Like most folks in Southeast Texas, Dan P is spending the weekend indoors as an unwelcome weather event named Harvey spins directionless like a kid’s top to the west of us. So, what the heck, might as well toss out some random baseball thoughts to pass the time.
The AL West Can’t Catch the Astros. There have been discussions about the Astros slumping or collapsing or (fill in with your own verb). Back on July 28th the Astros were at their zenith with a 68-34 record and 18 game lead in their division. They have stumbled since then to a 9-16 record and slid to 12.5 games ahead. That sounds like a team plummeting towards disaster. But in reality in the last 12 games the Astros have increased their lead from 12.0 to 12.5 games ahead. The Astros were vulnerable, but as the lame return from the DL, the window is closing. The key is that the other teams in the division have not really played well enough to threaten them. The Angels? They have never been better than 4 games over .500 and after hitting 64-60 have slid back to 65-63 after last night’s game. The Rangers? They were 3 over .500 at 24-21 and have bobbed along to 64-63 heading into Saturday’s games. The Mariner’s? They topped out at 3 over at 59-56 and today are 65-63. The A’s? Not going there.
Did Twitter Controversy Turn Around Alex Bregman‘s Season, Maybe so or maybe not. Bregman had already started to improve a little when he got into a bit of a nasty twitter exchange with a fan, back on July 10th. He was hitting a pretty pedestrian .254 BA/.338 OBP/.756 OPS at the time. Since then he has raised those numbers to a robust .286/.363/.856. In his 37 second half games he has hit a nasty .336/.404/1.046, scored 27 runs, knocked in 24 runs and totaled up an impressive 22 extra base hits. Maybe the tweeting did not turn him around or maybe it was part of the maturing process.
Playoffs – Road or Home? Normally this would be a silly question, but the Astros have been good at home (37-29) and dominant on the road (40-21). But there have been holes cropping up in their road performance as they were 36-13 prior to their recent 4-9 slide on the road. The Astros should want to have that home field advantage at least through the AL side of the playoffs and hopefully their regular season road performance will embolden them on the road in the playoffs.
Baseball is as Weird and Unpredictable as Harvey. The Astros began the season with one week of a hitting huff, but were soon hitting on all cylinders with offense, starting pitching and relief pitching carrying them to new heights. They then had a historic offensive performance in July, while their bullpen (over-worked with the injuries to the rotation) struggled during that month. Then we roll into August and the bullpen is the best in baseball, the rotation is improving and the offense is the biggest problem they are having. Who knows what will be the best and the worst parts of the team heading into the playoffs.
So….any thoughts you want to share today?
CHIPALATTA 
Just talked to my daughter and they are still ok. No power but they are using their generator to help run a neighbor’s oxygen pump and to help another neighbor with their food.
She offered her apartment to let rescuers stop and drop for naps and to charge their phones. I told her to check with neighbors and she might cook for them in the daylight hours since she has a natural gas stove. And that she could crash at night and get rest in the dark since they have no lights anyway. She said that was a great idea.
Her area has a 95-100% chance of rain through Wednesday 5pm. The only way they are going to make it without flooding is through some break in the weather or, of course, a miracle.
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God has heard our prayers OP….He will provide for us. I’m soo glad your daughter and her family are ok. Every now and them my power comes back on, and I will try to keep in touch when it does. Father hear our prayers. Amen❤
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Glad you’re OK Becky. Looks pretty bad in your area.
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Will repeat. This is continental record rainfall. Mayor Turner and all judges doing best they can. Please cool it on criticism of baseball officials or government officials.
This is life and death. People are BUYING BOATS to come here and help. God bless you for your generous spirit. Yes, I have been praying for a miracle, not just for myself or for those I know, but for thousands and in this case possibly a million.
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Amen Diane. There is no way anyone can imagine how horrible this is, unless you live here. I’ve called your name to the Lord every single night. I feel such a wonderful friendship with you, and Sandy as well.. I ask God’s grade and love on all my family and friends in Houston. Father hear our prayers. Amen
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Thank you. What I have noticed here is focus on personal problems. This is way over and above that here. We are dealing with people who have spent three nights in the dark in their homes in water, not knowing the outcome. I saw a male reporter cry and break down on camera this morning. Folks, get yourself or your views on baseball over yourself. Don’t you understand the magnitude of this ?
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