2nd World Series appearance in 3 years. Each time against the Yankees.
OT: H-Town is lit tonight
- Thread starter WhyNotaSooner
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As a baseball fan, this Astros team is simply a joy to watch. They beat the Yankees because they play all facets of the game well. They won this series, not on the mound or at the plate but in the field and on the base paths.
If they were only still in the senior circuit... *sigh* I'll still root for them
Excellent point. And from what I can tell about the Nationals, it'll most likely take the same to own the World Series title. Getting men on base and advancing them will be a premium as pitching will be pretty dominate for each team.
On a different note... the Astros own the Yankees these days. 2015, 2017, and now 2019.
Go Stros!
Houston is a team without a weakness and has a rotation of two Cy Young winners and the likely 2019 winner in Cole. Their homegrown corps of Altuve, Springer, Bregman, Correa and additions like Brantley and Riddick, plus a very good catching corps, is rock solid.....as is their ownership, front office and Manager Hinch. They face a rested solid Nationals team but I see the Astros on the inside track of winning it all.
Yankees can never win or even go to a Series with a patchwork rotation and with hitters that cannot make contact. Yankees were a paper tiger, winning a weak AL East (with Baltimore, Toronto, a surprisingly bad Boston and a decent Tampa team). The home run records set by them for me is very overrated because of the extreme amount of strikeouts and the lack of good situational hitting. I give them credit for going as far as they did given their 30 injuries, 8 of which were to key players for either long periods or the entire season.
For the Yankees, all roads to a championship go through Houston....and that is getting more and more difficult.
The Astros, assuming they can retain key players over the next 2-3 years, could be on the verge of a dynasty.
Yankees can never win or even go to a Series with a patchwork rotation and with hitters that cannot make contact. Yankees were a paper tiger, winning a weak AL East (with Baltimore, Toronto, a surprisingly bad Boston and a decent Tampa team). The home run records set by them for me is very overrated because of the extreme amount of strikeouts and the lack of good situational hitting. I give them credit for going as far as they did given their 30 injuries, 8 of which were to key players for either long periods or the entire season.
For the Yankees, all roads to a championship go through Houston....and that is getting more and more difficult.
The Astros, assuming they can retain key players over the next 2-3 years, could be on the verge of a dynasty.
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CT, I agree w/ 100%. You covered every aspect of the Astros strength but left out one key area. The Astros Analytics Dept. is 2nd to none when compared to the other teams. They are simply the best out there & I'm pretty confident that they've already delivered data to Hinch w/ regards to the Nationals. Hinch is very effective in using this data. His management of the pitching staff in last night's game was spot on. Starting Peacock w/ a 7 pitch inning set the tone. Then pulling him when after took the lead. Good stuff.
As an Astros fan, the Yankees had me worried with their ability to quiet the Astros offense on more than one occasion. Very happy to get by them.
Unfortunately, with the Astros' move to the AL, I just don't follow the NL much any more.
But, I've heard that the National's pitching staff, top to bottom, is better than the Astros'. With Verlander, Cole, Greinke starting and the way Peacock, Smith, James, Harris, Pressly and, grudgingly, Osuna pitched against the Yankees, the pitching matchup is going to be something to see this week.
Go 'Stros!
Unfortunately, with the Astros' move to the AL, I just don't follow the NL much any more.
But, I've heard that the National's pitching staff, top to bottom, is better than the Astros'. With Verlander, Cole, Greinke starting and the way Peacock, Smith, James, Harris, Pressly and, grudgingly, Osuna pitched against the Yankees, the pitching matchup is going to be something to see this week.
Go 'Stros!
The 2 best teams in the majors just played in the ALCS. The Nats are a surprise WS team. They won the wild card and then beat the Dodgers, Braves, and the Cards to get to the WS. They have tremendous starting pitching which is key in a winner take all series but their lineup does not have the power of either the Yankees or Astros. Their best player Rendon played at Lamar H.S. in Houston and at Rice.
As an avid Yankees fan I do not believe they were one of the two best teams because of their shaky rotation and their lack of having good contact hitters who put the ball in play rather than strike out. The power of the Yankees was due, in part, by the fact that the ball was altered to be hit further. Home run records weren't just broken....they were shattered throughout baseball.
Then there were the injuries to Severino (19 wins in 2018) who missed all but the last 2 weeks of the season, set up man Betances, out for the year, OF Stanton who played in all of 18 games, CF Hicks who went down in late July, Sanchez who missed a month, Gregorius who missed two months, 3B Andujar (27 HR, 93 RBI in 2018) who was out all year and Sabathia who was clearly given a needless $8 million charity contract to win 5 games in between stints on the IL.
Sure the 103 wins was impressive given the slew of injuries. But playing in a division which had Toronto, Baltimore, a Boston team that mysteriously imploded from its epic 2018 championship season, and a decent Tampa team didn't hurt the Yankees' cause.
I felt strongly that the Yankees were in over their heads against Houston and they were.
What I believe now is that Garret Cole will be Cashman's prime free agent target this winter....and that Gregorious, Betances and Encarnacion could be let go.
I expect a very busy (and maybe reckless) off season for Cashman in his attempt to compete with Houston.
As much as I want ti keep Cole around I suspect that Cole is headed to the LA Dodgers or the west coast somewhere.
I’ve heard that too. Then I heard Cole and his wife love living in Houston. Then I read that the Yankees plan to make him an offer he can’t refuse.
I simply can not fathom moving to the west coast earning that kind of money. Taxes would be huge as compared to Texas. Speaking of the wife, she's another hottie. She's also from the west coast.
So, even with all your criticism of the Yankee makeup and season, which team do you consider 2nd best in baseball after the Astros?
Washington because of its starting pitching pitching which has gotten them to the World Series. Scherzer-Corbin-Strasburg-Sanchez trumps Paxton-Tanaka-German (who's career is up in the air now) or Happ or a washed up Sabathia.
I watched 4-5 Yankees games this year as I do every year and while I saw a very good, resilient and determined team, I saw weaknesses that I thought would hurt them in the playoffs. Boone's usage of at least 145 different lineups this season and his use of Green or Cortez to open games worked in the regular season but failed against the Astros.
But let's face simple facts....the Yankees lost to a superior Astros team.
I think that Cashman will go wild this winter in trying to get his team to compete with Houston and he has the money and trade chips to offer.
Again, as an Astros fan, I hope Cole is an Astro next year.
He is from the West Coast.
His parents have had and still do have season tickets for Angels games.
When you have eleventy billion dollars, who cares what the tax rate is?
Listening to him this year and especially the last couple of weeks during interviews, he seems like a kid in a candy store in Houston.
he is really relishing this run and has great teammates.
I only hope the Astros can win the Series and Cole has a load of fun doing so.
I think these are reasons why he won't be inclined to give the Yankees a serious look.
I hope winning and the enjoyment that comes with it, plus the fact that the Astros have a history of taking very good pitchers and making them great, convinces him to give the Astros serious consideration.
He is from the West Coast.
His parents have had and still do have season tickets for Angels games.
When you have eleventy billion dollars, who cares what the tax rate is?
Listening to him this year and especially the last couple of weeks during interviews, he seems like a kid in a candy store in Houston.
he is really relishing this run and has great teammates.
I only hope the Astros can win the Series and Cole has a load of fun doing so.
I think these are reasons why he won't be inclined to give the Yankees a serious look.
I hope winning and the enjoyment that comes with it, plus the fact that the Astros have a history of taking very good pitchers and making them great, convinces him to give the Astros serious consideration.
Ages and Wages.
A lot of money, but, at this point, I would take Cole first over Verlander of Greinke, either one.
Imagine where the Astros would be this year without Cole.
That is where they will likely be next year without him.
Not sure if they would have made the playoffs at all without him.
At best a wildcard, one game tossup.
The Astros are superior to the Yankees because of their athleticism and how they exploit it in every phase of the game. They play with a controlled reckless abandon; in the field, on the bases, and they are power hitting team with plate discipline which the Yankees are not. They have a happy arrogance about them. It's like, we are good and we are having fun showing how good we are.
This, too.
I am still a Charlie Morton fan.
Though, if they had Morton, Cole and Verlander, Grienke is probably not on this team right now.
JV, Cole, Morton, Grienke... they are (or were) Astros because they were 'selected' to be. Meaning, the same front office that found them, has the ability to find others as well. I think they will. The difference now from then that I see is the farm has gotten a bit lighter these days. As a result, owner Jim Crane is going to have to pony up if he wants to keep fielding a World Series caliber team. The window is closing a little every year with this team. In 2017 they hit pay dirt. Last year they missed out. This year? I think they win but also think that window opening will get smaller win or lose.
Need one more to guarantee a return to the Bayou City. Go Astros!!
I think they get it too. I can't see them beating Cole twice or even Verlander twice.
I have hoped they would try and keep Cole but Urquides and McCullers behind the big 2 of JV and Grienke ain't bad. I think they will trade Reddick & start Tucker in RF. Dont think they will keep Miley either.
I don't know one way or the other but the network is promoting it for tonight as Stros-Nats; if they were going back to Hou wouldn't that require a one day 'travel break' ?
Scherzer scratched. Joe Ross starting for Nats tonight. Tomorrow is a travel day. Game 6 on Tues.
I don't think Cole wants to sign w/ anyone but a west coast team. What's amamzing is that his wife and her sister both married MLB players. His brother n law plays for the giants I think. Anyway, his fam is all about the West Coast. I hope he stays but I think he's gone and we saw his last pitc h tonight in an Astro uniform.
Then there’s the National pitcher that constantly “shakes” his glove hand during his stretch before throwing the ball. A lot of MLB players have weird traits especially pitchers.
This World Series is another example why I sometimes root against a team for the city or area it represents, and not the team itself.
Boston, Austin, Dallas, Washington D.C. and any California team are such cities/areas for me. This is not a blind "hatred" by me, but it is a strong preference.
I like the players on the Nationals' roster and the team is fun to watch, but there's no way I want the city they represent to celebrate a championship of any kind.
And this is beside the fact I've been an Astros fan since 1962 and an even bigger Yankees fan.
I hope Cole wasn't too rattled when two women flashed him last night.
Boston, Austin, Dallas, Washington D.C. and any California team are such cities/areas for me. This is not a blind "hatred" by me, but it is a strong preference.
I like the players on the Nationals' roster and the team is fun to watch, but there's no way I want the city they represent to celebrate a championship of any kind.
And this is beside the fact I've been an Astros fan since 1962 and an even bigger Yankees fan.
I hope Cole wasn't too rattled when two women flashed him last night.
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Same here. I watched every inning of the 2017 Astros playoffs (and there were a bunch, due to extra innings).
I did not watch one inning after the Astros were eliminated last year.
So far, I have watched every inning of the Astros games this year.
If the local team is not in it, I have no interest.
Grew up in Tulsa as a Cardinals fan. Have family in Kansas City. Rangers were close by.
Don't care.
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