Astros Playoffs 2018: Mission difficult, not impossible

We’ve all seen those movies where Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise battle through an impossible labyrinth of obstacles to defuse the bomb with one second left. Or were they being taken up into heaven by an alien race? I’m getting my L Ron Hubbard books mixed up. But the point being is that the Astros’ job is much easier than those type heroics, but unfortunately non-fiction.

The plus side is that the Astros’ task after a disheartening 8-2 loss Tuesday is the same as it was Sunday. Win two at home and then win one of two in Boston.

That task is now more difficult (but not impossible) after a Gilesian meltdown by Roberto Osuna in a non-save situation during a 5 run Red Sox eighth inning. Luckily the failure did not include Osuna either punching himself in the face or calling his manager some kind of fire truck.

In their most critical game to date, they turn to a familiar playoff face, Charlie Morton. Yes, Good Time Charlie who won not one, but two game sevens during the 2018 World Series run. Wednesday, they will not expect Morton to last long enough to earn a win this time around considering he has only thrown four innings since mid-September, three of which came Sept. 30th almost three weeks ago. Will this be another Morton/McCullers tandem job?

The bottom line is that to have a reasonable shot to return to the World Series, the Astros need to win the next two at home and Game 4 may be a desperation all hands on deck kind of day.

It would not hurt anyone’s feelings if the Astros offense showed up against Rick Porcello and the Red Sox bullpen. It has been a rough go lately as the Red Sox mostly pitch around Alex Bregman and dare Yuli Gurriel to do something. Jose Altuve is gamely tromping on with one bum knee and Carlos Correa continues in power outage mode. The Astros’ catchers are bringing little to the table, Josh Reddick has slid back to his 2017 playoff self, Tyler White and Evan Gattis are not hitting and Marwin Gonzalez seems to be the most clutch hitter they have besides Bregman.

The Astros face two almost must-have games in Games 4 and 5 so that they don’t have to go home after Game 5 or go to Boston needing two wins. The plus side is they have Justin Verlander waiting in the wings for Game 5 and Gerrit Cole waiting to vindicate himself in Game 6. But that is way off in the future. Game 4 is the game they need and must have first.

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211 responses to “Astros Playoffs 2018: Mission difficult, not impossible”

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  1. Here goes glass with only a splash of water in it: Mr. Bregman is clutch and tough and fun and all, but in my opinion has been walking a fine line behaviorwise. He may have crossed over with the opposing pitcher and got some comeuppance. If I were his manager, I’d have a talk with him — because it’s reached the point where it could cost the team. We’re still limping with injuries. Personally, I have never really felt we would repeat; yet anything can happen and I hope it does. If it doesn’t, I am still working on believing the Astros won the World Series at all, and that will keep me busy and happy for a long time to come.

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    • I agree 100% Diane. Losing last night was like ho hum let’s see what’s on tv now that the game is 8-2 in the eighth.
      Last year I would have walked the floor the entire game.

      As for Bregman I have mixed feelings. But you may be correct there as well.

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      • sargeh, I am old school, just don’t hold with bumping it in baseball. Understand Alex is probably acting pretty much in fun, but sometimes the other team may not see it that way, as in posting video of Astros hitting homers off opposing pitcher. I remember when Charlie Kerfeld just pointed at the pitcher as he ran down the first base line after hitting the ball. There was an uproar just because he pointed. In the old days, the ethos was to mind your manners. Beyond that, common sense says don’t incite the other side. Why borrow trouble? Other than that, I love Alex Bregman.

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      • Charlie Kerfeld, the pitcher, pointed at the runner as he prepared to throw him out at first base. Didn’t tell that right.

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  2. I did want to address a link from Billy C and a question from Zanuda on cheating in baseball.
    The morality involved in all this will not be addressed by me. Is it better for someone in the dugout to decipher the other teams signals and use them to tip off his team than it is to have someone off the field do it? Some folks would say both are cheating and it does not matter how deep it goes.
    The most famous example of cheating was the one identified later involving the Giants overcoming a 13.5 game deficit in mdi-August to the Dodgers in 1951. The “cheat” involved having coach (and former catcher) Herman Franks sitting out in the outfield clubhouse with a telescope deciphering the catcher’s signals, buzzing a signal to the bullpen who would signal the hitter what was coming.
    This in depth article shows that while the Giants won a bunch of games at home where the cheating occurred, they also won 14 of 18 on the road. On top of that they actually were scoring less runs while cheating per game than before.
    https://sabr.org/research/durocher-spymaster-how-much-did-giants-prosper-cheating-1951-finalist

    Maybe the signaling was a bit distracting and time constrained. You would think its difficult for a hitter to be checking the outfield bullpen for the signal a nano second before re-focusing on the pitcher.
    Maybe it psychologically helped the team more than physically or maybe in the throes of the end of the season and the pressures involved scoring goes down anyways.
    Anyways we don’t want to think our heroes are benefitting from pine tar on the fingers or an electronic pickup of what’s coming from the pitcher. Is it cheating if everyone is doing it. Yeah it is, but it is not necessarily unfair if they are all doing it…..

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    • You mean like how the Brewers stole Josh Hader from us for Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez (we won’t even mention the other folks in that trade going to Milwaukee).
      Let’s see while closers like Osuna and Kimbrel are giving up more runs than innings pitched in the post season – Hader has pitched 7 innings with 12 Ks, 0 BBs, 4 hits and 0 runs….

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      • In 2017, with pitchers on the DL, Mike Fiers won 8 games for the Astros and the Astros won the World Series for the first time ever! That right there was a good trade for the Astros. If I knew the Astros would win the WS, I’d make that trade again.

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      • I’m actually with Dan on this one. None of the guys we traded or acquired factored into the playoffs for us last year. It’s kind of like saying that we gave up on JDM, but won the World Series last year so it was the right decision in hindsight. Judging that trade solely on its merits, Luhnow messed up knows it (but probably wouldn’t admit it). Nothing against Fiers – the Gomez acquisition had everything to do with George Springer being hurt and the Astros fading. It didn’t work, but Fiers was a contributor. Colby Rasmus put us on his back in September though and saved the season. Also, it likely made Luhnow gunshy about the 2016 deadline and factored into his decision NOT to acquire a pitcher when DK and LKJ were both down. But now I’ll change my tune – it did perhaps factor into the decision to get JV last year. So, oldpro, if that’s the case then I’m going to flip-flop and agree with you instead of Dan…and say I’d make the trade again in a heartbeat if it meant getting Verlander and the 2017 World Series victory.

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      • Devin what a terrific 180 U-turn in the same thought process and it makes complete sense. No Fiers dragging us down later in the year (along with all the injuries to the staff during the season) and maybe no JV and no ring.

        Now if I was a more sensitive type I would compare it to Thomas Mitchell’s church speech in the movie “High Noon” where he starts off in complete support of Gary Cooper and by the end of it has convinced everyone else to abandon him.

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  4. Forest Whitley had another good outing in the AFL yesterday. 4 innings, 2 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 walk and 6 Ks. Just to show you how bad walks are, that unearned run was his walk scoring on an error. After the run scored on the error, he struck out the side, taking matters into his own hands. Whitley go the W.

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    • Of course that is tempered by the fact that we won the division by 21 games (though we did not know it at the time Fiers was winning the 8) so we could have lost all 8 and still won by 13 games (theoretically).
      If Fiers had not been kept 100 miles away from the playoff roster, I could more easily buy into him putting us over the top in our WS quest….

      Besides I am a fickle fan – I can easily forget what you did for me back then and concentrate on what I am not getting now, which is one of the best bullpen arms in the MLB and a lefty to boot….

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      • The Astros made the trade, got Fiers, used him to help win the AL West and went on to win the WS. I didn’t even hint that he was the reason they won. I am saying that he helped the Astros on the way to winning the WS and that completely vindicates that trade, in my mind.
        There were lots of moves that led to winning the WS and I’m good with all of them. I was absolutely starving and all those moves by Jeff Luhnow delivered the groceries, including this move. I am now fed.
        If Josh Hader delivers groceries to starving Brewers fans, I’m good with that, too. They are starving and deserve it like we did. All of them, except Braun.

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      • I am thinking that it might be better to move Bregman to the #2 slot in the order and put Marwin or Altuve #3 to get the Sox to pitch to him.

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      • Not sure why Yuli is in the cleanup spot behind Bregman – he is not bringing any cover right now despite his opposite field bloop HR from game 1.
        I know – I know – A.J. sticks with people and Yuli may turn into a Springer monster in the next few games, but I’m not feeling it right now.
        They are having the same problem they usually have when their offense is inconsistent – they have a big chunk of the end of the lineup doing nothing. They need those guys at least getting on base to turn the lineup over even if they are not driving in runs.
        They sure could use Carlos Correa busting out with some extra base hits and a 3 RBI game or some such.
        I will be very interested to see what surgeries are performed early in the off-season on Altuve and Correa and whoever else….

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  5. In 2018, the game is what it is. I just hope our guys have fun, represent the city well, and give back to the community that supports them. If we can quit giving up passed balls and hitting people, and start seeing the ball, and hitting it where they ain’t, we still have a chance to go on to the World Series. Only three other teams in the world can say that.

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  6. Diane you post was spot on. I still relish that one of my all time favorite teams won a World Championship. I have never been that optimistic on a repeat , 1st of all it’s only been done what 4 times in 40 years, it takes talent , luck, and health. Our health right now not good with Altuve’s knee, CC looks healthier, but is lost at the plate, Yuli killing us in the clean up spot, ground out after ground out, they are pitching around our Superstar, Reddick is struggling in this series, and McCann needs to retire already. It’s not looking good to me, I’m hoping we win another game, I’m pretty half empty today, sorry.

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  7. I’ll throw out one lesson I learned during the Rockets repeat season from the mouth of Rudy Tomjanovich. “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”
    It may not work out. They may not get the three wins they need, but don’t give up until there is nothing left of the season.

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  8. I gotta tell ya’ll something, I have been watching the Brewers Dodgers series and it has been UN…BELIEVABLE! They were tied 1 to 1 going 13 innings until the Dodoers finally scored another run. I DON’T WANT TO PLAY EITHER OF THEM!! The Brewers are going to pitch Josh Hader’S arm off……but man he’s good!
    My thoughts on last night’s game, is our guys kinda let the Red Sox live rent free in their brain last night. Bregman was so angry that they kept walking him, that HE became the story….there are 8 other guys on our team. Take care of our business, and stop all the drama.
    My opinion only: If the Astros were serious about “stealing” signs, some guy taking pictures of the opposition dugout, in plain sight is stupid. Trust me if we WERE doing that, whoever was in charge of that needs to get another job, because he surely failed at that one. It’s a non story started by the A’s.
    The bullpen meltdown was almost predictable last night. Smith had not pitched in *17* days. Most of the bullpen have just been warming seats.

    P.S. I hope Charlie does well tonight….Lord knows we need him!

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    • One thing about Bregman, Becky, even with them trying to not give him anything good to hit, he had two hits including the game tying double to go with a walk in four plate appearances – so I don’t think they got in his head.

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  9. i look at trades kinda like time travel, if you change one thing it changes lots of other things. if we didnt make a trade that we did or did make a trade we didnt, it changes other things that came afterwards. results definitely may have varied. in sports you live in the present, not the past. teams make the moves they make and then move forward whether it was great or a mistake, because thats all they can do. thankfully our front office is among the best at making these moves. some dont work. thats life and thats baseball.

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  11. More than anything the Stro’s need their hitting mojo back, and we all know one breakout gm can turn the tides quickly.
    My main complaint this series has been plate production, or lack thereof. The middle of the lineup on down has been atrocious & quite frankly, had it not been for BoSox back 9 bailing them out the series score might be very different. I don’t expect AJ to revamp his lineup given the fact no one behind Breg is offering him protection. I would flip flop Jose & Breg, they can’t walk them both. Our guys are being fed a steady diet of breaking balls, mostly outside the zone & we keep chasing into outs & soft contact. You can see them pressing, trying to jumpstart a rally. But a little patience at the plate might be just what the doctor ordered, allowing them the opportunity to have that breakout gm.

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  13. Under the subject line “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn occasionally….”
    I was texting back and forth about the problem with Bregman being pitched around I said I would lead him off and put Springer behind him and guess what – AJ thought that too.

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      • But then again, if they tie up the series, you’ll be one of my favorite people, at least for the time being. I’ll be in Houston and in the park tomorrow night . Would be great to be 2-2!

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  16. I’m more nervous tonight than I was last night. If Charlie can give Hinch 4 innings, and then try to match up with the bullpen, I might feel better.
    Just don’t give guys a free pass by hitting them! Lord…..I remember the start against the arlington little league, when he hit 3 guys in the first inning😨
    Let’s win this tonight!!! Got my lucky Springer shirt on!!

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  22. Betts hitting the wall might have jarred the ball loose, or he might have missed it altogether, but the fans should have gotten out the way regardless

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    • I agree Old school – because we ended up putting this in the hands of Joe West and the review folks in NYC. A 2 run homer does nothing for their dreams of a Dodgers – Red Sox matchup and the big ratings they assume they will get with that.
      I knew we were never going to win that review, though I sure did not see West’s signal that could not be overturned.

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      • Here’s the deal – if the ball is in the stands, then the fielder can catch it, but the fan can touch it without punishment. It is not interference if it is on the stands side of the wall…..

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  26. I am soooo angry I had to go outside to spew my cuss words, because the ones that came outta my mouth would embarrass all of you😠😠
    We got totally screwed in that fiasco. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

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  28. It would be nice if we had an umpire who was a greyhound and not one who could not be bothered to get his fat (self) out closer to the play.

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  29. Thanks you guys for the clarifications. That ball was clearly over the wall, bad call, bad for us. But we can’t allow circumstances to dictate the gm, it’s in the Astros hands now

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  30. Nice start to 2nd inning especially happy to see solid single from Correa for a run – maybe they are really really hacked off

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  35. Dan…we can NOT continue having our catcher screwing up AGAIN! That guy has allowed 3-4 runs from pass balls. That’s giving out free runs without a hit.

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  36. To the idiot fan who interfered on ALtuve’s probable game-tying homerun… AARRRGGGHHH! Why, oh WHY can’t fans leave the freaking balls alone!

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    • In my mind the fan did nothing wrong – the ball came to him – he was not leaning over the fence – Betts was over the fence and INTERFERENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CALLED. Oh and we are told that the outfield umps are so far away from the fences so they can properly see if balls into the stands are on the fair or foul side of the foul pole. So why not have the infield ump call that like they normally do and get the outfield ump out where they can see the fence – not where they are like 30 feet behind the infield ump.

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      • Not watching the game. Momma is very ill and I am working with her to help her be comfortable. Just following along on MLB.com when I can. That is how I missed the Altuve hr stuff.

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      • sargeh – so sorry to hear that – have been trying to help my father-in-law the last couple weeks – in and out of the hospital – you are doing the Lord’s work and we will keep you both in our prayers

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  42. Nice how the home plate ump gives Bradley Jr. a foul tip that he did not deserve and discombobulated James who was completely on a roll

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  49. This is a bonified DOG FIGHT. Thank the Lord for Josh James! Can’t wait to see him in the rotation next year! That kid can throw SMOKE! 100 mph…102mph. 103 mph!! DAAAANG!

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  50. I think Correa is finding his inner Carlos here – two big hits tonight making me happier.
    Sarge – sorry to “yell” at you above – all my prayers to you and your mom – know exactly where you are coming from…..

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