After the first week, all we know is that baseball is goofy

The first week of the season is as usual, so full of red herrings they should set up a canning operation down at Minute Maid Park. Fans think they know something about the trends, who is good, who is bad and what trades need to be made seven games into the season. In truth we should only take away from this short a sample is that baseball is goofy and unpredictable.

And it is like this every year, whether it is former Astros Tuffy Rhodes clubbing 3 home runs on opening day 1994 for the Cubs after hitting 3 HRs in the majors the previous season or it is 2016 Tyler White doing his best Barry Bonds impersonation while tearing up the league in the early going.

So what goofy things occurred in the first week of the Astros 2017 season?

  • Defending batting champion, Jose Altuve played 7 games and had ZERO runs scored and ZERO RBIs for the ‘Stros.
  • Which meant…that the poster child for bad offense Jake Marisnick had a bigger hand in the Astros 4-3 start by tying up Sunday’s game with a 9th inning HR.
  • Two thirds of the Astros 21 RBIs for the week (14) came from just two players, George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez, who also accounted for 7 of their 11 HRs.
  • George Springer became the first man in Astros history to hit a walk off HR to end one game and then hit a HR as the leadoff man in the next.
  • And to one up that one – he was the first man in MLB history to hit 3 leadoff HRs in his team’s first 7 games.
  • Evan Gattis has walked in 26.3% of his plate appearances, including his walk off walk with the bases loaded Sunday. His 8.6% walk rate from 2016 is his highest to date.
  • The guy with the third most IPs to date is not even a starter – Chris Devenski with 8 IP. He also has the 2nd most Ks on the staff with 14.
  • The team has one guy averaging more than 20 Ks/9 IP. Ken Giles has recorded 8 Ks in 9 outs in 3 appearances for a 24 K/ 9 IP.
  • They also have two guys averaging more than 20 BBs / 9 IP as both Jandel Gustave (21.6) and Tony Sipp (27) could not find home plate with a GPS.
  • A guy who is tied for the team lead in ERA (0.00) and wins (1) barely made the team – Brad Peacock.
  • Along with Altuve, the Astros have 4 regulars with no RBIs through one week – Josh Reddick, Yulieski Gurriel, Alex Bregman, and Nori Aoki.
  • Marwin Gonzalez is leading the team in OPS and his 1.378 is just short of twice his career OPS of .693.

So, is there anything above that makes any sense or can be expected to continue throughout the season?

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110 responses to “After the first week, all we know is that baseball is goofy”

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  4. A number of us around here thought going on the road would allow the guys to relax and start raking. Well we need Plan B because they were so inspired they managed to get shut out for the first time this season.

    Tonight they will face the 7th left handed starter in 9 games and for some reason this team has not hit leftys well from last year to this year.

    Hopefully they will give big Joe Musgrove the offensive support he deserves tonight

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    • Dan, I am relying on you to keep my spirits up. Goofy reminds me of Mickey Mouse and unfortunate association. I still hold Sports Illustrated at least partially responsible for Grate Expectations.

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  5. When you know your offense is in a little bit of a slump:
    1. When the lead story about your offense on the team’s website is talking about your 2nd string catcher’s improved walk rate;
    2. When you are significantly more likely to score via a solo dinger to lead off the game than by getting a man on second or third with no one out;
    3. When the other teams’ worst pitchers feel confident they have you right where they want you any time you load the bases;
    4. When your 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitters combined have a total of 3 RBIs and 4 runs scored in the first 8 games;
    5. When your corner infielders are hitting .125 and ,179 respectively;
    6. When you start to panic every time you have a runner on first because you realize the odds are Astro-nomical – and better than that he will be left on base – that he is going to either [a] be erased by a double play; [b] picked off; or [c] caught trying to steal;
    7. When any lefthanded pitcher slotted against you immediately becomes a candidate for a Cy Young award;
    8. When nobody gets excited that last year’s AL batting champion strides up to the batter’s box.

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  6. I’m not sold on Gurriel at all so far. How long of a leash do you think he has?

    Giles is the real deal.

    Devenski is the man. That trade where we got him in exchange for brett myers may turn into an Andersen-Bagwell type deal before it is all said and done

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    • If we have a guy like White or Reed hitting .340 in June and Yuri is still below the Mendoza Line, a change will get made. In the meantime, Marwin will take more starts from him.

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    • Billy, are you sold on Altuve? It’s not fair to point out one guy without pointing out all the others that are not hitting at all. That is why I have been avoiding picking on one player or another. Offensively, this team has been horrible at the start of the season for two seasons in a row and Gurriel wasn’t even here at the start of last season. It is a team thing, not an individual thing.
      Last year, we had no left handed reliever and we still don’t. We had lousy baserunning and we still do. We had lousy hitting with runners on and we still do. The GM made the right changes in players, but did not hire people who can get the best out of players. This team is not ready to play, again.
      And so it goes.

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      • OP, that’s what I’ve been saying all along. Crane needs to hire a baseball mind to run this team, not a mathematician.

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      • Altuve is a proven player. Gurriel isn’t. Not saying he won’t be, just that I’m more skeptical about the chances of him heating up vs Altuve.

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      • Sandy,

        Who qualifies as a baseball mind? Was Theo Epstein, Jon Daniels, Brian Cashman and Andrew Friedman baseball minds when they first got hired? I can’t buy into your comment when there are other non-baseball minds that are doing quite well at their respective jobs in baseball.

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  8. The problem is we all know that players will get hot and bring their numbers up towards respectability or else go the way of the Gomez. We’ve seen it happen. The team strings off a bunch of 12-2 victories and all of a sudden we talk ourselves into them being competitive because their Pythagorean says they should be winning at X% higher clip. It misses the point you can’t fix the losses you already have. And every game in the books is one fewer to be played. A 4-3 record isn’t bad though. If they could repeat that the rest of the way they’d win 92 games! That’s about what most people here were predicting.

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  9. Diane and others if you want to be a little uplifted here are some things to consider:
    – The Astros 4-4 record is better than their 8 game start in 2015 or 2016.
    – In 2016 they were 3-5 despite scoring between 5 and 8 runs 5 times in the first 8 games. If they had last year’s pitching with this year’s hitting they might be 1-7 or 2-6.
    – In 2015 they were 3-5 despite decent pitching. Their offense to start 2015 was even worse than this year as they had 2 games scoring zero runs, 2 games scoring 1 run and 2 games scoring 2 runs in the first eight games.
    – After 8 games Evan Gattis had a .071 BA / .175 OPS in 2015 and a .000 / .000 in 2016
    – After 8 games George Springer had a .133 BA / .424 OPS in 2015.

    So what I am saying is they have one more win than they had this time the last two seasons, which both ended with winning records – so don’t bale yet – things will change – they always do.

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    • Thanks, Dan. I’m not bailing out now. I did that on Opening Day, remember? LOL Just kidding, I’m reading every word you write. For some reason, work’s a tad slow today and I’m wanting the ‘Stros to do better. Keep on writing iffen you have time.

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  13. Here is my 2 cents. No secret here for the first 3 years I thought Uncle Jeff was arrogant, thought he was the smartest guy in the room and chased good people away because of that. The next 2 years he did a lot better, but I till bagged on him just because i wanted to see how many times Tim would attack me and my character, which of course he has no clue about either, but that is old news all good.

    Fast forward and with the exception of Sipp he as constructed a damn good 24 guys and a Deep Farm system. Uncle Jeff has done his job. That brings me to what’s up??

    It seems to me it know falls on Hinch, his coaches, and especially Hudgens. This is the second straight year an apathetic , error prone, bad hitting, bad base running team, is coming out of Spring Break. If 2017 if we don’t take the next steep, well Hudgens should have been gone last October, Pettis still stinks, and Hinch should be on the hot seat at the end of the year if we don’t get past the first round!!!

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  14. First it is “early early” but we are not making solid contact most of the time. It is old adage to say “hit the pitchers mistakes.” We are taking them down the middle for a called strike and swinging at those in the dirt. It should change and change quickly. The hitters need patience as much as we do. (And probably some better coaching)

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  17. Anybody wanna tell us what in the hell was wrong with Giles tonight????
    Good thing the guys scored those last two runs, or they would be still be playing.
    Lord, I hope Devinski will be available tomorrow. JEEZE.

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    • Sorry Becky I headed to sleep after the Astros 4 run rally though I heard on the radio that Giles was all over the place with his control. But we’ll take the win and the offense and the luck for one night.

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  18. Six hits from the 1-3 slots in the order. Five from 8 and 9. A bloop double that could have been called an error. That’s the kind of play that changes a clubhouse. The sky is not falling!

    And if my concerns about Gurriel not hitting ML pitching are unfounded, the guy is proving to be very good around the bag.

    Even our professional hitting DH has snuck his BA up to .294, although his OPS remains below .700. The power will come.

    Now, as long as the pitching remains stable, we’re going to be just fine.

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  21. There may or may not have been a grasshopper caught in Haniger’s throat when he muffed that blooper.

    There may or may not have been a grasshopper crawling up Kenny Giles’ pants leg when he did his best to give back all the runs Haniger awarded us on a silver platter.

    There may or may not have been a grasshopper learning how not to play baseball from watching this silliness.

    And the real question is, did Julia Morales wake up this morning and go for a run with Seattle Slough?

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    • I generally think Julia Morales does a great job – much better than the roving reporters from many other team’s crews, but was greatly annoyed by the interview with the mom and her two kids that took up about half an inning yesterday. What did they show us, two pitches from all the at bats? Can’t they at least do a split screen?

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    • I did like how they called Gurriel’s hit a grasshopper hopper or something like that. I think that was the highest I’ve ever seen a ball bounce off the plate into the air. Gurriel who is no gazelle was about a step from first base when it came down.

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  23. Looking for a Mike Fiers no-hitter today, and a misplayed outfield fly ball by Seattle to give the Astros’ bullpen a break in a 1-0 Astros win.

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  24. My biggest disappointment regarding the Fresno Grizzlies game with Las Vegas last night is that Andrew Aplin, Tyler White and Reid Brignac all got to pitch and A.J. Reed didn’t. Just think of the possibilities if Reed could help us out pitching to a left-handed hitter or two, then stay in the game and go back to playing 1B while someone else faces the righties in the line-up.

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    • I remember watching a game where Lou Pinella brought in Marshall (his only lefty from the pen at the time) to face a lefty, brought in a righty to face the next guy – but he put Marshall in LF and removed the LFer so that he could bring Marshall back to the mound for the hitter after (which was obviously a lefty). I miss those NL days.

      Not sure you can bring a fielder in to pitch to a batter without removing your DH. I’m not sure of the DH rule and how it is impacted by a move like that. Sure there are much more baseball savvy, DH rule knowing dudes out there that can help us with that question.

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    • Hey guys. I really wasn’t disappointed that A.J. Reed didn’t get called on to pitch. It was a joke. Fresno got beat by a football score, a whopping 21 to 6; I just had to find something to laugh about.

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      • By the way, neither Delino DeShields or Mike Hauschild is exactly lighting up the marquees in Arlington either.

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      • Dave Hudgens was the one Gattis consulted before his AB, Blummer said “for a quick scouting report”. He displayed a nice piece of hitting on a 2-0 fastball count he drew from Pazos, who’d yet to give up a run this season! Why does this blog deliberately discount contributions where they exist?

        First pitch, was hoping we’d see Gallardo at least once this series. We own him.

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      • Gov,

        My comment was dripping in sarcasm. I don’t think Hudgens has hurt this team. I’m not sure how much he is helping them, but I’m in the minority in thinking he wasn’t the problem with our hitting last year.

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  26. On Gurriel – I never thought he was a $45 million player, but I do think he gets around pretty well, he has hit some pretty hard outs. I doubt his ability to consistently tell balls from strikes, I mean the guy was swinging at that lefty relievers pitches in the dirt, over and over – suspect that he can hit .270 with moderate power but will never draw walks.

    He is a lot bigger than I first thought. Strong dude.

    I wouldn’t be concerned with short term stats. Reddick was brought here to drive in runs, and here we are, 9 games in, and he hasn’t gotten a RBI yet. That will change. Altuve will go on a tear and make you forget that first 8. A team with 6-7 guys with 20 HR potential is showing a lack of pop, it will come around, especially against some of the more meatier pitchers they are facing in the next 2 weeks.

    After watching two Big Joe starts, I have to backdown from my initial thought that he could end up the best pitcher on the staff by the end of the year. Right now he just doesn’t seem to be hitting the spots he should be. His defense hasn’t helped him. That line drive over Marwins head, his first step was in, not back, and that is to be expected from a guy that isn’t a natural outfielder, but that mistake may not have been made by Reddick. I don’t know that Springer gets that drive over his head in right, but his angle was not great – still don’t think he would have gotten there but we will not know. Bottom line is Joe didn’t make it easy on his hitters by leaving some pitches in bad spots and getting hit hard. Still, a win is a win. Take it and get ready for next start.

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    • I’m actually very comfortable where the Astros stand right now considering the slow start for several of our hitters. After 9 games last year we were 3-6 so I think the Astros are in a good position this early in the season.

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    • Steven, I have to agree about Marwin not being a natural outfielder. [That’s the first problem with Bregman out there, too.]. His angles and bad first step are obvious. Also a stronger but short range arm. Having said that, I watched that play over and over and the ball was just smoked, exactly as Blummer said. I came away undecided if Aoki, or Reddick would’ve made the play.

      What’s most impressive about Marwin is his chippy tenacity. He tries to do thinks with some style (similar to Cano), and as long as he’s hitting, he can play 7 positions for those who aren’t.

      I still think Joe is a #3, and although you know more about pitching, I see his curve and slider at times, devastating. If you watch his leg kick follow through – last night he was quieted down, almost holding some back. I like his chances this year to settle in MOR.

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  27. The idiots in north texas had a 5-2 lead going into the ninth inning last night over the Angels, and after the inning was over they lost 6-5!! I just LOVE KARMA don’t you!!

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  30. He’s the main reason I remain concerned about the rotation. I don’t think he gets much more than six starts if he can’t come in and give his guys a better outing when the pen needs a bit of rest. He pitched a crappy game and did not look focused from the start.

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      • It was great to see him get that hit after striking out on a pitch that bounced in the dirt earlier in the game with 2 risp. We all know Bregman is streaky…Need to see one of those hot streaks begin!

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  35. Remember this game later on in the year. This might be where the Astros found their groove.
    What I really liked was the way Sipp, Peacock and Gustave came out of the bullpen and made a difference.
    Reddick says Beltran really helped his swing. Beltran picked up Correa in the 8th inning after Correa struck out with Springer and Altuve on base. Beltran doubled them home.
    Day off tomorrow. That meant something in years past, but probably not tomorrow.
    If the Mariners are out of it by July, would they consider moving Paxton? They have so much future money tied up in older players, he might be their one big trade chip.

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    • Had to get up early today so I did not stick with last night’s game but I was happy to see the box score this morning. Thoughts:
      – Agree with OP – getting shutout from the pen, especially Sipp. Peacock and Gustave was critical
      – Listened to the first inning on the radio and it sounded like Fiers was off from the get-go
      – Nice to see the guys rally from that far down
      – Nice to see them score 10 runs without going yard
      – Nice to see Reddick in that second spot against righties – yes!
      – Nice to hear that Beltran is giving guru advice to guys like Reddick “Forget what Hudgens is babbling…. here’s what you have to do”. OK I’ll hold off the Hudgens bashing
      – Nice to see the whole lineup end the game above that Mendoza line
      – Lots of bullpens have multiple bodies that can pitch multiple innings – but usually one or two of those guys are “mop-up, don’t let him near the lead” guys. The Astros have 3 good arms – Devo, Feliz and Peacock to hold the fort for them and rest others in the pen.
      – The only starter without a hit last night was McCann but he had 2 walks and one RBI
      – Nice to see only 6 Ks last night
      – Nice to see them scoring more than 1 run at a time – they did it 4 times last night
      – Have a nice West Coast day off guys and go whack Oakland around

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  36. I was so happy when I saw the lineup that came out before the game. I hope Hinch sticks with this lineup against RHs. I like Reddick in the 2-hole for 2 reasons. He puts the bat on the ball and it breaks up the run of RH hitters at the top. I also like Bregman down around the 6-hole as well.

    OP made the comment, and I agree, that this might be the game where the tide turned and the Astros start hitting like we knew they would. The hitting started to show signs on Tuesday night and I give credit to Dave for predicting the offense would turn it around on the road trip. It’s only been 2 games, and Oakland has some nasty starting pitching, but it is a good sign.

    The Astros are 6-4 now compared to 3-7 after 10 games last year. I am very comfortable where they are and I am still confident they will be a playoff team when the regular season ends. Of course, injuries could derail this, and like every team the Astros will have some, but there is enough depth on this team to overcome the eventual injuries. It’s the long-term injuries to guys like Keuchel and LMJ that could derail things a bit. I don’t think that will happen, but I think this is the only thing that could slow down this team.

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    • Not a disagreement, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Aoki given a shot in the 2 hole. He doesn’t require a pinch hitter late in games and doesn’t strike out. His only K in 15 PA this year was on a check swing…and it probably shouldn’t have been called a strike. He did get pinch run for by Marisnick last night though.

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      • We’ve got maybe the best 9 hitter in the league with Aoki. Reddick can do significant damage against righties in the two slot. That’s a tough lineup for any pitcher to deal with. I like it, especially if I’m wrong about Yuri Guri.

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  37. According to Fangraphs, the Astros are the worst base running team in the majors.
    According to Fangraphs, the Astros are the worst defensive team in the majors.
    According to Fangraphs, the Astros are in the high teens in batting rankings.
    According to Fangraphs, the Astros are #5 in pitching.
    After seeing the stats, I am very happy with our 6-4 record and very encouraged that the Astros can improve their play a lot.

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    • Let’s see if I can still do math. We have won 6 of the first 10. We play 162. If perchance we can keep winning games at this pace, our win total for the year will be . . . [drumroll] . . . 96 plus?

      If we can pull that off, I wonder how the folks at Fangraphs would like their crow prepared? But I guess now I understand why the past few years the FO has focused so heavily on guys who hit home runs, have low OBPs, and tend to strikeout a lot. The secret is that those guys don’t tend to be on base much, so our organization’s horrendous approach to base-running wasn’t as noticeable.

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      • Fangraphs was my source for stats. They didn’t say the Astros were bad.
        What this means is that, despite the bad defense, bad base running and mediocre batting the Astros have managed to find a way to win.
        Those of us who watch the games know that the Astros have had heroes in the first ten games.
        Springer Dingers, Kuechel’s opening day start, Peacock’s two wins, Will Harris’s relief, Devenski’s genius, and Lance McCullers Jr’s two starts, both of which the Astros won. Marwin Gonzalez’s clutch hitting.
        The Astros have had individual performances which carried them to five wins. That sixth win was a team win and that is one that is fresh on our minds.
        It’s interesting that the Astros went for the home run in MMP and then used timely singles and doubles to win the series in a big park in Seattle.
        Adaptable?

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  38. Going into a three game series with the A’s . . .

    Game 1: Dallas Keuchel v. Kevin Graveman
    Game 2: Lance McCullers, Jr. v. Sean Manaea [LHP]
    Game 3: Charlie Morton v. Jharel Cotton

    The good pitching matchups we have seen all year look to continue, although Cotton had one less than stellar start and Manaea is probably looking forward to facing us to have his first really good one.

    So far:

    Team slash line – Astros .266/.337/.741; A’s .236/.309/.705

    Team Runs – Astros 3.8 per game; A’s 4.01 per game

    Staff ERA – Astros 3.47; A’s 3.99

    Staff WHIP – Astros 1.18; A’s 1.15

    We need to find a way to win at least two of these games. The Rangers will be at Seattle and the Angels will be at Kansas City.

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  39. The Astros played 10 games in 10 days and then got a day off in the middle of a road trip- in Oakland.
    Then they will play 10 games in 10 days and get a day off in the middle of a road trip- in Cleveland.

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  40. As Bregman, Gurriel, and Marisnick continue to struggle who is lighting it up – and who is not – at their positions in the upper tiers of the organization?

    At 3B – we’d better stick with Alex for awhile:
    – Moran is not impressing yet. He’s slashing .241/.267/.577, with 0 HR and 4 RBI
    – Davis is worse, slashing a mere .217/.280/.541 with 0 HR and 2 RBI
    – T. White is putting up a good slash .320/.346/.786 with 1 HR and 2 RBI but Ks are high

    At 1B – Reed might be getting close; he’s slashing .348/.500/1.065; but Ks are still high; [I won’t insult your intelligence by pointing out Jon Singleton’s AA stats]

    At 4th OF – If we feel we can do without haircut for offense, the best options are:
    – Derek Fisher, slashing .286/.400/1.019, with 2 HR and 3 RBI, but with a 30% K rate
    – Teoscar Hernandez, slashing .250/.333/.883 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, and fewer Ks

    I suspect that absent an injury, we will stand pat with what we have for the foreseeable future. Hopefully the guys on the farm – especially Reed, Fisher, and Hernandez, will kick into high gear, cut the Ks down, and push the envelope over the next two months.

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    • Hold on. Bregman had 5 hits in Seattle. Gurriel had 7. Those two guys did not continue to struggle. I know Bregman will hit. I hope I’m dead wrong about Yuri. But true, we already know that Jake will not hit.

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  41. As Jandel Gustave and Tony Sipp compete for the role of Ricky ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn in the next production of ‘Major League’, and as Ken Giles nears perfection at the combined role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who is waiting in the wings to help us in the bullpen? No lefties are doing well at all, but:
    – James Hoyt has a 0.00 ERA, a 0.33 WHIP, and 5 Ks and 0 BBs in 3 innings;
    – Kevin Comer [just promoted to Fresno today] has a 0.00 ERA, a 0.33 WHIP, with 5 Ks and 0 BBs in his short stint at Corpus
    – Jordan Jankowski has a 0.00 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, with 4 Ks and no BBs in 2.1 IP

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  44. I’m in Chip’s neck of the woods for Easter, and we will have our annual Good Friday crawfish boil! Boiling about 300 pounds tomorrow! Am I making you hungry?!! Anyway, I will be able to actually SEE these guys while I’m here!! Yay!! Wednesdays win was impressive, and to get a win like that on a get away day was awesome!! My hope is that this series lit a fire that will continue through the summer. The only worry I have is this team can I’ll afford for another starting pitcher to go down. I’ll think of you tomorrow when I’m on my second LARGE plate of mud bugs!! Becky⚾

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    • Becky – you have a blessed crawfish boil in that “country” east of Texas!!
      Everyone have a wonderful Easter weekend.

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  45. On the Correa article it appears they offered him an inducement of $50K for something and his agent found that offensive. Someone ran to the press with the story.
    Here are a few notes leading nowhere (I hope). This year according to Sportrac Altuve is the 18th highest paid 2nd baseman. In 2 years Odor will be paid more money than Jose. JD Martinez came up with Altuve. He was cut and signed with the Tigers. This year he is paid more than double Altuve. Springer did receive a nice raise this year Next year Altuve and Sipp will be paid the same.

    And finally JL came from the Cards. They normally use their farm system to replace over 30 talent with rookies and have remained competitive through that process.

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  46. Kevin Comer, just up from Corpus, had a great intro to AAA last night. The reliever pitched two perfect innings in relief of Brady Rodgers, notching two Ks and walking nobody. He threw 26 pitches, 19 of them being strikes. He had a 4/0 GO/AO ratio. Meanwhile, the Griz offense had a big night, with every position player adding at least one hit to a 12-run attack.

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    • Kevin Comer was the PTBNL in the trade with Toronto for JA Happ. He has been groomed in the Astros system for almost five years. The Astros also got Wojo and Musgrove in that trade, which was one of the first trades made by Luhnow, who would dearly love to get two guys to make it to the majors with us from that deal.

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      • Is it just me or does it seem like Luhnow does better with the PTBNLs or the throw-ins in trades than he does with the higher rated prospects at the time of the trades? Comer, Martes, Devenski, Paulino etal were all either PTBNLs or the very low level prospect at the time that has flourished into a top level prospect.

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  47. A’s who have been excelling at the plate:

    Khris Davis [lf] – .316/.357/1.041, 4 HR, 6 RBI, but tied for team lead in Ks;
    Yonder Alonso [1b] .308/.400/.862, 1 HR, 6 RBI
    Jed Lowrie [dh] – .286/.366/.823, 1 HR, 4 RBI

    A’s who have been struggling at the plate:

    – Marcus Semien [ss] – .152/.333/.515, 0 HR, 1 RBI, tied for team lead in Ks
    – Matt Joyce [rf] – .185/.267/.563, 1 HR, 4 RBI, but only 4 Ks
    – Trevor Plouffe [3b] – .188/.229/.416, 0 HR, 2 RBI, tied for 2d on team in Ks
    – Ryon Healy [3b] – .200/.238/.638, 2 HR, 3 RBI, tied for 2d on team in Ks
    – Rajai Davis [cf] – .216/.268/.701, 1 HR, 6 RBI

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  48. Trades that involve young pitchers can take a while to shake out. Peacock is another one who might be bringing benefits a long time after the trade was made.
    If Comer makes it up that would be a nice unexpected bonus from a long ago trade.
    And of course Devenski along with Musgrove – good or maybe great additions…

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  50. Yuri had 7 hits in Seattle. Marwin is 0 for his last 9. Sometimes I hate the lefty righty matchup crap. We paid 45 million for Gurriel. Let’s find out if he’s wiorth it.

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