Under the header “Obvious Take” the 2018 Astros starting pitching is pretty good. Or damn good. Or unbelievably good…..
Today let’s take a look at these guys individually and show how absolutely excellent they have been.
Well let’s see…. he is leading the AL for “qualifying” pitchers with a 1.05 ERA, 68.2 Innings pitched, 0.714 WHIP and 4.6 hits / 9 IP. The dog is only 6th with 11 K/9 IP.
- “Worst” start – Orioles where he gave up 3 ER in 5.2 innings.
- Best start – You pick
- Last one against Angels – 9 IP, 5 hits, 0 ER, 7 Ks, 1 walk
- Rangers – 8 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 11K, 1 walk
- Yanks – 8 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 14 Ks, 0 walks
- If you average his 10 starts – he throws 6.82 IP, gives up 3.5 hits, 0.8 ERs and 1.4 BBs and strikes out 8.4 hitters per start
- He has given up 0 ER in 5 of his 10 starts, and 1 ER in 3 others
- He is mystifying hitters, but the real mystery is how he can only have 5 wins
Due to Verlander, Justin – he is the best #2 SP in baseball. He is second in the AL with a 1.75 ERA, 0.795 WHIP and 5.1 hits/ 9 IP. He is first with an astounding 13.6 K/9 IP and is fifth in innings pitched with 61.2 IP
- “Worst” start – Last one against the Angels giving up 3 ER in 5 IP
- Best start – His unbelievable start against the D’Backs – 9 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 16 Ks and 1 walk
- Witnessing an average of his 9 starts you would see – 6.84 IP, allowing 3.9 hits, 1.33 ERs and 1.55 BBs, while striking out 10.33 hitters per start
- He has allowed 0 ER in 3 starts and 1 ER in 2 starts and his 4 wins like JV’s 5 wins shows how hollow a stat, wins can be
- The mystery here is other teams have to be wondering how this guy could be #4 in the rotation coming out of Spring training
The 5-0 Morton has been the third best pitcher on a staff where that means something. He is in the Top 10 in the AL in 4 categories – 2.03 ERA (3rd), 0.966 WHIP (9th), 11.5 K/9 IP (4th) and 5.5 hits/9 IP (3rd).
- “Worst” start – Against the Angels – 4 ER in 4 IPs
- Best start – again – you pick
- Rangers – 7 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 14 Ks, 0 BB
- Yanks – 7.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 10 Ks, 2 BBs
- M’s – 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 8 Ks, 0 BBs
- In an average start, he goes 6.1 IP, gives up 3.75 hits, 1.38 runs and 2.125 BBs, while striking out 7.75 hitters
- He was good last year, clutch in the playoffs and the best 3rd banana in any rotation this season
After some struggles early, Dallas has been on an upward swing this month. He is in the top 20 in 3 categories – 3.10 ERA (12th), 1.103 WHIP (17th) and 58 IPs (11th)…..remember he is the 4th or 5th guy in this rotation.
- Worst start – easy pick as he gave up 6 ER in 7 IP to the A’s (but at least he saved the bullpen a long night).
- Best start – Your pick of his last two starts
- Against Oakland – 8 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER
- Against Texas – 7 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER
- An average start for Dallas is a solid 6.44 IPs, 5.44 hits, 2.22 ER (though it would be 1.75 without his worst start), 5 Ks and 1.67 BBs
- He is a bit dwarfed by the other 4 bigger arms in the rotation, but he gives this team a lot. He goes more than 6 innings most of the time and he gives the other team a totally different look as a softer-tossing lefty between hard-throwing righties.
Lance’s numbers lag his 4 buddies by a bit. His 3.63 ERA and his 1.231 WHIP are 24th in the AL. His 10 K/9 IP is 12th and his 7.4 hits / 9 IP are 20th…..but…….if you could just remove the brain freeze of giving up 8 runs on 3 walks and 5 hits in 2/3 of an inning against the Twins – here is what he would look like. In the other 51.1 IPs – His ERA is 2.28 (would be 4th in AL), his WHIP would be 1.09 (17th) and 6.66 hits/9 IPs would be 9th. I know you can’t undo an inning like that, but it means that 98% of the time he has been the fourth Astro who could be considered a top 10 pitcher in the AL.
- Worst Start – No doubt that 3.2 IP / 8 ER start against the Twins.
- Best Start – Your choice
- Against the M’s – 7 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 11 K, 1 BB
- Against the A’s – 7 IP, 2 hits, 0 ERs, 7 Ks, 0 BBs
- An average start for LMJ is 5.78 IPs, 4.78 hits, 2.33 ERs, 6.44 Ks and 2.33 BBs. Those numbers without his lost weekend of a bad start would be 6.05 IPs, 4.5 hits and 1.63 ER per start.
- He has been sneakily one of the best pitchers in the league on a staff where that relegates him to the 4th or 5th best pitcher in the rotation.
Dear readers – anything you want to add to the discussion on this unrivalled starting five?
CHIPALATTA 
Something else that is pretty darn impressive is that not one of the starters has missed a start. When you are getting that kind of reliability on top of spectacular performance good things happen. Last year the Astro offense was historically good. This year it may be the pitching. When and if the two get together we could run away and hide from the rest of the league.
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One can argue that the best set of starting pitchers were those of the 1954 Indians. Three Hall of Famers. 111-43 record. (Got rolled in 4 straight by the Giants in the World Series)
Early Wynn – ERA 2.73 WHIP 1.138
Mike Garcia – 2.64 – 1.125
Bob Lemon – 2.72 – 1.239
Art Houtteman – 3.35 – 1.367
Bob Feller – 3.09 – 1.186
These guys with these numbers would be in Fresno on the 2018 Astros.
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I did want to point out that I wrote this before last night’s game so Morerton’s numbers are even better than shown.
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I just find it hard to explain how a team can acquire three pitchers within a year’s time who can become three of the best starters in baseball.
I will say this: It is almost impossible for the everyday fan to be able to use spin rates to assess pitching. Without access to confidential info we just have to sit back and watch balls and strikes.
I begged the Astros to get pitchers who throw hard and they did. But velocity is not everything. The Astros seem to know who throws hard and struggles, and who throws hard and gets outs.
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Very true op. Were they lucky to not end up with Jose Quintana or Chris Archer who are both above 5.00 ERA? Or did they really know? Or would Archer and Quintana have pitched much better here?
I had no great hopes for Morton based on his background. I thought Verlander would be solid based on how he was pitching the second half of 2018. I thought Cole could be good based on his age and getting back to what he was before his injury. But the top 3 pitchers in ERA? Nope – not me.
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A couple of years ago we were lamenting the fact that nobody important wanted to come and play for this organization.
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Something I would like to point out is that this process of learning more about how to pitch is not a one way street.
What Cole, Keuchel, Morton and Verlander already know about pitching also gets deposited in the heads of the pitching coaches and then can be passed down by them to all the other pitchers and coaches in the minors. Strom doesn’t know everything, but now he and others have access to what Verlander offers in the way of knowledge, regimens, diets, habits and batters. Stuff he has gathered over the years.
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And just the mental and emotional side of it. We saw the other night how much emotion JV is holding inside and controlling.
They talk about how JV and Cole just love all the high end stats available to them and spend a lot of time absorbing it.
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I recall a year in the mid-60s when the entire Cardinals infield was on the All Star team (maybe the Dodgers did it too in the Lopes-Cey-Garvey years). How about all the Astros starters on this year’s AS team?
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Would be great to see Salty Morton get the nod. And of course at this point, Cole and Verlander should be on the team. But the manager of the AL All Star team also wants to make sure his post break rotation is all lined up too.
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So…. Tony Kemp is 3 for 6 with an RBI and a SB.
Jake was 3 for his last 22 ABs
You have to go back 10 of his games for his last RBI and go back 28 of his games to his last SB.
It’s just nice to see Tony put it in play, not expecting a K every other AB. Jake may not be back in 10 games (though he did hit a home run in his second game).
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I really like Kemp batting in front of Springer when line up turns over. I think it takes some of the pressure off George.
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Well I guess I’ve jinxed the starting pitching
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I’ll make mention of this again. We won the World Series without Jake. Ok, we lose some defense without him, but that’s really all Jake brings to the table unless he recovers some ability to hit. He’s the closest thing to an automatic out in MLB. And yes he’s fast, but at 72%, is not a great base stealer. We’re more versatile without him on the roster. He’s pretty much a one dimensional ballplayer. I think Davis, White, Kemp all provide more. Ironically, Jake might be the guy to have around in a short series when we only need 12 pitchers. Can we dump him in Fresno for the whole summer?
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Keuchel won’t last 4 innings at this rate. He’s gotta establish that low strike, because Tichenor, isn’t giving him any thing up.
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He’s pretty much our #5 starter these days.
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It’s painful to see Altuve swing so far out of the zone. You can tell this wole team is really pressing.
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Time for one of our Milb players to come join Kemp. Maybe a batting order change.
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CC hasnt been much better , he wnt from a..330 to a .270 hitter in 3 weeks. TG for the best pitching staff, or we would be a .500 or worse so far.
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That’s what I said to my husband…..the entire team is pressing. I still think another hitting coach is the answer.
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Wow……. Another Bregman error. JEEZE.
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He ddin’t really have a play but the throw was bad. Had a chance with Kemp at plate but umpire gave Kluber a strike call when it was a ball. Change the dynamics of the at bat.
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A loss due to missed opportunities
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Did not see the second half of the game but did see where an Altuve HR was overturned in the 8th
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That was Keuchel vs Kluber. There was no way the Astros were going to win that game. Not with Kluber facing our weak lineup. Heck, we’ll settle for a loss by matching up our #5 against their ace.
It was over in the first inning.
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It’s pretty simple. Our #5 starter is good, probably the best 5 guy in MLB. And on a good day, he’ll beat some aces. At the same time, if Tony Sipp completes his self destruct job, can Keuchel become our lefty in the pen and let Collin take over the rotation job? I know Boras would flip, but who cares?
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Good idea. I’d like to see Boras flip anyway.
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I think Colin has earned the chance to start. DK might be a viable BP candidate but I don’t think so. As with several of our guys in AAA with OPS over 1.000, and as Becky is so fond of saying, the situational hitting is killing us. Last year it was almost a give that we’d come back to win. This year not so much. It was better yesterday, we got the first runner on in 6 innings but still couldn’t get them home. I was disgusted with the fact that we couldn’t get Yuri home in the 7th after the lead off double. Gattis with a pop up. I’m not a Gattis or Fisher fan so I say give somebody else a shot. We should be 34 – 13 but our lack of situational hitting has been somewhat anemic. It’s getting better and yes I’m being redundant but let’s get this train rolling.
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Don’t expect much change. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have the Fish sent down. But really, there will be no change to the rotation any time soon. But I’d sure trust Keuchel out of the pen a whole lot more come the post season. Maybe he gets groomed in September.
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I’ve seen nothing from Keuchel’s career that would lead me to believe you want him coming out of the bullpen.
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Well, if he’s the fifth starter come October, then he might not have a job to do. It’s much too early to set a playoff roster, but I’d feel more comfortable with Keuchel coming out of the pen than Sipp.
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Who was our Asst Hitting coach last year the got hired away, maybe he was the guy that had everyone’s ear not Hudgens?
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It was Alonzo Powell – signed by Giants as hitting coach. The Giants were a bad hitting team in 2017 – they are better this season but still only 10th in runs/game
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Maybe if Zo Powell had told our guys not to swing at the elite slider that looks like a fastball, we’d have done better. But Bagwell Preston Wilson and Blum all agreed that the release looks so similar that the best hitters cannot catch up unless they are sitting on it. Preston Wilson said the slider was worse than slavery, so I don’t think Powell would’ve been the answer. On more than a few occasions, that patience mantra bit us in the behind watching called strike 3, too!
On half a dozen cases Keuchel didn’t get the call he was looking for. After the first inning, Bagwell said a notoriously difficult inning for pitchers to find their feel, Keuchel settled down and we lost by one run. A questionable ground rule double, and a few feet from a Correa HR had us in the game til the end. Get ’em today, Lance.
On McHugh, I’d go with a 6-man rotation, (long season, guys need rest!), and not put DK in the pen. If we did put him there, then DFA Sipp and bring up Davis.
While we’re at it, DFA Smith and bring up White. For the $8 hot dogs, we can afford it!
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If the Astros hitters looked like they had a clue against everyone but Kluber I’d agree with you. When they are bad they look awful at the plate. I don’t think Beltran’s absence is solely the answer, but back around his first stint with the Astros he was very concerned with pitch recognition. He made the Royals buy a machine that fired tennis balls with red and blue numbers written on them. The goal was not to hit the ball, but rather to identify the color and number that was coming in. I can’t say how much/if it helped him, but the impression I got is that he never stopped trying to find ways to improve himself like that. After watching this year’s team let a lot of belt high fastballs go and then swing at sliders out of the zone I have to think there is something missing in their preparation.
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Speaking of hitting instructors leaving or staying leads me to ask a question:
Why would the best hitting team in baseball forget everything they were taught last season that led to them being great?
The team should remember what they learned to become that hitting machine.
If they forgot how to hit, it’s on them. If it’s just a matter of them not knowing how to adjust, it’s still on them. If they’re not capable if hitting this season, it’s on them.
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Contact rates are down year-to-year. That means pitchers who do the analysis are mostly thriving, while hitters who rely on natural talent, steroids, big contracts or “last year,” fade.
I wondered why Straily did so well with CIN, and even today. An article said when he got to the Reds, he started looking at charts with the pitching coach. He found holes in the opposition’s swing.
Adjustment is a big word. If you only use history, instead of being able to anticipate what they are thinking, you’re behind.
The reason Altuve wanted to pick Beltran’s head was largely sequencing. Knowing what a pitcher was thinking. Getting a leg up on that (stealing signs) is as important as having a good swing. If you’re team is ill-prepared, scouting wise, it shows.
We use concepts like a lack of “hunger for a championship,” and “pressing too much” when in fact, it’s largely science and knowledge, knowing how the opposition thinks.
Contact rates are down, but some hitters are mashing. You can see they almost know what’s coming, in a position to hit they can react. Defensively swinging describes what we look like very often. I’ve been really impressed with Bregman’s plate coverage overall, as he looks well-prepared.
I vote for more Bregman interaction with those who are struggling, to share his approach and mindset. Our organization is cutting edge on top of analysis, it’s just about the guys doing the work and building confidence. The results should follow proportionally.
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Depending on schedule it may be possible to give the top 3 their normal rest, and allow several spot starts from McHugh over the next few months in order to relieve some wear and tear. I wouldn’t doubt this, or some some variation has been discussed.
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Just remember its tough to move a guy from short relief (1 or 2 innings) direct into a spot start and get a lot of innings out of them. Peacock did a great job of it but started off giving 4 innings per start.
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J.D. Davis up…….Fisher to DL.
Game is on ESPN tonight.
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Say Hallelujah and pass the biscuits and gravy!
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Yeah they probably waited until Davis was ready to cool down….
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Dan, go to your room.
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Billy Cannon died yesterday. I was a fan. My dad and I listened to that memorable 1959 Halloween Night game on the radio as it faded in and out on WWLNO. We were screaming out loud at the radio as the announcer described Cannon’s return for the winning touchdown.
I also remember LSU’s players played both offense and defense back then and Cannon was a very good defensive player.
RIP, Doc.
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I was only 4 at the time but as I read later the Oilers signed him out from under the NFL after the Sugar Bowl under the goal posts
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I understand that Fisher was put on the DL for gastrointestinal discomfort. They did not specify if that was his discomfort or the fans that were watching him hit.
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That was good!
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I never missed a gamer due to tummy ache. I did not want to risk getting Pipped.
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You know he’s not sick. Luhnow will keep bringing up guys to see who can HIT!
Everyone of them know it. We have to get a BAT!!
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No Gomez George
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McCullers is pretty good tonight. Damn good. Unbelievably good.
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See DanP, you didn’t jinx him……….
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Yep he is Dan…..but the rest of this team is driving me CRAZY!
Get some runs you RUBES!! Leave the bases loaded! DANG IT!!
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what a rally killer, the GDIP
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Reddick comes through
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Way to hang in there Reddick!!
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Loved McCann’s big blast to give them the lead – that guy is just the heart of the team or at least one kidney.
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Both him and Stassi are hitting the ball well. McCann is one of those veterans needed on the team.
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I think he’s kind of taken Max under his wing a bit, because both have that (for lack of a better term) “cerebral bulldog” mentality
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Good win folks and another series win – great pitching and just enough offense.
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ASTROS WIN!!! Waaay toooo much drama for this old gal!
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The Cubs were not a great hitting tm in 16 unlike the Astros were in 17, which after some contemplation, I can better understand and appreciate how historic our offense was last yr. We might not see another offense in baseball like 2017 for a very long time. The Cubs have young, talented, athletic power hitters as do the Astros. Team wise the Cubs still struggle to consistently hit the ball even after their WS season. Our guys are doing the same . Our offense, for lack of a better words, feels league average, almost like everybody else. Compare yesterdays lineup to last month’s, we now have 3 or 4 guys below .270. Overall we are right up there with the top tms from that perspective. But we want 17’s offense right?
OP, I think like you, we’re battle tested & know what to do at the plate, so why aren’t we hitting better? Springer is a legitimate 5 tooler who should be batting for a high avg, homers, rbi’s, etc, etc but is hindered by Gomezitis & high beam syndrome (Correa too HBS) looking like a rookie taking strikes & being defensive getting in pitchers counts until he gets hot/on a roll. Yuli is hot/cold/on a roll. As a unit this tm on a roll can crush any pitcher but being league avg means this tm has to scratch, claw & eke out wins, and even then these guys are still pretty *$&@ good. Oh the horror having to watch this yr’s version, they spoiled us last yr.
Altuve is the only player on this tm who can hit ALL pitches consistently and he’s in a mini slump. Guys like Altuve, Harper, Trout, Martinez are the exception, not the rule. 2017 was the exception for the Astros hitters & this season the opposition has put them on their heels. It’s on them to adjust accordingly
The booth yesterday with Bagwell discussed the hitting woes and the need to adjust (missing/fouling fastballs, chasing out the zone). It’s highly unlikely we’ll see 2017 offensively but I still like our chances, esp if the pitching doesn’t suffer any major setbacks (wouldn’t mind seeing 1 or 2 relief changes). This yr we might do more nail biting than last.
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I really enjoyed listening to Bagwell – he gave a ton of insight on his approach and what is going through a hitter’s mind.
By the way did anybody get a real ruling on the Altuve ground rule double? It must be a rule that balls can bounce off heads and gloves for a homer but can’t bounce off the fence for a homer.
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TK & Blummer were told that because the ball initially hit below the yellow line that it could not be a home run even though it never touched a player or the field itself. I find that somewhat odd since if it were to hit a players glove or hit head and then goes over the fence it’s a home run (a la Conseco). Just curious if the ball were 5′ short of the fence but deflected off the glove or head it’s a home run even though it never would have gotten out of the park anyway. But hiiting the fence and going out doesn’t count. Personally, we got hosed.
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May 19-21, 2017 the Astros played host to Cleveland and were swept by the Indians. The winning pitchers in that series were Bauer, Clevenger and Salazar. The losing pitchers were Morton, Fiers and Musgrove.
At the end of that series the Astros were 5.5 games up in the AL West and would go on to win 13 of their next 14 games and open up a 14 game lead in their division by June 5th.
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The next game after those three was a crucial one for the season. Brad Peacock moved into the starting rotation due to injuries and threw 4.1 shutout innings with 8 Ks and giving up one hit. The bullpen followed with 4.2 IP of hitless ball and the Astros scored one run in the first on an Altuve double as they squeezed out a 1-0 win and as you say – took off.
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That would be exceptional this year, since we have a bunch of games against the Indians, Yankees, and Red Sox coming up. I think we have to cheer for anything over .500 for the next couple of weeks. And then hopefully go on our run after that.
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As Peter Frampton would say, “I don’t believe where I’ve been, Com’on let’s do it again. Do you feel like I do>”
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Hader got pretty good. Who’d we get for him?
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You know the guy on the Allstate commercials that calls himself ‘Mayhem’. That’s who we got for Hader, Hauschild, Domingo Santana and Brett Phillips.
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Hauser. We still have Hauschild, after losing him in Rule 5 for a short while.
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I wrote a lengthy comment on this which would have been highly unfair to Luhnow and his friends. As much as I want to call them out for this huge whiff, we knew at the time they acquired Gomez because Springer got hurt and they panicked. Coupled with the price on Gomez dropping after he failed the Mets’ physical it was likely an impulse buy from a group trying to prove just how valuable elite defensive outfielders are.
Also, consider that when this trade went down, the Chipalatta faithful (Becky in particular) were decrying the loss of Hader while the other Astros blogs were lamenting the fact we’d lost Maverick Phillips.
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Yep…..I was NOT happy to lose Hader. I understand the domino effect of losing him, and getting Reddick here, and winning the World Series. He is gonna be VERY good….and he’s constantly being compared to Sale in his delivery. I guess I’m just ticked off that we got “had” in that trade. Gomez was a CANCER in this clubhouse, and his ego is disgusting.
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The trade of Hader has worked out for the Brewers, but Luhnow got Hader in a trade, so he gets equal credit on Hader.
The acquisition of Gomez doesn’t seem to have worked out, but Gomez’s failure led to Luhnow’s signing of Reddick, followed by a World Series championship.
When you end up with the trophy after a long series of moves, the moves have to be considered wins, because the trophy is what you were chasing all along. Every team is chasing after one thing only, the trophy, and we got it.
Good luck to Josh Hader. We won the World Series while Josh was a reliever for the Brewers, whom I can’t stand.
Kudos to Luhnow for trading him to the NL. Maybe he will pitch against us in the WS.
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I’ve got no problem having lost Hader. Indeed, the sum of all those deals resulted in the ultimate win.
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At long last.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/05/astros-release-jon-singleton.html
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Oh Jonny we hardly knew ye
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May we consider Singleton a whiff?
I bet each person knows of someone who threw away their family, or job, or career, or something – for drugs. It is heartbreaking.
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This is a frustrating move in my opinion. The Astros had to make it. Singleton proved he wasn’t going to live up to his potential with them. The thing is…he doesn’t turn 27 until this September. Unless he’s addicted to twinkies (which looked like a possibility at times) he has not reached his peak athletic potential.
It’s impossible as a fan in the stands to know whether the disconnect is between the player and coaches or if it’s all in the player’s head, but Singleton struck me as a guy who was not suited to hit under our instruction. I may be projecting some of my struggles onto him, but I got the impression he was trying to hit a HR every at bat (at big league level) without considering the value in just getting on base. In the minors he became a testament to the three true outcomes. The problem was a single good pitch by the pitcher to put him behind in the count or a borderline call by the umpire seemed to mentally block him from competing the rest of the at bat. If they got that low and away strike or he chased one in the dirt to start the at bat you knew it was ending in a strikeout.
The TL;DR version: Singleton still has talent but no place in our team’s organization. He may crush it on the Independent circuit before getting a chance with another team. He could be the next Josh Hamilton.
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Jon Singelton is a prime example of the “I don’t care what you say” generation.
I remember watching his mother and dad in the stands when he hit his first homerun, in his first big league at bat. They were soo happy and proud, and THIS is the way he finally puts a period to his baseball career? I’m not sad for him, I have only contempt for him. What a role model he has been to young kids who “might” want to play professional baseball. It’s inconceivable to me that he would do EVERYTHING it took to reach the majors, only to let a drug like pot dictate his daily life. I don’t wish him well, I don’t wish him harm…..I only wish I had never heard his name associated with the Astros.
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Under the comments section of MLB trade rumors someone pointed out that Singleton has ironically exactly 420 plate appearances.
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I was about to point out the same thing. Irony is ironic lol
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I’d forgotten about Singleton as having any chance in this organization, to the point where I didn’t even know he was on the shelf for a 100 more games. I guess if he really wants to play, he can go south where the rules are likely different. His vice is probably cheaper too, but his days of signing a 10 million plus contact are over. I’m pretty sure we’ll hear the inevitable interview at some point, the one that states he has no regrets, but that the rules were not fair.
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Hey $10MM will buy a lot of weed. Obviously he was happy with that and had no pretense to to set his goals any higher. What a shame and waste of talent.
If I remember correctly didn’t the Astros try to sign Springer to the same type deal or was it someone else?
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Yeah they tried with Springer – would have brought him back with the big club from ST if he had signed, he was smart not to. I think they also tried to sign Grossmsn and Dominguez too.
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The thing about Singleton is that the release is really tied as much to lack of performance as to breaking the rules. Smoking weed probably should not be worth a suspension but batting .200 at AA at his age is worth a release.
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It was always just a matter of time, and while we’ve had this discussion before, the Astros do NOT like to eat salary. If Gomez and Singleton aren’t the best examples of holding on too long, I don’t know?
I’d completely forgotten about Jon anyway, as so many prospects have “blown” past him. We’ve got Taylor Jones, and Yordan Alvarez pushing A. J. Reed as our 1B of the future, and several others who can fill-in serviceably.
It amazes me Singleton gets this many comments in the first place. He obviously never took hitting seriously, or utilized what the other players swear by: technology, and hitting instruction. Even if the Astros Way didn’t resonate with him, it was his responsibility to find someone who could help. But his pattern was that he couldn’t even help himself, much less his team.
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Can you imagine if we would’ve signed Grossman and Dominguez to those deals? Dodged a bullet
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I guess the flip side could be that he’s simply content. Maybe baseball was just a job to him. Plenty of folks, more and more, like to smoke a splif (Caribbean terminology) on a regular basis. If Jon Singleton has been wise with his money, he can probably go through life with a buzz, and not have to get a real job. Different strokes.
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I joined a fitness center yesterday and went for my first workout this morning. The owner met me there to show me how to use the equipment and how to take care of myself and the facility.
It’s five minutes from the house, costs $30 a month, and is keypad accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I went at 10 am, after the morning rush and was the only one there.
The place is new and immaculate. I am trying to get myself, especially my left side, back in shape to be able to do things like fish and hunt without getting exhausted. It would also be nice to be able to help out more around here. It also gives the Mrs and me a break a few times a week.
Now, about that diet.
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Hey 1OP! If you’re 65 and qualify (some supplemental health plans have it) you can enroll in Silver Sneakers. Many health clubs are members and it’s FREE. There are a lot of other benefits and goodies available. You might want to check it out. No this is not an advertisement, just one senior citizen trying to help others.
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OP, I joined the gym 11 years ago when I suddenly quit my real job. Up until that point I had never worked out a day in my life, other than doing what coaches told me to do for so many years. Today, I could not imagine not going to the gym. Beyond the physical benefits, it clears my head. I do some of my best thinking at The Fit Wellness Center. One thing. Don’t rush it. You’ll get there.
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Great OP, been a gym rat for 25 years, it has so many upsides to body, mind and spirit. It’s my solitude 5 days a week for an hour . I;m 63 OP , like Dave said take your time and no matter what at our age something always hurts a bit, you just keep on going!
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wow blast from the past
The Tigers announced the purchase of left-hander Kevin Chapman’s contract from the independent Atlantic League’s New Britain Bees. Chapman has been assigned to Triple-A. The southpaw posted a 4.09 ERA over 55 relief innings for the Astros in 2013-16, and spent last season in the Braves’ and Twins’ farm systems. The Tigers are short on left-handed relievers both in the majors and upper minors, so there seems to be an opportunity for Chapman to earn a spot back to the big leagues.
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Interesting that Kemp is starting tonight rather than Reddick.
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Brandon Crawford just homered against his brother-in-law Gerrit Cole to narrow the Astros’ lead to 5-2.
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Tony Kemp with 3 RBI’s. Derrick who?
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Kemp now with 5 RBI’s
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I’ll try to note something interesting again tomorrow night.
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Is this your Elmer Fudd imitation? Dee Bee dee dee, ebb dee bee dee?
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Good win!!! Kemp is making his case to stay up!! I hope they save some runs for Verlander tomorrow!! Stassi and Kemp had themselves a good game!!!
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