teams to give up their first round picks, moved Houston up from #21 to #17. Whitely would not have been there by the 21st pick.
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Well, look at those Astros sitting up there in second place. They look dang good up there.
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Yes they DO!!!
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Astros are now 3 games behind in the top wild card spot and 2.5 games behind the #2 wild card spot.
One of the teams the Astros trail in the wild card race is the Royals.
Next up for Houston? Three games with…the Royals.
Five of the six Fresno LHB have hits off of Musgrave so far tonight, but Tyler White has a home run. 2-0 Fresno in the fifth.
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I’m not saying I’m happy someone is ingured…..but Colby Lewis will be out for at least 2 months, and Derrick Holland was put on the 15 day DL….Yu Darvish still has not thrown on anything but flat ground. “MAYBE” we can gain some ground on them in the next few weeks. The rangers do have a couple of options, but non as good as Lewis. You’re welcome!
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Now’s the time then if we’re gonna make a move.
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Misspelled injured….sorry my bad!
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Is it too early for Altuve MVP talk?
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Shouldn’t be, he is amazing!
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Does anybody want to revisit their win predictions heading to the 81 game mark, now that the Astros have won the first 3 of the 11 games mentioned in the blog post?
I know that the Royals could hurt their momentum here, but they need to not fall apart on this 6 game road trip.
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If they can win this series against the Royals I think they will finish 43-39 at the end of the 11-game stretch that started prior to the Angels series. The Royals are the only team during this stretch above .500, although Seattle and the White Sox are at .500, but we play them at home.
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I’m not going to jinx them by changing my prediction. I’d much rather just be wrong.
In fact I’ll be delirious if I’m wrong.
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You know, I think I predicted 84-78 for the season. I still think that’s about right, but fully expect them to gain a few before the halfway mark and be something like 43-38.
If they want to finish strong and contend I think the biggest key is that Luhnow has to be smart and not make moves trying to show us how clever he is. The bullpen will need reinforcements as they are getting ground down and did falter in the dog days of 2015. Look within, Jeff! Don’t let Hoyt and his friends get worn out in milb games so you have them as (on field) assets in Aug/Sept.
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The air smells better, the sun appears brighter and I have a little extra bounce in my step when the Astros are playing winning baseball. I just love this team that much.
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The Greeneville Astros open their season in defense of their league championship today. Here is a look at their team, if you are interested. At least two of the Astros Top 30 prospects are on this team.
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20160622&content_id=185585652&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t413&sid=t413
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Excellent link – and well-written piece of journalism.
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Ty OP is Tri City roster out yet?
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Yes, Tri City has already started playing.
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Tri City is currently 2-4 with the second highest BA in their league and the second worst ERA.
Their best contact hitter, in a very small sample size hase been 2016 draftee, Carmen Benedetti. Their best power hitter has been Stephen Wrenn, another 2016 draftee.
Their best pitcher has been Carlos Sierra, a recent Cuban signee who has only one appearance, a brilliant, six-inning, one-hit start. He may just be a man among boys and gets promoted soon. Quad Cities needs some help!
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I wonder if we can listen to the game on the milb radio station?
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Carlos Gomez has really improved in June, but his .216 BA with a .325 BABIP for the year has me a little worried.
As a player who could be asked to help out in the latter months of the season, Brady Rodgers’s season has been a lesson in fortitude. I don’t know what he was working on in the beginning of the season, but he had a very hittable April, a really good May and has been almost unhittable in June. If the Astros were to make a deal for one of their starters or long relievers by the deadline, he may get a call, but as the end of the season draws nearer and the Astros get deeper into contention, Hoyt’s skillset and services may be required more than Rodger’s.
Tony Kemp offers some abilities that Jake Marisnick doesn’t, such as some infield capability and better contact and OBP skills, and the ability to actually get base hits against tough pitchers. But Kemp is going to have to improve his outfield defense and his base stealing technique if he is to challenge Marisnick for a job next spring. That is, if they are in the organization next spring.
If George Springer wants to get to the next level as a player with consistent all-star numbers, he is going to have to trade some of his ground ball rate for more fly ball rate. That is hard to do when you are a power hitter being asked to lead off. Springer presents a dilemma in that respect. Springer reminds me of a young lion in a outdoor zoo setting that the zookeeper thinks is a state of the art habitat for his young stud. I’m also including the RF vs CF
aspect there, in that Springer was supposed to be the guy that ran the Astros outfield for years when he arrived but has had to bow to Fowler, Marisnick and Gomez out there. But, maybe, in the future. The lion belongs out in the wide open spaces, as we clearly saw when the Angel’s Lion was in the dugout yesterday afternoon, instead of out in CF.
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I like Tony Kemp and what he brings to the Astros, but he looks like a prime trade candidate as his OF defense is poor and he is definitely blocked by Altuve. His play with the Astros has not hurt his trade ability and I can see him packaged in a deal around the trade deadline.
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I expect that we come back from a day off we will proceed to lose two out of three to KC. That will put us back at .500 and on a down trend, and will l cause the intoxication of the recent win streak dies off. I am hopeful we we will find a way to bounce back and win two out of three from the Angels in Anaheim, but that we will be dominated in one. That will mean we sneak back to 1 game over .500, but with a big dose of reality that we still have MAJOR holes in our team – especially from the offensive standpoint at 1B, 3B, DH, and two of the outfield positions, and from a pitching standpoint a reliable lefty in the bullpen and someone who can both throw hard AND consistently handle the pressure of the close situation.
We start July with ten games vs the White Sox [3], the Mariners [3], and the A’s [4], all of which are at home. I project we will go 5-5 over those 10 games. That would take us to the ASB at 1 game over .500 – and with a clear understanding of the major holes we have – and who we have to be and play significantly better than to ‘capture the [wild card or AL West] flag’.
What would our FO do with that scenario? Based on the track record, odds are that this FO would [A] keep every single one of the non-performers;
[B] bet against the odds on getting a big finish out of every guy who will walk as FAs next year, and [C] trade 5-10 of our best prospects for two current players [my bet would be a mediocre 1B (which we already have on the farm in Singleton and Tyler White, a less-than-stellar OF (which we already have on the farm in PTuck, Aplin, and Perez), and somebody else’s washed-up lefty reliever and/or closer who can’t keep the ball out of the Crawford boxes any better than Giles or Sipp can). Based upon history, I would expect whoever the FO traded away the prospects for to come to Houston and bomb – either because they will not adjust well to his new environment, and/or because they were overdue for a Gomez/Kazmir/Giles type and level regression. If that is what happens, we will once again have mortgage the future for a badly-played long-shot bet.
And that – not the way the Astros, Grizzlies, or Hooks are playing – is why I am hard to sell that this team is going anywhere this year.
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Lot of typos. Oh well. Sorry about that.
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My hope is that you are wrong……but my gut says you’re probably right. I simply do NOT trust Luhnow to make one more trade. I’m still hoping Gomez will find ‘some’ magic in that bat…..but I am doubtful. I had such high hopes for this team, when the season started, now I just hope we can salvage a 500 record.
I hate days off between games….they play so poorly the next day. ((( *sigh* )))
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I guess I have to ask – does the 20-8 record in the last month, the way the offense has started to become clutch in the late innings, the much improved pitching and the fact that the Astros after playing three against the Royals, play the next 25 games against mediocre or worse teams – does any of that give you any hope Mr. Bill?
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Here is the problem from my perspective, Dan. The better we do between now and the trade deadline, the more likely the FO will declare us ‘buyers’ – which to them means they have free license to keep Valbuena, Gomez, Singleton, Rasmus, Marisnick, Fiers, Sipp, Neshek, and Feldman (like they kept Carter, Gattis, Conger, and Fields last year to our chagrin) but trade away a boatload of our best -looking prospects from the farm [yes, I remember ‘the Plan’] for a couple of guys that [a] are not that much better – if any – than the flawed guys that we have, [b] suffer from health issues, [c] are overdue for a significant downturn, or [d] just will not adjust well to either the Altuve/Correa/Springer/Keuchel ‘party ball’/’Club Astro’ atmosphere OR the ‘here, let me change everything that has made you successful to fit our philosophy’ coaching philosophy of Hudgens and Strom.
I look at the teams in front of us – the Rangers first, of course, but then the Royals, Red Sox or Orioles, Blue Jays or Indians, and Tigers – and then at the other teams about where we are [Seattle, ChiSox, and Yankees], and I just don’t see our FO as either capable or well-funded enough to do near as good a job as any of those teams (maybe Cleveland/Detroit) at making smart deals to improve the club for the final run.
I think it is altogether possible that the Rangers will suffer a tough 2nd half of the season – a lot like our epic collapse last year. To me, hoping for that, and standing pat this year or trading guys who will be FAs or arb-eligible – especially Gomez, Valbuena, Feldman, and Neshek for AA or AAA OF, C, and LHP prospects – is the most effective way to go to secure a better future for 2017 and beyond.
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I don’t think ‘the offense’ has become clutch in this run. I think Correa and Altuve have become clutch. Once you get past #4 in our line-up [assuming Correa stays at 4], we are still anything but clutch. Gattis, Valbuena, Rasmus, Castro, Marisnick, and Kemp are not showing clutch hitting capacities.
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Bill, that is a downer. Last year when they were playing well they took a home series from KC and then lost two out of three in an away series in KC when they were playing poorly in the summer.
This year they lost a series at home when the Astros were playing terribly and the Royals were healthy. Now the Astros are playing much better baseball and the Royals have some injury issues.
There is a chance that the Astros could take 2 out of three from each of these two road series and end up with a 4-2 road trip. The most important game is the Friday one. If they can pull out a win there, it sets the table for them to go on a run.
I could see the Astros going 7-3 on the home stand prior to the All-star game because they are currently playing better than the CWS, the Mariners and the As.
Like I said earlier, the current Astros look like the April, 2015 Astros, only now they have Correa at SS instead of Lowrie/Villar.. Let’s see if that continues until the AS break.
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You’re a lot less blunt than I am, but I like and agree with your thinking. Let’s see how it plays out over the next 16 games before the ASB. I would take a 3-3 road trip, but I think they can go 4-2 and I agree tomorrow night against Volquez is the key game. They win that game then they face Chris Young and Ian Kennedy. Not that they will be easy, but Volquez is definitely the best starter we will be facing this weekend.
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Agree, my gut feelings are the same. Hope we’re wrong though.
I don’t have any confidence in Luhnow to make a decent trade. He’s clearly out done by all other GMs.
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