Space City Takes

 What is the big question that will determine the winner of the Astros-White Sox clash in the American League Division Series?  I think it is whether Astros hitters can make contact against the White Sox pitchers. If they do, the can take advantage of the White Sox poor defense and score runs. But if they don’t… What is the second biggest will determine the winner of the series? I think it is whether Astros pitchers can force White Sox hitters to make contact. The Astros are a below averageteam when it comes to walking batters while the White Sox have one of the highest walk rates in baseball. But the Astros have a significant advantage on defense, and turn a high percentage of batted balls into out. If their pitchers can keep batters off base, they can prevent runs. But if they don't...   Astros Hitters vs. White Sox Pitchers The Astros led major league baseball in lots of key offensive categories--runs per game, batting average, and on base percentage. There's a good ar...

 Sunday was a great day to be an Astro fan. With one game left in the MLB season, four different teams were within a game of the two spots in the Wild Card game, and the possibility of some truly chaotic outcomes--including a Game 163 tiebreaker and potential three-and four-team tiebreakers--unprecedented in baseball history.  So why was it a great day to be an Astro fan on Sunday?  Because we were already in the playoffs and could just root for chaos (and against the Yankees, like any patriotic American would do). I got to be near the other side of this scenario. My wife is a Red Sox fan and she agonized through every pitch of their come-from-behind victories on both Saturday and Sunday.   Instead, the Astros got to celebrate fan appreciate day by cheering the fans, cheering for Carlos Correa in what is undoubtedly his last regular season game in Minute Maid Park, and watching Yuli Gurriel seal the batting title with a walk-off single in the ninth.  An exc...

 Last night felt like a playoff game.  For me, one of the joys of baseball is that each game matters little in the grand scheme of things. So if you drop a game, go get 'em tomorrow.   But with the Astros having lost 5 of 6 heading into last night and with the Mariners deciding that Pythagorean records are fictional, I watched last night with the knowledge that there were not that many tomorrows.  That sense of anxiety only increased as the game remained close into the late innings.   But as they have so many times in actual playoff games in recent years, the Astros came through in the end. The bullpen combination of Ryne Stanek, Kendall Graveman, and Ryan Pressly held up Lance McCullers's quality start and the Astros won. Cue the celebratory speeches, champagne showers, and the chance to see that Dusty Baker can still move when needed.  "That was the hardest but greatest year ever for me." Dusty Baker becomes the first manager in MLB history to w...

 How do you build a good baseball team?  It's different than in the other two major American sports. In basketball, it is essential to have a star--an Hakeem or a Giannis--and surround him with another star or two and a bunch of complimentary players who know their role. In football, the key is the quarterback. For years, the AFC Championship seemed to be a battle between Tom Brady's team and Peyton Manning's.  Now it goes to  Pat Mahomes 's son's team, who faced off against Brady in the last Super Bowl. .  But baseball does not revolve around stars in the way that these other sports do. As fans of an AL West team, we are well aware of this. At the end of this season, the Angels will have won more MVP awards over the last decade than they have played playoff games. Shohei Ohtani is awesome, and Mike Trout is even more awesome, but these superstars have not been able to overcome the dreck the keeps occupying the rest of the Angels roster. The Astros contrast to t...

  The comeback on Sunday was awesome, as rookie outfielders Jose Siri and Chas McCormick hit back-to-back home runs in the 8 th   to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 victory. But what was worrisome was that a comeback was necessary at all. The Astros fell behind in the game because Zack Greinke had a bad start—giving up 5 runs over 4 innings while allowing 5 hits, 1 home along with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk. It really fell apart for Greinke in the 4 th  as he gave up 4 singles, with a walk to Astro killer Kole Calhoun. The bad outing by Greinke has unfortunately become a common occurrence. Greinke gave up 8 runs (7 earned) in 5 innings on Tuesday of last week in Arlington. Greinke took the loss in that start, as he had in his previous two starts in late August. In fact, Greinke’s season seemed to turn on July 31, when he was shelled in San Francisco. Greinke gave up 6 runs and 4 homers in 4 innings at Oracle Park. The chart at the right shows Greinke's stats before that start ...

  The trade was an absolute shocker. While we all knew that the Astros needed bullpen help at the trade deadline, none of us expected them to get it by trading their starting centerfielder. In exchange for Myles Straw, the Astros acquired another bullpen arm--Phil Maton.  My analysis of the trade has tended to focus on the centerfield situation for the Astros. At the time,  I argued  that James Click thought that he had a surplus in centerfield with Straw, Chas McCormick, and Jake Meyers. In analyzing whether  Jake Meyers could take over  as the everyday centerfielder, I noted Click's analysis that "McCormick and Meyers would produce as well as the combination of Straw and McCormick...has worked as planned." Phil Maton's spin rates are better than his results. James Click identified a surplus at one position on his roster and used that strength to try to plug a weakness at another spot. Six weeks later, we know Click was right about having a surplus in the ...

 What is Cristian Javier?  I mean, we know the answer to who is Cristian Javier. He’s a pitcher for the Astros who successfully debuted when pressed into the rotation in 2020. He’s a 24 year old from the Dominican Republic. And he’s a fun guy wins the coffee game, the YouTube MVP, and our smiles in every picture he takes from Julia Morales. But the more interesting question about Javier is what is he?  And where does he fit into the Astros plans this October?  Is he a potential multi-inning weapon who can bridge the difference between starters who will likely be on short leashes after two times through the order and the late inning guys in the bullpen?  Or is he an average reliever who will only be used in low leverage situations in October, if at all. The reason we do not know what role Javier will play for the Astros in the playoffs is that Javier has been a bundle of contradictions throughout his two seasons with the Astros. We seem no closer to resolving tho...