Mar 31 2018

Astros’ division rival: 2018 Oakland A’s

After our detour to look at the home team, we return for another look at the Astros divisional rivals heading into the 2018 season. Today we look at the Oakland A’s

2017 A’s

  • 75-87 Record (73-89 Pythagorean) – 5th Place in the AL West; 26 GB of Astros in AL West; 10 GB of Twins for 2nd Wild Card
  • Offense – .246 BA (11th in AL) / .319 OBP (9th) / .755 OPS (5th) / 739 Runs (9th) / 234 HRs (4th) / 57 SBs (13th)
  • Starting Pitching – 4.74 ERA (11th) / 1.38 WHIP (9th) / .268 BA against (10th) / .774 OPSA (7th) / 129 HR (4th least) / 298 BB (9th most) / 675 K (14th)
  • Relief Pitching – 4.57 ERA (13th) / 1.32 WHIP (9th) / 58.3% save % (13th) / .250 BAA (10th) / .752 OPSA (12th) / 81 HR (5th most) / 204 BB (10th most) / 527 k (8th)

Summary of 2017

The A’s played below Money Ball in 2017, showing a below average offense, starting pitching and a bad bullpen. And that is how you end up in last place in the AL West. The A’s made a lot of moves in the off-season, but have also been walking in bad luck as both SP Jharel Cotton and top prospect SP A.J. Puk are out for the season and Paul Blackburn who was good in 10 starts last season is out for the time being.

2018 A’s Offense

The A’s scored the 9th most runs in the AL, while having the 5th highest OPS, which would indicate they may have left some runs on the table. What could help them or hurt them in 2018?

  • The A’s took a one year flyer on C Jonathan Lucroy, who was one of the best offensive C’s in the game before a poor 2017 knocked the snot out of his value. The A’s would love for Lucroy to get back to his 2016 All Star heights (24 HR / 82 RBIs / .292 BA / .855 OPS)
  • 1B Matt Olson gave the A’s 24 HRs and 45 RBIs in only 59 games, which is a 66 HRs, 124 RBIs pace over 162 games. If he can get anywhere near that he will be a major weapon in their lineup.
  • To a lesser extent, young 3B Matt Chapman had 14 HRs and 40 RBIs in 84 games and with a little uplift in his game could be a 30 HR 90 RBI guy. And they hope that SS Marcus Semien continues to develop as he had a solid 14 HR and 40 RBIs in 84 games.
  • The A’s picked up RF Stephen Piscotty from the Cards. He was very good in his first 1-1/2 seasons (2015 and 2016) and slumped in 2017 with his mother battling ALS. Since she lives in Northern California, this is a match that could work out well for both Piscotty and the A’s.
  • They hope that Khris Davis (43 HRs / 100 RBIs) continues his power display as he moves from the OF to mostly a DH spot.
  • Former Astro Jed Lowrie was able to stay on the field for 153 games and as usual was very productive as a 2B for the A’s (.277/.360/.808 slash).

Starting Rotation

The starting rotation will be a bit different in 2018, but not necessarily better. Their best pitcher, Sonny Gray is gone and they will be without Cotton, who was not good in 2017.

  • The A’s would like both Kendall Graveman (6-4 and 4.19 ERA) and Sean Manaea (12-10 and 4.37 ERA) to make the next step in their development and move towards TOR status.
  • Similarly, Andrew Triggs was 5-6 with a 4.27 ERA in 12 starts and will get a shot at taking it to another level.
  • Daniel Gossett was pure bad in 2017 (4-11, 6.11 ERA, 1.609 WHIP). They need him to move to mediocre in 2018.
  • Former Astro Daniel Mengden was good in a small 43 inning sample last season and could earn a permanent spot in this rotation pretty easily.

Relief Pitching

The A’s biggest bullpen move may have been picking up closer Blake Treinen at the trade deadline from the Nats, because they had real troubles closing games in early 2017. In the off-season they added Emilio Pagan, Yusmeiro Petit and Ryan Butcher to a struggling bullpen.

  • Treinen was excellent after the trade, converting his last 12 save opportunities and posting a 2.13 ERA in 35 appearances.
  • Emilo Pagan had a solid rookie season in Seattle (3.22 ERA and 10 K/ 9IP in 34 games) before being traded to the A’s for DH Ryon Healy.
  • Yusmiero Petit signed as a FA, had the best season of his career last season with the Angels (5-2, 2.76 ERA in 91 innings) and could give this pen a big shot in the arm.
  • Ryan Butcher obtained in a trade with the Royals, had a fine 2017 between the Royals and the Padres (4-3 and 2.89 ERA in 71 games) and would be an improvement for the A’s.

Predictions for the 2018 A’s

The A’s seemed to have improved their bullpen and their offense was on an upward arc with young folks giving them a second half injection. It is a little hard to understand why they did not attempt to bring in some discount starting pitching assistance. In the end they will go as far as their stating rotation will carry them.

2018 Prediction – 82-80 and 3rd place in the AL West

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108 comments on “Astros’ division rival: 2018 Oakland A’s”

  1. I see the A’s giving us fits on and off throughout the season. They’ve got a pretty good line up and will hit some long balls. Between the ML ball and AAA, Olson had 47 dingers and 105 RBI’s. Gosh those poor guys really need that new stadium though. It’s even uncomfortable watching their games on television!

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  2. I missed the game last night had a dinner party to go to, so I watched the replay, I’m with a lot of you I’m thinking time to reboot and and go into a rebuild Mode, make some trades , send some guys down. BAAAAAAAAAAAA Happy almost April Fools and Easter! 1-1 160 to go.

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    • It’s a heavy mantle, but somebody has to wear it. Thank you for expressing such confidence in little old me!

      Dang, I wish we still had [pick at least three]: Chris Carter, Matt Dominguez, Carlos Gomez, Colby Rasmus, Nori Aoki, Willie Taveras, Mike Gallo, J.R. Towles, Cecil Cooper, and/or Preston Wilson.

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      • Cecil Cooper the player would not be bad….but the manager…right up there with Mills and Porter except he had some talent to work with

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  5. -For the cynics, in 2017, the World Series Champion Astros had a 4-4 record after 8 games.
    -There was a failure to mention that the Athletics were fourth in all of baseball last season in hitting home runs. They hit 234 of them, only four less than the Astros. This team has power.
    – The only explanation for the A’s sweeping a 4-game series at home against Houston late last season by lopsided scores is the the A’s were stealing signs. I was convinced they were doing it the entire series.
    -I think Oakland will surprise a number of people with their record. They are better than they are being given credit for. I don’t blame them for not playing the free agent market because their stadium is empty every day, other than the drum corp.
    -My wife loves their uniforms because green and yellow are her favorite colors.
    -This year, when the Astros are not playing well, I will just turn off the TV. I turned it off in the fourth inning last night. At my age, there is no use torturing myself.
    -As is with all teams, the A’s will go as far as their pitching will take them.
    -The A’s face Shohei Ohtani on Sunday.
    -Oakland had 27,764 in attendance for opening night and 27,665 for game two of the series. I wonder if 25,000 of the fans were wearing red.

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    • – Well I was only showing team’s rankings in the AL – just like the Astros review where I showed them at #1 in the AL in a lot of categories where they were also #1 in mlb
      – Is stealing signs going to be the next big scandal. Did the Astros steal signs at home? If they did – they did not do a great job as they had a better road record.
      – I don’t have a problem with players or coaches on the field stealing signs, but if you have someone using technology in some nerd room relaying signs, that is not right.
      – I totally agree that pitching will carry teams – that is why I have the Astros winning the division
      – Most teams drop more than 99 folks from game 1 to game 2 – though most teams have an opening day sell out.

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      • Sorry for the use of the word failure, Dan. I wasn’t criticizing, so that use of the word was poorly chosen. I guess what I was saying is that Oakland’s power surprised me and a lot of others, too.
        The limited visits to the mound is going to enhance the sign stealing, because catchers will have problems changing signs. I believe the A’s were using outside help to gain access to the catchers signs.
        I turned the game off in the fourth inning last night when the Astros got a single from Altuve and Fister walked Correa. Fister had problems locating his pitches up to that point and had thrown a ton of pitches to run up his pitch count. Then Bregman comes up to the plate with no patience and hits the first pitch thrown to him into a tailor-made double play. The #5 spot behind Correa was the only vacuum in the Astros lineup last season and it is the same this year, so far. Marwin finished the inning with a grounout and I turned off the game and went and helped burn brush piles by the brilliant light of the moon. Turns out, the Rangers clinch the game in the bottom of the fourth.
        Anytime you give the other team a gift, they will graciously beat you to death with it and Bregman gave it to the Rangers last night.

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      • OP
        I wonder if nerdisms play into the Bregman DP. I think they said that batters were like hitting over .400 on first pitch swings against Fister last year. But the right baseball thing would have been to wait him out on pitches – maybe the nerds said swing?

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      • Yeah OP, that 4th was the inning I thought we’d take charge of the ballgame. Bregman comes up thinking he’s going to hit a 3 run shot on the first pitch, rather than helping build the big inning. It was a young thing to do. I’m much the same. I turned it off and went to bed when it became 3-1.

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  6. Daveb – I could see both Davis and Olson over the 40 HR mark this year.

    Kevin – weird year this year – Valentine’s Day on Ash Wednesday and April Fools on Easter.

    Op – Just a little touchy today – griping at my wife too

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  7. As far as I can see, most everbody is griped with at least somebody these days. Can’t somebody start a newspaper, The Gripin’ Times ??

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    • Well we know his right side is his week side. Thought the ump gave Moore both sides of the plate against MarGo – 2nd strike looked just outside – but if that was on the corner the third strike was definitely inside.

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  13. Altuve singles – Correa goes the other way with a poke single and Altuve hustled to 3rd and Marwin hits a sac fly. 5-1 Astros in the 5th.

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  15. Much better effort from the guys today. McCullers pitching very well (10K’s). When he’s got everything working he’s tough to beat. Correa & Altuve great days at the plate. JFSF with another long ball.

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  16. I don’t dislike Tony Sipp. I just don’t like him on our club. Walking two guys with a 7 run lead is simply unforgivable from a veteran pitcher. Yes, Collin gave up another free pass, but he pitched pretty well in his new role.

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    • Kudos for Collin coming in and bailing out Sipp/Hinch. I suspect that Hinch was trying to see how far he could push the envelope. I think we know now that Sipp is good for at best an inning and maybe another batter but after that don’t push our luck. out of curiosity if we had to add a starter would we want Peacock or McHugh? I can see the merits of using either one in the role.

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  17. Since it looks like we’re stuck with Sipp……*please* don’t try to get more than one inning out of him! Hinch knows better than to try and do that.
    McCullers looked very good today……not letting the arlington little league get under his skin. I’m anxious to see Garrett Cole pitch tomorrow! Becky⚾

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  18. – I just checked to be sure and it is true: Lance McCullers, Jr. turned 24 in October.
    – I swear I’ve seen that Astros team before.
    – I miss Yuli!
    – So that’s the Correa everybody has talked about.
    – The worm has turned in Texas. Did you hear those cheers for the Astros in the Ranger’s ballpark today? And all that orange?
    – Notice anything different? 3 games, no steals, no caught stealing.
    – What Kevin Pillar did tonight against Betances/Sanchez was amazing! He singled to the oppo field in the 8th, then stole second, stole third, and stole home. There was no play on him on any of the stolen bases.

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  19. Totally off subject – just got back from a Chicago concert at Smart Financial Centre and it was tremendous. They played all of the old double album Chicago II in order (about 70 minutes) took a break and did another 80+ minutes of their greatest hits.
    I know it’s only a few of the originals left but they have found a lot of great players and voices and it was just plain great fun.
    In a sports related note they had an opening act of JD and the Straight Shot. The lead singer JD is James Dolan owner of the NY Knicks

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  20. Great job from LMJ yesterday. Really looking forward to today’s game and watching Cole pitch in a game that counts.
    I guess if we must use Sipp yesterday was a good day to do it.

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  21. I had a covenant commitment to Pass Over yesterday’s game. But it looks like the bats – especially the bats of Altuve and Correa – came out of bondage singing Ashirah with along with our merry band of pilgrims.

    Today, I choose to have faith that even more Astros’ bats will arise from the dead, and that Gerrit Cole’s career will be resurrected – and that the combination of those two miracles will leave Rangers fans scrambling to pick up the smelly eggs their team has laid.

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  22. Highly recommend Placido Gomez piece, not in Sports but in Outlook section in this morning’s Chron., about Altuve rounding third and heading home in Game 2, Yanks. I remember even a Houston pastor referring to the look on Altuve’s face in his sermon next day. This article is inspirational, especially for a geezer who may be tempted to think, passing third, a triumphant arrival at home is nigh-on impossible. I’m keeping it and God bless Jose Altuve.

    Is McCullers okay after taking the hard hit?

    And a joyous Resurrection Day to all.

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  24. Cole solid through 5 innings – 1 run on the only hit – a Gallo HR.
    Stassi showed off some wheels scoring easily on a Fisher triple. Fisher showed off his wheels scoring on a short sac fly.
    2-1 Astros in the 6th

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  25. I think it’s fair to say that in Keuchel’s start the bats went a little cold and we just didn’t give him much support. Credit Fister who was at one point in 2016, 7-2 and our most consistent pitcher. Hardly a reason to think the Rangers are adequate foes, because after the complete dismantling of them this season, that notion will be turned on its head.

    As to Diane’s comment, I was reminded that nothing was ever accomplished without enthusiasm (Einstein). This team does seem to put something a little extra into everything they do, to the point that even though they’re having fun, they won’t be denied their destiny.

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  26. Altuve really is incredible with the bat.
    Correa does not want to be overshadowed by his buddy.
    Our 4th starter might be pretty good.
    Our DH might hit.

    We’re going to be a pretty good club.

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  27. Astro win. Astros win again. They were 3-1 after 4 games last season.
    The Astros are 3-0 when the opponent starts a left handed pitcher against them.
    I’m thinking about that guy who wrote the article that I read yesterday who said the Astros have a big hole in their lineup because McCann is getting old and the Astros have nothing with Max Stassi.
    After Thursday night’s game I mentioned that Jose Altuve was due.
    That may be the first time I’ve seen a player get thrown out of a game to wake himself up! Go, Marwin.
    The Orioles will face Morton, Verlander and Keuchel.
    MLBTR says Hinch told McTaggart that Gurriel will make his debut on Tuesday.

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    • A big hole? I missed that story. If they both hit .220 with some occasional power, we won’t have any holes in our line up, especially if Tucker gets the nod at some point this summer. Heck, Fisher even looked good against the lefty today.

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    • I didn’t see the Marwin ejection. What was that about?
      Team looked super today and Gerrit Cole was almost untouchable. Mixing his pitches up and keeping them off balance all day. Now on to H-town to beat up on the Orioles

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      • After Fisher and Springer got called out on strikes in the top of the eighth inning they went to com’l break with Springer having a discussion with the home plate ump.
        When they came back from the break, Marwin was walking back to the dugout to go to the clubhouse and Hinch was in a discussion with two of the umps.
        Turns out Marwin let the first base umpire know what he thought about the job the umps were doing and he was thrown out.

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      • Here is the way it looked to me. For the entire half inning after Springer’s strikeout, Marwin was giving grief to the crew chief. After Gerrit Cole struck out the last batter for the Rangers in the bottom of the inning, Stassi took the baseball with him to the dugout instead of tossing it out to the mound or giving it to the home plate ump. The home plate ump pulled a new ball out and tossed it out toward the mound so the Rangers’ pitcher would have something with which to warm up. About that time, Gonzales, who was really ticked over all the close calls that had been going for Mike Minor and the Rangers, but not for Cole [who, of course, did not really need any umpiring help anyway], was running in from his position at 1st. Marwin saw the clean, shiny ball rolling on the turf in front of the mound and ran up and gave it his best soccer kick. The umpiring crew felt that they were being disrespected. Having had quite enough of Marwin’s constant tirade, they tossed him.

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  28. Rangers 7,8,9 guys went 2 for 38 with 18 K’s this series. I used to know a team like that. Our 9 guys (McCann and Stassi) will hit 25 plus homers. Is that a big hole?

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  29. Good day….
    – Cole gave up the early Gallo HR and then gave up only one more hit in 7 innings
    – Gattis got 3 separate hits with 3 separate RBIS – doubt Beltran ever did that last year
    – Stassi has put good wood on the ball a nice percentage of the time and is faster than McCann (though so am I)
    – We have the best hitter in baseball on the team – hitting like it
    – Had to love Bregman, Altuve and Correa going with the pitch to RF against the lefty for 3 singles and a run
    – Giles looked a heck of a lot better this time around
    – Fisher is one fast dude
    – Davis got a hit

    Nice 3-1 start on the road against our closest friends to the north. Seven more wins to win the Silver Boot

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  30. Didn’t get to watch the game today….too much eating and visiting with our family. PLUS….we have a lot of golfers in our family, so the Houston Open was on the big tube! I must have told Marwin 3 or 4 times yesterday to shut up and sit down. Is it me, or has he gotten a touch mouthy with the Umps in the last couple of years? Dude….quit doing that, you’re gonna get your name talked about with the Umpire crew! Was Cole as good as his line was, because if he was Luhnow really got a STEAL with that trade! I’ll take 3 outta 4 from these guys EVERY DAY and twice on Sunday!! I owe my husband a dollar because I bet him little banny rooster would start a fight in this series! Becky⚾

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    • Becky, Cole was absolutely dominating. The only good at bats against him were by Andrus and Beltre. Gallo’s first inning opposite field home run was a fluke of nature on a pretty good backdoor breaking pitch intentionally located outside a left-handed hitter’s power zone.

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  31. -When Gallo dinked a single to LF did he beat the shift, or did the shift beat him?
    -I think that Evan Gattis will get used to his job as the designated hitter. Today he got ahead 3-0 in the count and took a fastball on the inside corner. I warned the pitcher not to throw that pitch again to Evan again and he didn’t listen to me.
    -Something looked different in that at-bat by Fisher when he fouled of a ton of pitches before finally grounding out to 1B. He looked ready to hit. It’s like the triple in his previous at-bat had taken a load off of him.
    -What is that crowd going to be like tomorrow night?
    -Something tells me Alex Bregman is fixin’ to break out.
    -Beltran is coming to Houston to get his ring. That will be fun to see.
    – I hope all of you had a good Easter. I did.

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  32. Yesterday was very interesting. In the first four innings Mike Minor was masterful. He was locating his fastball and cutter on and just off the corners and getting all the calls. It was one of those performances where you knew if he got a first-pitch strike, the batter was done. Ask Marisnick [four ks] and Gonzales [3 ks before his ejection]. Our first opportunity came in the came in the fifth when Minor finally let down his guard a little and threw the first hittable ball of the day. Fortunately, Max Stassi did not miss it. He doubled. Then Fisher proved he can hit a good lefty with a triple. Then Springer hit a very, very shallow pop fly that Drew Robinson misread and caught off balance, allowing the speedy Fisher to tag and score. From that point, Minor’s pitch count did him in, and everything we hit against their relievers – who were tough – seemed somehow to fall just a few feet in front of their outfielders.

    Good guys win. But Cole was dominating. Devenski was not. Giles was. Offense was patient, and lucky, but not dominating.

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  33. Anyone read where Gabe Kapler, rookie manager for the Phillie’s, pulled his starter in the third inning on Saturday night but forgot to have a guy warming up in the pen? Tough town to make that kind of a boo boo in.

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  34. OK – what happens Tuesday?
    All indications are that Yuli returns Tuesday. It would seem to be a slam dunk at this point that J.D. Davis heads back to AAA. The only other likely choice would be Fisher headed down and the gut feel is that it is Davis.
    Thoughts?

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    • Thoughts
      At least he got a hit? He’ll be back though. It’s hard to expect a guy to get in a rhythm when there is no time to do it. That’s what makes Marwin such a unique player; he was able to come off the bench and perform in the clutch. Davis has some bat to ball issues that definitely need addressing, but if he could play everyday, then who knows if he could develop the confidence that Bregman has, who is now ahem! 1 for 16.

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      • I did not see all four games, but in the pieces I saw it sure looked like Bregman was hitting in buzzard’s luck. Hitting the ball on the nose, but not getting any breaks on them falling in.

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      • I am just glad for J.D. that he managed to fight through an another tough at bat, and though he quickly got behind in the count again, he came back and get that first hit on the season. I am assuming he will not play against the righty tonight, and that he will be on his way to Fresno Tuesday. At least he had one good at bat before being sent down.

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    • As per the pre-season plan, Fisher is going to get a long look. He’ll be starting in left against most righties. JD is going to have to wait on an injury. That’s about his only shot.

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    • Dan, Yuli comes back Tuesday and Davis goes down because they are both infielders. Yui’s return gets the team back to the same spot they were in the playoffs. Yuli is at 1B and Marwin is anywhere Hinch wants him.

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  35. Did you know that the minor league and major league baseball’s are different? This is why we won’t see Alex Cobb in the O’s series.

    “Cobb is currently on the Double-A Bowie roster and will work out in Bowie, but Showalter said that he doesn’t want Cobb throwing a minor league ball, and he won’t be able to use a major league ball in a Double-A game. There is a slight difference in the stitching of the two and the Orioles don’t want Cobb, who has had reconstructive elbow surgery, to change his feel for pitches while adjusting to an unfamiliar ball for likely only one outing.”

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    • Baseball is bizarre sometimes. Why would you have differences between minor league and major league baseballs? Why would you have differences between major league regular season and playoff baseballs? Why would you have one league let pitchers hit and the other not?

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      • Dan, if you were six years old we would be saying something like “out of the mouths of babes” and raving about your wisdom.
        But you are not six years old, so I will just rave about your wisdom.
        Sometimes, fixes are so simple that complicated people in high places just don’t get it.
        One of my least favorite expressions is: “it’s complicated”. Most of the time that is translated to: “I don’t have a clue and I’m way too smart to listen to advice”.

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      • What? If Teddy Roosevelt were to hear what you guys are saying, he would have a fit. You just can’t give one manufacturer a monopoly on all baseballs! Capitalism, dear sir, requires compromises!

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      • The major difference is that the MILB balls are manufactured in China while the MLB come from a factory in Costa Rica. The official stance is that the balls are made to the same specifications but that there might be variances in seam threading. However, last summer a study was performed at Washington State University that showed that 2017 MLB balls were a bit different from those used the prior five years. They found that the 2017 balls were slightly more elastic (more efficient energy transfer = higher velocity off the bat) and the seams were slightly lower. Another study using the high speed cameras in the stadiums indicated a lower drag coefficient in the 2017 MLB balls.

        TL;DR: the MILB balls are easier to grip and will have larger breaks on breaking pitches. The MLB balls will fly further given the same energy transferred to it from the bat. Chicks dig the long balls!

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      • But that would indicate Chicks would not dig the minor league players because they don’t hit as many long balls. But I saw Susan Sarandon dug Kevin Costner so I know that can’t be true….

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    • Diane, even though we have never met, I feel genuine love for you this morning. If I can share prayers for Becky and her illness here, I can also share prayers for your pain. Peace to you today. 1oldpro.

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  37. In case you missed it, yesterday Correa fouled a ball right off the top of his foot and was in quite a bit of pain. He got back into the box and lined a single to right-center field and made his way to first base wincing a bit.
    As Marwin struck out Correa stole second by a mile and then scored on Gattis’s double.
    I have to admit it, Chirinos’s arm did not look strong yesterday. Altuve stole third on him later in the game and Chirinos looked slow getting rid of the ball.
    The Orioles lost 2 of 3 to the Twins at home to start the season.
    Don’t forget the name Jose Berrios. He threw a complete game, 3-hit shutout against the O’s yesterday.

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  38. Astros vs. Orioles. So far in this very short season:

    Team BA – Astros, .277, is 7th in the MLB; Orioles .117 is dead last
    Team OBP – Astros, .346, is 6th in the MLB; Orioles .224 is dead last
    Runs scored – Astros 22 is 2nd in MLB; Orioles 5 is 29th
    Runs allowed – Astros 11 is tied for 4th in MLB; Orioles 15 is in middle of pack
    Team ERA – Astros 2.83 is 5th in MLB; Orioles 4.34 is 20th
    Team WHIP – Astros 1.03 is 5th in MLB; Orioles 1.28 is 20th

    But all that is academic. Defend the Maid!

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    • One unpleasant team stat for all the other recovering cynics out there – so far this year the Astros are way up the list of teams in striking out. In 4 games, our guys have struck out 39 times [almost 10 offensive Ks per game]. The only teams with more strikeouts than our ‘Stros are the Cubs [47], the Jays [45], and the Rangers [40]. Individually, Marisnick is our strikeout ‘leader’ with 7 Ks in 14 plate appearances. Springer has 6 Ks in 19 plate appearances. Marwin has 5 Ks in 16 PAs, and Gattis has 5 Ks in 18.

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      • I’m going to give this one a pass due to small sample size thus far. Marisnick had four K’s in yesterday’s game. If he continues that rate then I’ll revert to referring to him as JFSF or Jake-In-Another-Teams-Uniform if it’s really bad.

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      • To bring you back from the brink, Dan, the Astros do actually lead the league in one category – DOUBLES! The sky is falling -but it is falling on opposing pitchers!

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  39. I said this a couple of days ago….Jake is never going to be a real good hitter. If we get what we got from him last year, I think that will be great.

    George looks like he’s falling into one of his over swinging phases. It too will pass.

    Marwin is really pressing. Maybe it’s due to the big contract he wants.

    3 walks, 5 K’s, 5 hits from Gattis. I’ll take those numbers.

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    • dave i agree with you that gattis will upgrade the DH spot for us, but i have to disagree somewhat on marisnick. seems like he was hitting better and with power after some work with an coach on his swing. then he got hurt. i only got to see parts of 2 games, but it looks like he has a pretty good stroke going. we’ll see if he can keep it going.

      thought this showed a bit of luhnow’s character. go stros!

      When the Astros suffered through a 111-loss season in 2013, general manager Jeff Luhnow tortured himself by changing his license plate to read “GM 111,” serving as a reminder of the Astros’ troubles every time he got in his car.
      After the Astros turned things around and made it to the postseason in 2015, he ditched “GM 111” for “OCTOBB” – October baseball.
      Now, with a World Series trophy to his name, Luhnow has changd it up again.

      The new license plate on the general manager’s Audi reads: “WS112.” That’s World Series and the number of games the Astros won in 2017 – 101 in the regular season and 11 in the postseason.

      The Astros will unveil their World Series championship banner before Monday’s home opener against the Orioles. The team will get their rings before Tuesday’s game.

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    • I think I am a little hard on Evan because in our division we have to face a real DH – a guy whose slash line last year was .288/.375/.924, with 39 HRs and 119 RBIs. Hopefully, Evan can have his personal best year ever, and slash .260/.325/.875 with 25-30 HR and 80-90 RBIs. Oh, and maybe he can match his 2015 production in triples, too.

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  40. While Cole Gerritt is really looking good for the Astros, the Pirates are having a hard time keeping Joe Musgrove on the field. He barely threw in ST, and yesterday went on the 10-day DL with muscle strain in his right [throwing] shoulder.

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  42. I wonder in the history of baseball if a team has ever entered a season with their 5th starter, who also won two game 7’s in the previous year’s playoffs? Heck – I wonder how many pitchers have ever won two game 7’s in the same set of playoffs?

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  43. While us Astro fans think of C Brian McCann as ancient at 34 (while Verlander is a youthful 35), a couple of our division rivals are farther out on the curve with two of their players.
    44 y.o. Bartolo Colon starts for the ST(Rangers) tonight…..
    And 44 y.o. Ichiro was brought back by the M’s for one more rodeo…..

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  44. Totally useless stat after 4 games.
    – The Astro pitcher who ranks 10th on the team for strikeouts per 9 innings pitched with 7.5/9 IP is………Justin Verlander

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    • Dan, that stat does mean a little something to me – especially when combined with other stats. What it most definitely does not mean is that the sky is falling for JV. Neither does it mean that we need to start thinking about having JV and Gerrit Cole switch places in the rotation. But it does tell me something interesting [a] about JV’s approach – and command -in his first start, and [b] how other teams seem to be choosing to approach him.

      Verlander pitched on opening day, and went 6 innings in a rival team’s home opener. The Rangers – who everyone knows are a high strikeout team – had been planning and strategizing for weeks how to approach at bats against JV. They decided to just try to make contact with his fastball and hope for some opening day luck. Without the Rangers swinging at everything wildly as they have been well known to do in past years [and did later in the series, striking out 40 times over 4 games] JV was a little less dominant than usual. He didn’t seem to have full command of his slider. He gave up 2 BB and a HBP, and he only induced 2 ground ball outs vs 9 fly ball outs. Fortunately, only 4 of the 15 balls the Rangers hit off him were hits – and not a single one went for extra bases. JV allowed a lot of contact – but he did not allow much solid contact, and most of what they hit went right at our fielders. The Rangers managed to drive JV’s SO numbers down slightly from his norm. That is worth watching, but because the reduction in SOs was not accompanied by any real damage, it is likely to prove just a product of opening day/home opener energy and approach from the Rangers hitters.

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      • But then again, that’s probably the pitching coach part of me from my past pretending to be relevant again.

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    • If he could hit .286 – or even .246 – the rest of the way, I’d be ecstatic.

      From the defensive side, he’s looked pretty solid in the two games he has caught. He was charged with 1 passed ball, and one wild pitch was thrown while he was catching. No one has tried a straight steal against him yet, so we haven’t seen how quickly he gets the ball to second [or third] in a real game situation. Texas tried some hit and run junk a couple of times, but every time they did the hitter wound up fouling the ball off, and the runner had to go back.

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  46. Fresno’s season starts Thursday. First pitcher to toe the rubber -Mike Hauschild. On Friday it will be Trent Thornton. On Saturday Felix Martes. On Sunday, Rogelio Armenteros. Good luck, Grizzly-Tacos!

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  49. – Springer and Bregman better today.
    – Marwin stopped moaning long enough to hit a homer
    – Morton scoreless thru five
    – if Fisher keeps hitting triples they maybe need him hitting in front of the catchers rather than behind them

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